A third cable television company trying to break into the Baltimore County market is financially shakier than giants Verizon and Comcast, but should be able to compete anyway, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
“I can’t tell you they have the same financial background Verizon or Comcast has,” Councilman Kevin Kamenetz said of Richmond, Va.-based Cavalier cable. “Those companies are publicly traded entities. This is a privately held company and it’s not as financially backed. If the franchise were to fold, there are two other providers who could fill that void.”
Based on that belief, Kamenetz recommended during a Tuesday work session that the council approve Cavalier’s contract. If the majority of the council votes to do so on Nov. 5, there will be a 90-day negotiation period between company and the government.
Cavalier has the advantage of not needing to tear up the ground to install fiber-optic cable lines, because, under federal law, it can lease cobber lines from Verizon, according to Kamenetz, who negotiates cable contracts for the council.
“They won’t have to do digging to the same extent Verizon and Comcast have done,” he said.
Cavalier could be the second cable company to enter Baltimore County in the past year. Verizon entered Baltimore County’s cable market in February, contributing about $9 million in county revenues per year.
“Once we had Verizon enter, we lost all regulatory authority over rates,” the councilman said. “The federal government envisioned that competition and the free market would regulate the rates. We’ll seehow that works.”
Licensed in Virginia, Cavalier also is seeking to add cable to its phone and Internet services in Baltimore City as well as Howard, and Anne Arundel counties.
