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 | Week of June 15, 2000 |
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New cable deal for Miami calls for rebuilt system By Candi CalkinsMiami residents will get a rebuilt, state-of-the-art cable television system by September 2001 under terms of a deal that city commissioners and AT&T finalized last week after five years of negotiations. Terms call for the city to get $8 million in benefits, including a fee of $1 for each customer. With AT&T's present 60,000 subscribers, the city expects to reap about $7.25 million in revenues over 10 years, said Matthew Leibowitz, consultant for the city. Mr. Leibowitz said the company also agreed to waive $825,000 that the city owed the firm based on claims from the city's former cable TV company, TCI. To attract more subscribers, AT&T also will distribute to city residents discount vouchers valued at $500,000. The deal includes enhancements to the city's Net 9 television channel and up to five channels for public or government access. AT&T representatives said the company is half way through an upgrade of the city's cable TV system with completion expected Sept. 1, 2001. When complete, they said, the company will have the technology in place to introduce telephone, high-speed Internet access and other services to cable subscribers. City officials said customer service was lacking under TCI, the city's cable TV provider that AT&T purchased last year. The old system "was totally inept in terms of enforcement," Mr. Leibowitz said. "If violated, so what?" He said the city went through endless arbitration with TCI but "you could never bring the company to responsibility." Enforcement procedures in the new contract let the city manage the agreement, Mr. Leibowitz said. Stuart Easterly, area general manager for AT&T, said the company has added employees to meet customer service requirements under the new contract. "My vision is to be right here and available," Mr. Easterly said. "I think going forward we're going to be the trendsetter in the cable world, certainly here in South Florida." Miami Commissioner Tom s Regalado hailed AT&T's decision to offer discounted rates to low-income residents at subsidized housing projects in the city. "This will be a signal that the city, with AT&T, is taking care of the poor in the City of Miami," Mr. Regalado said. In addition, the contract calls for AT&T to provide discounted Internet service to city parks and daycare centers. |
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