Concord, New Hampshire-Concord residents must let city councilors know by October 4 whether they are interested in a second company that provides Internet, cable TV, telephone, and other services via fiber optic cable, and directly contact Concord Competition.
On Monday, the Concord City Council held a low-attendance public hearing to meet with officials from Atlantic Broadband, the eighth largest Internet provider in the United States, which also serves nearly 160,000 people in New Hampshire and hopes to be in Concord. Start business. According to the law, the city council must hold a public hearing and accept written comments from the public within two weeks, and then vote to direct city manager Tom Aspell to start negotiations with the company. Interim Mayor Candace Bouchard read the official statement on the hearing process and purpose (see below)-and added that the city council has no authority to regulate rates, programming or the internet that the company may provide Serve.
Regional Operations Director Nadine Heinen and the company's market development and construction manager Glenn Patch provided a PowerPoint presentation outlining the company's current scope of services in the United States. Atlantic Broadband, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications in Canada, is a company with annual revenues of US$2 billion, serving approximately 1.6 million households.
Most customers, including the 34 communities serving in New Hampshire, have fiber optic cables with a speed of approximately 1 gig. Heinen said the company will use "fiber-to-the-home" technology, which is less prone to signal loss and limited points of failure.
"We are bringing the best technology there," she said.
Heinen said that the passive optical network system connected to each home will improve network reliability and reduce interruptions, IP TV, wiring for residents, schools, hospitals and other businesses. The company will also have a $28 million hub on Sheep Davis Road. She said that the company was “cyber-resilient during COVID-19,” while other companies reported speed issues. She said that the use of Atlantic Broadband has increased, but the network still maintains its capacity. Heinen added that the company's engineers actively monitor its systems to find problems.
The company has a state-of-the-art network center in Rochester that provides services to New Hampshire and Maine to "treat problems before they become problems," Haining said. It provides customers with an advanced product suite-"the best of its kind", as well as commercial services for up to 10 performances. The digital TV standard will provide encryption technology and more than 300 channels. The company also offers "clear and transparent prices" and has a call center in the United States to assist customers.
Patch said the company "has been thinking about it for many years in advance" by offering 10 gig speeds to enterprises.
At-Large Concord City Councillor Fred Keach issued a statement rather than a question, and expressed his belief that the entry of Atlantic Broadband into Concord might depress Comcast's price. He said that competition would be great.
District 6 councillor Linda Kenison said she had heard from people she knew in Laconia that the company provided quality services, but the prices were much lower than Comcast.
District 3 City Councillor Jennifer Kretovic asked how many jobs will be created for Concord residents and positively evaluated the network centers that will contribute to the property tax base.
Heinen said that the company has many open positions, just like many companies.
The patch is expected to begin construction in December. He added that after obtaining the permit, the installation may start as early as February 2022. He pointed out that the company will first start in the east of the city.
A congressman asked whether a customer center would be set up in Concord. There are also discussions about how customers obtain equipment and whether they must drive to Rochester.
"We don't know the answer right now," she said of a customer service center in the city.
Another ordinary city councillor, Byron Champlin (Byron Champlin) said that he thought this speech was easy and did not solve many of the eight points that councillors must consider before making a decision. Haiying agreed to follow up and provide a more thorough answer. In the latter part of the meeting, Haining raised this question again and said that she thought it was a thorough introduction and solved many of the eight points. At the end of the meeting, Champlin met with her and apologized for appearing aggressive on the eight-point question.
Champlin also asked consumers about bundling and personal channel selection—sometimes called a la carte selection, which Comcast does not provide. Haiying said the company offers a single price that does not expire, but provides more flexibility. She called them "a huge victory for our customers" instead of putting them in expired packages.
Only three members of the public attended the meeting, and two made comments at the hearing.
Denis O'Connell Sr. of Concord asked for more information about basic pricing, adding that he hopes competition will reduce the cost of services to consumers.
Concord's Rich Woodfin supported the other team, saying he was "very in favor of competition." He also looks forward to hearing more about fiber optic options, which he called "in the beginning...changing the rules of the game." Woodfin also pointed out the situation in Bristol, where the town manager Nick Coates (Nick Coates) laid fiber optic cables for the town, which brought more business opportunities and opportunities.
According to city lawyer Jim Kennedy, if the committee votes for the franchise, Aspell will use the Comcast agreement "as a model" and begin negotiations. After the transaction is concluded, there will be no public hearings. The council will only vote to approve or reject the contract.
The official public text read by Bouchard on Monday:
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