(12/21) The Town Council made two decisions regarding the future of the Town’s cable and internet capabilities in December. They approved a draft Ordinance that would allow the Burgess and Commissioners to enter into agreements with cable and internet providers without needing to address the Town’s Code and they took the next step by agreeing to work with Shentel, a telecommunications company offering fiber optic internet capabilities.
With the revised Ordinance, the Town will be able to keep the existing agreement with Comcast for phone, cable TV, and internet access however, they will be able to look for other providers without needing to make changes to the Town’s Code like the previous Ordinance required.
The Ordinance change was encouraged after talking with neighboring municipalities and then researching other providers in the area. Town Manager Sean Williams said the Town settled on Shentel which utilizes Glo-fiber, a fiber optic-based system, that will allow the Town to see higher speed internet than its predecessor DSL.
Shentel currently has cable franchise agreements with the cities of Frederick, Middletown, and has recently signed with Thurmont. Emmitsburg has discussed signing on with them as well.
According to Williams, the Town claims approximately $80,000 in cable franchise fees a year from Comcast. With the addition of Shentel, he said that revenue shouldn’t change much because some residents will stay with Comcast, some will move to Shentel and some may decide to use both. No matter what, the Town receives about three percent of the total gross sales of what the providers make, broken into quarterly payments throughout the year. "I don't know that this will make a dramatic change in the Town's revenue," he said. "There may be a slight increase in franchise agreement fees, but realistically it will likely stay the same."
As for the physical construction of the fiber optic strands, Williams said that the lines would follow the existing path, if a community uses above ground wiring, they will receive above ground fiber optics and if they use below ground, that is how the fiber optics would be installed.
Williams did ask the Town Council to not officially sign the agreement with Shentel until December 31, allowing the Ordinance proper time to become law.
By first approving the Ordinance, the Town will be able to sign the agreements with Shentel to begin developing the plans for installation of the fiber optic equipment, bringing Walkersville residents faster speeds and steadier service.
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