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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTelecommunications Board - Minutes - 01/14/1997TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD MEETING MINUTES January 14, 1997 7:00 PM 11 Council Liaison: Chris Kneeland I Staff Liaison: Liz Stroh, Michael Gitter 11 Chairperson: Phil Wadas Phone: (W) 221-1764 (H) 221-0065 Presiding Chair: Phil Wadas Phone: (W) 221-1764 (H) 221-0065 Members Present: Members Absent: City Staff: TCI Staff: Larry Rowland Barbara Hain Ernie Powell Greg Smith Howard Lowell Phil Wadas Tom Maher Liz Stroh, ICS, Co -Liaison to Board Eric Dahlgren, Light & Power Kathy Stewart, TCI Area Manager Paul Einsbrenner, Technical Operations Manager Meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Chair, Phil Wadas. Minutes Larry Rowland moved to approve the corrected minutes; Greg Smith seconded. Motion was carried unanimously. TCI Update TCI Area Manager Kathy Stewart introduced Paul Einsbrenner, the TCI of Fort Collins Technical Operations Manager. Ms. Stewart reported she has been focusing on calls and complaints from customers concerning the channel and rate changes. Ms. Stewart announced that Fort Collins is now a site for digital compression technology, which will meet the channel capacity requirements of the franchise agreement. Ms. Stewart suggested that she could invite TCI representatives from Denver to discuss digital compression with the Board. Board members agreed, and asked Kathy to schedule that for the February meeting. Ms. Stewart explained that set top boxes would be needed by customers wishing to take advantage of the expanded channel capacity. Mr. Einsbrenner noted that digital compression would require some new head -end equipment, with little impact on the cable infrastructure. Larry encouraged TCI to make sure it is meeting the terms of the franchise agreement. Ms. Stewart reported that there would be a basic tier that would allow analog transmission to be received without the set top boxes, and an expanded tier that would use the digital signal. A citizen, Mr. Wayne Getowsky, asked Ms. Stewart about the loss of WGN and other programming changes. Mr. Getowsky feels TCI did disservice to customers by dropping WGN, and asked TCI to bring back a baseball channel. He asked the board about competition to TCI, particularly for citizens that are limited by neighborhood covenants that don't allow a satellite dish. He feels service has gone downhill, and that the response from TCI was that he was "wasting his time" by calling. Ms. Stewart responded that the "Super stations", like WGN, WOR, WTBS are very costly. WGN may be changing from a "super -station' to a basic station, which would reduce the cost to carry that station. Ms. Stewart also explained that at the time the decision to drop WGN was made, TCI believed that WGN would be losing much of it's sports programming. Now it appears the sports programming may stay. Mr. Getowsky went on to question why there is no competition to TCI. Ms. Stewart explained that the cable systems have a very high capital costs, and other companies are hesitant to try to compete with an established cable operator. Mr. Getowsky suggested TCI survey the community, and determine what programming would be best suited to the community. Larry Rowland mentioned alternatives to Cable include WanTV, as well as wireless cable. Howard Lowell suggested trying to rewrite neighborhood covenants to allow small antenna dishes. Mr. Getowsky commented that the absence of Denver stations on the wireless and satellite systems discourages viewers from switching to alternative providers. Ms. Stewart mentioned a Longmont station is asking to be included in TCI channel lineup, citing must -carry rules. This brings the total stations requesting must -carry consideration to three. If required to carry any or all of these stations, TCI will either have to drop other programming, or share a channel. In general, the board agreed that sharing a channel would be a viable alternative if careful consideration was given to how the programming was split. Ms. Stewart reported that based on her research, Fort Collins has the lowest rates in Colorado. Franchise Modification Discussion Ms. Stewart reiterated that TCI will be using digital compression to meet the upgrade requirements of the franchise agreement, and will need an extension in order to accomplish that. Kathy noted that she had sent copies of all letters to Denver. Liz Stroh distributed a draft of a "soapbox article" that the City will be giving to the Coloradoan to help educate the public about the community's concerns regarding programming and cost of service. Ms. Stewart noted that TCI has made some positive changes as well, including changing the construction crew to permanent employees • E rather than using contractors, and that TCI purchases equipment and vehicles from local businesses. Larry suggested that Ms. Stewart share those thoughts in a letter to the editor, or a soapbox article from her perspective. Chairman Wadas asked Ms. Stewart fora tour of the digital compression technology when it is installed in Greeley. Ms. Stewart mentioned again that the TCI representatives from Denver will be able to provide more details about the modification requirements, the timing, and the technical aspects of the digital compression project. Annual Report Review Mr. Rowland suggested adding language to the report to include siting standards as part of the Personal Communication Services ordinance passed in September. Greg Smith moved to accept the report as modified, seconded by Howard Lowell. Unanimously approved. Other Business: A. Howard mentioned a state legislative web site that has legislative information, new bills introduced this session, and the status of the bills. He mentioned two bills in particular that should be tracked, one to set up a Colorado Information network and one that would require landlords of multi -dwelling units to provide access to any competitive access provider wanting to provide services to residents. B. Eric Dahlgren reminded the board that they had mentioned the possibility of meeting with the Electric Board, and asked if they had specific agenda items to discuss. Eric also reported the Electric Utility has been contacted by several alternative providers and local exchange carriers as well as one full -service provider. The Electric Utility has also contracted with Black and Veatch, to assist them in analysis of options for providing telecommunication services. Eric also reported that some City Charter changes were slated for the April election that would authorize the Electric Utility to provide different services. Since the board had no pressing business to discuss with the Electric Board, no joint meeting will be scheduled at this time. Adjournment Larry Rowland made a motion to adjourn, Barbara Hain seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved at 8:15 PM.