TC 08-12-92CABLE TELEVISION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Adjourned Regular Meeting
Aug. 12, 1992
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:15 p.m. by chairman Mike Wincn.
ROLL CALL
Committee members present were Mike Wincn, Laird Huntsman and Walter Trefz.
Absent: Jane Chiavacci, Carol Marble. Staff: Donna Krey
De Anza College: David Keller, Bill Levan
COMMUNICATIONS
There were no oral or written communications.
OLD BUSINESS
Brainstorming session for refranchising effort:
Committee members focused on four components of the franchise agreement--technical
requirements, customer service, performance evaluations and access. They referred to a checklist
of renewal issues distributed by Krey, a wish list provided by Marble and a third list of
considerations presented by Trefz. · ·.·~ .: ~'
On technical requirements: ' ......~"'* '~'' ".:
The committee agreed to stress the necessity f6r'flber optics and to build into the
agreement provisions for HDTV and two-way capability. Such things as signal quality/reliability,
channel capacity, upgrades, areas of service and cable-ready TV compatibility would also be
included. They requested a better definition of addressab~ty.
On customer set, ce: ~': · ~:..~:" ....enf~· ~,,'.. ~:~Be-4:~~-- ~ ~- .._:~.~mmg~. · -.; ~-....::~ .~:; :'
Krey explained that many cities are i~i:orporating consumer pi'i~='language ~n
franchise agreements and said those models would be considered for the Cuperth~o agreement.
Other issues would include standards for answering the telephone, waltingtime, complaint
recordkeeping, timing of bills, late fee, installation/maintenance standards, line extension policy,
senior rates, response time for service calls, refunds and credits for outages and disconnect fees·
The agreement should also include a provision for re-reg~ation of fees should Congress
pass such legislation, without re-opening the agreement.
On performance evaluations:
The committee agreed that periodic performance reviews and technical performance
testing should be included in the franchise agreement. Levan suggested the city maintain the right
to inspect TCI's technical data logs and that proof of performance testing be done "end to end" to
ensure that the whole system is tested. He explained that thc Heritage system, also owned by TCI,
has 24-hour monitoring on all channels, so that problems are detected as soon as they occur.
Huntsman said TCI needs an incentive to maintain good technical standards and suggested
applying penalties when outages occured or offering rebates to subscribers. Levan said another
idea would be for the cable company to make available a pool of money to be used for quarterly
surveys of the system. The money would remain intact if the testing came out clean, but would be
used for upgrades if testing showed that was needed. On access:
With the educational channel running programming from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. six days a
week, the committee agreed to request an additional educational channel from TCI. The
agreement should also include a request for a funding increase and some staff support. Keller
indicated the biggest problem with the public access operation is that it is understaffed and said an
outreach director position would be an immense help. He suggested the person could be
employed by TCI, as in Sunnyvale.
Levan said a block of money available at the five and 10-year intervals of the franchise
agreement could be used to replace obsolete equipment.
The I-Net was also discussed and committee members agreed it might be beneficial to
have a drop in all Cupertino schools. Trefz suggested finding out more about the network and
what it could be used for. On other issues:
Huntsman said any revisions to the Tripartite Agreement would have to wait until the
franchise agreement was renegotiated, since that would directly affect the Tripartite.
ADJOURNMENT
Huntsman made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9 p.m.; Trefz seconded and the
motion passed unanimously. The next Cable TV Advisory Committee meeting will be on
Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m.
APPROVED:
Mi~ W~ncn ,-C~rman
ATTEST:
Ci t~/ C1 erk~/