JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Berlin Town Councilman Elroy Brittingham, left, Mayor Gee Williams and Councilman Dean Burrell on Monday oversee a public hearing related to a new agreement with Comcast.
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor
(March 28, 2019) A public hearing for a new cable television franchise agreement between Comcast and the Town of Berlin on Monday night included calls for a higher reliance on fiber optic networks and free hookup to town emergency services.
Neil Winn, a South Main Street resident, said speed and latency for Comcast internet is good, but he is unhappy the company is apparently adding 1 terabyte data caps.
Winn added removing cable television service from his billing package was difficult, and took about six months.
He also said the Maryland Broadband cooperative had installed fiber optic internet lines along Route 113, and wondered why fiber internet service was not yet available in the town.
Town Administrator Laura Allen read into the record comments from Cards Technology founder Sam Card, who said weather can affect cable internet lines, while fiber lines are much more reliable.
“There’s nothing faster than fiber [and] it is not susceptible to temperature fluctuations that affect coaxial cable,” Allen said on behalf of Card. “While coaxial cable service has improved in speed over the years, it offers a limited amount of bandwidth.”
Card added, “Fiber is the clear choice in reliability. Lots of municipalities with remote sites are moving to fiber connectivity to tie their offices together for more effective communication … [and that] fiber can be utilized to more tightly integrate utility systems, for example modern equipment for water and electric infrastructure can be connected by fiber and instantly alert an engineer who is responsible for maintaining these systems, and can provide remote access to these systems.”
Councilman Elroy Brittingham said a resident told him her basic cable package is now $65, and with taxes and fees was nearly $100.
Councilman Zack Tyndall said he received an email from the Berlin Fire Company, who asked for a cable hookup for their stations, as well as cable incentives for Berlin firefighters.
Human Resources Director Jeff Fleetwood said the town did receive a limited number of free hookups, which be believes currently include the electric, water resources and police departments.
Councilman Dean Burrell added if he had any concerns with Comcast, they are related to customer service.
“When you call Comcast and you’re put on hold, and this recording will come on and say that you are eighth in line, it’s going to be 10 minutes. Well, you’ll proceed to hold a half hour [and] by the time somebody gets on the phone I’m just as hot as I can be,” he said.
Burrell said, in his experience, customer service will then schedule a technician visit five days later, and he’ll then have to wait around for them to arrive.
“It just burns me to no end,” he said.
Resident Jason Walter said a misleading article in a local newspaper made it seem like a Comcast franchise fee to the town was a gift, when in reality it’s “a tax on top of our bill that comes from the Town of Berlin, so each user pays that fee on behalf of the town – it’s an extra charge, it’s not a requirement.”
Allen said all of the information gathered during the public hearing would be forwarded to Comcast and Town of Berlin attorneys, who continue to negotiate toward an agreement. She said that process could last several more months, and would require another public hearing and a period of advertising before a new deal is signed.
A Comcast representative could not attend the hearing, but his information was provided.
To comment directly, contact Chris Comer, director of government regulatory affairs, at chris_comer@cable.comcast.com, call 443-286-2509, or mail to 253 Najoles Road, Millersville, Maryland, 21108.