PETER J. MILLER
WESTFIELD – Mayor Daniel M. Knapik signed a new five-year contract with Comcast, the city’s cable television provider, at the end of March, breaking a year-long logger head between the city and the cable company.
The former contract ended a year ago, and the city had been negotiating with the cable provider for nearly two years, but could not find a middle ground to agree upon for the new contract.
The city’s negotiation with Comcast hit a snag over two issues. The negotiation process was further complicated by major changes in the telecommunication landscape as programming providers seek to directly provide services to consumers.
DANIEL HOWARD
The biggest obstacle was the term of the pact. The city wanted a five-year contract because of the rapidly evolving technology landscape, while Comcast was seeking a long-term contract, between eight and 10 years.
Community Development Director Peter J. Miller Jr., said the contract, signed by Knapik on March 29, has a five-year term and a side agreement with Comcast to maintain its customer service facility on East Mountain Road.
“We did a five-year contract because of the uncertainty in the market where people are changing their behaviors on how they want entertainment delivered,” Miller said yesterday. “We wanted to minimize terms of the contract so we’re now in position to respond to technological changes in the marketplace and at the regulatory level.”
“It’s an interesting time with all of the changes in the delivery of entertainment,” Miller said. “It’s interesting to see other players coming into the broadband industry locally.”
“Now it’s about the size of the pipe,” Miller said. “We anticipate competition, but not in traditional cable, but among the streaming providers.”
The Westfield Gas & Electric Department is launching a pilot program to test the waters of the new broadband market. The test area is a mix of commercial and residential customers in the area along Springfield Road and East Mountain Road.
The Westfield Gas & Electric Department has been in the Internet telecommunication field for nearly 20 years, using those facilities for its own internal communication and for commercial customers.
“We’re at a crossroad with the existing system,” WG&E General Manager Dan Howard said recently. “People want more bandwidth, so, with Whip City Fiber, we’re providing a big pipe to provide our customers with high-speed Internet access, a speed that exceeds anything being are offering in the region, at a price that is advantageous to both residents and business customers.”
“Technology is flying so fast that many people can’t keep up with it – so many possibilities – so in part it’s about educating the public,” Howard said. “We’re planning for tomorrow’s (technology and communication) culture.”
“One of the things we’re doing is we don’t plan to have contracts because we have confidence that our system can stand on its own,” Howard said. “We offer speeds 10 times faster than what is out there now.”
Miller said Comcast separated the East Mountain Road customer Service facility from the contract.
“They gave the city a letter stating their interest in continuing the customer service center,” Miller said. “They are planning to make an investment up there.”
“Comcast also agreed in the contract to offer a senior citizen discount, something they offer in other communities, of $2 off the rate of the basic service,” Miller said.
