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Post-Standard, The (Syracuse, NY)

June 6, 2002
Section: Neighbors Cayuga
Edition: Cayuga
Page: 15

The televisions of Spafford will keep their rabbit ears for at least another month.

Ripples from Philadelphia-based cable giant Adelphia Communications Corp.'s financial crisis are delaying a $500,000 project to bring cable television and Internet connections to Spafford. The project was already several months behind schedule. "There's a lot of activity that was planned for the year that has been put on hold until we figure out where we're going financially," said Bill Keiser, general manager of Adelphia's local office. The company recently announced a four- to six-week moratorium on capital projects.

The Spafford cable project was started in April 2001 with plans to finish in November or December 2001. About 500 homes in Borodino, Route 41 and near Otisco Lake are to get cable service through Adelphia.

"Not much has happened to meet any of the deadlines that they told us about," said Ken Lieberman, the town's point man on the project.

Many in Spafford are frustrated by repeated delays and now fear that the cable will never arrive, he said.

"There are a lot of people in Spafford who work out of their houses, and they would really like high-speed cable Internet service," he said.

Also, many residents have satellite dishes, but the hilly terrain makes reception difficult to impossible for some.

Chris White, who runs a construction litigation company from his home near Otisco Lake, is one of those disappointed by the delays.

Currently, White sends large computer files to clients and subcontractors over a phone modem.

"Some of the big ones take half an hour. That's assuming you don't get cut off half way through," he said.

A cable modem would reduce transmission time to a few minutes.

White said a drawback of his satellite dish is that to get local networks he has to switch on an auxiliary antenna that gets poor reception.

"I wouldn't mind watching local news again," he said.

White said the demand for cable has increased as the town has developed.

"A lot of people who had camps out here are redoing them into full-time houses," he said.

When town officials first sought to bring cable to the town of 1,661 people, Adelphia and Time Warner were vying for the franchise, Lieberman said.

The town chose Adelphia because it offered to bring cable to more customers, he said.

"Hindsight's 20/20," White said. "I think if we went with the other folks, they wouldn't be in the same financial straits that Adelphia is."

NYSEG and Verizon have been replacing utility poles to accommodate cable wires.

Most of that is completed, and now cable lines must be strung, Keiser said.

"We're still committed to the area there ... It's just going to take a bit longer he said.

Adelphia Communications stock plunged after the company disclosed to federal regulators $2.3 billion in off-the-books debt.

Since then, the company has been reevaluating capital projects, Keiser said.

Keiser said it is unlikely that Adelphia will scrap the project.

"It certainly looks like the market of homes certainly warrants the investment. We want to be a good community partner and we believe the people out there do need the services we provide," Keiser said.

White and Lieberman said they're looking for ways to speed up the project.

"We may be able to go back and talk to the Time Warner people," White said. "Either way it looks like it'll be a long time."

Copyright, 2002, The Herald Company