WESTFIELD – The Cable Television Commission discussed the short, just five-year, contract the city recently signed with Comcast, the cable television provider for 13,000 subscribers in the city, Wednesday night and telecom changes, as programming providers seek to directly provide on-demand entertainment services to consumers.
In the past that contract term has been 10 years and also in the past the Cable Commission became inactive for much of the time spanning contracts. That may not be the case going forward because of the rapidly changing telecommunication environment which may require the city to amend the role of the commission.
The reliance by residents for cable television as the primary source of entertainment has eroded and the role of the commission is morphing to reflect changes to that industry. Much of that change will be resolved through court decisions and Federal Communication Commission (FCC) policies over the next five years.
Much of the discussion last night was related to performance issues which require Comcast to provide specific services and to update technology used for local access channels.
“They still have to meet FCC standards, so they still have an obligation,” Commission Chairman Douglas DeLeo said. “But we have to hold them accountable. I think there are in breach of contract right out of the gate.”
“This (five-year pact) is a bridge to get to a point five years from now,” DeLeo said. “Look how other communities have achieved high definition and PEG access. So we built a bridge during which the definition of cable television may change. I have a gut feeling that the franchise will be different.”
“I don’t care how Comcast fixes things,” DeLeo said of the current local access quality. “I would expect that when they do the second channel, they will bring the first (existing) channel up to an equal quality.”
The FCC regulates cable television and is extending its regulatory authority into the Internet which has resulted in several court appeals. Currently the Cable Television Commission is limited to oversight of cable, but in the future, depending on court decisions and legislation, may have a role in Internet oversight as well.
Pursuant to Section 611 of the Federal Communications Act, local franchising authorities, such as the City of Westfield, may require cable operators like Comcast to set aside channels for public, educational, or governmental (PEG) use.
Comcast, under terms of the new contract, will establish a second PEG or local access channel. DeLeo suggested that the city should require Comcast to upgrade technology of the existing PEG channel 15, which is used to broadcast governmental meetings, such as the City Council, School Committee and Planning Board and other community events, but is a low definition broadcast.
Commissioner Robert Hamel suggested that the commission should be looking toward a different telecommunication environment and perhaps should consider alternative technology.
“The bottom line is this is only a five-year contract, we need to start looking now if we want to put out an RFP (request for proposals), and we need to do that before this contract expires,” Hamel said.
