Fiber-optic cable upgrade may be finished by next year Fiber-optic cable upgrade may be finished by next year (July 17, 2002)

**Local towns sign on with cable-service provider AT&T Comcast.

By Sharon Driscoll

Almanac Staff Writer

AT&T Comcast, the new company that combines the AT&T and Comcast cable television systems, aims to finish a fiber-optic upgrade in Portola Valley, Woodside, Menlo Park and Atherton by the end of 2003, according to Andrew Johnson, vice president for communications.

The upgrade, which will involve Palo Alto as well, is expected to result in faster and more reliable service.

On July 10, Portola Valley joined other local towns in approving a change in its cable franchise agreement from AT&T Broadband to AT&T Comcast, the company created with Comcast's $51 billion purchase of AT&T's cable television business. AT&T Comcast has about 22 million subscribers, nearly twice as many as its nearest rival, according to the Associated Press.

On July 8, Palo Alto's City Council approved the transfer of its cable franchise -- which includes service to Menlo Park and Atherton -- to AT&T Comcast, which also agreed to pay fines of $1,250 a day if the Palo Alto fiber-optic upgrade is not finished by July 24, 2003.

On June 25, Woodside's Town Council approved the transfer to AT&T Comcast without specifying a deadline or fines for the town's system upgrade, said Town Manger Susan George. However, she said, AT&T representatives said the system upgrade is expected to be completed by the end of 2003, instead of the earlier deadline of 2005.
Portola Valley

Last week's cable franchise vote by the Portola Valley Town Council was unanimous, "though one taken with great angst," said Mayor Ed Davis, who added that poor cable reception and service to the town was a great concern to the council.

In the end, he said, the council balanced those concerns against the need for competition in high-speed Internet access, currently available to about two-thirds of Portola Valley residents through SBC PacBell and not at all through AT&T Broadband.

With the upgrade, AT&T Comcast says it will be able to offer residents high-resolution digital television, digital telephone services, and high-speed Internet access.

This is the forth cable company to serve Portola Valley since Western Cable first laid cable here in 1991.

Currently AT&T Broadband offers only cable television service to residents because the system was not built for high-speed Internet access. AT&T, which took over the town's cable franchise in 1998, halted upgrade work in 2000 because of financial difficulties, said Chris Buja, chair of Portola Valley's Cable TV Committee.

Mayor Davis congratulated the committee for pressing the company for a fiber-optic upgrade by 2003, after the company initially estimated that work would not be completed until the end of 2005.

The committee met with AT&T engineers and pointed out that neighboring Palo Alto's cables, scheduled to be upgraded by July 24, 2003, run right through Portola Valley along Alpine Road, and work in both towns could be coordinated.

AT&T also agreed to pay a $300-a-day fine if the Portola Valley upgrade is not completed by December 31, 2004.

AT&T's Mr. Johnson said about half of the communities in the Bay Area are already connected to the fiber-optic network, and the company plans to finish work for the whole Bay Area in the next three to five years.

The 15-year cable franchise agreements for both Woodside and Portola Valley will end in 2005.

Woodside Town Manager Susan George said a significant part of her town is not even wired for cable television because the original agreement negotiated with Western Cable did not require cable to be laid in low-density population areas. She said that Woodside would appoint an ad hoc committee to look into service closer to the franchise renewal date.