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"We feel that we will be ready to deliver," said James Neville, president of Millis Community Access Television.
The chief hurdle in the negotiations was the amount of the surcharge - currently 4.5 percent - added to customers' bills to fund the local public-access station, which televises public meetings and other community events for Millis residents. Comcast had proposed lowering the surcharge to 4 percent for the upcoming 10-year contract but ultimately relented.
"As we went through the process, it was evident that there was greater need because of expanded services that are anticipated in the next 10 years," said Frank Foss, a senior manager for Comcast. Millis officials have said they want to televise more meetings in the near future.
Originally, Foss said, the company thought the surcharge could be lowered because the town has used it to build up reserves. The company became convinced, however, that the funds would be used for legitimate future expenses, he said.
Another point of concern was the contention by town officials that the local station's broadcasts were spotty, with interruptions in both the sound and picture. Particularly worrisome, officials said, were complaints by residents that reception went out during the last two Town Meeting sessions.
Officials blamed the dicey reception on the 25-year-old infrastructure of the institutional network, or INET, responsible for carrying the local signal.
"The age of the INET is such that it can't sustain operating without failure," Neville said.
"There are times we can go months without interruption, and there are others where we get four calls in a two-week period," he said.
"As soon as we do a remote, all bets are off. Every time we touch the INET . . . to shoot a live function, be it a Town Meeting or a graduation, we lose the INET."
Comcast has agreed to replace the network by May 1, which would ensure that it is up and running before the annual Town Meeting scheduled for that month. If Comcast misses the deadline, the tentative contract would require it to pay the town $400 per day until the network is replaced.
The company also has agreed to continue offering a 5 percent discount on its basic package for customers 65 and older, a provision Comcast left out of its initial proposal to the town.
The most important detail left to work out, both sides said, is when the company will pay the town $100,000 for capital purchases for the local station. The town received $50,000 for capital expenses in the current contract, but the company has agreed to pay an additional $50,000 to compensate for delays in replacing the institutional network.
Officials now must negotiate how much of that money will be paid at the start of the contract, and at what points the rest will be paid out.
