Baltimore County and internet service giant Comcast have inked a 10 year deal that officials said would go a long way towards bringing broadband to rural parts of the county. Negotiating the new agreement took years and was described by one council member as “stuck in quicksand.” The lack of internet, particularly in the Hereford Zone in Northern Baltimore County, became a massive problem during the coronavirus pandemic when schools shut down in-person learning to curb the spread of the virus in 2020.
“I can’t begin to tell you what a problem it was that so many of the students in Northern Baltimore County had difficulty accessing the internet,” said Republican Councilman Wade Kach, whose district includes Hereford. “I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am with this contract.”
When schools shuttered in March of 2020, the Baltimore County Public School system and county leaders scrambled to figure out ways to get internet service in rural areas. Students were given mobile hotspots. Broadband was available in the parking lots of some schools.
“This isn’t going to be a problem in the future,” said Kach.
The County Council unanimously approved the deal with Comcast at its meeting Monday night. The franchise agreement deals strictly with Comcast providing video service, but since internet access piggybacks on the cable, it means more people will be able to get online.
Under the agreement, if there are 20 or more homes along one mile of cable, Comcast must provide service. The standard was previously 30 or more homes. The threshold drops to 15 or more homes if all of the homeowners sign up for cable for at least a year.
Comcast also is more than doubling the length it will run a cable line for free from the street for people with private roads or long driveways, from 125 feet to 300 feet.
“It doesn’t go all the way as far as tertiary and really really remote areas, but it gets those primary and secondary private roads,” said Thomas Bostwick, the council’s legislative counsel, who was involved in the Comcast negotiations.
The deal with Comcast languished since 2019. Democratic Councilman Tom Quirk said at first, Comcast played hardball.
“This is so much different than the initial negotiation because it wasn’t a negotiation,” Quirk said. “It’s good to see a complete 180 from where it was several years ago, stuck in the biggest quicksand and impasse ever.”
According to Comcast, the renegotiation took so long because it was complex and that it’s not unusual for it to take time.
In a statement, Kristie Fox, a vice president for communications for Comcast said, "We value our strong relationship with Baltimore County and we’re pleased to renew our franchise agreement to continue bringing our products and services to the community.”
Rob O’Connor, the director of the county’s office of information technology, said a sticking point during the negotiations was the county’s demand that Comcast’s customer service center in White Marsh remain open. They compromised on the center staying open for at least five years.
“In many of the national franchise agreements, they have removed the requirement to have brick and mortar in county locations,” O’Connor told the council. “We stuck to our guns on that one and we did negotiate the five year. Then we will come back and readdress again if they decided after five years to change course.”
Under the franchise agreement Comcast must pay Baltimore County 5% of its gross revenues. Bostwick, the council’s legal counsel, said that adds up to approximately $7 million annually for the county.
In addition, there is a new Public Education Government Access fee of 66 cents passed along to customers on their monthly bill earmarked for the county. That money will be used by the county to maintain its own fiber network, which runs between police stations and government office buildings. That is expected to bring in up to $800,000 a year.
Officials said there are also more safeguards for consumers in the agreement. In exchange, Comcast can maintain its cable system in public rights-of-way. Now that Comcast is a done deal, Bostwick said negotiations will begin soon with the other big communications player in the county, Verizon.
Democratic Councilman Izzy Patoka said, “If Comcast is required to provide service to lower density areas, then Verizon ought to be held to that same standard.”
Patoka also wondered if Comcast could be convinced to offer individual channels, rather than making consumers buy them in bundles.
“So instead of having to get 100 channels you’re not going to watch, can we ask Comcast to allow Baltimore County residents to have an a la carte option?” Patoka asked
John Davis, who is Baltimore County’s cable administrator, helped to negotiate the deal and once worked at Comcast, told Patoka that’s unlikely.
“Just from my experience in working for Comcast, that’s not something they do,” Davis said.
