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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 20, 2002THE MINUTES OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FRV1Vl THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2002 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Dennis Stroik, Chairperson. T?(lT T (~'OT T ('~nmmiccinr~ l~~Iembers Council Representative: City Representative Legal Counsel: AT & T Broadband Rep APPROVAL OF MINUTES Tlannic Ctrnilr Tlae~a 1\/Tahnnav Rnh Rnhnlt~ and Ranhen Ruen Bruce Nawrocki (not in attendance-at League Conference) Linda Magee Stephen Guzzetta Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Motion by Bob Buboltz, second by Reuben Ruen, to approve the minutes from the meeting of April 18, 2002. All ayes. OLD BUSINESS A. Channel Check Everything was ok except for the wavy message bar on the educational access channel. B. Correspondence Log and Complaint Follow Up. There were no complaints received by the City since the last meeting C. Status of Cease and Desist Order to AT & T A copy of a letter from Dave Seykora dated June 5, 2002, was enclosed in the agenda packets regarding the arbitration provisions in the customer service agreement policies. Although, AT & T still believes the provisions are lawful., they have not invoked the arbitration clause in any dispute in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area since the provisions were added to the CSA. Mr. Seykora stated that another distribution of the CSA will be sent to customers this fall and revisions are being made to the arbitration provisions in the agreement. Mr. Seykora asked that all systems hold any enforcement activities pending the review of the revised arbitration provisions which will be provided to the attorneys prior to implementation. Steve Guzzetta reported that Ramsey/Washington has issued an order of non compliance which may change AT & T's position on this issue. At the joint meeting, AT & T had agreed to make changes to the CSA and thought that all the systems agreed with this. He will keep us informed of any new developments. TELECOMMUNICATIONS MEETING June 20, 2002 Yage 2 D.. Other Old Business There was no other new business. NEW BUSINESS A. Receipt of Franchise Fee Payment for 1st Quarter A copy of the franchise fee payment for 1St quarter was received and included in the agenda packets. B. Resolution Denying without Prejudice, the Application of AT & T Corp for Approval of the Transfer of Control of the Cable Franchise of AT & T Broadband This issue was not discussed at this meeting. There has been an extension granted to review additional information that has been submitted by AT & T regarding this issue. It will be addressed at the July 18`h meeting. C. New AT & T Broadband Internet AT & T began offering a new option for high-speed Internet service in May to certain areas. The new faster service will provide speeds up to 3000 kbps downstream and 384 kbps upstream compared to the previously offered speeds of 1500 kbps downstream and 300 kbps upstream. The price for the new service is $89.95month with a leased modem and $79.95/month for those with their own modems. The upgrade can be made with just a phone call, and should be available in this area in July. D. MACTA Summer Seminar The MACTA Summer Seminar will be held July 22-23 at the Radisson Hotel in Duluth, MN. Anyone interested in attending contact Shelley or Jean by Monday, June 24, 2002 to register. A copy of the brochure was enclosed in the agenda packets indicating the topics being covered. E. Changes to Basic Cable Rates and New Packages Being Offered AT & T will implement a change in the monthly service rate for certain video offerings beginning July 1, 2002. We were previously notified that adjustments would be made to the Basic rate in the March filing of FCC Form 1240 and the equipment rates in the FCC Form 1205. While the basic rate is increasing, the rate for Standard Cable will not change. Additionally, AT & T will offer two new Digital Value Packages for its customers, adding more channels and revising the previous three tiers into two. Kathi explained some of the changes and additions being made. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING June 20, 2002 T_ _ _ 1 ra~c ~ F. AT & T's Current Reporting of Telephone Statistics A copy o f a letter sent t^, T~Ir. Se,'kora nn behalf of B,,Fnyg~~ille/Eagan and the Cn»th WasltirZatnn a-~-- County Telecommunications Commissions was enclosed in the agenda packets. This letter advised that current reporting of Telephone Statistics is unacceptable, and therefore, is a noncompliance issue that needs to be addressed. The letter requests that a written plan for remedying the above-referenced noncompliance issue must be provided by Wednesday, June 26, 2002. Kathi stated they are in the process of putting the requested information in writing and are also looking at changing procedures at the call. centers and possibly splitting them. somehow. She will report back on any changes that are implemented. G. Other New Business There was no other new business. REPORTS A. Report of Commissioners Education-We never received any videos from the grant money we gave the school district. Dennis will look into this and report back to the commission. Government- Nothing to report Library-Nothing to report Public-Nothing to report B. Report of AT & T Broadband- Kathi reviewed the reports and answered questions for April and May 2002. C. Report of the Cable Attorney Steve Guzzetta reported that comments had been filed with the FCC regarding the Cable Modem Proceeding on behalf of the local systems. It was argued this is part of the information system that should fall under the franchise and be controlled by the franchising authority, and that fees should be paid to these cities. Steve reported that the FCC issued a Proposed Rule Making Guideline that addressed several issues including rates for Digital Basic Service and commercial rates charged to businesses for various services. D. Report of the Assistant to the City Manager Linda had nothing further to report. Motion by Reuben Ruen ,second by Bob Buboltz , to adjourn the meeting at 7:30 pm. All ayes. Respectfully submitted, Shelley Hanson Secretary