Cable Franchise Renewal is Due

Cable franchise renewal was probably more important in the days before competition from FiOS and internet providers, but it is now time for the city to grant renewal to Comcast.

An ordinance granting "renewal of municipal consent" is on the agenda for a special meeting called for 6 p.m. tonight by Mayor Adrian O. Mapp, although the meeting may be called off due to a snowstorm.

A draft of the ordinance includes a few changes.

- The previous franchise in 2000 called for a 10-year term, with a 5-year automatic renewal; the new one is for 15 years from the date of expiration of the past one, which was August 2014.

- The franchise fee remains the same, 2 percent of gross revenues, though it can be more and is listed currently as 3.5 percent.

- The old franchise included 24-hour telephone response in addition to regular 9-to-5 business hours at a local office. The new one cites only "standard business hours" for a local office.

- A commitment to provide free basic internet access via high-speed cable modem on 10 non-networked personal computers in the Plainfield Public Library is omitted from the new ordinance, although cable television will be provided as in the past to schools, municipal facilities and the library.

The Public, Educational and Governmental Access section of the new agreement continues provision of a system-wide public access channel.

A new section, Competitive Equity, allows for adjustments to the franchise agreement if the city grants any other cable franchise with terms "materially less burdensome or or more favorable" than those in the ordinance.

Rates are not part of the franchise renewal process, as noted by Comcast's Director of Government Affairs Charles Smith III when he appeared at a public hearing in March 2014.

The special meeting, unless canceled, will be held at 6 p.m. in City Hall Library, 515 Watchung Ave. For more than you ever wanted to know about cable television, see the FCC's "Evolution of Cable Television."

--Bernice