Unless Charter Communications comes up with better service, the city should not enter another franchise agreement with the cable television provider, the head of a city committee told the City Council on Tuesday.
Surveys and audits of Charter service found problems with customer service, equipment and repairs, said Bob Frost, chairman of the Citizens' Cable Television Advisory Committee.
The committee heard from 155 residents through a recent series of public meetings about cable television service, emails and other conversations, and most did not think Charter was doing a good job, Frost said.
Charter's current agreement runs out in 2006. The company takes the complaints seriously, but points to improvements made in recent years as better performance measures, said Margaret Lejuste, vice president of governmental affairs for Charter's southwest division.
"Over the past five years we have rebuilt the system, and we are offering advanced telecommunication services," she said. "We have been making some very positive steps forward, there is always room for improvement, and we take such surveys and studies seriously."
Although the city has three other franchises, they are limited to certain sections of the city, said Randy Westerman, the city's cable services manager. At about 60,000 subscribers, Charter is the city's largest provider and the only citywide provider that is operating in Fort Worth, he said.
Charter hasn't lived up to the expectations of its users, Frost said.
"We believe it has not (met requirements), and the qualification being that while it has provided better technical services, that is sort of taken away from in that they provided poor customer service," Frost said.
He said part of that determination came from comments of the 155 residents, but added that conflicting information came from a telephone survey showing more positive views about Charter's service. Some council members said they're not sure what to believe.
"I'm not confident that we are getting an accurate view of the questions about their service," City Councilman Carter Burdette said.
Councilwoman Wendy Davis said she also had reservations and asked for the city audit department to review the information. "I share some of Carter's concerns," she said.
Lejuste said the council members' doubts underscore potential flaws with the report findings.
"One thing I was gratified to hear is the council having questions about the statistical validity of this report," she said.
The report, more than 500 pages long, contained details of subscriber complaints about long telephone hold times, shoddy installation, billing inaccuracies, missed installation appointments, overcharges and other issues.
In September or October the city staff will present a request for proposal for Charter to the council, Westerman said. Charter will be given 60 days to respond with an acceptable proposal for a new franchise agreement. If an agreement is not reached, the city can drop the franchise agreement.
Charter Out?
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