Comcast has settled with the state’s public access TV stations and the Department of Public Service over a 2017 decision by the Vermont Public Service Board that ruled Comcast had to improve service for the stations.
The utility took that decision to federal court, saying the state exceeded its authority, imposing conditions that would ultimately harm local cable subscribers by causing millions of dollars in increased cable costs.
If approved by the Public Utility Commission, the settlement would walk back some of the requirements that the state had originally imposed on Comcast, allowing the company a little more freedom in Vermont, while still maintaining some key parts of the original decision.
The original ruling called for Comcast to build 550 additional miles of cable line to reach Vermonters without cable access, to rewrite its interactive programming guide to include public access channels, and to open regulatory proceedings to add high definition channels alongside the standard definition public access channels.
The settlement keeps the requirement for Comcast to include public access programming in its programming guide and reduced the line requirements to 350 miles.
The 2017 decision said Comcast had to follow those rules to earn the “certificate of public good” that allows private utilities to operate in the state. The certificate is good for 11 years. However, the company had previously gotten the certificate at a much lower standard, and much lower cost.
In its 2017 lawsuit, Comcast said the Public Utility Commision (previously the Public Service Board) ruled “despite overwhelming record evidence that Vermont cable subscribers do not want to incur any additional costs or fees for the kinds of conditions imposed.”
The Vermont Access Network, meanwhile, said the changes were overdue, and that the utility was disobeying public access requirements it was supposed to be following as early as 2005.
Comcast is “by far the largest and most significant provider of cable television services in Vermont,” serving more than 80% of cable customers in 197 towns, according to the Public Utility Commission.
The settlement kept the requirement about Comcast including the public access channels in its programming guide (i.e. instead of listing “public access television” during all hours of the day, it will include specific listings like “Bennington Selectboard meeting” at a given time). It also reduced the line requirements from 550 additional miles of cable line to 350 miles for Vermonters without cable access, and change high-definition requirements to one HD channel with statewide programming, along with several other smaller agreements.
“We are thankful to the Department of Public Service and the Vermont Access Network for working together with us to mediate a mutual agreement for Comcast to renew its Certificate of Public Good to continue serving the businesses and residents of the state of Vermont,” Comcast spokesperson Elizabeth Walden said in a statement.
VAN president Kevin Christopher declined to comment on specifics of the agreement, as it is still technically in litigation.
“There’s always the possibility that the PUC could rule unfavorably on one or more of the settlement conditions,” Christopher said.
As long as the state’s Public Utility Commission approves the settlement between the Vermont Access Network, Comcast, and the Department of Public Service, the agreement will be finalized and Comcast will be allowed to operate in Vermont for 11 years, starting in 2018, when the last agreement expired.
Correction: The language describing the changes to high-definition programming has been clarified, as has the language describing the length of the agreement.
