Talks to start on new cable TV franchise with Atlantic BB

LACONIA — The process of putting together a new cable TV franchise agreement with the area’s main cable provider is about to get underway.

The City Council authorized City Manager Scott Myers to get officially involved in the process negotiating a new 10-year agreement with Atlantic Broadband.

Myers said that the negotiation process will simultaneously involve Laconia and eight surrounding communities which are served by the cable provider. A law firm has been retained to assist in the negotiations, Myers told the council Monday.

The city manager said the franchise deals only with the cable TV infrastructure and customer service, and regulations governing line extensions, service disconnection, as well as response to outages and billing policies. It does not regulate what cable or broadcast channels are carried, nor with Atlantic Broadband’s internet or telephone service, Myers pointed out.

Myers said that the city will be negotiating a separate agreement with Comcast which is now in the process of wiring Laconia and parts of Gilford. He said the agreement with Comcast will “closely mirror” the Atlantic Broadband franchise.

Laconia is one of the few cities in the state where two cable TV providers are directly competing with each other.