HomeMy WebLinkAboutTelecommunications Board - Minutes - 09/07/2004TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD
MEETING MINUTES
***September 7, 2004***
*** 6:00 PM ***
Council Liaison: Kurt Kastein Staff Liaison: Liz Stroh
Chairperson: Curt Cramer Phone: 482-9822 (H)
Present: Herb Saperstone, Tim Tillson, Robert Reichenberger, David Heiberg, Curt
Cramer, Chip Cushman, Larry Bontempo
Absent: None
Guest: Stan Reifschneider, Comcast
Staff; Gary Gordier, Eric Dahlgen, Liz Stroh
Chair Curt Cramer called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM
Approval of Minutes
Chip Cushman moved to approve the minutes as corrected, seconded by Tim Tillson.
The motion passed unanimously.
Cable Complaint Discussion:
Stan Reifschneider reported on Comcast's process for handling customer complaints.
He reported that only 1.5 to 2% of customers have service calls, and of those about 4%
are repeat calls. Comcast doesn't track complaints by city, but by type of complaint.
The cost for a service call is $16.99, however the repairs are usually not billed, unless it
is clearly user damage or multiple calls for the same type of repair. Stan explained
that Comcast ranks the different systems as to how many complaints received, time to
correct, number of call backs, etc. Stan also said that recent engineering
improvements have resulted in a more reliable system, which reduces the number of
complaints. Board members complimented Stan on the relatively few number of
complaints.
Comcast Update:
Curt asked Stan when Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) would be implemented in
Fort Collins. Stan indicated that a Colorado roll out of that technology is planned for the
2005/2006 time frame. The technical plan would need to be improved to accommodate
the VoIP service. Larry asked about the possibility of Comcast publishing information
10/05/04
on Fort Collins' channel 29 — the TV Guide channel. He would like to see various
package descriptions and costs associated with the services. Herb Saperstone asked
about channel lineups and how often changes are made in that area. Stan responded
that changes of that nature are usually once a year or less, because of the confusion
and calls that are generated by channel assignment changes.
Other Business
Curt asked Liz to arrange to have Qwest visit the November Board meeting. The Board
would like updates on DSL/Broadband services, E911 issues, VolP offerings. Herb
would like to have some comparative data between subscriber numbers for DSL versus
Cable Modem. Chip commented that the City missed an opportunity to get information
from the Cable Franchise survey that would provide additional information regarding the
use of telecommunications in the City. Additional questions for Qwest include PUC
issues and rulings at the FCC level that might impact or affect the City.
Robert volunteered to arrange for wireless phone representatives to present information
to the Board in October.
Tim commented that the KRFC community radio has a low end signal that it has not
use for, and wondered if the City would be interested. Gary mentioned that the Office
of Emergency Management has AM band, and will check to see if they would be
interested.
Adjournment:
Larry Bontempo offered a motion to adjourn, seconded by Robert Reichenberger. The
motion passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 7:05 PM.
`UhMA /o—S'- o 5l
Chair Date
Staff Liaison
Date
10/05/04