Have opinions on cable services here in Dartmouth? 

As part of the upcoming Select Board meeting scheduled for Oct. 3, you can share them.

The discussion comes as the town enters negotiations on its latest contract with Comcast, which is set to expire in September 2023. 

Federal law requires a public proceeding to ascertain the community’s cable-related needs and interests as part of the renewal process. 

According to Dartmouth Community Television’s Director of Media Peter Chasse, a government affairs coordinator from Comcast will be at the meeting to send any resident feedback to the company.

“This is just the first step,” he said. “It gives residents a time where they can let Comcast know how they’re doing in the area.”

Such contracts last for 10 years and are non-exclusive, which means the town could still seek another cable operator. Verizon and RCN were approached some years ago, but Chasse said neither company planned to expand to Dartmouth for cable services.

Through these deals, Comcast provides set channels for public, education and government access programs produced by DCTV (channels 9, 18, and 95). 

The cable provider also connects municipal buildings to a fiber optic network, which allows DCTV to quickly send video files from various spots in town to its offices on Russells Mills Road. 

Things have gone well under the current contract, Chasse said. 

“They’ve been great to work with,” he said.

He said that during the recent contract period, all residents in town can get the DCTV channels through their cable. A few years ago, Chasse noted many homes on the Westport line could only receive Westport cable.

“We pushed to have that fixed and they did that,” he said.  

Comcast also pays 5% of gross revenues to DCTV — the highest percentage permissible.

Heading into the next contract cycle, Chasse said DCTV hopes to bring some quality of life updates to its services. One such wish is to add closed captioning to each of its live streams, something he said is a heavy expense in this current economy.

“Until that price can come down a little bit, we just can’t afford it,” he said. “The price is coming down, it’s just not there yet to do it in-house.”

What is expected under a new contract is that Comcast would provide the town with high-definition capabilities.

The public ascertainment will be held Monday, Oct. 3 hearing in Room 304 at Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Additional questions/comments can be sent to the Select Board after the meeting.