Mediacom Ltr Response Franchise info
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January 20,2005
Honorable Terry Duggan, Mayor
And Members of the City Council
City of Dubuque
City Hall
Dubuque, IA 52001
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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
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February 1, 2005
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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.
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Michael C. Van Milligen
City Manager
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