Comcast prices unfair, utility says

In the increasingly competitive field of broadband services, the little guys say the big guys are out to get them.

Officials at Braintree Electric Light Department, a municipal utility that also provides high-speed Internet and cable television service in town, say industry giant Comcast Cable Communications is singling out its 4,900 broadband customers, offering them significant rate reductions not available elsewhere in an effort to drive it out of the business.

In a statement issued late last month, a Comcast spokeswoman called Braintree's complaints ''groundless."

''Rather than compete head-to-head on products and customer service, [Braintree Light] has chosen to make groundless and unsubstantiated allegations," Comcast representative Jennifer Khoury said in her written response. ''In this competitive environment, where consumers can choose between numerous cable and satellite providers, Comcast believes in the superiority of its products and service, and that is what we market to all consumers."

According to Braintree Light, Comcast is offering its customers a 16-month discount on a combination digital TV and high-speed Internet package that would cut its usual price of $97 a month to $52.

The municipal utility, which charges $76 for the same package, says the 16-month rate is not available in other towns or to Comcast's current customers in Braintree.

Called before the Board of Selectmen in November to address complaints about its marketing tactics, including the use of door-to-door salesmen, Comcast officials denied that the company was targeting Braintree Light customers or attempting to drive it out of the cable business.

Selectman Charles Kokoros, the board's chairman, said in an interview later that he did not think Comcast offered enough information to back up its statements, but the selectmen had no plans for further action.

Braintree Light also has taken its complaints to the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy and to the attorney general. The state telecommunications agency is looking into the charges, according to hearing officer Alicia Matthews. Matthews said Comcast responded to a request for information on the Braintree issue last month, but the department has additional questions.

William Bottiggi, the Braintree Electric Light Department's director, said Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly's office rejected a request to investigate Comcast's alleged targeting of Braintree customers, deciding there was no evidence of serious harm to the utility. However, Bottiggi said, Reilly's office asked him to gather more information and ''see what's going on around the country."

A spokesman for Reilly confirmed that Bottiggi had met with an assistant attorney general, but had no comment on the details, citing departmental policy.

In response to inquiries from Braintree Light, Bottiggi said, smaller cable companies in a number of states -- including Michigan, Virginia, Arkansas, and Kentucky -- said they, too, have been targeted by Comcast and other larger companies.

In an e-mail, a Bristol Virginia Utilities official told Bottiggi that Comcast sent door-to-door salesmen to customers in his area. An official of an Arkansas public utility said Comcast offers special sign-up deals or free premium channels to customers in his service area. Rates go up when the special is over, he stated in an e-mail to Bottiggi.

In Massachusetts, RCN, a smaller company that competes with Comcast in the Boston area, also has been targeted, according to a vice president, Tom Steel. He said Comcast has offered RCN customers discounts not available to other customers ''in an obvious attempt to win them back."

While RCN has raised the unfair business practice issue with the state, Steel said, it is difficult for a regulatory agency to take a stand against anything that lowers prices, including Comcast's introductory offer in Braintree.

In the only other area community where a municipal utility offers cable services, a Norwood Light Broadband official said his customers have not been targeted by Comcast.

Robert Knox can be reached at rc.knox@verizon.com.