Bschneider
05-10-2006, 09:14 PM
Verizon entering cable TV market
The company wins approval to make service available to the whole county within five years. Bright House considers a lawsuit.
By GARRETT THEROLF
Published May 10, 2006
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/10/Pa...ing_cabl.shtml (http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/10/Pasco/Verizon_entering_cabl.shtml)
DADE CITY - Competition was officially injected into the Pasco cable market Tuesday as Verizon won license to go head to head with Bright House Networks.
County commissioners unanimously approved the franchise agreement that requires the company to make cable available to about half of the geographic area of the county - including Land O'Lakes, Wesley Chapel and Trinity - within one year.
The remaining portion of Verizon's local phone service area - including Zephyrhills and the west Pasco stretch from Hudson to Aripeka - faces a five-year deadline for the introduction of service.
"That's a pretty aggressive buildout," said Assistant County Attorney Jane Fagan, who negotiated the deal.
The plan calls for Verizon to provide three public access channels, and the county will collect a per-subscriber tax of about $2 a year.
The service will travel over the company's fiber optic network that aims to bundle telephone, Internet and cable service in one package for customers.
Verizon spokesman Bob Eleck said the price will be $39.99 a month for the most popular package of 180 digital channels. When it is bundled with Internet service and a qualified phone plan, the monthly cost for cable drops to $34.95.
Bright House Networks' digital cable package of 300 channels costs $58.45 a month.
Steven Anderson, an attorney for Bright House, said the company already faces price competition from satellite television providers and will not reduce prices as a result of Verizon's entry to the market.
However, Anderson said, the company is "looking very, very seriously" at bringing a court challenge to the agreement between the county and Verizon.
Bright House contends that the county is violating the state's level playing field law by charging Verizon a $50,000 concession charge for the franchise at the same time that Bright House pays $500,000.
County attorneys said the fee is fair because it is assessed in proportion to the number of cable customers that each company has in the county.
In other county news Tuesday, commissioners declared an emergency drought condition and prohibited residents from burning trash or yard waste on their properties until further notice. The ban does not apply to residents or companies who have a state Division of Forestry permit to burn.
Garrett Therolf covers Pasco County government. He can be reached at 800 333-7505, ext. 6232, or in west Pasco at 869-6232. His e-mail address is gtherolf@sptimes.com (gtherolf@sptimes.com)
Also at: http://www.tampahdtv.com/tpahd-vb/showthread.php?t=7003
The company wins approval to make service available to the whole county within five years. Bright House considers a lawsuit.
By GARRETT THEROLF
Published May 10, 2006
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/10/Pa...ing_cabl.shtml (http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/10/Pasco/Verizon_entering_cabl.shtml)
DADE CITY - Competition was officially injected into the Pasco cable market Tuesday as Verizon won license to go head to head with Bright House Networks.
County commissioners unanimously approved the franchise agreement that requires the company to make cable available to about half of the geographic area of the county - including Land O'Lakes, Wesley Chapel and Trinity - within one year.
The remaining portion of Verizon's local phone service area - including Zephyrhills and the west Pasco stretch from Hudson to Aripeka - faces a five-year deadline for the introduction of service.
"That's a pretty aggressive buildout," said Assistant County Attorney Jane Fagan, who negotiated the deal.
The plan calls for Verizon to provide three public access channels, and the county will collect a per-subscriber tax of about $2 a year.
The service will travel over the company's fiber optic network that aims to bundle telephone, Internet and cable service in one package for customers.
Verizon spokesman Bob Eleck said the price will be $39.99 a month for the most popular package of 180 digital channels. When it is bundled with Internet service and a qualified phone plan, the monthly cost for cable drops to $34.95.
Bright House Networks' digital cable package of 300 channels costs $58.45 a month.
Steven Anderson, an attorney for Bright House, said the company already faces price competition from satellite television providers and will not reduce prices as a result of Verizon's entry to the market.
However, Anderson said, the company is "looking very, very seriously" at bringing a court challenge to the agreement between the county and Verizon.
Bright House contends that the county is violating the state's level playing field law by charging Verizon a $50,000 concession charge for the franchise at the same time that Bright House pays $500,000.
County attorneys said the fee is fair because it is assessed in proportion to the number of cable customers that each company has in the county.
In other county news Tuesday, commissioners declared an emergency drought condition and prohibited residents from burning trash or yard waste on their properties until further notice. The ban does not apply to residents or companies who have a state Division of Forestry permit to burn.
Garrett Therolf covers Pasco County government. He can be reached at 800 333-7505, ext. 6232, or in west Pasco at 869-6232. His e-mail address is gtherolf@sptimes.com (gtherolf@sptimes.com)
Also at: http://www.tampahdtv.com/tpahd-vb/showthread.php?t=7003