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| By Debbie Gardner PRIME Editor/Staff Writer WILBRAHAM Public access, customer service and changes in programming were the three concerns voiced by residents who attended the final public hearing on renewing the town's cable television license with its current provider, Charter Communications. The town's current cable television license is up for renewal on March 22. According to town administrator William Fogarty, the Wilbraham Cable Television Advisory Committee has been working on the provisions of the license renewal for the past three years. During that time the committee has hosted one other public hearing, as well as several committee meetings that were open to the public, in order to give residents an opportunity to voice their concerns. A small turnout Fogarty told Reminder Publications that about 10 residents attended the hour-and-a-half presentation, which was hosted by members of the town's Cable Television Advisory Committee. Board of Selectman Chair David Barry, Town Special Counsel William August, and government relations representative Robert Spain, for Charter Communications also attended the hearing. Fogarty said the Advisory Committee showed a powerpoint presentation about the licensing process which included an explanation of what the town can and can't address during license renewal. "We don't negotiate rates, which is significant," Fogarty said. "We don't negotiate specific programming; we can talk about types of programming, but not specific stations." "The things we can address [in the license] are customer service standards, certain technology standards, and public access funding," he explained. Fogarty said that some of the comments from residents concerned stations that were removed from the basic cable tier and placed on the expanded package, and the loss of several Boston stations. He said that there were also several comments concerning the level of customer service. "There were concerns on how hard it is to reach a human being [and] how long it takes to get things done," Fogarty said. "There are certain standards of the license which the Cable Advisory Committee and Board of Selectmen can stay on top of," he continued. "If people are not happy with the type of response they are getting from Charter they can contact the town. We intervene a lot when people have problems in customer service." He said the comments regarding public access -- the town's own station broadcasting local meetings and events -- were in strong support of this part of the license provision. When Reminder Publications asked Fogarty if the town was considering approaching any other cable provider at this time, he explained that, although Wilbraham's cable TV license has always been non-exclusive, the prospect of another cable company approaching the town at this time is not realistic. "For a town our size, the cable providers do not come in and try to out-bid each other, they come in and buy territory," he said, referring to the buyout of the town's previous cable provider, New England Cablevision by Charter Communication in 1997. He said given the existing technology, for another cable provider to come in and offer service would require that company to construct its own lines a capital expense major providers would not undertake for a town the size of Wilbraham. He did say that, because of changing technology, the town expects Verizon to begin offering its customers a cable TV option through its phone service in the next few years. |