Upload
tamsin-hodges
View
213
Download
1
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Presentation on the Cable-Related Needs Assessment for Washington County
CBG Communications, Inc.73 Chestnut Road, Suite 301Paoli, Pa 19301P: (610) 889-7470F: (610) 889-7475
March, 2006 Washington County, Maryland
Presented by:Thomas G. RobinsonExecutive Vice President
CBG Communications, Inc.
Project Elements Four Major Elements
Residential Community Needs and Interests Assessment
Review of Public, Educational and Government (PEG) Access Needs and Interests
Business and Non-Profit Community Needs and Interests Assessment
Institutional Network Needs Assessment
CBG Communications, Inc.
Residential Community Needs and Interests
Written, statistically valid survey of the County’s residential community
320 subscriber respondents 80 non-subscriber respondents
CBG Communications, Inc.
Residential Community Needs and Interests Customer service and technical problem
areas were noted including: Telephone answering and hold times Subscriber communications regarding
programming and rate changes Outages Signal quality Speed and reliability of high speed internet
connection Service installation
CBG Communications, Inc.
Residential Community Needs and Interests
Concerns were also expressed about: Variety of cable programming Quality of cable programming Cost versus value
CBG Communications, Inc.
Residential Community Needs and Interests Local Community Access is important
Viewership of current Access programming is well established
Subscribers would like to see more of various types of programming, especially:
Community News Special Events Public/Community Events and Activities Coverage Local Historical Programming Public Safety Information
75% of Subscribers believe it is important for the cable operator to provide support for the Access channels
CBG Communications, Inc.
PEG Access Review
Overall Access Channel Viewership in Washington County
Access Channel
Daily Weekly Monthly Occasionally
Never
6 - Local Government Access
5% 14% 5% 46% 30%
19 – Local Origination/Community
2% 11% 5% 40% 43%
99 – Local Educational Access
3% 10% 5% 34% 49%
CBG Communications, Inc.
PEG Access Review
Comparison with Recent Viewership for Some Other Cable Services
Cable Network CUME (Weekly Exposure) Outdoor Life Network (OLN) 3%
Speed Channel 3% BET 3% Bravo 3% Style 2% Animal Planet .3% ESPN Classic .1%
CBG Communications, Inc.
PEG Access Review Written surveys, individual
interviews, group discussions and a public meeting were held with a variety of organizations including: Government agencies Educational entities
K-12 (Washington County BOE) Higher Education (HCC and USM)
Businesses and Non-profit organizations
CBG Communications, Inc.
PEG Access Review
Key Findings included: Access channel capacity and related channel
positions need to be preserved and/or provided There should be the capability for future
migration of the analog Access channels to digital services, including service expansion capability
There are Capital funding needs for facilities and equipment that can be supported effectively by the cable operator
CBG Communications, Inc.
PEG Access Review
Key Findings included: New, upgraded and replacement equipment
for the governmental and educational access channels needs to be provided in accordance with a schedule to be negotiated between the parties
Regional interconnection should be pursued between neighboring cable systems to share Access programming, promote information sharing and enhance public safety
CBG Communications, Inc.
PEG Access Review
Key Findings included: There needs to be free cable drops
that provide all tiers carrying PEG or public interest-oriented services for County buildings, libraries and educational facilities
There should be free Cable Internet Service, to all public schools (K-12) and libraries
CBG Communications, Inc.
Business Community Needs Assessment
Key Findings included: Broadband services should continue
to expand for the business community in outlying areas
Reliability of broadband services should be increased related to business use
CBG Communications, Inc.
Business Community Needs Assessment
Key Findings included: Additional tiers of broadband service,
especially lower cost entry level tiers, would be beneficial to businesses and non-profits
VoIP telephone services, as well as video conferencing applications for both internal communications and business-to-business applications need to be provided
High-capacity networking services need to be available in the future to the business community
CBG Communications, Inc.
Institutional Network Needs Assessment Key Findings included:
The core backbone network that has already been developed for WCPN members needs to be extended, especially to critical County facilities, public schools, HCC, USM and libraries, beyond the current implementation in the downtown area of Hagerstown, to sites throughout the County and within the incorporated municipalities
The architecture that would work best would be to develop a series of rings that would connect these facilities such that video, voice and data communications could be routed within an organization or between organizations in a highly reliable, fault tolerant manner
CBG Communications, Inc.
Institutional Network Needs Assessment
Key Findings included: A residential system-based data-over-
cable channel I-Net alternative should be established for certain facilities
The cable operator could provide an upstream and downstream path on the residential network, exclusively for institutional data-over-cable use
CBG Communications, Inc.
Institutional Network Needs Assessment Interconnection
I-Net interconnection with other networks and systems would be beneficial to allow the sharing of public safety communications, Access video and other information with neighboring jurisdictions
Scalability Whatever institutional network concept is
chosen, it must be capable of cost-effective growth in both the number of physical locations and communications bandwidth
CBG Communications, Inc.
Conclusions and Recommendations In order to satisfactorily address
the needs, interests and concerns of the various Communities of Interest within the County in both the near and longer term, we recommend that the County pursue cable communications franchises with Antietam, Adelphia and Comcast
CBG Communications, Inc.
Conclusions and Recommendations Such a franchise should include the
following critical provisions: Establishment of customer service standards Provisions that help facilitate critical public
safety communications Establishment and enforcement of technical
standards Establishment of reasonable density
requirements Provisions that help bolster economic
development Provisions that ensure the continuation,
development and expansion of Educational and Governmental Access services
CBG Communications, Inc.
Conclusions and Recommendations Such a franchise should include the
following critical provisions, cont’d: Provisions that ensure state of the art delivery
of Educational and Governmental Access services
Development of reasonable support mechanisms to help Access programming meet subscriber needs and interests
Provisions requiring the approval of transfers Provisions that ensure that the County’s and
Public Schools’ networking needs are met cost-effectively in the future
Protections for the public rights-of-way Protections for the County and its citizens
CBG Communications, Inc.
Thank you