CABLE TV VIEWERS UNHAPPY CITY MULLS CONTRACT RENEWAL.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

NEWHALL - For most of last week, Charles and Pat Willett waited. And then they waited some more.

The Newhall residents first spent more than two hours on hold, trying to get their cable service, which went dark last week, restored. And then, after they finally reached an operator and made an appointment, the service technician didn't show up.

To reschedule, Pat Willett took an afternoon off from working at the William S. Hart Union High School District. However, when the cable guy arrived, he couldn't fix the problem.

``The city has to make sure the residents get decent service, because we don't have a choice of companies,'' she said. ``Some action needs to be taken.''

The Willetts are just two of many Santa Clarita residents who have complained to city officials in recent weeks about being put on hold by AT&T Broadband for inordinate periods of time, city officials said.

But despite the complaints, city leaders have begun the process of renewing Santa Clarita's cable television franchise with AT&T and Time Warner Cable, which will expire in 2003.

AT&T Broadband serves about 50,000 customers on the west side of the valley and Time Warner Cable, which covers the east side, is seen in about 25,000 homes.

A spokeswoman for AT&T, the Willetts' cable company, acknowledged that the waiting times for its customers have been longer than normal - and pledged to correct the problem.

``There have been some bumps in the road,'' said Patti Rockenwagner, the executive director of corporate communications. ``This is a temporary situation that is out of our control.''

The city has received only a few complaints from Time Warner's 25,000 local customers, said Steve Stark, the city's director of administrative services. City officials have discussed the issue with AT&T, and urged it to solve the problems as quickly as possible.

``The renewal discussions are a great opportunity to sit down with the city and figure out what's in the best interests of the community,'' said Deane Leavenworth, Time Warner's vice president for government and media relations.

Because federal law, and not local jurisdictions, regulates cable television companies, it would be difficult for the Santa Clarita City Council to solicit bids for the contracts from other cable companies once the current deal expires.

``Congress has really tied cities' hands,'' Stark said. ``The City Council could theoretically put the contracts out to bid, but it has proven to be very difficult to kick out incumbent cable companies.''

Under the Telecommunications Act passed in 1996, local agencies must give the companies ample opportunity to correct any deficiencies- like sub-par customer service or bad reception - before putting the contracts out to bid, Stark said.

``That's a tough legal hurdle to overcome,'' Stark said.

But even if the City Council did issue a request for proposals from other cable companies, officials expect few would respond, according to Frank Oviedo, a management analyst with the city.

AT&T and Time Warner own the cable infrastructure in the valley, and a new company would have to ``overbuild'' all new lines and transfer stations - an expensive and risky undertaking, Oviedo said.

``That would be highly unlikely,'' he said.

The franchise, first agreed to by county officials before the city of Santa Clarita incorporated, has changed hands several times over the 15-year term of the deal, as companies were purchased and consolidated.

AT&T announced plans this week to merge with Comcast Corp., creating a cable behemoth that will have more than 22 million customers nationwide, including about 50,000 in Santa Clarita.

``I liked things much better when the cable company was a locally owned business,'' Pat Willett said.

As part of the merger, Santa Clarita must approve a transfer of the franchise to the new company, to be called AT&T Comcast, Oviedo said. That will give the council a chance to shape the company's dealings in Santa Clarita.

``It could change a lot of things, especially because Comcast has a different philosophy and more experience as a cable company,'' Oviedo said.

The city charges the companies a franchise fee of 5 percent of gross revenues, which is passed on to customers. Last year, Santa Clarita collected $478,763 from Time Warner and $658,112 from AT&T.

The money, which is funneled into the general fund, is used to maintain public infrastructure damaged by the cable operations, Stark said.

Several public meetings will be held in January for residents to review the companies' customer service, reception and channel selection, Stark said. In February, the City Council will tell staffers what it wants to see included in a new deal.

Preliminary negotiations are expected to begin this summer, with a new deal in place by the end of the year, Stark said.

Until then, cable customers must be patient. For the Willetts, that meant waiting a week after their services went out.

``Once the right people were there, they were very helpful and worked hard to solve the problem,'' Pat Willett said. ``It was just getting through to someone who could do something about the problem that was frustrating.''