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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3.1 TCISysUpgrade (2) ".'- . '. .' . , '. CITY CLERK File # 1/l~~rcl-f3l[g AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: (June 17, 1997) SUBJECT: ",^;;esentation By TCI Regarding System Upgrade Plan \'It" ,rrepared By: Paul S. Rankin, Assistant City Manager) EXHIBITS ATTACHED: A Copy of the Construction Routing Maps will be available at the City Council Meeting. RECOMMENDATION: f~~ceive Presentation and direct Staff to continue to monitor progress. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: The upgraded system is scheduled to be in service by December 31, 1997 and it is probable that TCI will increase rates effective June 1, 1998. DESCRIPTION: On May 30, 1997 TCI representatives met with Staffmembers from Both Dublin and San Ramon, to provide additional information about their upgrade plans. Tom B~er, General Manager requested an opportunity to form~ly make a presentation at a City Council Meeting. Upgrade Plans As indicated in the past, TCI representatives have continued to indicate that it is their intent to have the upgrade complete by the contractual deadline of December 31, 1997. The Company has now made a determination of the type of system to be constructed. The Livermore and Pleasanton upgrades were planned when the system was under Viacom' s management. With the new ownership a different approach has been used. TCI has been conducting tests of the existing cable to determine the exact design requirements of the system upgrade. For example, if existing cable is capable of meeting certain test criteria it will not be replaced. Company representatives have stated that the total upgrade will cover 210 miles of plant in both Dublin and San Ramon. The planned Upgrade will be a combination of fiber optic trunk lines with coaxial connections between the houses and fiber nodes located, at eight locations in the City of Dublin:' 'The fiber optic trunk line is connected to the system head-end located on Rheem Drive in the City ofPleasanton. The system will be capable of delivering the same services as the Company currently provides on the upgraded systems in Livermore and Pleasanton. 1bis includes a two way system capable of providing digital and data services. Elimination of Secondary Head - End The City entered into a Change of Control Agreement with TCI in December of 1995. In part the Agreement provided that TCI would complete "... the Dublin poI1ion of the voluntary system upgrade currently under construction in Livermore..~" TCI has stated that the one deviation of their current plan is that it eliminates the Dublin head-end site included in earlier discussions. Tel representatives have stated that based upon the current'design components the secondary head~end is no longer necessary. The signal ------------------------------------------------------------------- COPIES TO: Tom Baker, General Manager Tel Tri~Valley ITEMNO. 8~ 1- EUcc-formwaldashnLdoc Customer '...pactsDue To The U.pvade The construction will result in service intenuptions. TCI has indicated to Staff that they will attempt to restrict outages 10 the 'Shortest time frame possible. Typica11y these ~ons would occur between 5:00 am and 4:00 p.m. TCI has plans to distribute written notices regarding the construction as well as maintain a"Construction Hot Line, which will have a message describing the areas currently under construction. ..-' .' ;"[::', will be fed from the primary head-end located in Pleasanton. A secondary head-end was cons1;ructed as part of the Livermore upgrade. :: TCI has represented to Staff that although it is possible, the design of the fiber connection was not intended to allow the secondary hub to operate as back-up facility. It was explained that the use of the ,.<;:::;, secondary hub was related primarily to specialized telephone services. Under the TCI operation they are .,..' able to accommodate the potential for these services through operating agreements with Pacific Bell. There were discussions in 1995 about utilizing the separate head-ends to restrict distribution of some Community Programming to separate' head-end sites. The original plan had head-ends planned for Livermore, Pleasanton, and one serving both Dublin and San Ramon. The concept was that the schools, city government, or other users could distribute programs solely within their jurisdiction. The one exception was to be Dublin and San Ramon which would share a distribution network and head-end site. rCI has explained that additional equipment and costs would be necessary to achieve this type of system, which they feel is outside their contractual responsibility. TCI will provide the 3 public access channels however, programming could not be restricted to one City unless additional equipment were purchased. General Uperade Schedule Tel has indicated that they plan to complete two fiber nodes each month beginning in September, with all eight completed by December 1 st:. Once a node, is activated, residents will be given the opportunity to purclmse selected premium services after the delivery of new addressable boxes. The expanded channel line-up is planned to be launched to all households at the same time. This will be after all of the neighboIbood nodes are constructed and fully operational and not later than the December 31, 1997 deadline. It is also anticipated that the upgrade will result in increased rates due to the increase in the number of channels. The Pleasanton and Livermore rates for the Expanded Basic Tier are currently $3.68 more than the Dublin rate. TCI bas elected under FCC regulations to conduct rate adjustments on an annual basis. The"next adjustment would be effective in JuDe of 1998.' ~ .-:.. ""' l, Need To Continue To Monitor SJecijic CODStructioD Schedule The information submitted thus far by Tel remA;n~ general and it will be necessmy to continue to monitor progress in the coming months. The company has indicated that they expect actual construction to begin in July, provided that they have secured the necessary, construcpon permits. The work within the public rlght-of -way will req~anencroachm~per:mi,t;l)1e ~pro&!Css ~ be,impacted by the number and size 'of work crews utilized. , ,The current schedule'suggests tbatthe first two neighborhood nodCs will be complete on the west side of San Ramon Road by September 1, 1997. The TCIGeneral Manager has discussed with Staff their intent to provide progress reports once the construction begins. Staff ~ends that the City Council receive the presentation from TCI representatives and direct Sme.\. to continue to monitor the progress.. ...:..