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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 18, 2002THE MINUTES OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FROI~R THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2002 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Dennis Stroik, Chairperson. R(IT.T. C'AT.T.• (~'nmmiccinn MPmhPra• Council Representative: City Representative: Legal Counsel: AT & T Broadband Rep: APPROVAL OF MINUTES L~ennic Ctrnik~ Lave Mahnney~ BnLi Bi~bnlt~~ Lean CweP~ and Reuben Ruen Ken Henke and Brad Peterson were excused Bruce Nawrocki Jean Kuehn Stephen Guzzetta Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Motion by Buboltz, second by Ruen, to approve the minutes from the meeting of February 21, 2002. All ayes. OLD BUSINESS A . Channel Check All were fine, except the Educational Access #18 was "jumpy", which may have been the tape that was playing. Later, re-checked Channel 18 and it was fine when that particular tape was not playing. B. Correspondence Log and Complaint Follow Up. Jim Johnson-4135 Arthur St-Complained that Starz free preview that was advertised was not available as promised. However, Kathi stated that it was available to Columbia Heights subscribers and said it had been a problem with his converter box. He will schedule a service call when it's convenient for him.. Resolved Olga Wood-4160 3`d St NE-She was experiencing regular interference daily at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. and no one else in her building was having this problem. Service techs witnessed interference and showed her it was her TV set. Resolved William Keniv-4355 McLeod St- Requested that the line that had been installed earlier in the winter be buried to allow him to rake and mow. There was still snow of the ground in April and crews scheduled him for cable burying at the end of April. Resolved. C . Other Old Business Rueben question if the digital channels were checked. Kathy explained that the digital package was not provided to City Hall and would not be available without paying for this premium service. General discussion of how could the Commission check the channels if the Digital were not available for review. No conclusion reached NEW BUSINESS A. Receipt of 2001 Annual Report To comply with franchise requirements, the 2001 Annual Report was received and included in the agenda packet. Motion to acknowledge receipt of Complete 2001 Report (minus the page numbers) by Buboltz second, by Swee. All Ayes B. Mandatory Arbitration Provision in AT & T's Customer Service Agreement Enclosed in the agenda packets was a copy of Resolution 2002-30 Being an Order to Cease and Desist regarding a violation of the terms of the Franchise. AT & T Broadband sent a new Customer Service Agreement to subscribers in the City. Attorney Guzzetta explained the "Cease and Desist" order being proposed to the commission for recommendation to the City Council. The new CSA unilaterally attempts to impose a mandatory arbitration provision governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (The "Arbitration Clause"). This clause purports to eliminate certain rights otherwise enjoyed by subscribers, most importantly, the right to damages other than actual damages and the right to bring a class action lawsuit. The new CSA states that acceptance of its terms, including the Arbitration Clause, will be presumed where there is continued use of service and that if a subscriber finds the terms of the new CSA unacceptable, the only recourse is to cancel service. The terms of the CSA were not negotiable and were offered on a "take it or leave it" basis. AT & T is required to comply with all laws affecting the cable system, and they maybe assessed a penalty of $50 per day for failing to comply with any Franchise provision. The method of notification as a bill stuffer was also questioned. It seems to insure that no one would be likely to read and therefore, would be unaware of their rights being revoked. It was noted that many other businesses also engage in this questionable practice. Motion by Buboltz, second by Mahoney to recommend the City Cauncil adopt Resolution 2002- 30, being an order to AT & T to cease and desist. All Ayes C. Franchise Fee Ruling for High Speed Internet Service Notice was received that on March 15, 2002, the FCC issued a regulatory ruling that franchise fees need not be paid on high-speed Internet over cable, as cable modem service is an interstate information service within the scope of its jurisdiction over interstate and foreign communications. The FCC explained, "revenue from cable modem service would not be included in the calculation of gross revenues from which the franchise fee ceiling is determined." Guzzetta stated that this is not the final ruling and since it would be appealed, AT&T should continue to pay the total franchise fees to avoid the problematic issues related to rebilling and collecting fees at a later time. Ruen asked if the reduced fee would effectively reduce the cost to the consumer. Guzzetta indicated that it would. Donnelly-Cohen indicated it would be problematic for the Company to bill their customers and then have to rebate the monies when the courts upheld the ruling. To comply with this order, AT & T Broadband will no longer bill customers for franchise fees on cable modem service as of April 1, 2002. Customers will be notified and credits will be issued on fees for service after March 15, 2002. D. Status of Merger between AT & T and Comcast Guzzetta reported that they are analyzing the information received and on March 4, 2002 sent a data request for additional information, to which AT & T responded stating it was irrelevant. Additional. information has been received but the 120 days allowed for review does not begin nnt~~ o~~ naracoorc~ one rAnn4aoto~ ir~~nrmn4ynr +n ron ~o~ ..+....ii wia iivvv....auiy u.iiu ava.iuv.>wu i..uviiuu~avai t.7 iweivt+u. E. MACTA Legislative Issues Luncheon Council Liaison Bruce Nawrocki will be attending the MACTA Legislative Luncheon being held May 3, 2002 at the Kelly Inn in St. Paul. F. Other New Business REPORTS A. Report of Commissioners Educational- Nothing to report Government- Nothing to report Library-Nothing to report Public-Nothing to report B. Report of AT & T Broadband- The reports for February, March and April. were enclosed in the agenda packets. Also inch~ded were the Community Television Programming Reports ^ Programs produced ^ Installation and Service activity report ^ Current channel line up and charges Kathi reviewed the reports and answered questions. Dan Swee asked about the "Class for area teachers" that was listed and Jean reported that Steve Antus at the cable access studio had given video production instructions to Columbia Heights middle school teachers. C. Report of the Cable Attorney Guzzetta noted that a recent FCC study indicates that cable TV pricing has increased at 7.5%, outpacing inflation. D. Report of the Special Projects Coordinator The City Hall open. house will be Wednesday, May 22"d from 4 pm to 7 pm and it would be appreciated if commissioners could spend a short time at a table explaining to other residents what commissions do. It was suggested that nametags be provided for all members of the Commission so that they would be identifiable to others even as they enjoyed the open house. An invitation to the Mayor's prayer breakfast to be held on May 15 was given to the members. Motion by Buboltz„ second by Mahoney, to adjourn the fneeting at 7: 50 pm . All ayes. Respectfully submitted, Jean Kuehn Secretary Pro-tem