Wolfeboro Cable TV survey

[beaner]

The Wolfeboro Cable TV Advisory Committee is enclosing a "Community Ascertainment Survey" with the current month's electric bills. The survey states, "Metrocast Cablevision is Wolfeboro's cable television provider. The Company's 12-year License agreement with the Town expires in June, 2011. The Town and Metrocast are now gearing up to negotiate a license renewal for another multi-year period." It states that there will also be a formal public hearing at a regular Board of Selectmen's meeting.

The survey doesn't say how long the new contract term would be; no doubt that's part of the negotiations. There have been a lot of changes in communications technology since 1997, and there will undoubtedly be more changes over the next 12 years. I believe it would be unwise for the town to commit to another 12-year contract with any provider.

Your thoughts? How long a term is too long? Are you happy with Metrocast? Etc....

[Yosemite Sam]

Who owns the TV cable lines that are strung along the poles in Wolfeboro? The reason I’m asking is if for some reason the BOS rejects Metrocast as their provider, can another provider use the same cable. I know Metrocast has put up a lot of cable along Wolfeboro’s poles so can another provider just take over and use these lines.
Probably a stupid question but I’m just curious.

[patman]

I'm not from w'boro, but...

When our town renegotiated the contract, part of the deal was extending coverage to some additional roads in the town where there was no cable on the utility poles. While satellite is certainly an option for video, broadband offers a much better internet service, and that's important these days.

IMO...make sure the cable service area is expanded within the town as part of the new contract.

[Argie's Wife]

Not happy with Metrocast at all...

They have price increases a few times a year and justify it by adding channels that we don't want/need (Soap Channel? Golf Channel? I don't think so...). The packages and plans are confusing and installation prices are hazy at times - sometimes installation is free, sometimes it's not, and sometimes it's only for new customers (never mind those of us who've had them as a provider for 10 years and paid our bills on time...)

They're OK as an internet service provider but they have yet to bring their digital phone system into our town (or part of our town, as there's some competition clause with Union Telephone that they're supposedly trying to resolve... we've heard that song-n-dance for years now...) I've been active in the community to bring awareness to this issue as I believe Union has a MONOPOLY here...

Finally, Metrocast digital service has a lot of smut... we never could hide the names of the shows on the "green channels" (they show up in green... green = costs money to watch smut) and so when our oldest started reading and asked "Mommy, what's "Girls Gone Wild in Daytona Beach"? I figured it was time to downsize our cable package... :)

[brk-lnt]

Not happy with Metrocast at all...

They have price increases a few times a year and justify it by adding channels that we don't want/need (Soap Channel? Golf Channel? I don't think so...).

Your reasoning is correct on this. The rates for the packages are directly related to the number of channels in those packages. Many of the tier-3 content providers (Soap Channel, etc.) make their content available for free to the MSO's, and they (supposedly) make money on revenue.

The MSO adds these fluff channels to the lineup for legal justification in raising prices (and giving the subscribers better selection! (not)) and it's mostly pure-profit for them.

I have no knowledge of the current franchise agreement with Metrocast, or the overall town demographic, but it in the last place I lived, where I sat on the telecommunications board, we had the MSO (Charter) create a lineup of something like 13 or 17 channels of just "pure basic" content. The local channels NBC/ABC/CBS, a news channel, couple of public access, etc. This had a price set of like $12.99/mo, with no option for the MSO to "expand" it. This allowed the township residents on a tight budget to get decent TV service at a price that didn't continuously inflate.

[RI Swamp Yankee]

... so can another provider just take over and use these lines.....
The short answer is No, not without paying for them.