BY SARAH LAMBERT / Staff Writer

What Direct TV and the local channels don’t know is that Jim Buston is no ordinary customer.  

Buston, the assistant city manager of the City of Auburn, is actually researching satellite as an alternative to cable.

“I’m trying all these avenues myself, and then I’m reporting them as I see what happens,” Buston said.

Buston’s at-home research project is just one of many attempts on the part of the city of Auburn to bring variety of choices to its residents.

When Buston subscribed to Direct TV, they told him no local channels were available. He could not get ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox.  

A representative told him Direct TV did not support the installation of antennas; another told him they did. An antenna was installed Saturday.

Buston also sent a petition to Columbus and Montgomery’s local channels.  

He needed their permission to get ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox from another city, because the satellites don’t pick up Columbus and Montgomery’s TV stations.

Auburn is also trying to entice Knology, another cable company, into coming to the city.  

Buston said it may be unlikely, under current economic conditions, that Knology will be interested in Auburn.

Cable companies do not rent or share cables, so Knology would have to set up an entire network of its own cables.  

“It’s just not a good time for a company to throw down $30-40 million to enter a new market,” Buston said. “But they might.”

The city has been getting complaints for years about the lack of competitive cable providers in the area.

Buston said although Auburn does not have an exclusive agreement with Charter, it is currently the only company providing cable to students and citizens.

“Charter is really expensive, but it’s your only option, because none of the other ones are dependable,” said Lindsay Wallace, a sophomore in psychology.

Currently, the only other choices are Direct TV or Dish, neither of which provide basic channels.   

“I think if Auburn could get the local satellite channels, then that would create enough competition in the area that people would be satisfied,” Buston said.

Buston said citizens have demanded more competition for Charter, because of high prices and poor customer service.  

Wallace said she thinks bringing in competition for Charter would definitely lower prices, providing more options for students on a budget.  

Lynne Coker, director of government affairs for Charter, said Charter already faces stiff competition from satellite and from other high-speed data and phone providers.  

“Its an interesting mix of very competitive environments,” Coker said.  “It’s very complex.”  

Buston said even in Montgomery, where Knology and Charter compete for cable customers, cable is about the same price.  

The other issue citizens often have with Charter is customer service, Buston said.  

Buston said the city has received complaints about the 800 number Charter provides for customer service.  

“When they call someone, they want to talk to a person,” Buston said. “They get an automated system, and they’ll never hear a person; they’ll leave a message and it will take someone a long time to get back to them.”

Coker said the automated system allows for more consistencies, so people aren’t getting more than one answer or a wrong answer from local offices.  

“They’re able to take phone calls faster, so people are not on hold,” Coker said. “They’re able to get consistent information.  Most importantly, it is available 24 hours a day.”   

Nonetheless, Buston said the customer service issue is a very important one that gets a lot of people frustrated.  

He said the city intends on trying to get a local phone number for Auburn citizens to call included in the franchise agreement with Charter. The agreement cannot be renegotiated until Oct. 1, Buston said.   

“Auburn is a great market for us,” Coker said.  “We have done very well in Auburn, each year exceeding the previous.”