By Clarence Cromwell
Saratogans will be paying cable television bills to a different company by the end of May.
The City Council voted unanimously Feb. 27 to transfer the rights to operate a cable system in Saratoga from Brenmor Cable Partners, L.P., parent company of South Bay Cablevision, to TCI Cablevision.
TCI traded Brenmor cable systems and franchises in several southeastern cities, most of them in Tennessee, for the systems in eight Bay Area cities. TCI also gained customers in Milpitas, Newark, Los Gatos, Mountain View, and Santa Clara in the deal. No money was exchanged.
The network trade should be complete within three months.
Valerie Castellana, director of communications and governmental affairs for TCI, said the company won't charge higher fees or rearrange programming.
"We don't have any plans to change any of that," Castellana said. "We traditionally don't go in and do anything to programming."
The city will gain the ability to transmit typed emergency messages on all the cable networks' channels. TCI agreed to install the necessary equipment at City Hall for free, but not until next year.
The Federal Communications Commission is expected to issue new rules in 1997 requiring such equipment. TCI wants to make sure the equipment installed complies with the new rules.
TCI is cutting deals with--or has acquired--three other Bay Area cable outlets, according to Castellana. It already owns Lenfest, a company that serves Oakland, Richmond and Berkeley. TCI is currently trying to acquire Viacom's Contra Costa County system and Western Communications' Monterey section.
"The cable industry is changing," Castellana said. "Our vision is about entering other communication areas than video. We need to have enough customers in the Northern California area to interconnect our companies."
TCI has announced plans to offer Internet service to cable customers in Sunnyvale.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, March 6, 1996.
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