Comcast Franchise Renewal Approaching

Got Comcast? Got opinions? The cable television provider's franchise is up for renewal and there will be a public hearing on March 10 as part of the renewal process. The hearing, at 8 p.m. in Municipal Court, coincides with a City Council meeting, but Plaintalker hopes it will not be just a perfunctory exercise.

Times have changed since Comcast won its franchise in 1999 and then received a five-year automatic renewal. Verizon joined the field with FiOS and got a statewide franchise instead of dealing with municipalities. Many newcomers from other countries opted for satellite television that kept them in touch with sports teams of their homelands. Digital innovations allowed cable customers to cut loose from contracts.

One of the most prized concessions in the 1999 franchise renewal was provision for a local origination channel, but programming was uneven. Click here for a 2008 blog post on the subject. Some good news was the doubling of the franchise fee from 2 percent to 4 percent.

I do not have television in my household. When the old television set died, I found the new models confusing and too expensive. My son had a basic Comcast account, but was mainly using the old set to view DVDs, and I prefer the radio to television because I can do other things while listening. We are probably in the extreme minority, even if cable interest has fallen off somewhat. Several years ago, the Board of Public Utilities posted the percentage of households with cable and it was very high in Plainfield.

Now that the franchise renewal process has apparently started, unfortunately the advisory board that is supposed to oversee cable operations is defunct. It was very active for a while, then faded away. It is unclear how comprehensive the franchise process will be, but in light of all the changes since 1999, there should be more than a cursory review, especially if another long-term franchise is contemplated. In 2006, Comcast officials offered their expertise to improve the local channel, if the council and administration could only say what they wanted.

--Bernice

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