Story posted Wednesday, January 13, 2010
WOW Cable, Phone Looks To Reach Deal With City
By CRAIG ADAMS Journal & Topics Reporter
Kelvin Fee, vice president of Wide Open West Internet, Cable, and Phone (WOW), announced his company's intention to bring service to the citizens of Park Ridge and his hope to rent city-owned space for a contractor.
He spoke to the Park Ridge Committee of the Whole on Monday, Jan. 11, explaining how his company purchased its system from Americast, part of Ameritech, about seven years ago. They remained in the 21 communities established by the preceding company but now plan an expansion.
"We are very interested in coming into Park Ridge and providing our service," he said. "We want to come into Park Ridge and build a plant."
Fee said his company has won 11 JD Powers service awards and was voted the best cable, Internet, and phone company nationwide in a 2010 Consumer Reports poll. "We're known for our customer service," he said.
He compared his company with about 450,000 customers to the size of Comcast with about 21 million customers. "Every customer we have is the most important thing that we have," Fee said.
Fee said WOW would be presenting its application for statewide franchise in the next few days. He expects approval within 45 days. With that approval, he said WOW could serve the first Park Ridge customers by the third quarter of 2010. If approved by the state, the city cannot require a specific contract with the company, although WOW would have to follow any city zoning codes.
"We've already started the preparation. We're in the design phase right now," Fee explained. "The ball is rolling."
He added that most of the wiring in Park Ridge is on poles, making it easy for the company to add their lines to existing infrastructure.
AT&T recently appeared before the Committee of the Whole requesting to come into the city. However, negotiations about the size and location of their distribution boxes bogged down and the company decided to defer expansion into Park Ridge for a future fiscal year.
Aldermen also discussed the possibility of WOW contractors leasing half of the old public works facility at 1200 Elm St. Nicor Gas ended its lease on the building on Dec. 31.
WOW proposed a rate of $10,000 a month for six months during its build out stage. The city has been discussing various uses for the property including the possibility of purchase by the park district. Kim Uhlig, director of economic development, said the park district was not interested in the property and presented aldermen with a timeline for the sale of the property. She said she has received "a couple of inquiries" regarding purchase.
Aldermen indicated a 6-month lease could still allow the city to go forward investigating the possibility of a sale. They also expressed a desire to make money with the property while the offer stands and that a delay on a sale until the market improves might be a good idea.
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