Cable TV franchise regs a relic of the past

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Good afternoon,

Delaware is fortunate when it comes to broadband service.

Verizon and Comcast both cover areas with the highest populations.  Verizon started out with its FiOS fiber-optic system that came with higher speeds for Internet service.

Comcast, the nation’s large cable company, has invested heavily in increasing speeds through its system, perhaps spurred by Verizon’s competition. 

Delaware has been rewarded by having among the nation’s fastest broadband speeds.

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The situation has been different in some Delaware beach towns, where residents have long complained about Mediacom, a privately held broadband and cable TV provider. Mediacom’s territory includes several communities in Sussex County and the Delaware City area in New Castle County.

Now, Comcast is moving south from Rehoboth and Dewey and wants to bring cable and Internet service to Bethany Beach and South Bethany.

Last week, a virtual hearing was held with a vote on Comcast and renewing the Mediacom franchise agreement this week. 

As a release from the Town of Bethany Beach noted, looking for an alternate provider or getting Mediacom to improve its system proved to be an educational experience.

It turns out that cable franchise agreements are a relic of the four-channel past,  with no local regulation on Internet service and little oversight on TV. Bigger cities get perks like public access TV channels, but small towns get little in return.

“Because of misunderstanding and confusion regarding franchise agreements, many in our community have mistakenly thought that the town could demand better internet and cable TV service from Mediacom through our franchise agreement,” a release from Bethany Beach stated.

Nine years ago, Bethany put together a coalition with South Bethany, Millville, and  Ocean View, only to find that there was no way to press for significant changes, even after hiring a national law firm with expertise in communications.

Another attempt yielded the same conclusion.

The good news for Bethany was that Mediacom, knowing that Comcast is expected to come to town in the next year and a half,  agreed to changes and a far-shorter franchise agreement. 

The question that remains is why franchises still exist if a municipality has little ability to negotiate changes and can’t do a thing about Internet service.

Technology adds another wrinkle.

Verizon stopped the geographic expansion of its FiOS system about a decade ago, perhaps betting that technology rolled out by its 5G wireless operations would allow expansion at a lower cost than buried fiber-optic broadband.

To date, wireless speeds don’t match up, although 5G technology could close the gap and lead to AT&T and TMobile offering options.

More recently, Verizon has seen customer growth with fiber-based  FiOS as more people work or go to school from home. Cord cutters also like those high speeds, although Comcast has closed the gap and offers a separate unit for small and large businesses. 

One idea for the incoming Biden administration is to push for the overhaul of the current system by making Internet access a top priority in franchise agreements. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.

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