PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County commissioners approved a temporary franchise agreement with Wave Broadband cable TV service, which is buying the county’s cable system from Broadstripe.
In a 3-0 vote after a public hearing Monday morning, the commissioners granted the six-month franchise agreement with Wave, which also serves the Port Angeles-Sequim area.
“This covers issues like customer service, programming and a franchise fee,” said Jim Pearson, representing county Public Works, working with Wave.
He said the temporary agreement will take effect within the next 60 days after the county commissioners and Wave adjust verbiage and sign it.
The sale of Broadstripe to Wave Broadband was finalized last month.
Broadstripe has provided the only cable television option in Port Townsend and East Jefferson County.
Wave is buying Broadstripe in conjunction with another cable operator, Wide Open West, with a combined purchase price of $95 million.
The temporary franchise agreement, which guarantees the county 5 percent of Wave’s revenues, is intended as a transitional agreement while Wave takes over Broadstripe’s service, county officials said.
“We want to put together a plan that is solid in terms of dollars to Public Works,” said county Administrator Philip Morley.
The franchise fee revenue goes toward county management of the road rights of way that the cable TV company uses for its cable to users.
Broadstripe also supplies Internet and digital telephone services to East Jefferson County, but under the Federal Cable Act and the Federal Communications Commission, only cable TV is covered by such agreements, not Internet or phone service which Wave provides through its broadband infrastructure.
Broadstripe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2009, but is continuing operation until Wave takes the helm.
About 10,000 East Jefferson County customers now use Broadstripe as their cable provider.
Wave, which employs about 110 on the North Olympic Peninsula, is investing $15 million in upgrades and plans to launch the full array of its products, including 50 Mbps high speed Internet, more than 50 high-definition channels, TV on demand, multiroom DVRs, and home phone service, company officials said.
“We have a philosophy that we will earn a customer’s business each and every day,” said Michael Talpai, Wave vice president of operations in the Seattle area, including the Peninsula.
He said Wave took over Broadstripe’s other operations three weeks ago and has a team taking the sale through an 18-month transition period from one company to the other.
Broadstripe now offers 69 channels on its basic service in Port Townsend while Port Orchard, which is served by Wave, has 99 channels on its basic service schedule.
Wave Broadband — which is part of WaveDivision Holdings, LLC, based in Kirkland — also is acquiring Broadstripe’s Oregon and Washington assets.
The Washington and Oregon properties that reach more than 103,000 homes would increase Wave’s total 300,000 customer base by 25 percent.
County residents voiced their recommendations to improve cable TV service during the public hearing in the county commissioners’ chambers at Jefferson County Courthouse.
Steven Oakford, a volunteer at the cable company’s Port Townsend community TV studio, PTTV, said he looked forward to Wave taking over “because what we have had in the past has been meager.”
He asked for up-front pricing to customers rather than starting them out at a deep discount, then escalating the cost. He also asked for faster service.
Jefferson County resident Tom Thiersch asked that all cable TV franchise revenue to the county go to the Public Works Department instead of the county general fund budget.
Joe D’Amico, president of Security Services Northwest of Gardiner, said in light of the fact that many are moving to satellite and Internet service for television that he thought Wave was “taking a big risk by doing business here in Jefferson County.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew, working in Jefferson County this week, can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
