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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012/12/12 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF December 12, 2012 ST. LOUIS PARK COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, Cindy Hoffman, Toby Keeler, Rolf Peterson and Bill Theobald MEMBERS ABSENT: Bruce Browning STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator OTHERS PRESENT: Corey Limberg, Senior Director of Customer Care, Comcast; Martin Ludden, Government Affairs Manager, Comcast; Julie Pozel, Comcast 1. Call to Order Chair Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Dworsky, Hartman, Hoffman, Keeler, Peterson and Theobald. 3. Approval of Minutes for October 10, 2012 It was moved by Commissioner Theobald, seconded by Commissioner Dworsky, to approve the minutes of October 10, 2012, without changes. The motion passed 6-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda It was moved by Commissioner Dworsky, seconded by Commissioner Keeler, to approve the agenda. The motion passed 6-0. 5. Public Comment - None 6. Action Items A. Comcast presentation on new rates and changes in the channel line up Mr. Ludden presented the Comcast changes. They are completing the transition to transmitting all-digital signals, which will allow them to reclaim bandwidth and provide bigger, better, faster services. There won’t be much change in the customer experience, except the customer who gets the most Basic cable from a wall outlet without any Comcast equipment is going to need to add a digital adapter (DTA) to their TV. All- digital means a clearer picture and more HD and on-demand TV channels. The customer will get three digital adapters at no charge, and additional Basic DTA’s will be 50 cents each, and the step-up DTA’s will be $1.99 each. Customers will be notified in a variety of ways about the changes (letters, post cards, channel crawls and recorded phone messages) until the cutover in mid-March. Comcast intends to get as many customers as possible transitioned to new equipment before making the cutover, to minimize interruptions in service and calls to the City and Comcast. The cable stores are equipped to provide the equipment or by a phone call, or by a web site. Chair Peterson said he tried logging in to the web site on three different days and there was some kind of problem so he’ll have to call the phone number. He can view his account or pay the bill but couldn’t access the “digital now” part of the site about the DTA transition. Mr. Ludden said that government accounts will be contacted about how to make the transition, and addressed other questions provided by Mr. Dunlap. For example, a City building cannot mix levels of service in the same building; whatever the highest level of service is, will be provided at each outlet. There will be multiple City billing accounts, one for each building, but all bills can be sent to one contact person. As they move forward, customers will be able to access more content on the Basic DTA. Regarding rate changes, the list provided is of all services with changed pricing, but a complete price list isn’t available yet and will be provided later. The convenience fee has been dropped if you use a kiosk at a service center or pay in person at the counter. But if the customer calls over the phone and talks to customer service or uses the phone tree to make a payment, there is a fee of $5.99. Chair Peterson said he is on Basic cable, which is now called B1, and he gets like 17 channels, and he didn’t see that on the price list. Does that mean the price is not going up? Mr. Ludden said yes. Mr. McHugh asked about the two different DTA prices mentioned, a Basic one for 50 cents and if the $1.99 DTA provided Video on Demand. Mr. Ludden replied that B1 service DTA’s, the most Basic service, is 50 cents per month, and the B2 DTA’s that will eventually have other services will cost $1.99 per month. Commissioner Hoffman asked if people were able to get Video On Demand and more choices on the free option DTA’s? Mr. Ludden said not on the B1 DTA’s. Ms. Pozel said that the B1 DTA’s provide a clearer picture, but none of the DTA’s can provide Video On Demand, that customers need to upgrade to a digital home communications terminal (DHCT) to receive VOD and the program guide. There is a difference in what the two levels of equipment can do, which is tied to the customer’s level of service. B. Comcast customer service update Mr. Limberg reported that Comcast is creating “Centers of Excellence” which allow customer service employees to be grouped into specialty areas after in-depth training. In September Comcast announced moving their customer care calls and the loyalty or retention Center of Excellence for the entire Western Division to Minnetonka, where they have created 250 jobs in the last twelve months. The billing Center of Excellence is in St. Paul, handles all traffic for the Western Division and will grow by 150 people in the next twelve months. Third-party contractors augment Comcast staff while they are hiring and training, and have access to the same tools, knowledge bases, prices and training that internal agents have. If there are pricing or product changes, they know about it instantly, and are tied into the same network Comcast local agents use. Outside agents are available 24/7, although it does depend on the transaction. Comcast has a very stringent policy on phishing and takes it very seriously to protect customers’ personally identifiable information. Chair Peterson said he’d received an email from Comcast that his credit card was expiring, and he needed to update it. So he clicked a link to fill out a form, and saw that his Social Security Number was required, so he closed the whole thing down. He noticed the URL was HTTP, with no S for “Secure,” so it was a phishing attempt to steal his credit card number and SSN. He checked the web site later and it looked exactly like the Comcast web site. So he changed his password from an 8 digit one to a 14 digit one. Mr. Hartman described a charge on his Comcast bill for a pay per view wrestling event for $40 on a day when they weren’t home. Mr. Limberg said they’d look into it, and also said many customers like the self-service tools available on Comcast.com. Mr. Dunlap asked about the incoming call volumes? Mr. Limberg replied they measure everything including: highest level, total volume, contact rate, number of subscriber calls in a 30-day period. Also, a key area is how many customers are taken care of the first time. They handle two million calls in the Metro area annually, and look closely at customer surveys, how they rate and measure all components of the interaction. Mr. Dunlap asked if the third party call centers were also measured and evaluated with the customer surveys? Mr. Limberg said yes, that it didn’t matter if the call was taken in Lynchburg, Virginia or Seattle, Washington, it was the same level of evaluation. C. Consider franchise fee audit notice, going back 3 years from the date of the notice Commissioner Dworsky noted in prior years they had partnered with other communities and asked if they could do that again? Mr. Dunlap replied yes, he could see where others stood and bring back to the next meeting. Commissioners agreed that staff should consult other communities and bring back their findings at the February meeting. Commissioner Theobald asked whether we’d consider an audit, or review? Mr. Dunlap replied that the terms were sort of interchangeable, but that it was more accurate to call it a review. Chair Peterson asked about the jurisdiction coding component of the audit, and Mr. Dunlap said that wouldn’t need to be done again. D. Draft Annual Report for 2012 Commissioners felt the report was good. E. Set meetings for 2013 2013 meeting dates: February 27, May 22, August 28, October 23, December 7 or 11 (to be determined at the February 27 meeting). F. Draft Work Plan for 2013 Chair Peterson asked about the franchise agreements with Xcel and CenterPoint Energy, scheduled for the February meeting. Mr. Dunlap replied that Commissioner Dworsky requested a report at a NATOA webinar, so he was looking into details. Chair Peterson added audit consideration to the February meeting, streaming video demonstration to the May meeting, the FCC update to August and Park TV programming reports at the February meeting. G. Elect Chair and Vice Chair, effective next meting Commissioner Keeler made a motion to nominate Bill Theobald as Chair and Cindy Hoffman for Vice Chair, Commissioner Dworsky seconded. The motion passed 6-0. 7. Reports A. Complaints Mr. Dunlap compiled a list of complaints by category and billing was had the highest amount of complaints. The totals had dropped since 2008. Complaints for pricing and billing had gone down and rates/pricing and programming complaints had gone up. Commissioner Keeler asked Comcast representatives how St. Louis Park compared to other communities for complaint calls? Mr. Limberg said that St. Louis Park is very similar to what other communities are experiencing. B. Park TV Video On Demand report Mr. Dunlap showed a graphic about Video On Demand requests, hosted exclusively on Vimeo.com for the last two years. In seven of those months, Park TV had over 1,500 hits which means an average of 50 per day, with the weekly news program Park Update one of the most watched programs. He noted that staff is starting to use Youtube.com again because it’s free, and now accepts longer programs. St. Louis Park also puts programming on Comcast Channel 1, local on demand, and is now providing a free HD game of the month. C. School District programming report Mr. Dunlap noted Channel 14 programming included 51 sporting events, 36 performances and 16 meetings. Commissioner Peterson suggested an update on the school studio at the August meeting. 8. Communication from the Chair Commissioner Keeler said that he would be moving from MACTA’s Communication Committee to the Legislative Committee. There are newly elected legislators that may not be familiar with cable franchising, and municipalities need to educate them. 9. Communications from City Staff Mr. Dunlap noted he received a letter from Emmett Coleman pertaining to contract renewals for KMSP and FOX expiring at the end of the year, and said that usually these are resolved before the deadline. Mr. Lundeen confirmed. Mr. McHugh said that viewers can search for Park TV 15 on Vimeo.com to find Community TV programming. 10. Adjournment Commissioner Keeler made a motion, Commission Theobald seconded to adjourn at 8:08. The motion passed. Respectfully submitted by: Amy L. Stegora-Peterson Recording Secretary