The City of Warren has indicated its intent to renegotiate its franchise agreement with Breezeline, formerly Atlantic Broadband.

It’s a complex agreement but it generates about $80,000 in revenue to the city in exchange for right of way access.

A public hearing was held Monday night to hear from residents about Breezeline’s service in the city and address future cable needs in the city.

Gary Culbertson cited multiple price increases in the last year and suggested the city put cable service out for bid.

“Atlantic Broadband was much better to deal with,” he said. “Why does this have to be just one company that you’re dealing with? Competition is the best. It’s all about them and this. It’s not about the customer.”

City Manager Mike Holtz noted that the franchise agreement doesn’t exclude any other cable firms from coming into Warren.

He called that a “tough business decision for other cable companies.”

Barb Phillips noted the savings that can be found by streaming television service as well as 5G wireless internet.

“The people that are really getting hammered are our seniors,” she said, “because a lot of them are not tech savvy enough to stream their TV service. It’s just not sustainable, especially for our elderly population.”

Kevin Sheldon said that one addition to the agreement is to require Breezeline to have an office in Warren.

John McGahen added that some older televisions don’t immediately work with new equipment.

“We need to open it up,” he said.

Mayor David Wortman thanked everyone for their comments and said the feedback would be taken “into consideration as we work through the process.”