Hawaiian Telcom to Offer Cable TV Services
It has been one of Hawaiian Telcom‘s long standing plans – become a cable TV provider for Hawaii. The State Dept of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) granted Hawaiian Telcom a 15 year franchise fee to set up and operate a competing cable TV system that will mount a challenge to longtime incumbent Time Warner Oceanic Cable.
Hawaiian Telcom is the state’s largest phone company. They recently came out of bankruptcy. Due to a changing marketplace where many people have opted for cellular phone service instead of a traditional landline, the phone company has decided to pursue to cable TV option and offer its services as a package along with telecom and internet services.
More details at the following links:
Hawaiian Telcom gets a license for cable TV
Hawaiian Telcom Gets OK To Offer Cavble TV
DCCA Press Release (PDF)
Publisher’s Comment: Competition is usually a good thing. We’ll see how this pans out for consumers in relation to prices and packaging offered by Hawaiian Telcom. Hopefully the new competition will bring cable TV prices down or at least stabilize them at a certain level. It is also hoped that better TV channel packages are offered or even the possibility (highly unlikely) of ala carte cable.
This post also appears on the Hawaii Radio and Television Guide Blog. Photo by Ryan Ozawa.
