Auburn residents will have more choices than just what to watch when it comes to their cable.
The Auburn City Council passed an ordinance granting Knology of Alabama, Inc. a non-exclusive cable franchise Nov. 3.
The ordinance passed unanimously after the city council spoke with representatives from Charter and Knology.
Jim Buston, Auburn assistant city manager and chief information officer, said the council asked each representative questions that reflected Auburn residents frustrations with Charter.
Now that the ordinance has passed, Knology must wait 30 days before taking any further business action according to Alabama state law. The waiting period expires Dec. 3.
Auburn city officials wanted to bring another cable company to the Auburn area to create competition, Buston said.
Tony Palermo, the vice president of marketing for Knology, said the passage of the ordinance is only the first step towards bringing a new cable company to Auburn.
"This is just the start of a process," Palermo said. "Now the remaining part is analysis. I think we can do well in the area because we have first class customer service. We have been told our customers' experience is very positive."
The move comes at a transitional time for Charter Communications, who filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Palermo said Knology's interest in coming to Auburn was not related to any of Charter's business happenings.
"There's always been discussions throughout the years," Palermo said. "There seem to be favorable conditions for something like this. The Auburn area wants a competitor."
Palermo said one of the most favorable aspects of expanding Knology's coverage to Auburn was Auburn's proximity to existing Knology markets.
"If you think about it from a geographic standpoint, it's not far from West Point, Ga., Columbus, Ga., Montgomery, places like that," Palermo said. "Auburn has a good density, enough homes per mile. It has a good demographic. Knology can leverage components to be competitive. It makes good sense."
Knology is what is known as an overbuilder. This means Knology only enters business markets with preexisting competition.
"In every market, we're always second to come in," Palermo said. "We're familiar with the competitive landscape and its good for the consumer. We have all of the technology, like the triple-play package and on-demand services, to be competitive."
Buston said he thinks Knology's presence in Auburn will benefit the residents of Auburn.
"It's always good for the community to have choices," Buston said. "We have always had the choice between cable or satellite providers like DIRECTV or Dish Network but now they have a choice in their cable companies, and I think that is a good thing."
Some Auburn students think the possibility of another cable company is more than a good thing.
"It's the answer to all my prayers," said Jack Storrs, undeclared sophomore.
Taylor King, junior in marketing, said he could not be happier that Knology was granted a franchise in Auburn.
"I've had Charter for two years now and it has been terrible," King said. "Our Internet never works; the On Demand only works about half of the time. One time they stopped sending the cable signal to our apartment just because we hadn't turned the box on in a few weeks even though we had been paying our bills."
King said he would definitely try Knology as soon as it was available in Auburn.
"I mean, it can't be any worse than Charter," King said. "And even if it is, at least we will have options now. Hopefully it will make Charter improve their services."
Palermo said people like King should try not to get too excited just yet because more must be done before Knology can move into Auburn.
"This part is just a start," Palermo said. "There are no guarantees right now. This is just a franchise approval."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
