Local programming still not available on Verizon cable
By Ken Powers Community Reporter

Westborough - Some town residents who switched cable television carriers from Charter to Verizon are frustrated that local programming is not yet available on the Verizon system.

Rick Colon, a regional director for Verizon's External Aff airs Department, said the company is aware of the subscribers' concerns and is working hard to make the local programming channels available.

"We're working on the issue," Colon said. "Our internal schedule shows an expected completion date of Feb. 29, but we anticipate the work will be finished much sooner."

Westborough Town Coordinator Henry Danis said he researched the problem recently after receiving a number of calls from residents who want to watch local programming, including Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and School Committee meetings, as well as Westborough High School sporting events.

"The delay has been caused by the fact that Verizon had to build what's called a head-end system so that its system can interconnect with the existing Charter Communications system," Danis said. "That has taken more time than they expected, plus they had to finalize their negotiations with Charter before they could even get started building the head-end system. I spoke with Verizon officials recently and they told me that channels have been assigned on their system and those channels will be available sometime between the middle and the end of February."

Maria Sheehan, general manager of Westborough TV, which oversees the operation and programming of all three community access stations in town, said they, too, have been receiving calls from new Verizon subscribers who are wondering where the local channels are. Sheehan said she has been in frequent contact with Verizon, trying to find out when the channels will be added.

"They keep pushing it off ," Sheehan said. "Verizon originally told the station the channels would be available in September and now it's February and they're still not available. And when I've inquired abut it, all I'm told is they're working on it. There has never once been an explanation for the delay."

Sheehan, in fact, didn't even work at the station when the town entered into a contract with Verizon in mid-July 2007. Had the implementation gone as planned, the local channels would have been available before Sheehan started working at the station.

Sheehan said that most calls she has received about the issue have been from town residents who said they were told to call the Westborough TV station by Verizon when they called Verizon wondering why they couldn't access local programming.

Colon said he had no knowledge of these referrals by Verizon employees.

Sheehan said she even received a call from the Worcester diocese of the Catholic Church wondering when the local programming would be available.

The church, Sheehan said, was calling on behalf of some Westborough parishioners who watched Mass daily on television when they had Charter, but have been unable to do so since switching to Verizon.

Sheehan said she explained to the church that even when Verizon adds the local channels the Mass wouldn't be available because it's a Charter-produced program. She told the church, however, that she'll make an eff ort to get a copy of the daily Mass and show it for interested residents.