In accordance with License provisions defining the cable operator Performance Evaluation process, the Cable Advisory Committee organized a Performance Evaluation Hearing that took place on July 24, 2001 at the Blanchard Middle School. This public hearing, hosted by the Westford Board of Selectmen, provided a forum for Westford residents and members of Town Government to discuss allegations of License defaults with AT&T Broadband (ATTb) managers present.
The hearing, which was televised live and later rebroadcast, also included discussion of the disappointing slowdown in the completion of the rebuild of Westford's cable system and the rollout of high-speed Internet Access and other Broadband Services here. Several dozen Westford residents were present to provide testimony and ask questions. Representatives from the Cable Advisory Committees of several other local Towns were also invited to provide a regional perspective regarding the issues at hand. A videotape of the Hearing is available upon request from the Cable Advisory Committee.
The proceedings of the Hearing remained open for several weeks for the purpose of gathering related testimony, and the findings discussed for several months thereafter with ATTb managers for the purpose of "ironing out" the issues. A Performance Evaluation Report was published by the Cable Advisory Committee to set forth our Town Government's perspective on the issues surrounding the License default allegations. Some of the original allegations were put aside early on, due to improved performance or proactive remedies provided by ATTb. However, several of the remaining allegations served as grounds for Breach of License filings.
The Breach process officially commenced when the Board of Selectmen issued four (4) Breach Notice Letters on or about March 5, 2002. Links to each official Breach Notice letter (in PDF format) may be found in the Activities and Resource section to the left of this column.
Note that a DOCSIS Compliance Report for the Westford I-NET (Municipal Network) has been received from ATTb in conjunction with Lic. Sec. 13.9. The CAC has evaluated this document, and has found it adequate to cure this particular Breach. The response by ATTb to the other Breach Notices was also positive, so that all the Breach allegations are now subject to dismissal in the wake of the late 2002 Transfer (merger) of ATTb in which it became part of Comcast Corporation. |
