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Expanded cable TV offerings forecast
By Doug Sword
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR
INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 15, 2000) -- Comcast
Cable Communications might be able to
roll out high-speed Internet access and a
much bigger program offering to Time
Warner Cable customers by Dec. 31.
That would be a very aggressive timetable,
but a possible one, if Comcast can get
approvals in Indianapolis and Florida for
its cable network swap with Time Warner,
said David A. Wilson, area vice president
for Comcast.
Comcast is seeking approval to take over
Time Warner's Indianapolis operations,
while Time Warner is asking to acquire
Comcast's cable systems in Tallahassee and
Lake County, Fla.
Comcast's plans to offer its 250-channel
digital cable service along with high-speed
Internet access are the most exciting of the
benefits that Time Warner's customers can
expect to see sometime after the swap is
completed, Wilson said at a hearing
Monday before local regulators.
Time Warner has about 120,000 area
customers, with 70,000 in Indianapolis and
the remainder in Carmel, Zionsville, other
nearby communities and the city of
Marion.
But the benefits listed by Wilson didn't
impress six witnesses who aired complaints
about the swap at the hearing before the
Cable Communications Agency, which
regulates cable TV in Marion County.
The opponents complained mainly of
skyrocketing cable rates and the lack of a
local public-access channel. Before the
1996 negotiations of new cable franchise
agreements, the city had a free channel
along with production studios open to
independent producers.
"I'm a little tired of Comcast as a monopoly
and you continually allowing them to raise
our rates," Don Hauk complained.
In a recent report, the Federal
Communications Commission voiced a
similar complaint, noting that cable rates
have continued to rise faster than inflation.
Time Warner's rates, for instance, have
risen 40 percent since 1993 for its
expanded basic package and WGN/TBS
combo.
But the FCC report noted that cable
operators do have some competition, citing
the 12.5 percent of the market that satellite
television has captured.
Comcast also was accused of a history of
poor service in the Indianapolis area. This
time last year, the local cable agency was
complaining that the company was slow in
answering phone calls from customers.
According to a February 1999 report,
Comcast answered only 60 percent of
phone calls from customers within 30
seconds, well below the requirement that at
least 90 percent of calls be answered in that
time. The company has improved, however,
and is now meeting the requirement,
according to the local regulator.
Despite the complaints, the hearing
Monday isn't likely to lead to any attempt
to lower rates. The FCC no longer regulates
rates on expanded cable packages, and the
local cable agency regulates rates only for
basic service.
The local cable agency is expected to hold
its final vote on the merger next Tuesday.
The issue would then be sent to the
City-County Council, which faces an April
12 vote deadline or the transfer will be
approved automatically.
© 2000 Indiana Newspapers Inc. AP materials © 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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