HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-18-CAC-min
TOWN OF LEXINGTON
COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF APRIL 18, 2019
Call to order. Chairman Ken Pogran called the meeting to order at 6:55 p.m. in the
Parker Room (G-15), Town Office Building.
Members Present: Ken Pogran, Chair, Rita Vachani, Bob Avallone, P.K. Shiu, Ramin
Taraz, David Becker, Smita Desai (participating remotely)
Members Absent: Nick Lauriat, Dorinda Goodman, Ben Moroze, David Buczkowski
Quorum: A quorum of members was present in the room at 6:55 p.m.
Others Present: Joe Pato (selectman), Niall Connors (Verizon)
Materials Referenced: Draft Meeting Minutes for February 2019, Draft Meeting
Minutes for March 2019;
Informal discussions started at 6:40, with 5 CAC members present.
1. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes:
The minutes of the meetings of February 21 and March 21, 2019 were approved
by unanimous roll call vote.
2. Selectmen’s report – Joe Pato
Mark Sandeen has expressed interest in attending CAC meetings as the
Selectmen’s Liaison.
Heads up that the committee might be invited into 5G discussions.
3. Service Provider Reports
Verizon representative Niall Connors provided a report in the context of the FiOS
License Renewal discussion; see item 6 below.
4. Chairman’s Report
The Chair announced that the May meeting will be held at LexMedia.
5. LexMedia Update
There was no LexMedia update, as Ms. DelSanto was not present.
6. Verizon FiOS License Renewal:
Niall Connors stated that Verizon has no plans to expand FiOS cable service.
Because of changing conditions in the industry, Verizon has been entering into 5-
year renewal agreements instead of 10.
Mr. Connors also stated that, although 5G wireless is the direction, Verizon has
not deployed 5G service in any of its landline/cable provider franchise territories.
Verizon’s early forays into 5G service have been in “out-of-franchise” areas.
The Committee will discuss the renewal process for the Verizon license during
the CAC meeting in May 2019 to present to Board of Selectman.
7. RCN 2019 License Renewal:
RCN license was discussed, with the possibility of it being ready for presentation
to the Board of Selectman for signing. The Committee noted that the current RCN
license expires on June 30.
8. PEG Accounts Update
Three providers have recently sent their PEG information.
Total number of subscribers has fallen by 6.4%.
It is projected that the PEG revenue vs. expense curve is at the crossover point,
with revenue trending downward.
Due to changes in PEG revenue, and providers’ plans in renewal duration, it
might make sense to rethink the duration of the next contract with LexMedia,
which will begin in July 2020.
9. Regulatory and Legislative Updates:
a. The Chair gave an update on the FCC’s proposed rulemaking regarding “in-
kind” contributions.
There was no FCC action in April and this item does not show up on their
May agenda.
Newton, MA has submitted a formal response to FCC.
b. Net Neutrality – The U.S. House voted to restore Net Neutrality. However, the
Senate isn’t moving it forward.
10. Town IT Updates:
No update
11. Complaints
No complaints were received in March 2019.
A complaint came in during April to be addressed by CAC. Residents at
Avalon’s Lexington Ridge development only choice is Comcast, and a resident
there has asked what can be done for Verizon to provide FiOS. This matter was
discussed with the Verizon representative. The issue has to be worked out
between Verizon and the building management.
The complaints log has been converted to a shareable Google spreadsheet.
12. New business
None.
13. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Ramin Taraz