05-08-2013 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MAY 8, 2013 offering operational and other support for public, educational, and government (PEG) access. Wilson indicated that Comcast is claiming that the North Suburban Cable Commission's (NSCC's) PEG access fee is one of the highest in the nation. Wilson indicated that she has not received complaints from subscribers about the PEG fee. Wilson indicated that PEG fees historically have been based on assessments of community needs, not by NSCC or Comcast. She also noted that it has been Comcast's decision to pass this fee on to subscribers. Wilson stated that if the PEG fee were decreased, it is her feeling that Comcast might decrease rates for basic service temporarily, but would recover the amount in other unregulated tiers. Wilson indicated that Comcast is claiming that the PEG fee is a competitive disadvantage for the company because satellite providers do not have to pay it. Wilson noted that Comeast's number of subscribers and penetration rate has stayed consistent over the past 20+ years. Wilson also reported that Comcast has indicated that it will not provide free institutional networks to local governments anymore, only managed services networks for a fee. Wilson indicated that the Institutional Network (I -Net) is a combination of six fibers that were paid for by subscribers under the 1998 cable franchise. She indicated that the users of the I -Net (the cities, schools, libraries, and NSCC /NSAC) provided their own equipment to connect to and manage the network. The cities and NSCC /CTV staff oversee and maintain the network; therefore, the cost to Comcast to provide the I -Net is very small. Wilson felt that the issue is that cable companies have decided they want to be more than about "entertainment" and are competing with legacy telephone companies in providing managed data services over their networks. Cable companies see Local government as potential customers from which they can make more money. Wilson recounted NSCC's efforts to get Comcast to come to the table and negotiate the franchise renewal. She indicated that because of these difficulties, NSCC has voted to go into the formal renewal process and has begun to put together the appropriate documents. Wilson noted that the formal process is considered administrative litigation and requested that if the Council is contacted by Comcast that they inform her of that contact. Wilson then updated the Council on the issue of rate regulation outlining some of the history relative to this subject. Wilson reported that local franchising authorities are allowed to regulate the lowest tier of service as well as the cost of any equipment that touches that tier of service. Wilson reported that the challenges are that as Comcast has added more services, they have gotten creative in how fees are charged. Wilson gave one example of a $1.99 monthly fee that Comcast began imposing in January 4