Arvada, you are on the clock.
Qwest submitted a video franchise application Monday in Arvada under new federal rules that require the city to respond within 90 days.
Under the rules, which went into effect Monday, Arvada has to accept or reject the application – or reach some kind of pact on it – within 90 days, or Qwest’s proposed terms would go into effect. If the city rejects the application, Qwest can appeal the decision in federal court.
Previously, municipalities could take as long as they wanted to review an application. Instead of having to reject an application, and opening the door for an appeal, they could just continue negotiations for an indefinite period.
“We are now in a position where we can move forward,” said Chuck Ward, Qwest’s state president.
Ward wouldn’t say whether the company plans to implement the 90-day rule in any other Colorado cities. “Arvada is an attractive market to us,” he said.
The company recently began negotiations with the city of Thornton, but not under the new rules.
Qwest has struggled in its efforts to win franchises in Colorado, having secured agreements only in Douglas County and the city of Lone Tree.
Qwest also failed in its efforts this year with the state legislature to pass a law that would allow it to bypass municipalities and get a statewide video franchise. It was successful in Iowa, which, like Colorado, is in Qwest’s 14-state local service territory.
“I’d love to be able to get a deal done and get some competition that would be deployed in a fair way throughout the different parts of my community,” Arvada Mayor Ken Fellman said.
Arvada, however, is one of five cities that recently passed an emergency ordinance that requires companies submitting an application under the new rules to divulge additional materials. Qwest said in June that the ordinan ces created another roadblock in its efforts to offer a competing video service.
The company disclosed some confidential information in Monday’s application, revealing that it has been largely unsuccessful in luring customers from cable in cities where it offers its own video service.
For example, as of May 31 in Phoenix, the company had just 20,697 subscribers out of a possible 291,454 homes it could offer video service. It received a franchise there in 1998. In Douglas County, Qwest has 2,897 subscribers out of a possible 23,220 homes.
“It’s a real battle,” Ward said.
Qwest didn’t disclose its build-out plans in the Arvada application, which has been the main sticking point between municipalities and the company. Local agencies want the company to commit to building out to their entire jurisdiction, while Qwest wants the ability to pick the areas it would serve.
The difficulty of winning customers from the dominant cable-TV provider is “why we are unwilling to accept any kind of build-out requirement, because it doesn’t consider that market risk,” Ward said.
The 90-day rule is part of an order issued by the Federal Communications Commission in March. The order sets limits on fees municipalities can charge providers and other requirements that local agencies can place on a company applying for a video franchise agreement.
Qwest and other telecommunications companies have said lengthy negotiations with individual municipalities slowed their efforts to introduce video services to compete against cable-TV companies.
Qwest spokeswoman Carolyn Tyler said the company has been negotiating a franchise agreement with Arvada for more than two years.
Comcast spokeswoman Cindy Parsons said Monday that “it’s too early in the process to comment” about the effects of the new rules. Comcast is the dominant cable-TV provider in Colorado, with 820,000 customers.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
