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0 > R H Remarks from Jim Riffenburg
Cable Choice Now Coalition Press Conference
Friday, December 2, 2005 10:00 a.m.
Omni Hotel, Richmond
Good morning, my name is Jim Riffenburg. I am a resident of Spotsylvania County and work in Fairfax. I am retired from the military and have spent much of my career right here in the Commonwealth; along with my wife and four children, we have lived in Spotsylvania County the past 5 years. We consider ourselves to be your typical, hard-working, family oriented residents. Having access local community programming and timely information on school closing is a big priority in our home and it is why we are advocates of reasonably priced cable TV programming.
As a consumer I have been dissatisfied with my local cable company: service is unreliable, picture quality is unacceptable, technological advances like HDTV are slow in coming, and last (but certainly not least) the service is overpriced. Like in most localities in Virginia, I am served by only one cable provider. Simply stated, if you live in an Adelphia neighborhood (as I do) you subscribe to Adelphia cable service; if you in a Cox neighborhood you subscribe to Cox cable service. What we need are more cable choicesnow! The intent of the Cable Act of 1992 and Telecommunications Act of 1996 was to level the playing field so new entrants could provide voice, data, and video services. For years I have been able to pick up a phone and easily switch my choice of long distance telephone provider. Since 1996 I have received broadband Internet from my Cable provider and, recently, cable customers are now able to sign up for telephone service using Voice-Over-IP (VOIP) technology. So why is it that in December of 2005, I can only receive cable TV from onesinglesole provider? Again, Commonwealth residents need more cables choicesnow! I am, in fact, a supporter of cable TV. However, do to a lack of cable choices, I have been forced to seek alternative sources of video programming. I have been receiving video service from Satellite providers for the past two years and have installed two over-the-air antennas. I did this so I may enjoy the best quality and most affordable video service available. My local cable provider did not provide a quality picture, enough High Definition (HD) channels, nor provide what I deemed to be reliable and affordable video service. I simply had no cable choices.
There was no incentive for my cable provider to improve service since there was no direct competition. While satellite may compete indirectly with cable, they DO NOT complete directly with cable. Satellite does not provide local public access channels! In addition, many residents do not have a clear line-of-sight to the satellites nor do they want one or more dishes mounted on their rooftop. Satellite may be an alternative to cable, but it is not a direct competitor since it does not provide local community programming nor does it generate local tax revenue through franchise fees.
Since April 2004, I have actively engaged other consumers in discussion regarding the need for cable choices and advanced video technologies through my web log at www.satelliteguys.us. Other similar blog sites are included in your press kits. It is important to understand why these Internet forums, like satelliteguys.us and hightechtv.net are so popular. It is because consumers are looking forno, they are begging for better TV, more reliable service, and more affordable video sources; they desperately want Cable Choice Now!
Eager for alternatives to my cable service, I contacted Verizon and my local cable franchise authority earlier this year to inquire when they would be offering their high-speed data and video service in my area. Thats when I learned about the lengthy process by which Verizon and other companies have to go through to bring consumers more choices. This process not only is lengthy, but it discourages competition from coming to most localities. Specifically, after discussing this issue with members of my local Telecommunications and Cable TV Commission, I have concluded they were more willing to fight to maintain the status quo and placate the desires of Big Cable, than fight to bring citizens additional cable choices.
It is a matter of public record that Verizon Virginia Inc. has been negotiating a cable franchise agreement with my local officials for about a year. Yet the process is stalled in lengthy, burdensome, bureaucratic processes that do not serve the public interest. We shall never have competition until state and/or federal laws are changed, and these good old boy networks are remove from the cable franchise approval process! Local communities will still receive franchise fees, but the powers that impede progress will be removed or will hopefully be made irrelevant in the franchise approval process. You can read in the news all the nonsensical ranting these individuals (NCTA, Adelphia, Cablevision, Cox, Comcast, Time-Warner, etc.) are making in the attempt to keep competitors, like Verizon and SBC, from competing:
They do not want to give up their monopolies
They do not want to have offer better and more affordable services
They do not wish to compete
They do not want you to have more cable choices.
Without competition, cable rates will continue to rise and Big Cable's wallets grow fat. Although local municipalities enjoy juicy franchise fees, its the poor customer who is stuck paying more for their cable service each and every year. The bottom line is that I am an average (albeit passionate) consumer who is tired of rising cable rates. I am frustrated with my lack of choices and I eagerly look forward to having more cable choices in the very near future.
I was excited when an opportunity was presented to take part in this coalition. I believe that competition will benefit consumers both in terms of price and the speed with which new technologies are offered. While new technologies may not reach every corner of Virginia right away, by doing nothing and leaving the current franchise system in place we will certainly prevent new technologies from coming to any part of many localities.
My contribution to this effort will be to represent the perspective of consumers in this organization. I hope we will be successful in helping people understand that they can do something to bring new technology and cable competition to their neighborhood faster by supporting this legislation that encourages competition. I strongly encourage citizens to join our effort through our website and to contact your legislators and urge them to support cable competition by voting for the cable choice legislation during this Session of the General Assembly.
In order to be successful, we have to send a clear message to legislators that citizens are tired of rising cable rates, and want cable service choices. Citizens interested in joining the coalition and/or sending a message to their legislator can log onto www.cablechoicenow.org. From that site anyone can enter their address and it will tell them who their legislators are and they can send them an e-mail directly from the site.
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