Description

It appears the City isn’t going to do anything about making AT&T, WOW, Comcast, Google and the other cable companies follow the CATV agreement with the City.

Since issue ID: 5019397 was closed by the City the majority of the items mention in that complaint are still open –

Old utility pole ▶ Acknowledged
Issue ID:4966248 501 Mountain Gap Rd Se
Reported: on 09/30/2018
Huntsville Information Technology Services (Verified Official)
Yes, the Information Technology Services group is aware of this request. So that you are aware this is not an isolated situation, there are numerous old poles throughout the city that have yet to be removed as they are waiting for communications companies to move their lines to the new poles. The issue is one where the work must be performed sequentially from top to bottom according to which company is attached closest to the electric lines. If the top attachment is not removed then the others cannot perform their work. We are working closely with Huntsville Utilities to resolve the situation with the communications companies.
10/17/2018 · Flag
Complaint is still open.

Internet Cable Running Across Road
1009 Fieldstone Ct. Se
Issue ID: 4892968 ACKNOWLEDGED
Huntsville Information Technology Services (Verified Official)
WOW has been reminded again to take care of this situation.
Information Technology Services
09/21/2018 · Flag
Complaint is still open.

Cable left unburied across driveway
1002 Kennesaw Drive
Issue ID: 4075445
Reported: on 01/29/2018
Huntsville Engineering (Verified Official)
We are sorry for that inconvenience, but it is completely up to the service provider as to when they will come back and bury the line. Do you know who the cable belongs to?
02/01/2018 · Flag
Complaint is still open

Power pole falling over
7500 Whitesburg Dr
Issue ID: 4731845
Reported: on 07/28/2018
Huntsville Information Technology Services (Verified Official)
All four communications companies, CenturyLink, Comcast, WOW and AT&T attached to this and another old pole in front of the neighboring address to the south have been notified again.
Thank you for your concern,
Information Technology Services
08/10/2018 · Flag
Complaint is still open

Ground sinking where AT&T installed cable
Bailey Cove Rd & Savannah Ct
Issue ID: 4992603
Reported: on 10/07/2018
CLOSED Huntsville Information Technology Services (Verified Official)
AT&T has filled the hole by the sidewalk, this request is now closed.
Information Technology Services
10/31/2018 · Flag
Since AT&T only bothered to “fix” (by fixing they dumped dirt in the hole no grass seed or sod) one side of the street where the ground was caving in next to the sidewalk another complaint had to be put in since the job was not done . Also there was no mention of what if anything AT&T did about checking about the condition of the road after they dug under Savannah Ct.
Since original complaint was closed, a new one was entered Issue # 5076183 Reported: on 10/31/2018 to get the other side of Savanah Ct fixed. City’s response : ACKNOWLEDGED Huntsville Engineering (Verified Official)
We have notified our ITS department for review of this issue and they are in contact with AT&T. They will respond as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Engineering
Why did ITS close the complaint in the first place when it clearly wasn’t fixed?

The only problem which was fixed (Thank you) was the broken pole at 10103 Todd Mill which was removed. If the City can get the cable companies to quickly move on this new complaint, why can’t the City get them to move on the old complaints?

Why were none of the questions asked in complaint #5019397 answered? Such as why is the agreement the City has with the CATV owners not enforced? Why do citizens have to call the cable companies to get them to move their lines? Why are complaints closed when nothing has been done to fix the problem in the complaint? Why do departments transfer the complaint from department to department? Why is AT&T allowed to keep their non-functioning equipment in the ground instead of removing it? (green cover in photo attached to this complaint has a Bell Systems logo on it. Bell Systems broke up in 1984) Why are the cable companies not made to remove the cables they cut instead of leaving them hanging from overhead lines or coiled up on the ground or hanging from the poles?

On Issue ID: 5019397 the Mayor’s office wrote “We understand that this is an issue throughout the City and are currently working on policies and procedures to address those problems. If you see specific poles that are considered dangerous, please identify those individually so that they may be addressed. Thank you for taking the time to bring this to our attention and we sincerely appreciate your patience while we continue to work diligently on a solution. Thank you, Your Huntsville Connect Customer Service Team
10/30/2018 · Flag”.
Citizens have reported specific poles but nothing is being done about getting the cable companies to fix the problems or removing their now useless cable lines.

Not receiving responses to emails I sent to Bill Steiner and Trey Riley, I finally received a response from City administrator John Hamilton concerning the above questions. In December 2017 Hamilton wrote “Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us. We have been working with several of our departments, as well as Huntsville Utilities, to address the issues noted in your letter. We agree that changes need to be made to our franchise agreements and we will continue to be proactive and work with these companies on a long-term resolution. We do expect it will take an extended period of time to fully solve these issues but rest assured that we are and will continue to work on them. We appreciate your concern.”
How long is “extended” to the City? Some complaints (closed with nothing being done about them) are a couple of years old. What is the City’s definition of proactive?