REGULATORS ORDER COMCAST TO DO MORE FOR PUBLIC ACCESS TV
The Vermont Public Service Board has ordered Comcast to improve service for public access television.
In a decision issued late last week, the board said the cable giant disobeyed public access requirements it was supposed to be following as early as 2005. The board renewed Comcast’s permit for another 11 years while adding more public access requirements.
The new certificate of public good, as the permit is called, runs through January 2027 and imposes four major conditions:
• The company must not only carry public access channels, but within one year it must list the programs being shown on each channel in its digital television guide.
• Comcast must provide connections for live programming events, such as selectboard meetings, when the location is within 500 feet of a network connection point.
• It must participate in a new regulatory proceeding that will determine whether the company has to carry public access channels in high definition, or HD.
• Comcast must provide connections for live programming events, such as selectboard meetings, when the location is within 500 feet of a network connection point.
• It must participate in a new regulatory proceeding that will determine whether the company has to carry public access channels in high definition, or HD.
