Here’s a shocker.  When the city of Wilson’s Greenlight fiber optic system was getting prepared to go live, Time Warner began flooding customers with special deals and offers to keep their business, including Road Runner, as low as $24.95 a month for two years, good only in the Wilson/Goldsboro service area of course.  Road Runner customers were also offered double their existing speeds if they agreed to lock into a two year contract (making a switch to Greenlight prohibitively costly with early cancellation penalties).  That offer wasn’t available to residents in nearby Raleigh, according to Brian Bowman, Public Affairs Manager of Wilson, a claim Time Warner disputes.

Needless to say, both sides claim they welcome competition, but only one of them is being honest about it.  You can guess which.

Well-balanced.  WRAL seems to be consistently producing excellent reports on this issue, always remembering to provide time for both sides.  Good journalism.

Wilson, North Carolina first got attention on the state level about two years ago when they were well on their way to constructing a municipally run fiber optic network to deliver fast broadband, television, and telephone services to area residents.  Time Warner, the incumbent provider, had bypassed Wilson for some of the highest speed upgrades.  This is a situation not unknown to StoptheCap! readers like those in Rochester who face their own slower speed Road Runner service.  Competition in nearby cities Buffalo and Syracuse have prompted Time Warner to upgrade speeds in those communities, but not in Rochester.

When Wilson city officials didn’t listen to the warnings from Time Warner officials, legislation introduced in the North Carolina legislature suddenly appeared which would essentially shut down Wilson’s project, and others like it, across the state.

The story below, from 2007, illustrates the divide, and the pro and con positions.  Now, two years later, the same issues are back, along with a new industry-sponsored bill to once again find a way to get rid of municipal networks in North Carolina.  Why StoptheCap! focuses on this issue is to help educate you about how this industry works, what alternatives are available, and give you the power to articulate to everyone why competitive, uncapped broadband service is essential to every community, at reasonable prices.  This isn’t a right or left issue.  It’s also one that should concern every person, no matter how much broadband service the use at the moment.

WRAL back again with another comprehensive and fair report.  This one is about two years old and focuses on the last round between Time Warner and the city of Wilson, North Carolina.  The exact same battle was renewed this spring, and we’re watching.

Wilson, North Carolina - An All America City for the 21st Century

Wilson, North Carolina recognizes the transformation of the economy of North Carolina, as manufacturing moves overseas and new high technology businesses get underway. In the new technology economy, a local community like Wilson cannot afford to be left behind by an incumbent cable and telephone company that bypasses their area, missing out on the latest upgrades and enhancements. So city officials decided enough was enough and floated a bond issue, without using any taxpayer money, to construct their own fiber optic network to service residential and business customers with a state of the art broadband platform.

The result was Greenlight, the most advanced fiber optics system in the area, and it actually saves customers money while providing them with service far beyond what the other guys are selling (and they don’t have usage caps.)

But as we’ll learn in this report from WRAL in Raleigh, Time Warner sniffs at the competition, suggesting the expenses going forward will put the project in an untenable position.  Wouldn’t it be better to shelve it now before you waste a lot of money?  Wilson wonders if this will be the last word from Time Warner on their fiber optic project.  Stay tuned… the picture will get snowier.  A lot snowier.

WRAL did a very good job packing a lot of information from all sides into a two minute package.  I found it interesting WRAL seems to be the only station in the area spending a considerable amount of airtime in their newscasts on the Wilson story, which would soon develop into a major controversy.

Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY)

Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY), whose 25th Congressional district reaches into the eastern suburbs of Rochester, addressed the issue of Time Warner’s usage cap proposal at a Town Hall meeting earlier in April.  Maffei expressed concern about the “experiment,” recognizing the limited alternative options consumers in his district have for broadband service.  Maffei warned that Time Warner’s cap proposal may create potential difficulties for the company in Washington, as issues affecting the cable television and broadband industry are likely to come before Congress in this session. [Courtesy: Rochester Turning]

25th Congressional District Map

To contact Congressman Maffei:

Syracuse Office

Dan Maffei
P.O. Box 7306
1340 Federal Building
Syracuse, NY  13261
Phone: (315) 423-5657
Fax: (315) 423-5669

Irondequoit Office

Dan Maffei
1280 Titus Avenue
Rochester, NY  14617
Phone: 585-336-7291
Fax: 585-336-7274

Senator Joe Robach (R-Greece) Repudiates Time Warner's Cap Plan

Senator Joe Robach (R-Greece), whose district includes several suburbs around Rochester, responded to StoptheCap! reader Tom R., expressing his concern about Time Warner implementing a usage cap system in his district.

“I agree that this new plan would produce costly bills and would not meet the needs of the Rochester community,” Robach wrote.

Senator Robach, a Republican member of the New York State Senate, wrote the NY State Public Service Commission and requested a thorough review of Time Warner’s plans.  He noted that Rochester is in a unenviable position of being the only major city in New York state not to be wired with fiber optics to the home, as part of Verizon’s FiOS project.  Rochester is served by an independent telephone company, Frontier Communications.

Robach accused Time Warner of setting their proposed usage caps so low, most customers would exceed their bandwidth allowance, leading to costly overlimit fees.

NY State Senate - 56th District Map

Unfortunately, the Public Service Commission has no regulatory authority over the cable industry’s broadband product, but increasing attention to the issue of cable company market abuse may lead to a more careful review of whether or not communities wish to retain Time Warner as the incumbent cable provider come franchise renewal time.  A community can revoke or choose not to renew a franchise if a cable operator is deemed not to serve the best interests of the community, allowing a different company to potentially provide service.

Robach’s involvement demonstrates a bipartisan commitment to the issue of unfair broadband usage caps, proving once again that this is not a “right or left” issue — but one of common sense.

Time Warner indefinitely shelved the proposal last week at the behest of consumers and elected officials, but StoptheCap! remains convinced the company will attempt to bring it back for another try later this year.

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