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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
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Department of Public Works
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DATE:
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December 29, 2006
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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January 9, 2007
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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None
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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Majority
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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Neil R. Cullen, Director of Public Works
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SUBJECT:
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Resolution Consenting to the Assignment of the Open Video System Agreement between the County of San Mateo and RCN Telecom Services, Inc., to Astound Broadband, LLC
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Recommendation
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Adopt a resolution consenting to the assignment of the Open Video System (OVS) Agreement from RCN Telecom Services (RCN), Inc. to Astound Broadband, LLC (Astound).
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Vision Alignment
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Commitment: Responsive, effective and collaborative government.
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Goal 22: County and local governments effectively communicate, collaborate and develop strategic approaches to issues affecting the entire County.
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Your Board authorizing execution of the resolution ensures a collaborative approach as RCN provides similar service to areas within the corporate limits of some cities, and the cities are also being requested to consent to the change of the service provider from RCN to Astound.
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Background
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Previous Board Action
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Approved the execution of an OVS Agreement between the County and RCN in order to provide video programming service in portions of the unincorporated areas of the County.
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History
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The Telecommunications Act (Act) of 1996 provides that OVS operators are not required to provide universal service and are allowed to focus on densely populated areas in order to maximize revenue relative to the capital investment of installing new cable. OVS providers, in exchange for less regulation, may have to make available up to two-thirds of their cable capacity to unaffiliated program providers on a non-discriminatory basis. OVS providers also are required to provide the franchising authority the same amount of channel capacity for public, educational and governmental (PEG) access as the local cable operator.
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RCN requested an OVS Agreement with the County to provide video, telephone, and Internet access service to residential customers in the unincorporated areas of the County. The OVS Agreement was executed by the County on December 7, 1999, with a term of twelve (12) years. RCN has customers that reside in the Broadmoor Village area near Daly City and the North Fair Oaks area near Redwood City.
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RCN and Astound jointly filed a Federal Communications Commission Form 394, “Application for Franchise Authority Consent to Assignment or Transfer of Control of Cable Television Franchise,” with the County on September 21, 2006. The County has 120 days to act on the application. If the County does not approve or deny the application within 120 days, the transfer of control is approved.
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Discussion
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The OVS Agreement requires your Board’s consent to any pending sale, transfer of control, or assignment to a non-affiliated entity. The Federal Communication Commissions’ (FCC) criteria for evaluating requests for transfer of control are the legal, technical and financial qualifications of the proposed new owners. The San Mateo County Telecommunications Authority (SAMCAT) retained Telecommunications Management Corporation (consultant) to evaluate RCN and Astound’s request for assignment. The consultant conducted a comprehensive analysis of the legal, technical and financial qualifications of Astound Broadband, LLC with the resources of their parent company WaveDivision Holdings, LLC and found them qualified to acquire and operate the cable system and therefore, we are recommending that your Board consent to the proposed assignment.
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Consenting to the transfer will not change the terms of the OVS Agreement.
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Currently Wave Broadband is a provider of cable, telephone, and Internet services to approximately 210,000 customers in Washington and California. Astound’s Bay Area customers are located in Concord, Walnut Creek, and unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County.
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A resolution has been approved as to form by County Counsel.
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Fiscal Impact
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There is no impact to the General Fund or any other County fund associated with consenting to this transfer of control.
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