Opelika also considers cable contract

Auburn isn’t the only city interested in providing a variety of cable companies for its residents.

Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller said the city council will likely renew its non-exclusive cable franchise agreement with Charter Communications before the end of the year, and perhaps decide who the competition will be.

“There is going to be competition for Charter,” Fuller vowed. “It’ll either be us or Knology. I don’t think we are quite large enough to support three providers.”

The Auburn City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to enter into a non-exclusive cable franchise agreement with Knology, a cable-Internet-phone provider based in West Point, Ga. Currently, Charter services both Auburn and Opelika residents.

Fuller said city officials have talked with Knology officials about an agreement; however, nothing has been set yet because the city is still considering creating its own fiber-optic network to provide cable, phone and Internet services.

“The difference between fiber and coaxial (cable) is like night and day,” Fuller said. “If coax is a garden hose, fiber is a fire hose. It can handle a lot more capacity on a much bigger pipeline.”

The city’s ownership of Opelika Light and Power would be beneficial with a fiber system, Fuller said. With the control of 7,000 power poles, he said Opelika would be paying itself the pole attachment fee regulated by state law. Then the city could deliver 85 percent of the fiber network above ground and the remaining 15 percent would go underground, he said.