Monday, 8/31/15 Cable and Broadband Meeting
O’Asian Restaurant, 8/31/15, 6:30 – 8 pm
Attending: Dashiell Milliman-Jarvis, Dan Stiefel, Lambert Rochfort, Tony Perez, Janice Tufte, Sarah Trowbridge
Meeting Minutes:
– FCC 621 order cut back negotiating level for the city of Seattle. Right now Comcast provides free cable to all city buildings and schools. FCC order now says cable providers can deduct those services from franchise fees.
– Comcast and city negotiated that Comcast will not deduct free service from franchise fees for the time being.
– Nearing end of negotiations on Comcast’s cable franchise: Tony Perez will provide a pre-brief w/ council on Wed. the 16th of September at the 2pm meeting of the Public Safety, Technology and Civil Rights Committee
– After pre-briefing, Tony will transmit franchise legislation to Council. Council will not have final vote until early December, which allows CTAB two months to provide input.
Discussion on the action strategies for the City of Seattle Digital Equity Initiative
– Cable and Broadband Committee members would like to see dedicated funding for staffing through the city or other non-profits to provide education and outreach for available low-income internet services
– The CTAB Digital Inclusion committee has also discussed this very topic, and it might be beneficial for members of the Cable and Broadband Committee to collaborate with the Digital Inclusion Committee. The next Digital Inclusion meeting will be meeting on Tuesday, 9/22 at the Beacon Hill Public Library.
Action items for Cable and Broadband Committee:
– Attend / watch the pre-briefing for the Comcast franchise renewal that takes place at 2pm on Wednesday, September 16th for the Public Safety, Technology and Civil Rights Committee
– Determine if there are any places we as a committee can provide input to Council before the franchise goes to a vote.
– Sarah Trowbridge has sent an email to the Chair of the Digital Inclusion Committee, Jose Vasquez, requesting time on the next Digital Inclusion Committee meeting to discuss action strategies for the Digital Equity Initiative, specifically strategizing how to dedicate funding for education and outreach on low-income internet.
– Cable and Broadband Committee members who are interested should attend the next Digital Inclusion Committee meeting (Tuesday, 9/22 at 6pm, Beacon Hill Public Library) to weigh in on conversation and collaborate on other digital equity strategies that relate to the Cable & Broadband committee.
For any questions, please email Sarah Trowbridge at trowbrsa (at) gmail (dot) com.