Pacts May Bring Cable Rate Hikes

City officials warned cable television subscribers to brace for rate hikes now that the City Council has approved deals with Ventura’s two major cable TV providers.

The agreements approved Monday bring to an end months of negotiations between Avenue TV Cable, Century Cable Television and the city.

Under terms of the deals, both companies will upgrade service to include fiber-optic systems, digital capabilities, additional channels and a new high-speed Internet access network.

The companies also will provide high-speed Internet service to link schools, City Hall, libraries and other public buildings on a system called I-NET.

Avenue TV Cable also will expand its service area to include downtown Ventura, and new customer service standards are expected. Century Cable Television plans to increase its availability to other parts of the city as well.

Mayor Jim Friedman, an adamant critic of rate hikes, conceded that the council has little control over cable rates, which are governed by the Federal Communications Commission.

“We have been fighting to get the best deal we could for our subscribers; that’s all we can do,” Friedman said.

Deputy Mayor Ray Di Guilio shared the frustration. “We realized there was no way we’d be able to control the rates,” he said.

The mayor urged both companies to cover the costs of system improvements without raising rates. While Century issued a promise to stick to its current rates, representatives from Avenue have said the company would raise rates for basic cable service to pay for the anticipated improvements.

“We are still working on costs and designs for the system and are trying to put together all those costs,’ said Stephen George, Avenue’s general manager.