About the Comcast Franchise Agreement

Regarding the misconception that Comcast is a monopoly in our area, or that cable competition is somehow being blocked to our area:

The BACB has a non-exclusive contract with Comcast, meaning that any other wire-line video content provider (cable or telephone) may do business in our area, provided that they have signed a local franchise agreement with the BACB. AT&T is the newest entrant under PA 480 with Uverse IPTV.

Other companies such as Wide Open West (WOW) have been contacted by the board to come to our area to establish their services. They have graciously declined stating that they are concentrating on the footprint they currently service.  We continue to keep the dialogue open. Our individual municipalities are responsible for negotiating franchise agreements directly with any new entrants.  The BACB will administer as directed by the Interlocal Agreement.

Based upon industry facts and observations, their unstated reasoning may include the following:

Huge start-up capital (technology, labor, marketing) is required to build a video delivery system to all community members.

Geographically, many homes throughout our area are not tightly located together (as may be found in Royal Oak for example). This creates an above-average deployment cost for newcomers to consider.

The Rouge River Watershed cuts a path through our designated area, further increasing the cost to deploy a new telecommunication system.

Wide Open West may be content with investment and refinement of services where they currently operate and receive top rankings in industry publications.

Comcast Franchise Agreement (13MB)