SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane City Council passed an ordinance Monday that would eventually allow a new cable provider to operate in the city.
The council unanimously voted that TDS Metrocom can afford to launch the service. Next, the company has to meet some other requirements before the council can hear from the public and vote in February.
According to city documents, city council is interested in attracting competition to give people choices and potentially better prices.
TDS Telecommuncations is a Wisconsin-based cable and internet provider---TDS Metrocom is its subsidiary. The company submitted a formal application for a cable franchise with the city and paid a $10,000 application fee.
According to the city's briefing papers, TDS is committing to build an all-fiber cable television system. This could provide a minimum of 120 channels to Spokane homes. TDS is already hiring in Coeur d'Alene as it's working to establish a fiber service there.
As for customer reviews, we found about 5 positive ones on Yelp. Some customers praise the company for its low cost and say the services are generally good quality.
But the remaining 100 reviews, though, bear one out of five stars. Some complain the internet speed is too slow. Others say it's the worst service they've ever had, and the channels constantly go in and out.