Winter Park has Spectrum concerned

Take it from consumer-advocate groups like the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, which is cheering on Winter Park and other cities, encouraging them to invest in technology and become less reliant on cable and internet providers that have nearmonopolies

I’m sitting in Winter Park City Hall, listening to Spectrum give a presentation about what a wonderful company it is.

One executive with the cableand-internet provider talks about the incredible customer service it provides.

Another stresses that its products are the latest and greatest.

Spectrum execs also want city officials to know that they hire locally, expand rapidly and are wonderful community partners — members of the local Rotary Club and even trustee-level sponsors at the chamber of commerce. That’s right … trustee-level. After listening to an hour of this, I can’t understand why we haven’t erected statues all over town in this company’s honor. Forget soldiers, generals and humanitarian leaders. Spectrum executives are apparently the true heroes of the free world.

The presentation is so overthe-top in its self-congratulatory tone that I am convinced of one thing: Spectrum is terrified. Absolutely freaking terrified. Why? Because Winter Park is talking about putting in its own fiber-optic lines.

That could mean competition. And competition is the thing that companies like Spectrum fear most.

For consumers, though, fear and competition can be good.

Don’t take it from me. Take it from consumer-advocate groups like the Institute for Local SelfReliance, which is cheering on Winter Park and other cities, encouraging them to invest in technology and become less reliant on cable and internet providers that have near-monopolies in many markets.

Of course the cable companies will protest, said Christopher Mitchell, the president of the Minneapolis-based Institute. “They’ve fought it in every single city,” he said. “But this is like Starbucks telling a city they shouldn’t have their own coffee machines.”

Technically, Spectrum and its parent company, Charter Communications, weren’t objecting during this meeting in Winter Park last month. They were informing.

The company knew that Mayor Steve Leary had created a task force to study the costs and benefits of a city-run fiber-optic system, and Spectrum just wanted to “update” the task force about what a super-boffo job the company was already doing.

But board members knew precisely why Spectrum was there — and they weren’t buying much of what this drawn-out infomercial was trying to sell.

A half-hour in, task force member Bill Segal asked how much longer Spectrum planned on talking.

And member Dave Johnston, a former mayor of the city, just flat-out told Spectrum leaders that most of his neighbors simply don’t like the company.

“When I interact with people

in Winter Park, the name ‘Spectrum’ is not a very good name,” Johnston told Charter’s vice president, Marva Johnson (who also happens to be Gov. Rick Scott’s appointee to run the State Board of Education).

Johnson looked surprised by news that not everyone loves her company. I’m not sure why. Charter has one of the lowest customer-satisfaction rankings in the industry, according to J.D. Power and Associates. And ever since it took over Bright House in Central Florida to become Spectrum, customers have complained about everything from secretive pricing plans to rising costs, even when customers try to reduce services.

After doing some research, I concluded that Spectrum’s prices are actually pretty comparable for the industry and that its technology is pretty solid, while its customer service and commitment to straightforward pricing were woefully lacking.

Regardless of what I think, though, competition is often good for consumers. So if Winter Park is exploring ways to provide it, I say: Rock on.

As the Self-Reliance Institute’s Mitchell asked: “Why shouldn’t a city be able to meet its own needs?”

I sure don’t think government is the answer to every question. But I sure don’t think the private sector always is, either. Just ask Duke Energy customers after the last hurricane.

Mayor Leary said his goal is to see if the city can provide a fiberoptic option to residents for cheap or break-even. The city has already started connecting its own buildings, developing a “spine.”

“We have some tremendous experience in this,” Leary said, noting that the city has already taken over water and power services from private companies that residents didn’t like. “And people are unhappy with the current cable and internet service.”

Johnston agrees, saying: “I have not talked to anybody in the city who is happy. Anybody.”

Spectrum disagrees. Spectrum says it is beloved. And top-notch. And a trustee at the chamber, remember?

Swell. Then the company should have nothing to fear if the city decides to offer residents another option.