LOS ALAMITOS : Consultant to Study Cable Rates, Service

The City Council decided this week to hire a consultant to study whether Paragon Cable, which owns the local cable franchise, is complying with federal regulations on rates and services.

Telecommunications Management Corp. of Los Angeles will also ask the Federal Communications Commission to certify the city as a regulating agency in accordance with a federal law passed last year.

The law gives cities the power to regulate cable television franchises, including basic service rates.

Assistant City Manager Gerard Goedhart said that the study, which will cost the city $2,000, is necessary because there is no one on the city staff who is an expert on cable television regulations.

He said Garden Grove, also served by Paragon, has hired Telecommunications Management as a consultant.

Goedhart said the consultant will file the city’s FCC application within 10 days. If the city is certified, the consultant will then review Paragon rates and services to determine whether the cable company is complying with federal regulations.

Members of the council said that most resident complaints are not about the rates but about the quality of cable reception and the service provided by Paragon to its subscribers.

“There is a continuing dissatisfaction with the service,” said Councilwoman Alice Jempsa. “We should look not only at the rates, but the service as well.”

Paragon Cable Public Affairs Director Don Weddle said his firm is “constantly working to increase the level of service. We pay close attention to any complaint and try to remedy it immediately.

“Per thousand customers, we have fewer complaints from Los Alamitos than from any other city,” he added.