Frontier to Offer Port Jervis an Alternative to Time Warner Cable TV

Frontier to Offer Port Jervis an Alternative to Time Warner Cable TV
Deb Bogdanski, general manager, New York South, Frontier Communications, present Internet television service to the common council in Port Jervis on July 25, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
Yvonne Marcotte
7/27/2016
Updated:
7/28/2016

PORT JERVIS—Frontier Communications Corp. hopes to offer Time Warner Cable a little competition in the City of Port Jervis. Debbie Bogdanski, general manager for Frontier’s southern New York region, presented a proposal to the Common Council on July 26 for television service via the internet called Vantage TV.

Bogdanski said the Hudson Valley “is one of the first Frontier markets to work with municipalities on franchise agreements.”

Bogdanski told the council about features of the service. Customers will have secure delivery of standard, high, and ultra high-definition video. The set-top boxes will be Wi-Fi enabled so they can place their TVs anywhere in their home.

Super-fast navigation through live broadcasts will provide instant channel changes. The service provides a library of video on demand. Customers can record up to six shows at once and store over 370 hours of HD programming with one terabyte of on-premise storage.

In her presentation Bogdanski said the service will give “a next-generation EPG (Electronic Program Guide) and enhanced search functionality with rich, new poster-art driven experience that allows consumers to easily discover and consume content on their terms.”

Integrated interactive applications will include Social TV—access to Twitter and Facebook—weather, an interactive workout, the Home Shopping Network, and interactive games. The DVR can use any receiver.

Bogdanski displayed a map of the proposed service area that she said covers virtually 100 percent of the city; a small area in a corner parcel is not covered at this time.

In the proposed agreement with the city, she said channels 23 and 24 will be kept as city access channels, and the franchise fee will provide needed revenue to city coffers.

The Orange County Epoch Times reported on July 8 that Frontier approached Middletown in May to provide digital video and television services in the city and were in the process of working out a contract. On July 5, the city held a public hearing on Frontier’s proposal.

Frontier’s state headquarters are in Rochester. Bogdanski said the other market being approached is the Greater Rochester/Finger Lakes region.

“Once a public hearing has been held and we have a signed franchise agreement with the municipality,” Bogdanski said, “the application is filed with the New York State Public Service Commission for their review.”

The Fortune 1000 company currently serves 29 states and has a revenue of $11 billion. Frontier’s corporate headquarters are in Norwalk, Connecticut.

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