Bernard Gordon, Diane Hardy, Town Council representative Steve Minutelli, Ed Wojnowski, Mark LaRoche, Superintendent of Schools, and Attorney Kate Miller of Donahue, Tucker and Ciandella, PLLC. Jay Somers from Comcast was present. Resident Bill Nostrom was present.
Doug Poulin was excused.
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Minutes of July 15, 2008
Discussion: None
A motion was made by Bernard Gordon, seconded by Diane Hardy, to approve the minutes, as written. All in Favor.
Discussion with Jay Somers of Comcast
Mr. Nostrom was introduced to the committee members. He spoke of the confusion regarding the recent Comcast digital conversion from analogue and the migration of channels from his basic package. Jay Somers explained that Comcast is trying to meet public demands for faster speeds and High Definition (HD) and advance digital services. As of July 15, the company embarked on a 138 million dollar effort to upgrade the system. They are offering a free digital box to customers for one year and a discount on additional units. To get all the channels you need to get the box. The cost after the year is $3.95 per month for the converter box. The committee did not feel that it was right for Comcast to be taking away part of the service without compensating the customers in some fashion. The rates would not go down. Jay said that they were looking at another package to be unveiled in October. Meanwhile, Bill was given a toll free number for customer service.
Jay Somers had information regarding the costs for re-engineering the cable service so the 13 dwellings units of Harvest Way would have access to Channel 13 Newmarket’s Public Education and Government channel. It would cost $7,580 dollars. The costs would be spread out across the customer base over the term of the franchise. If amortized for ten years, the cost would be $.40 per month per customer for ten years, it would cost $.80 per month per customer for five years, and if three (3) years, it would be $1.00 per month per customer.
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The committee has received a favorable response from Comcast on the request for I-Net. Unfortunately, they cannot honor the request under the existing franchise, it would have to be part of the new franchise. Mr. Somers explained that the technology has changed so much that there may be a more cost-effective way of achieving the same service with a different technology, which is now being subcontracted through another vendor. If the Town can identified the locations where they would want the I-Net drops, he would be willing to go back to speak with the technical people at Comcast to see what could be done. Mr. Somers is waiting for information on the locations for the I-Net.
On the need for an additional channel, Mr. Somers is waiting for further documentation on the need for an additional channel. Doug Poulin has been out sick and hasn’t been able to get that information together. Mr. Somers asked if he could share his programming logs to help further clarify the need for an additional channel. For example, the Town needs to illustrate that the television station is crowded and that there are conflicts between scheduling for more than one user. The committee talked about how they might administer a system of discounts for low income senior citizens. They would have to have residents show that they are eligible for Medicaid, food stamps, or financial assistance. It was suggested that outreach be done by Comcast to the elderly through programs such as the senior center.
Jay Somers was not optimistic about changes regarding programming and a la carte programming where you can pick and choose the programs you want. He said this issue would come up again and suggested that the committee speak to New Hampshire’s Congressional people on this matter, which will likely be aired in Congress in the near future. Mr. Gordon didn’t understand why programming and service varies according to the region. He noted that in the D.C. area the basic package includes C-Span and his digital converter box was upgraded at no charge. He was hopeful that some kind of side agreement be reached which addressed these additional services. Since all consumers are paying for Cspan and Comcast is marketing that point, then all consumers should have access to it, at no cost.
The committee asked if he could look into this further as that is what the consumers are saying is important in Newmarket given the survey that was done. Kate suggested that she would like to work with Jay Somers on some of the legalise and language matters between now and the next meeting. This would be done through e-mails back and forth. Jay would like to get back his counter proposal over to Kate Miller and to the committee for review.
The Town has received an executed copy of the extension letter from Comcast. Copies of the extension are available to those members who wish to have one.
Next Meeting:
Discussion: The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 4, at 2:00 pm in the Town Council chambers to resume discussions.
