A second cable company is trying to come to Baltimore City ? and Comcast isn?t happy.
The cable giant on Thursday successfully opposed a government contract for upstart Cavalier cable ? effectively killing it until next year.
“We aren?t necessarily saying ?no,?” said James Kraft, chairman of a City Council subcommittee, which gave the contract an unfavorable ruling. “We?re saying we have to doit responsibly. The mayor?s office wasn?t happy with the contract at all.”
Kraft said the subcommittee could take another look at Cavalier?s entrance into the city next year.
The Richmond-based Cavalier cable was trying to break up Comcast?s monopoly in Baltimore City, said Craig Pizer, a Cavalier vice president.
But Rosetta Wilson, a Comcast vice president, objected to what she called “unfavorable terms” proposed for Cavalier.
Among other disparities, the city?s proposed contract with Cavalier would allow the smaller company to keep its headquarters in Richmond, while Comcast is required to maintain a building in Baltimore, paying high taxes, Wilson said.
“We question: What is the difference here?” she asked council members.
Cavalier?s contract also was opposed by Mayor Sheila Dixon?s director of cable and communications, Marilyn Harris-Davis.
Harris-Davis said she worried about Cavalier?s customer service.
“Cavalier is a small company and new to the cable industry,” she told the council members. “We need to have a level of accountability.”
Pizer said his company?s customer service is second to no one.
Joseph Daniels, a Verizon vice president, said his company takes no position about Cavalier?s proposed contract with the city. He hinted that Verizon soon will try to break into the Baltimore City market itself.
Under federal law, Cavalier can lease copper lines from Verizon ? so the company won?t need to tear up city streets, Pizer said.
Licensed in Virginia, Cavalier also is seeking to break into the cable market in Howard, and Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties.
