Fighting for Non-Commercial TV

If you are now enjoying meaningful, uninterrupted community access television in your area, understand that you are being served because it is your legal right as a cable subscriber to have community access. You should also be grateful that a commitment has been made to you by your cable provider to give you quality community access television. If you live in the towns of Salisbury, Lakeville, North Canaan, Falls Village, Norfolk or Sharon, you are probably well aware of the lack of community access for the last year. Please let it be known that Planet Cable Access has been fighting for your rights since the public access station’s closure in June of 2001.

Planet Cable Access is a nonprofit organization founded on August 6, 2001 for the purpose of applying for the permit to operate the community access channel 11, which services the above-mentioned towns in the northwest Connecticut AT&T cable franchise area. Planet Cable Access is a component fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Our board of directors are the following members of these communities: Leila Wood, Leo Nadeau ,Roberta Willis, Charles Keil, Jeffery Matthews, Robert Timan, Walter Schwartz and Linda Schwartz.

We as concerned citizens are committed to providing our communities with the best possible community access television. Our commitment to our community has undergone severe tests by the DPUC and AT&T, but this has only strengthened our resolve to make our local community access station the valuable community resource that it should be and will become under the professional management of Planet Cable Access.

We of the board of Planet Cable Access are asking for the support of all concerned citizens of these communities, as well as others who wish to aid in defending the rights of their sister communities to free speech and the freedom of non-commercial television.

For a full review of Planet Cable Access filings with the DPUC, refer to the website <dpuc.ct> for "inactive docket" #01-04-03 and "active docket" #02-01-16. If you wish to review the Planet Cable Access application and business plan, refer to docket 02-01-16 and the application dated 2/22/02. All citizens who wish to be involved or find out more about Planet Cable Access and AT&T should call 860-435-2187.

Help us prove to the DPUC and AT&T that you value your legal right to community access. Please send a letter of support for Planet Cable Access to the DPUC before May 13. A public hearing will be held at the DPUC offices, 10 Franklin Square in New Britain on Monday and Tuesday, May 13-14 at 9 a.m.

Send your letter to: DPUC, Louise Rickard, Acting Executive Secretary, 10 Franklin Square, New Britain, CT 06051. Please place the docket number 02-01-16 on all correspondence.