| Montgomery Co complainers - your big opportunity Montgomery County has just scheduled a public hearing on the issue of transfer of control from Comcast to AT&T.
This is a rare opportunity for citizens to stand up and directly address the council with issues about Comcast, particularly for the purpose of approving and possibly changing the franchise agreement. Should be great entertainment. See you all there!
Here's the full text of the announcement:
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
PUBLIC HEARING
Thursday May 9, 2002
At 7:00 PM
Stella B. Werner Council Office Building
3rd Floor Hearing Room
100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland
CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE – TRANSFER APPLICATION
Montgomery County has received an application to transfer control of the cable franchise from Comcast Corporation to AT&T Comcast Corporation.
In accordance with Section 8A-23(d) of the Montgomery County Code and Section 3 of the Franchise Agreement, a public hearing has been scheduled to receive testimony regarding the transfer application. This hearing will be conducted jointly with participating municipalities pursuant to requirements of applicable local ordinances.
Copies of the transfer application and related public documents are available for inspection in the Reference Section of the four Regional Libraries (Wheaton, Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Bethesda). The material may also be viewed at the Cable Office, Division of Consumer Affairs, DHCA, 100 Maryland Avenue, Suite 250, Rockville.
Individuals may either testify in person at the public hearing, or provide written comments for the record. To pre-register to testify at the hearing, contact the County’s Cable Office at 240-777-3684. Written comments may be submitted through 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, 2002, or as otherwise directed by the Hearing Officer. Comments should be mailed or delivered to: Amy Rowan, DHCA-Cable Office, 100 Maryland Avenue, Suite 250, Rockville, MD 20850. Comments may also be submitted via email to amy.rowan@co.mo.md.us.
Interpreter services are available for deaf or hearing impaired citizens with five (5) working days advance notice. Call (240-777-3684) or email (amy.rowan@co.mo.md.us) the following information: Name, address and telephone number of requesting citizen; the subject, date, and time of the hearing; and the type of interpreter services needed. Facilities are accessible to the handicapped.
The hearing will be televised live on the County Cable Montgomery (Channel 6). |
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 MiniMe$He's Small He's EvilPremium
join:2002-03-30
Waterford, MI | LOL - Don't forget to bring your Rubber Stamps - won't be allowed in without one is my bet.  |
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 pugsam4It's Nature's Way
join:2002-03-30
Charlottesville, VA | said by MiniMe:
LOL - Don't forget to bring your Rubber Stamps - won't be allowed in without one is my bet.
Don,
1. Is this hearing purely an empty formality?
Or does the County have the right under the Franchise Agreement to disapprove the transfer of the Franchise? Does it have full discretion to base its decision on whatever bases it sees fit, or are the grounds for its decision limited?
Can you tell us what the Franchise Agreement says about all this?
2. The notice says, "To pre-register to testify at the hearing, contact the County’s Cable Office at 240-777-3684." Can we show up and testify without "pre-registering"?
3. Will Comcast representatives take questions from the public?
4. Will the press will be allowed/invited to attend? |
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| Not to intrude upon your discussion (I haven't lived in Montgomery County since 1994), but do not overlook:
5. Will the floor be open to issues related to Cable Internet Service or is it strictly limited to Cable Television Service? |
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| reply to pugsam4
Re: Montgomery Co complainers - your big opportuni said by pugsam:
1. Is this hearing purely an empty formality?
Or does the County have the right under the Franchise Agreement to disapprove the transfer of the Franchise? Does it have full discretion to base its decision on whatever bases it sees fit, or are the grounds for its decision limited?
Can you tell us what the Franchise Agreement says about all this?
This is an excellent question - I'll try to do it justice.
This meeting is a requirement of the current franchise which sets the terms for what happens during a transfer of ownership. Yes, the county has the right to disapprove the transfer. Of course, the county wants to avoid such disapproval however the county also wants to get everything it can.
In the past, the county has been (moderately) good at addressing the problems it knew about through these franchise hearings (with only a few major failings). The county has been through 5 transfers in the last 8 years so it's very experienced at the process and not afraid to tackle another one. At the same time, it is also understood that the transfer, this time, is claimed to be perfunctory in that the Comcast operation is not changing, just the ownership of the company is.
Which brings me to the most important point. The only way the council is going to take action is if the public makes it clear that action is required. If five people make statements all saying the same thing, the council may not give it much weight. But if fifty people show up, the council will act. They'll have to!
So the answer to your question "is this a formality?" depends entirely on you. If you don't show up, the answer is "it's a formality". If you do show up, then it won't be a formality. quote:
2. The notice says, "To pre-register to testify at the hearing, contact the County’s Cable Office at 240-777-3684." Can we show up and testify without "pre-registering"?
I'm not sure but I think that pre-registration business is akin to a reservation at a restaurant. If only a few people show up, they'll let them all speak. If 100 people show up, they'll just let the ones who pre-registered speak. They might not even let others in the door. quote:
3. Will Comcast representatives take questions from the public?
I have no idea although I suspect not unless one of the council members specifically asks them to respond to a question from the audience - but I'm just guessing - I haven't been to one of these sessions myself. Anyway, I'm sure Comcast will have a presence there but I wouldn't expect much. We get high-level Comcast reps at the CCAC meetings and they answer most of our questions (at least the ones I ask) with "I don't know - I'll get back to you with the answer." I can't imagine a question you would ask them that they wouldn't respond with a vague, evasive or otherwise useless answer. quote:
4. Will the press will be allowed/invited to attend?
Yes. The press will be there. Comcast transfers always get covered in the papers. And Comcast is becoming such a dominating power (also given the near certainty that they will soon push into VOD and VOIP) that this hearing is certain to get coverage on that basis also. |
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| reply to J D McDorce
said by wjdorceyjr:
5. Will the floor be open to issues related to Cable Internet Service or is it strictly limited to Cable Television Service?
I suspect that all the council members would answer with a strong yes. The FCC ruling may be overturned at any time either by the courts or Congress. The council is aware of this as well as being aware that cable internet service is very significant to the county, affecting all sorts of other issues including taxes, businesses, the economy, transportation (telecommuting), quality of life, etc, etc. etc. and maybe their chances of getting re-elected for another term.
Even though I think this stuff is painfully obvious, I hope and encourage people to speak to this issues as a reminder to the council. |
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 JTRockvilleData HoPremium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD | reply to DonLibesBad
Re: Montgomery Co complainers - your big opportunity
:: sigh ::
Looks like I'm gonna miss my chance to debut on CCM, as I'll be out of town on the 9th 
Don, are written comments given as much weight as live testimony? |
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MiniMe$He's Small He's EvilPremium
join:2002-03-30
Waterford, MI | reply to DonLibesBad
Re: Montgomery Co complainers - your big opportuni OK, my cynicisms aside, do you think it would help if tons of us fellow Comcast sufferers sent e-mails to demonstrate that the Comcast problem is not unique to Montgomery Co., MD, nor was the outage merely a freak occurrence. That is, maybe a scene reminiscent of "Miracle on 34th. Street" would make good press? |
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| If you are looking for good press, a rally in front of 1500 Market Street in Philadelphia would be cool
As for email from people outside of Montgomery County, it would likely be considered spam. I am not sure of the benefit of communication from outside parties.
Since the merger (AT&T Comcast Corporation) has not obtained regulatory approval yet, isn't an application to transfer the franchise premature? |
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| reply to JTRockville
Re: Montgomery Co complainers - your big opportunity said by JTRockville:
Looks like I'm gonna miss my chance to debut on CCM, as I'll be out of town on the 9th
Where are your priorities? Change your plans! quote:
Don, are written comments given as much weight as live testimony?
That's the intent but you never really know if the council reads the full text of your remarks (or for that matter listens to more than the first sentence of your oral remarks without zoning out). And there are some obvious subtle differences as well. For example:
- because of deadlines most reporters only use oral quotes in their articles.
- you can say a lot more in written remarks because there's no time limit.
- etc, etc. |
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| reply to J D McDorce
Re: Montgomery Co complainers - your big opportuni said by wjdorceyjr:
As for email from people outside of Montgomery County, it would likely be considered spam. I am not sure of the benefit of communication from outside parties.
It might be spam and then again, it might not. It all depends on what you say.
I remember that when the franchise was originally transferred to Comcast, the county depended heavily on statements and service records from other communities where Comcast held the franchise as a sign of how Comcast would likely perform in Montgomery County. So if you can defend why your remarks are relevant to a different community, yes, your remarks can be useful.
I can think of obvious examples where this would be the case. For example, if Comcast is doing a pilot in your area on VoD or VoIP it might very well be useful to hear your experiences. Of if your community has its own fiber plant, again, that would be wonderful to hear how the franchise agreement needed changing. Of if your community has drawn up a better franchise agreement that ours, let us know.
If you just want to whine to say how unhappy you are with Comcast because you packet loss skyrockets at 10PM every evening and Comcast won't do anything and you live in PA, well, don't bother; that's the kind of testimony we depend on from MC residents. quote:
Since the merger (AT&T Comcast Corporation) has not obtained regulatory approval yet, isn't an application to transfer the franchise premature?
The franchise transfer takes a while to work through the wonderfully baroque system here known as the Montgomery County Government. So we've started the process based on our expectations of having all the steps culminate around the same time.
If you really want to see the details, the Cable Office has a Gantt chart that shows all the steps in the franchise transfer that have to take place. |
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 midranger4Stupid Is No longer in VoguePremium
join:2002-01-18
Levittown, PA | reply to DonLibesBad
Re: Montgomery Co complainers - your big opportunity said by DonLibes:
said by JTRockville:
Looks like I'm gonna miss my chance to debut on CCM, as I'll be out of town on the 9th
Where are your priorities? Change your plans!
Hmmmm Don,
I think JT may have better pings to do on the 9th and therefore is unable to attend.
said by DonLibes:
quote:
Don, are written comments given as much weight as live testimony?
That's the intent but you never really know if the council reads the full text of your remarks (or for that matter listens to more than the first sentence of your oral remarks without zoning out).
I think a well prepared document read into the record could have just as much or more impact then comments from the attending public.
JT certainly has the resources at her disposal to prepare such a document. With your help the reading of same into the public record could prove a very beneficial contribution to the meeting.
--
Democracy is the illusion of Freedom. |
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| reply to DonLibesBad
I'll be there!
DonLibes: Can you give us some examples of things that we may be able to change in the franchise agreement? Would we be able to put in a clause about guaranteed cable modem speeds and maximum latency?
Are the public documents online? If not, I may just have to bring a digi-cam when I go to the library so I can post the docs online.
Thanks.
-Cpt'n |
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| said by captaindrewle:
Can you give us some examples of things that we may be able to change in the franchise agreement? Would we be able to put in a clause about guaranteed cable modem speeds and maximum latency?
Because of the FCC ruling, we're avoiding saying that we can put this stuff in the franchise agreement at this time. However, it's certainly fair to complain that the absence of such guarantees in the franchise is a serious problem. (See the games we play?) On the other hand, the county has the ability to pass consumer protection laws that govern certain products/services and, as I understand it, this could also be used to control the franchisees despite the FCC. But the CCAC is not going to explore that option until the FCC thing has been settled.
By the way, I would also avoid using the word "guarantee" since you're not going to get one and it just gives Comcast an easy out when you use that word.
So where does that leave you? I hesitate to tell you what to complain about - god forbid a Comcast rep testifies that I'm telling you all what to complain about. But gee, are you satisfied with your service? Is it reliable? How reliable? Reliable enough to work at home? What are your speeds? Do you feel you are getting your money's worth? Are you satisfied with Comcast's customer support? handling of complaints? Do you think their ads are clear and accurate? Do you think they live up to their claims? Do you think they behave monopolistically? Do you think the county could improve things? How? Do you think the county should lay its own fiber plant like many other communities are doing?
By the way, I've written a document to describe my take on standards and performance reporting. I'm hoping the CCAC will approve it and send it to the Exec, Council, FCC, Congress, you name it. You can read it here:
»groups.yahoo.com/group/mcccac-pu···ards.pdf
You need a yahoo id to read it, sigh. Please note that it's only in draft form. It's not ready for wide distribution yet. (Please don't post it to DSLR news!)
quote:
Are the public documents online? If not, I may just have to bring a digi-cam when I go to the library so I can post the docs online.
The existing franchise agreements are online.
»hca.emontgomery.org/Consumer/CAB···ites.htm
I warn you that they say nothing particularly useful about cable modem service. They do have stuff about how quickly Comcast must answer the phone, their refund policy, and a ton of TV-related stuff. |
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iolaire
join:2001-06-29
Arlington, VA | reply to DonLibesBad
Submit written testimony I strongly suggest submitting written testimony. If even a small group of the public wants to speak then you will get cut very sort. So be prepared and bring written testimony, with 8-10 copies.
iolaire |
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| reply to DonLibesBad
Re: Montgomery Co complainers - your big opportunity Great contact at Comcast of Montgomery County is Sue Reinhold, president of operations. 301-294-7612 |
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| reply to DonLibesBad
"This hearing will be conducted jointly with participating municipalities pursuant to requirements of applicable local ordinances."
Don or anyone know which other "participating municipalities" this includes? If Alexandria, I might want to show.
What am finding irksome about Comcast, is not only dumbing down the speeds, or capping newsgroups, but they cannot even get the basics right. For example, I keep my self designed web portal hosted on their mywebpages server, and over the past week it has seen up and down slow load times, meaning most likely not enough server capacity, or not properly setup.
Tonight, my secondary e-mail accounts are not working.
This stuff SHOULD NOT be happening after their having officially taken over more than 2 months ago. |
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pugsam4It's Nature's Way
join:2002-03-30
Charlottesville, VA | reply to DonLibesBad
said by DonLibes:
By the way, I've written a document to describe my take on standards and performance reporting. I'm hoping the CCAC will approve it and send it to the Exec, Council, FCC, Congress, you name it. You can read it here:
»groups.yahoo.com/group/mcccac-pu···ards.pdf
You need a yahoo id to read it, sigh. Please note that it's only in draft form.
Don,
I think your paper is great.
One thing though... I worry that the County may be capitulating before the FCC issue is even settled. I've read the FCC ruling and didn't find anything that has yet taken away its authority under the existing franchise agreement. Isn't the important point that merely because the FCC chooses to define something one way for under one of its statutes doesn't change the definitions in the county's franchise agreement, which specifically states that "Cable Service includes the provision of Internet access over the Cable System."
And the FCC is still in the early stages of a proposed rulemaking on the overall subject of federal and local regulation of cable modem service. Much time will pass, and many things can happen, before this comes to a conclusion either way.
For example, in paragraph no. 108 of the ruling (and in adjacent paragraphs) the FCC makes clear that many issues of local regulation are still undecided -- and are open for public comment. Paragraph 108 says:
"108. Consumer Protection and Customer Service. We also seek comment on how our information service classification may affect other aspects of State or local regulation, such as consumer protection and customer service standards regarding cable modem service. Franchising authorities have expressed concern that their authority to impose consumer protection requirements pursuant to section 632 of the Communications Act would be affected if cable modem service is not classified as “cable service.” Does the authority conferred on franchising authorities by section 632(a) of the Communications Act to establish and enforce customer service requirements apply to cable modem service provided by a cable operator? Do the provisions in section 632(d), stating that nothing in Title VI “shall be construed to prohibit any State or any franchising authority from enacting or enforcing any consumer protection law, to the extent not specifically preempted by [Title VI]," or “to prevent the establishment or enforcement” of customer service laws or regulations” that exceed Commission standards or address matters not addressed by Commission standards under section 632, apply to cable modem service?"
Wouldn't it be good to reflect in your paper that there are still many open issues, and that in the interim the County should continue to act in the public interest by upholding the franchise agreement as applied to internet service, and insisting on consumer protections and performance standards?
Just my dos centavos. |
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| reply to GeorgeJ2
said by GeorgeJ:
"This hearing will be conducted jointly with participating municipalities pursuant to requirements of applicable local ordinances."
Don or anyone know which other "participating municipalities" this includes? If Alexandria, I might want to show.
I believe this is in reference to Gaithersburg, Rockville, and a few other municipalities which have their own laws/requirements that go beyond those of Montgomery County itself. They have special representatives to the CCAC. The rest of the CCAC members represent the entire county. quote:
What am finding irksome about Comcast, is not only dumbing down the speeds, or capping newsgroups, but they cannot even get the basics right. For example, I keep my self designed web portal hosted on their mywebpages server, and over the past week it has seen up and down slow load times, meaning most likely not enough server capacity, or not properly setup....Tonight, my secondary e-mail accounts are not working....This stuff SHOULD NOT be happening after their having officially taken over more than 2 months ago.
You have my sympathies but "secondary email accounts" and "web service" aint the basics. My cable modem failing to get a connection is "the basics". |
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| You have my sympathies but "secondary email accounts" and "web service" aint the basics. My cable modem failing to get a connection is "the basics".
____________________________________________
Yes, I fully agree your inability to obtain a decent and reliable connection is a core basic service, however, I also look on what Comcast chooses to call "features" (e-mail, webspace) as also being a part of basic service. Believe me, one way or another we are paying for these "features."
Other ISPs have offered, handled, supported these features as a part of their service,and their is no real rocket science involved, thus, IMO, Comcast can get it right on these basics as well. |
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