On Sep 16, 2008, at 7:03 PM, Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:
It is my understanding that the local municipality negotiates contracts with the cable companies and they have to meet specific goals and or marks to keep the franchise.
Not so. In the county where I live, the "authorized" cable provider has consistently, from the very beginning, failed to meet numerous benchmarks and goals, thus violating the terms of their contract, and they get poor marks from many of their subscribers that often result in official complaints being filed with Consumer Affairs. In fact, the county had to create an office purely for cable complaints.
The cable provider's contract with the county has never been seriously threatened despite these oft repeated failures. The reason they have not been so punished? It would be far too troublesome to introduce a new provider while simultaneously retaining full service for current cable customers. Additionally, it may also be too expensive these days for anyone to install a new cable system while at the same time keeping the rates being charged customers from increasing. In other words, it would just be a lot of hassle.
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