HAVERHILL — Comcast has angered residents and city officials by hiking the cost of cable television, but it appears there is little that can be done about it.
The city's cable TV provider is the only game in town for those who want expanded programming and extra channels, despite numerous invitations by Mayor James Fiorentini for Verizon to bring its FiOS technology to the city.
"The city's FiOS representative told me Verizon has no plans to come to Haverhill right now," William Gould, chairman of the city's Cable Television Advisory Committee, told the City Council this week. "The mayor has invited them with open arms and they say they're coming eventually, when it fits their business plan. When they're ready, they'll let us know."
Verizon must install expensive infrastructure before it can bring FiOS technology to cities and towns, and the company is wiring portions of the state in piecemeal fashion, Fiorentini said.
The mayor said he is increasingly troubled by Comcast price increases, which the company calls "price adjustments," he said. In September, Fiorentini wrote a letter to Comcast objecting to the rate hikes. More recently, he asked state Attorney General Martha Coakley if her office can do anything to roll back the higher charges.
"We want Verizon because studies have shown there's a 17 percent reduction in price on average when there's competition," Fiorentini said. "But we have no more control over Verizon than we would asking Stop & Shop to come here."
City Councilor William Ryan said he believes Comcast and Verizon are in cahoots to avoid competition and keep their prices as high as possible.
"Haverhill would be very lucrative (for Verizon), which makes me think there's an unwritten agreement not to compete (with Comcast)," Ryan said. "I'm suspicious."
Ryan said he told the mayor he should consider bringing an "anti-trust" lawsuit against Comcast and Verizon for conspiring to build illegal cable monopolies.
"I think these companies are secretly dividing the state up," Ryan said. "We should write to the Department of Utilities and other state regulators and shake them up."
Fiorentini said the best way to convince Verizon to come here is to show the company that large numbers of residents would quit Comcast and sign up with Verizon.
At the end of Tuesday's meeting, the mayor and City Council President Michael Hart agreed to write a joint letter to Verizon asking it to come to Haverhill.
Marc Goodman, Comcast's regional spokesman, said the company's latest rate increase is only 1.4 percent; and that furthermore, only a small percentage of Haverhill's subscribers will be affected.
Fiorentini, however, sees things differently. His letter to Comcast said in part:
"Our citizens are hurting and cannot afford this. I am particularly concerned that you are raising the monthly price for expanded basic service coverage. Many of our senior citizens have expanded basic service coverage and increasing this coverage will hurt them."
Earlier this year, Haverhill renewed its contract with Comcast for 10 years. By law, the contract allows other companies to compete for local subscribers' business.
Goodman said the company needs to charge the higher rates so it can improve service.
Haverhill residents have been paying about $50 a month for basic cable service, according to Gould.
Goodman said Comcast serves 1.6 million subscribers in Massachusetts. Darlene Beal, executive director of Haverhill Community Television, estimated 20,000 of them reside in Haverhill.
ÔÇæÔÇæÔÇæ
Join the discussion. To comment on stories and see what others are saying, log on to eagletribune.com.
Details in terror plot revealed
Red Sox players, fans react to the epic collapse
Buy Shonda Schilling's clothes for a good cause
Sox fans feeling let down again
