digital TV

Congress has mandated that by February 17, 2009, television stations must switch from analog to digital broadcasting. At that point, full-power TV stations will cease broadcasting on their current analog channels, and the spectrum they use for analog broadcasting will be reclaimed and put to other uses.

In most cases, this will have no effect on Charter customers - you don't have to buy a new TV or cable box or converter box. Charter has produced a flyer with information about how it affects cable customers and we've included it on this page as a PDF.

For more information, visit the federal government's Web site on the digital television change at www.dtv.gov.

statewide cable franchising

Governor Purdue signed Georgia House Bill 227 ('Consumer Choice for Television Act') into law on May 30, 2007. The bill allows cable service providers to receive franchises from the state, instead of Athens-Clarke County. There are other provisions as well. Most of the bill will go into effect on January 1, 2008.

Find out more at the Secretary of State's Web site (http://www.sos.ga.gov/corporations/Video_franchise.htm).

Frequently Asked Questions

(Note that some of these answers may well change with the signing of HB 227):

• Can ACC regulate the price of cable?
  ACC cannot regulate cable prices above the basic tier of service. This is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) directive. The basic tier - not to be confused with the basic "package" - is less than $20.
• Why is there no cable competition for Charter?
  ACC does not grant Charter a monopoly through an exclusive franchise. ACC can and will review any cable companies' franchise applications to provide competition in the community. To date, no other cable companies have asked for a franchise in ACC in Charter's service area.
• Why can't we have the _______ channel here?
  ACC cannot regulate the kinds of channels - other than those for public, educational, or government purposes - that are carried by the cable companies.
• Does ACC have any control over Internet service?
  ACC cannot regulate Internet service through cable providers. This is a Federal Communication Commission (FCC) directive.
• What happens if I have a complaint about a cable company?
  First, you must contact that cable company's customer service directly (Charter's contact info is 888-GET-CHARTER or www.charter.com). If that fails to resolve the problem or you have further complaints, contact the ACC Public Information Office as noted below.

Background

Cable television in most of Athens-Clarke County (ACC) is provided by Charter Communications, which receives a franchise from the local government. This franchise allows Charter to operate cable television services and use the public right-of-way in exchange for various fees and services. Cable franchises are not exclusive and can be provided to more than one company. Currently, Charter is the only company with a franchise for cable television service in ACC.

Complaints

Complaints may be submitted to the Athens-Clarke County Public Information Office through an online form. This form is an interactive PDF form that may be filled out online and printed out or e-mailed.

Please note: To submit the form via e-mail may require a current version of Adobe Acrobat and will require an e-mail program on your computer. You may wish to copy the complaint before selecting the e-mail button. If it shows an error, simply paste the complaint in an e-mail to us (address below). Open the online complaint form.

Questions? Need more information?

E-mail the ACC Public Information Office at cable@athensclarkecounty.com or call 706-613-3795.

Other resources:

• Digital Television conversion (all sets must convert by Feb. 17, 2009)
• Cable Television Association of Georgia