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from: Denver Business journal

Qwest wants video franchise in Arvada

The Denver Business Journal - 3:26 PM MDT Monday, August 6, 2007
by Greg Avery
Denver Business Journal

Qwest Communications International Inc. seeks its second video franchise agreement with a community in its headquarters city and is making use of federal rules designed to make the process move quickly, the company announced Monday.

The Denver-based telecommunications company (NYSE: Q) applied for a citywide video franchise agreement in the suburban city of Arvada on Aug. 6, the first day on which new federal rules apply that limit cities to a 90-day negotiation and deliberation period.
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Lone Tree is the only Denver-area community where Qwest currently operates a video franchise. The company has or is negotiating franchise agreements in major metropolitan areas such as Omaha, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Portland.

If it completes a franchise agreement with Arvada, Qwest will compete there with its main rival, cable company Comcast, and a smaller operator, U.S. Cable.

"We look forward to serving customers and providing meaningful competition, which will result in lower prices and better service," said Qwest spokeswoman Carolyn Tyler.

Arvada Mayor Ken Fellman professionally is an attorney for the Greater Metro Area Telecommunications Consortium, which crafted franchise agreement language for metro-area communities that would require Qwest and other franchisees to disclose where they plan to build their cable networks and on what timeline if they trigger the FCC's 90-day "shot clock." Arvada is one of several metro-area cities that have adopted the disclosure ordinance.

Qwest has criticized the ordinances as anti-competitive and has said it would avoid cities with the requirement.

The fact that Qwest is applying for an Arvada franchise anyway surprised Fellman a little Monday, he said.

Fellman would love to see Qwest bring more competition to video service in Arvada, he said, as long as Qwest pursues a quick build-out schedule that brings services to all parts of the 45,000-household community.

"I would think we'd make a pretty good market," he said.