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If you overbuild it, will they come? Second cable company may soon vie for Rochester market

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ROCHESTER - What in the past has been taboo for cable providers could soon become reality. Competition.

It could happen right here in Rochester, and the cable provider industry will likely be riveted on the Lilac City to see how it all pans out.

Normally cable providers never compete against each other for two reason: it's very expensive, and it is usually an FCC death knell for any kind of merger down the line.

Comcast, the largest cable company in the world and owner of such entities as Universal Pictures, NBC and Universal Studios theme parks, is looking to overbuild MetroCast's cable infrastructure here to compete with the Pennsylvania company that has serviced Rochester for many years.

Rochester City Manager Daniel Fitzpatrick said on Wednesday that Comcast, which provides cable access in Dover, recently reached out to the city "as a courtesy" to let them know that they were providing internet service to a property near a gravel pit just over the line into Rochester.

Fitzpatrick expressed an interest to have a second cable provider in the city to spur competition, and learned that it was Comcast's corporate plan to enter the Rochester market and overbuild the current MetroCast infrastructure.

"Overbuilding" is a term that refers to when a competing cable operator builds a cable network system in an area already serviced by a cable operator.

Fitzpatrick explained that no cable provider has an exclusivity agreement with a city or town and that any provider can seek to overbuild at any time.

"Their (Comcast's) opinion was that Rochester was the place to be because the city is growing so quickly," Fitzpatrick said.

He estimated that if the city approves Comcast's overbuild, it could take 18-24 months to complete Rochester's Comcast cable infrastructure.

It should be noted that Comcast would have lay its own cable infrastructure independent of MetroCast's equipment.

Comcast spokesman Marc Goodman said the company is looking forward to its future in Rochester.

"We believe Rochester offers an attractive opportunity to respond to consumer demand for Xfinity and Comcast Business products and services in an area that neighbors Comcast's existing footprint and is part of the same designated market area we already serve," he said in a prepared statement to The Rochester Voice on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Andrew Walton of MetroCast said the company would have no comment at this time.

MetroCast was recently bought by Atlantic Broadband, based in Quincy, Mass., and owned by Canadian cable giant Cogeco.

Walton said the merger is expected to be finalized in January after FCC approval.

Rochester residents will soon get a chance to chime in. The City Council will hold a public hearing on Comcast's plans during a workshop on Tuesday.

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