Cable Television Advisory Committee
District of Columbia law established the Cable Television
Advisory Committee (the "Advisory Committee") to assist
and advise the District's Office of Cable Television ("OCT")
and the City Council regarding development, regulation, and design
of the cable television systems serving District residents. The Advisory
Committee meets quarterly. Attendees at the meetings vary, but usually
include (i) Advisory Committee members, (ii) OCT staff, (iii) representatives
of the District's cable television providers, and (iv) interested
citizens. The topics discussed at each meeting vary widely; recent
topics of discussion have included the renewed Comcast cable television
franchise agreement (which became effective October 21, 2002), OCT's
negotiation of a long-term agreement with RCN Communications, introduction
of advanced cable services such as high-speed Internet via cable modem,
cable TV programming issues, and the District's recently-enacted customer
service regulations, just to reveal a small spectrum of the issues
that are examined.
The Advisory
Committee consists of thirteen members, and the composition is set
by District law (see Section 301(b) of the Cable Television Reform
Amendment Act of 2002, effective October 3, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-412;
D.C. Official Code 34-1253.01(b)):
1 |
Two
representatives from the D.C. Council (one member designated
by the Chairman and one member designated by the Chairperson
of the Council Committee overseeing OCT (currently, the Committee
on Economic Development)); |
2 |
One
representative from the Consortium of Universities; |
3 |
One
representative of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation; |
4 |
One
representative from the Office of the Assistant City Administrator
for Economic Development; |
5 |
One
member of the District of Columbia Public School Board, selected
by the President of the School Board; |
6 |
One
registered engineer with appropriate cable television expertise; |
7 |
One
District resident with expert knowledge of the telecommunications
industry; |
8 |
One
resident senior citizen; |
9 |
One
member of the Board of Directors of the Public Access Corporation;
|
10 |
Two
District residents with appropriate technological expertise;
and |
11 |
One
representative from any of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions
in the District. |
The Advisory
Committee meets quarterly, with meetings generally held on the second
Tuesday of the month. The meetings are generally held at OCT's headquarters,
3007 Tilden Street, NW, Pod P, Washington, DC 20008. OCT is located
in the Intelsat building at Tilden Street and Connecticut Avenue
with entry via the Tilden Street Intelsat entrance. OCT is accessible
via mass transit (the Van Ness/UDC Metro station on Metro's Red
line is within walking distance.) The public is invited to attend
meetings: please contact Vannice Edmunds, Paralegal Specialist of
the Office of Cable Television via email at vannice.edmunds@dc.gov
or by telephone at 202-671-0066 if you are interested in attending
a meeting.
Questions or
concerns regarding the Cable Television Advisory Committee may be
forwarded to Vannice Edmunds, Paralegal Specialist, of the Office
of Cable Television, or email at vannice.edmunds@dc.gov
or via telephone at 202-671-0066.
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