Dear Mayor,

This is an update and clarification to our July 25 letter.

We have heard concerns from municipalities about local access channels not being carried on the new Verizon cable system.  This means local alerts and local event scheduling, among other PEG programs, can not be seen by those on the Verizon system.

Local access channel carriage should be possible via an interconnection between your existing cable franchisee and the Verizon system.  We understand negotiations regarding this interconnection are ongoing.  At the time of our July 25 letter, Verizon had only just contacted the BPU’s Office of Cable Television days before this requesting it intercede in negotiations.

The BPU Office of Cable Television (OCTV) continues to work with aggressive deadlines to expedite the process of negotiating these interconnections.  OCTV has given notice to both parties of the need to negotiate settlement before the OCTV.  For details on these efforts and this process, please see our web site for the linked two page memo from OCTV Director Celeste Fasone.

As OCTV continues to be actively involved in tracking and mediating terms and conditions relative to the new system wide franchises, we continue to recommend municipalities should actively communicate to all parties (Verizon, cable providers and OCTV) its expectations and desires i.e. CATV hookups in buildings, PEG stations, interconnections, franchise fees etc.

If you have questions about this ongoing issue, please contact the Office of Cable Television or contact League Assistant Executive Director Michael Darcy at extension 116.

                                                                        Very truly yours,

                                                                        William G. Dressel, Jr.
                                                                        Executive Director