Inside One City's Fascinating Battle to Ban Comcast from Operating in Its Borders

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/media/inside-one-citys-fascinating-battle-ban-comcast-operating-its-borders



Buoyed by residents furious with substandard customer service and spiraling prices, last month the Worcester, Mass. City Council voted 8-3 to reject the cable behemoth’s request to take the city's cable franchise from Charter Communications. But after weeks of delays, the reluctant City Manager let Comcast in on Thursday, providing the company acts like a good citizen.

City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. handed Comcast the license, after the cable company agreed to go “above and beyond” what is required in its contract, including keeping a local call center open for three years and providing locally-produced news programming. But while Augustus is claiming victory in Worcester's battle against Comcast, he seems to have missed the whole point the revolt against Comcast. Worcester residents don't want the cable company with such a sketchy reputation operating within its boundaries.

"It's a terrible company," District 5 Councilor Gary Rosen told the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. "In my opinion, they should not be welcome in this city. Comcast is a wolf in wolf's clothing; it's that bad. They are awful, no doubt about it. Maybe we can't stop it, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't speak out."

Unfortunately, the vote by the council is not legally binding and all city contracts must be approved by Augustus However, the council was resolute in its rebuke of Comcast, calling its customer service “deplorable and substandard.”

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Our county actually went to bat for us against the cable company.

We have Mediacom, which has a bad reputation for poor service.

Mediacom decided in Nov. to stop carrying Mobile and Pensacola stations, and replace them with Montgomey stations.
The problem?
The lower 1/3 of the state, including us, depends on the Gulf Coast stations for hurricane and storm info, and most everybody goes down to Mobile and Pensacola for shopping..we are "oriented" to the south, not up to the NE to Montgomery.

Our city council and the newspaper voiced strenuous objections and threatened to look at other broadcast providers.
(As did other communities, I am sure)

Mediacom backed down, quickly.

[allan01]

2. hem

these companies have forgotten what they are in existane for : carrying broadcast tv and that is it .

[Renew Deal]

3. If they are that bad, then people shouldn't use them.