Strafford News

City of Dover issued the following announcement on July 13.

A draft franchise agreement with Atlantic Broadband is the subject of a public hearing during the City Council’ s next meeting on Wednesday, July 14. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall.

The cable franchise agreement appeared on the City Council’s agenda June 23 and was referred to a public hearing, which will be followed by a City Council vote on July 28.

At a workshop on Wednesday, July 7, the City Council heard a presentation by city officials and Atlantic Broadband, outlining the terms of the agreement and what services Atlantic Broadband proposes for Dover.

The city currently has a cable franchise agreement with Comcast, which expires in 2027.

At the July 7 workshop, Mike Gillis, the city’s Director of Media Services explained that franchise agreements are nonexclusive, and that other cable providers can negotiate an agreement at any time, and that multiple providers can operate concurrently. He added that doesn’t happen in many markets because it may be cost prohibitive for a competitor to build a new cable system.

“But it does happen, and it has happened with some of our neighbors,” Gillis said. “The obvious benefit to another provider setting up shop is competition, which will mean more choices for cable customers.”

Gillis said the city was approached by Atlantic Broadband earlier this year about a franchise agreement with Dover, and the city and Atlantic Broadband have been negotiating a draft agreement since then.

Although cable franchise agreements only pertain to cable television, Atlantic Broadband is proposing to offer internet and phone service in Dover.

At the workshop, representatives of Atlantic Broadband provided more information about the company and the services they intend to offer in Dover.

Francis Bradley, Atlantic Broadband’s Director of Government Affairs, said the company plans to build out a citywide system using fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology, which offers high bandwidth, low latency and high reliability.

Glenn Patch, Atlantic Broadband’s Construction Manager, said the system will also deploy a passive optical network (PON), which is less reliant on electronic components and has fewer fail points than a traditional coaxial cable network.

When asked about the company’s timeline to begin offering services in Dover, pending the approval of the agreement and the necessary pole licenses and construction permits, Nadine Heinen, Atlantic Broadband’s Regional Director of Operations, said she anticipates services will be available by December of this year or January 2022.

In anticipation of cable, internet and phone services being available via a newly constructed system, Heinen said the company will begin a marketing campaign in Dover.

The full workshop can be viewed here: https://dovernh.viebit.com/player.php?hash=WwZcrVkbdHVV.

The City Council will also hold two public hearings during the July 14 meeting related to parking on the Chestnut Street Bridge. One public hearing is whether to amend parts of the Chapter 141 Vehicles and Traffic ordinance. The proposed amendments include adding 15-17 parking spaces to the Chestnut Street Bridge and prohibiting parking on both sides of Gage Street. Another public hearing is on whether the City Council should amend the fiscal year 2022 schedule of fees to add a monthly parking permit fee for the proposed new parking spaces on the Chestnut Street Bridge.

Also on the agenda is a public hearing and resolution to authorize the City Manager to join the Community Power Coalition by signing the intergovernmental Joint Powers Agreement with other communities in the state. By signing, the City of Dover would become a founding member of the Community Power Coalition with a seat of the board of directors. Once formed the Coalition will explore opportunities to provide alternative sources of electric power to traditional electrical utilities. The Council held a workshop on the Community Power Coalition at its July 7 meeting, which can be viewed here: https://dovernh.viebit.com/player.php?hash=WwZcrVkbdHVV.

Community Power is an organization created as a result of state law RSA 53-E. Its mission is to foster resilient New Hampshire communities by empowering them to realize their energy goals through civic engagement, public education and technical assistance. The idea is that New Hampshire municipalities and counties can procure and deliver electric power supply on behalf of and to residents and businesses.

Original source can be found here.