Time Warner rolls out new cable service in Camarillo
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Media giant Time Warner announced it has begun rolling out new products and services for local cable and Internet customers, but not all residents are happy with the switchover from Adelphia.

Time Warner and Comcast purchased Adelphia last year for $16.7 billion when founder and CEO John Rigas and his sons plundered assets for personal use and forced the company into bankruptcy.

The Los Angeles North division of Time Warner Cable will serve 660,000 homes in the region, including communities in Camarillo and much of Ventura County.

Customers will see a new digital channel lineup, high definition stations, high speed online packages, ethnic-language networks and other innovations.

Time Warner's new genrebased programming will group programs according to themes, such as children's programming, sports and music, said Patricia Fregoso, Time Warner vice president of community affairs.

"Time Warner's goal is to simplify digital lineups," Fregoso said. "Sports programs will all be in one block of channels. This minimizes channel surfing to find programs."

As for what customers must pay, Fregoso said basic rates haven't changed-yet. Basic packages will include channels 2 through 99, but additional tiers can be added for more money.

Even though Time Warner Cable said it is striving for simplification, the wide array of products that is being offered has left some customers confused.

Michele and Gary Arso live in Oak Park and received a packet of literature explaining the new services, channel lineups, costs and other options.

The Arso's packet included a letter that said their service would change on Oct. 24-but it didn't.

Gary Arso said he's worried about channels being taken away and replaced with ethnic programming that won't be useful in his household.

The channel lineup guide is also said to be confusing. There are at least 10 color codes representing stations and many of the colors are so similar that it's difficult to distinguish between them.

Michele Arso's understanding of the new cable system is fuzzy at best.

"It doesn't say to me call us now and pick your tier," Arso said. "No one has told me to do anything-they've told me to sit back and relax."

Other services on the horizon include free video on demand. For instance, if you want to see reruns

of Seinfeld you can retrieve any episode at the touch of a button. A bank of digital movie and television programs will be stored in a server and available instantaneously without the need of additional equipment.

Time Warner also plans to launch a local program venue.

"Local edition" will allow officials and community groups the opportunity to conduct fiveminute interviews that will be aired twice an hour on CNN Headline News.

"It's going to be phenomenal," Fregoso said.

The Arsos aren't as enthusiastic

"I want to see what they do and take it from there," Gary Arso said.

Time Warner is facing tough competition from the satellite providers, including DirectTV and DISH Network, which offer home packages that include television, Internet and telephone.

Verizon already has franchise agreements in Thousand Oaks and Camarillo. Other telephone companies are expected to join the video bandwagon.

A new law-Assembly Bill 2987-adds yet another dimension to the cable television issue. The law would eliminate the cityby-city video franchise approval process and establish the California Department of Corporations as the state's franchising authority.

The bill would speed up the competitive rollout of new products and services to customers, lawmakers said.

As for Time Warner, "We're not the only game in town, but we're certainly the best game in town," Fregoso said.