Sunday, February 25, 2001
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Sunday, February 25, 2001 |
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City officials voice ire at AT&T Broadband By MONROE ROARK
Fayetteville officials have gone on the record with their displeasure at the performance of the city's cable television provider. City Manager Joe Morton announced at Wednesday night's City Council workshop that he has sent a letter to a representative of AT&T Broadband expressing the city's concerns about construction delays and customer service problems. The company's fiber installation has been held up because of right-of-way issues with the state's Department of Transportation, a fact that Morton acknowledged in his letter. But, "We also understand that many areas of your rebuild do not involve DOT right of ways and have difficulty understanding why the rebuild has not continued in these areas, primarily our residential subdivisions," he wrote. "Many of our subdivisions have cables and wires exposed from when you stopped your rebuild operations several months ago. We request that those areas be given immediate attention. We also request a revised rebuild schedule in response to this letter." Morton also mentioned an increase in customer service complaints, saying that many residents are finding it impossible to reach anyone at AT&T. "Customers calling your customer care center are asked to hang up and try at a later time," Morton wrote. "We feel that this is unacceptable customer service and request that this issue be addressed immediately." After these issues, plus the inability to reach a franchise agreement after a city proposal was rejected by AT&T, the company has also recently implemented a rate increase, Morton wrote. "We are very disturbed about the recent rate increase in light of the delays in the fiber rebuild in providing broadband services and the continued customer service problems that we are experiencing," the letter stated. "We request that this increase be delayed until such time that the fiber rebuild has been completed and you have improved your customer service to an acceptable level." After Morton mentioned the letter at the workshop, Councilman Al Hovey-King wondered if there was any recourse available by the city to penalize the company for "negotiating in bad faith" as these problems go unresolved. Mayor Kenneth Steele said that the council should go on the record with its dissatisfaction at AT&T's performance, adding that customers might be better off shopping for alternatives to that company's service.
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