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Mediacom Ltr Response Franchise info Mediacom ~ :) i: January 20,2005 Honorable Terry Duggan, Mayor And Members of the City Council City of Dubuque City Hall Dubuque, IA 52001 (Ll Honorable Mayor and Members of Council: Thank you very much for the opportunity to address council this week regarding the status of franchise renewal negotiations between Mediacom and the City of Dubuque. We continue to be pleased with the progress of our negotiations and look forward to an early resolution utilizing the Informal Renewal Process. I thought it might be helpful to give you a brief update on Mediacom's investment in Dubuque and some of the key points of our proposal. In 2003 we completed a total upgrade of the Dubuque cable system to 750 Mhz. Since there has been some discussion about extending system bandwidth to 860 Mhz, it's useful to note that even without the expanded bandwidth the current system has the technological capacity to handle a significant number of digital channel additions and will facilitate a wide array of two-way services, including Internet and telephone applications. We have also significantly expanded our service offerings during the past 12 months, including increased residential Internet speeds, High Definition Television, digital video recorders and video-on-demand. We expect to launch telephone service in Dubuque during 2005. Dubuque's educational, government and public access commitment is among the most robust in the State and has been recognized for programming excellence. Mediacom's commitment to free video and Internet connections to the schools and the excellent working relationship we enjoy with Mr. Charlie Ellis has leveraged both the quantity and quality of local programming available to the community. Beyond access programming, Mediacom's launch of the Mediacom Connections Channel has provided additional unique programming of local interest, including Iowa high school and college sporting events and public affairs programming. Mediacom Communications Corporation 3033 Asbury Road' P.O. Box 119' Dubuque, IA 52001-8459' 563.557.8020' Fax: 563.557.7413 The deployment of a digital video platform in Dubuque has vastly increased the capacity of the cable system, improved picture quality and has made it possible to offer state-of- the-art services like video-on-demand. In addition, Mediacom now provides fiber-optic delivery of several off-air broadcast stations, significantly improving both picture quality and reliability. Mediacom is vitally interested in addressing community needs, not just as a franchise requirement, but also as a competitive advantage in an increasingly crowded telecommunications marketplace.. To that end, our current informal proposal to the City includes: . A lower cost limited basic service . Multi-million dollar public, educational and governmental access support . Replacement of the current B-cable network with an expanded fiber optic institutional network serving a wide array of governmental and educational locations. . Enhanced services for both residential and business customers. . Continued focus on high customer service standards. . An ongoing financial commitment to upgrade the system as market conditions dictate. We believe that the few remaining issues can be resolved through continued Informal Renewal negotiations. Mediacom is committed to working towards an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial agreement. It's been my pleasure to serve our community for 36 years. During that time my personal objective has been to provide the best possible service to our customers and our City. Under Mediacom's stewardship, we have continued to ensure that Dubuque enjoys an outstanding cable communications infrastructure. This continues to be our focus as we enter into a new partnership with the City, the community and our customers. City Manager's Office 50 West 13th Street Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864 (563) 589-4110 phone (563) 589.4149 fax ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org TD~FB%'duE ~ck~ February 1, 2005 .." :,) , i r"' l~"; Ms. Kathleen McMullen, Area Manager Mediacom Communications Corp. 3033 Asbury Road Dubuque, IA 52001 Dear Ms. McMullen: Thank you for your January 20, 2005 letter noting progress in franchise renewal negotiations in which Mediacom and the City of Dubuque have been engaged. This is commonly known as the "informal process" permitted by the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 (the Cable Act). Cable Franchise Administrator Merrill Crawford, Attorney Frederick Ellrod and other members of the City's negotiating team have kept me, Mayor Duggan, and City Council Members apprised of the issues and developments to date. They have also reported upon those upgrades, incremental improvements, and launching of new services Mediacom has undertaken in its Dubuque system during that time period. Needless to say, we are encouraged by the extent to which Mediacom has proceeded to address certain of the findings and recommendations of the City's extensive ascertainment of future cable-related needs and interests, notably the importing of several interference-prone broadcast TV signals by optical fiber. We note also that some points mentioned in your letter in connection with Mediacom's "current informal proposal to the City," such as a lower-cost limited basic service and a focus on customer service standards, reflect actions that can be taken by Mediacom at any time and need not wait for the conclusion of negotiations, and I encourage you to implement those system improvements immediately. We are also aware that there is legal precedent holding that a city cannot require a low-cost basic tier in the Franchise Agreement. We applaud your commendation of public, educational, and governmental (PEG) programming in the City, and agree that high-quality PEG programming can be an advantage for Mediacom in distinguishing its service from that of direct broadcast satellite providers. Whiie the City has taken the necessary steps under the federal Cable Act to elicit a formal renewal proposal from Mediacom, we also are hopeful, as you are, that we will be able to reach a negotiated agreement on a new franchise before it becomes Service People Integrity Responsibility lnnovation Teamwork Ms. Kathleen McMullen, Area Manager February 1, 2005 Page 2 necessary to file such a formal proposal. To that end, we encourage Mediacom to work closely with our negotiating team toward the early conclusion of a mutually beneficial agreement. S1"7~'",~ VW>j AL.. Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MCVM:mc