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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-03-16-CAC-MIN Lexington Communications Advisory Committee Minutes of March 16, 2006 Meeting The meeting was called to order by chair Jeanne Canale at 6:30 PM. Attendees CAC members: Jim Baker, Dave Becker, Dave Buczkowski, Jeanne Canale, John Rommelfanger and Ed Vail. LexMedia attendees: George Preston and Alan Lazarus RCN representative: Tom Steel Lexington residents: Jon Dwyer and Jim Gonzalez Minutes of the January 19, 2006 meeting were accepted with corrections. Minutes of the February 16, 2006 meeting were accepted with corrections. RCN report Tom Steel had nothing significant to report on RCN’s system operations. He has been following the efforts in Washington to implement a national cable licensing process for large telephone companies, for which a House committee is working on a draft bill. He also reported that Verizon is trying to convince Massachusetts cable authorities to force communities to complete cable licensing within a fixed time period. Comcast report Jane Lyman could not attend, and had nothing significant to report. She notified us that Comcast is anxious to meet with us to discuss our PEG Access signal distribution needs. Status of Verizon negotiations thrd We have meetings scheduled for March 20 and April 3. Verizon is to respond to the problems we noted in their official response to the Issuing Authority’s Report. SCOLA Status The SCOLA signal has been unavailable for the last few weeks. The antenna was shifted by a heavy wind, and can’t receive the satellite transmission until it is realigned. We expect to happen in the next few days. John Rommelfanger has agreed to help analyze the antenna mounting system to see whether it can be made more stable. LexMedia report George Preston reported that the access corporation is now officially known as LCMC, Inc., doing business as LexMedia. LexMedia is reviewing its contractually required reporting requirements, to ensure that they meet all their reporting obligations. Wireless status Ed Vail reported that the state’s Department of Capital Asset Management is asking for proposals to put up cellular antennas at their site at the intersection of Route 2 and Routes 4/225. There is also private interest in potential cell antennas above the Lexx restaurant and on Hartwell Avenue. Ed also reports that the revised antenna/tower zoning regulations (Article 15) are being reviewed for presentation to Town Meeting next year. Town-Wide “WiFi” Network John Rommelfanger proposes that we look into having the Town sponsor an 802.11 network. Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and other communities are in various stages of implementing such networks, but there are many issues to be resolved before Lexington could consider doing the same. Among these are: Should it be free or at some cost? How would it be financed (even if the service were charged for, fees probably would not cover the entire cost)? How would it affect our relationships with existing providers (RCN, Comcast, Verizon, …)? Would it serve the entire town or only certain main streets? Would we be able to mount antennas directly on existing utility poles for? On Town-owned street lamps? And more. The sense of the committee was that we should gather information and monitor what other communities are doing with an eye to recommend action to the Town if appears to be feasible for Lexington. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM. Submitted by David Becker 2