Time Warner Cable customers in Lincoln will get access to faster Internet service and all-digital television service with more channels in a basic package, if Charter Communications completes its purchase of the cable company.
But Lincoln customers likely won't have access to the lower cost, entry-level service currently available through Time Warner, based on Wednesday's discussion at the Cable Advisory Board meeting.
And the advisory board has just a week to make a decision on what advice it will offer the City Council on transferring the city’s cable franchise after the application was “misplaced†in the mayor’s office for 60 of the 120-day application period, said Steve Huggenberger, an assistant city attorney.
Charter Communications Inc. has proposed a $55 billion acquisition of Time Warner that includes the more than 100,000 cable subscribers in Lincoln and southeast Nebraska.
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Charter, majority-owned by Liberty Media, currently serves 29 states including Nebraska with operations in many smaller communities including Waverly.
The Telecommunications/Cable Advisory Board likely will recommend approving the transfer with specific conditions, just as it did for the proposed merger of Time Warner and Comcast last fall.
That merger fell apart once the Federal Communications Commission said it planned to oppose the deal.Â
Charter will offer 60 Mbps Internet as a basic service. And it will have all-digital TV programming, with 200 channels and hundreds of hours of on-demand programming, much of it free, said Gary Underwood, with Charter.Â
Time Warner, however, has lower cost options that it appears Charter will not be offering, according to David Young, a city employee assigned to help the advisory board.
Time Warner has a $14.99-a-month option for 5 Mbps internet, and a 15 Mbps internet package for $34.99, while Charter's lowest price Internet service is 60 Mbps at $54.99, Young said.
Time Warner's lowest cost package for telephone, TV and Internet service is $44.98 a month, while it appears that Charter’s entry-level bundled package in other communities is $89.99, Young said.
"How would this benefit lower income residents?" Young asked.
Underwood said he was concerned about comparisons that were not apple to apple. "Our goal is to add value here in Lincoln,†he said pointing to the 60 Mbps service available to everyone.
Underwood will be getting information to the advisory board this week on options that might be available for low income customers.
Advisory board member Laurie Thomas Lee said she appreciated the higher service but believed there should be an option for those who cannot afford the "fabulous 60 Mbps product."Â
One common complaint is the cost of cable service, noted Art Zygielbaum, a board member.Â
“Value is also very important,†countered Underwood.
Charter also offered cautious answers to board member's questions on pricing and Lincoln-based jobs, both in written form and in Underwood's comments at the meeting.
Board members were concerned about the debt load Charter would have with the purchase and the effect of that debt on monthly pricing.
Underwood said the company has no intention of raising the price of service because of the debt they are taking on. But he didn’t preclude higher prices for other reasons.
The company doesn’t have any plans to change employment levels in Lincoln, Underwood said.
The city has no control over pricing or packaging of products, Charter representatives told the board. The city can only consider the financial, legal and technical ability of the company to provide the service when looking at transferring the franchise agreement, said Bill Austin, Lincoln attorney representing Charter.
But the city attorney disagreed that the advisory board and City Council were limited to only discussing those issues.
And board chair Edward Hoffman said pricing and packaging issues could be influenced by the company's debt, so pricing was a pertinent issue.Â
The advisory board will hold an emergency meeting next week to make final decisions on a recommendation to the council.
The City Council must hold a public hearing and vote on the franchise recommendation at its Oct. 26 meeting, in order to meet an Oct. 30 deadline, Huggenberger said.
Cities have no authority over Charter's purchase of Time Warner. That is a federal decision. But cities are allowed a limited response to the franchise transfer.