Atlantic Broadband: We’re Ready To Offer Services In Concord

CONCORD, NH — Concord residents have until Oct. 4 to let city councilors know if they are interested in a second company offering Internet, cable television, telephone, and other services via fiber optic cable, competing directly with Comcast.

The Concord City Council held a lightly attended public hearing on Monday to meet with officials from Atlantic Broadband, the eighth largest Internet provider in the United States, which also serves nearly 160,000 in New Hampshire, and wants to start doing business in Concord. The council, by law, had to hold a public hearing as well as two weeks of acceptance of written comments from the public before voting to direct City Manager Tom Aspell to begin negotiations with the company. Candace Bouchard, the mayor pro tempore, read an official statement (see below) about the process and the purpose of the hearing — adding the council had no authority to regulate rates, programming, or the Internet service the company may provide.

Nadine Heinen, the regional director of operations, and Glenn Patch, the construction manager market expansion for the company, offered a PowerPoint presentation outlining the company’s current reach for services in the United States. Atlantic Broadband, which is a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications of Canada, is a $2 billion a year company offering services to around 1.6 million homes.

Most customers, including the 34 communities served in New Hampshire, have fiber optic cable with speeds of around 1 gig. Heinen said the company would be using “fiber to the home” technology which is less prone to signal drop and limited points of failure.

“We are bringing the best technology out there,” she said.

Heinen said the passive optical network system, wired into each home, will improve network reliability with lower outages, IP TV, wiring to residents, schools, hospitals, and other businesses. The company will also have a $28 million hub on Sheep Davis Road. The company, she said, had “network resilience during COVID-19,” while other companies reported problems with speed. Atlantic Broadband saw its usage increase but the network sustained its capacity, she said. The company’s engineers, Heinen added, actively monitor its system to find problems.

The company has a state-of-the-art network center in Rochester, serving both New Hampshire and Maine, to “catch things before they become issues,” Heinen said. Customers are offered an advanced product suite — “the best in its class,” with business services of up to 10 gigs. Digital television standards will be offered with encrypted technology and more than 300 channels. The company offered “clear, transparent prices,” and a U.S.-based call center to assist customers, too.

Patch said the company had “already thought ahead, for many years,” by offering 10 gig speeds to businesses.

At-Large Concord City Councilor Fred Keach offered a statement instead of a question and said he believed Atlantic Broadband’s move into Concord might drive Comcast prices down. Competition, he said, would be good to have.

Ward 6 City Councilor Linda Kenison said she had heard from people she knew in Laconia who said the company offered good service at prices that were significantly less than Comcast.

Ward 3 City Councilor Jennifer Kretovic asked about how many jobs would be created for Concord residents and spoke positively about the network hub that would contribute to the property taxbase.

Heinen said the company had a lot of open positions, just like a lot of companies.

Patch expected construction to begin in December. After permitting, he added, installs could start as quickly as February 2022. The company will be starting in the eastern part of the city first, he noted.

One councilor asked whether a customer center would be established in Concord. There was also some discussion about how customers would get equipment and whether or not they would have to drive to Rochester.

“We don’t know the answer right now,” she said about a customer service center in the city.

Byron Champlin, another at-large city councilor, said he thought the presentation was light and did not address a lot of the eight points the councilors had to look at before making a decision. Heinen agreed to follow up with more thorough answers. Later in the meeting, Heinen readdressed the question and said she thought it was a thorough presentation and addressed many of the eight points. At the end of the meeting, Champlin met with her and apologized for seeming to be aggressive about the eight points.

Champlin also asked about consumer bundles versus personal channel selection — sometimes known as ala carte choice, something Comcast does not offer. Heinen said the company offered a single price that would not expire but offered a lot more flexibility. She called it, “a huge win for our customers” instead of putting them into packages that expire.

Only three members of the public attended the meeting and two commented during the hearing.

Denis O’Connell Sr. of Concord requested more information about basic pricing while adding that he hoped the competition would result in a lowering of the cost of services to the consumer.

Rich Woodfin of Concord supported another franchise saying he was “very in favor of competition.” He was also looking forward to hearing more about the fiber optic options, something he called, “right out of the gate … game-changing.” Woodfin also pointed to the situation in Bristol where Town Manager Nick Coates was able to get the town wired with fiber optic which resulted in more business and opportunity.

According to Jim Kennedy, the city solicitor, if the council votes to move forward with the franchise, Aspell will use the Comcast agreement “as a boilerplate” and begin negotiations. After a deal is struck, there will not be a public hearing. The council will just vote to approve or reject the contract.

The official public text read by Bouchard on Monday:

Tonight’s public hearing is required by New Hampshire law, which is RSA 53-C:3-a. Under that statute, there are eight items we must consider before granting a franchise to Atlantic Broadband to provide cable service. Those items are:

1. Whether Atlantic Broadband has the financial ability to perform.

2. Whether Atlantic Broadband has the ability to provide adequate and technically sound facilities, equipment and signal quality.

3. Whether Atlantic Broadband has adequate channel capacity and appropriate facilities for public, educational, or governmental use, taking into account available technology, subscriber interest, and cost.

4. The prohibition of discrimination among customers of basic service.

5. Reasonable service quality in terms of available technology, subscriber interest, and cost.

6. Whether the proposed construction and installation would conform to all applicable state and federal laws and regulations and the National Electric Safety Code.

7. Whether Atlantic Broadband will have competent staff able to provide prompt, adequate service and to respond comprehensively to customer complaints or problems.

8. Whether Atlantic Broadband will have reasonable rules and policies for line extensions and disconnects, customer deposits, and billing practices.

For purposes of tonight’s hearing, please note that there are 3 subjects over which the City has no authority to regulate: (1) the rates that Atlantic Broadband would charge for its services; (2) the commercial programming that Atlantic Broadband chooses to show on its cable systems and (3) the internet service which Atlantic Broadband may provide.

Also, please note that the public hearing will remain open for submission of additional written testimony for fourteen (14) days following tonight’s hearing. Therefore, this hearing will officially close on October 4, 2021.

At the October 11, 2021 City Council meeting, the City Council will make a preliminary determination as to the viability of Atlantic Broadband to install, construct, operate and maintain a cable television system in Concord, and if appropriate, authorize the City Manager to enter into negotiations with Atlantic Broadband to determine whether the parties can agree upon the terms and conditions of a cable television cable franchise agreement, subject to the City Council’s approval.

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