There are a lot of residents
in Gloucester who are upset because of the lack of internet access throughout
the County. There are even more residents who do not understand why Cox
Communications has not expanded cable service throughout the County. Don’t get
me wrong, Cox will extend service to anyone who can pay for it and when I say
pay for it, we mean thousands, tens of thousands and even more dollars in some
instances to install cable to a single residence.
The question is; can anything
be done about it? According to federal law governing cable franchises, it
appears there is something that can be and should have been done for many
years. Title 47, Chapter 5, Subchapter V-A, Part III, Paragraphs 3 and 4, of
the United States Code state in part:
(3) In
awarding a franchise or franchises, a franchising authority shall assure that
access to cable service is not denied to any group of potential residential
cable subscribers because of the income of the residents of the local area in
which such group resides.
(4) In awarding a franchise, the franchising
authority—
(A) shall allow the applicant's cable system a
reasonable period of time to become capable of providing cable service to all
households in the franchise area;
(B) may require adequate assurance that the cable
operator will provide adequate public, educational, and governmental access
channel capacity, facilities, or financial support; and……..
We are not lawyers and are not
rendering legal advice, but it certainly looks like Gloucester’s local
government has the authority under federal law to require Cox to expand their
cable services throughout Gloucester. If this is in fact true; why, in all the
years Cox has provided service in Gloucester, hasn’t Gloucester’s local
government pushed the issue of expansion? There could be any number of reasons,
but the important question today is; will the current Board of Supervisors look
out for the interests of Gloucester residents or will they continue to lookout
for Cox Communication’s interests?
The Public Hearing to renew
Cox’s cable franchise on October 2nd at 6:30 p.m. at the Colonial Courthouse
is the time and place to share your concerns with the Board of Supervisors. Some
may think the franchise agreement is a done deal and nothing can be done about it.
That is not true. Federal law requires cable providers to submit franchise
renewal requests a full three years in advance of the expiration of the most
current agreement. The current agreement does not expire until sometime in 2021,
therefore there is plenty of time for negotiations. If Cox and the Board of
Supervisors are not challenged at the public hearing, nothing will improve. All
who can attend the public hearing should attend and all who cannot should at
least contact the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors at: BOS@gloucesterva.info
It may also be a good idea to
contact the big wigs at Cox Communications’ corporate office to share your
concerns about the cable service they do and do not provide. It appears taking
this route resulted in success for at least one Gloucester resident.
Cox Communications’ President’s
contact information is:
Cox Communications Inc
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Mr Patrick J. Esser
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President
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Email
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Telephone
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404-269-7100 (Direct)
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Switchboard
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404-843-5000
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Website
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Postal Address
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1400 Lake Hearn Dr, Atlanta, GA, 30319
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Advice from CEOemail.com
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Related lists
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The link to the United States
Code pertaining to cable franchises is:
