A $3.5 million project to make Kaua’i’s cable TV channel lineup uniform will not result in higher rates to customers, according to Bill Harkins, president of Garden Isle Telecommunications. The changeover, though, is causing some unavoidable outages and inconvenience, he
A $3.5 million project to make Kaua’i’s cable TV channel lineup uniform will not result in higher rates to customers, according to Bill Harkins, president of Garden Isle Telecommunications.
The changeover, though, is causing some unavoidable outages and inconvenience, he said.
Garden Isle has begun upgrading the cable television system on the island. The upgrade is nearly complete in Wailua Houselots, and work is underway in Puhi and Lihu’e.
“What we are doing now is changing the lineup in the former Garden Isle Cablevision system over to the channel lineup of the former Kaua’i Cable system,” said Harkins. “When we complete Lihu’e and Kapa’a, everyone on Kaua’i will have the same lineup for the first time ever.” Once everyone has the same channel lineup, Garden Isle will be able to move its equipment from the old Kaua’i Cable satellite reception facility in Kukuiolono Park to a new, state-of-the-art facility in another part of Kalaheo, Harkins said.
“This move will make a lot more of our existing fiber optic plant available for other uses, such as two-way Internet service via cable modem,” he said.
According to Harkins, all customers will receive a letter informing them when the upgrade will begin in their area. The letter will also tell customers that they will need a converter box if they want premium services such as HBO, pay-per-view movies or the Sports Plus tier.
Initially, some customers won’t get above channel 45 until the upgrade crews actually pass their homes while they are upgrading the existing lines. However, those customers will not be billed for any new channels they aren’t receiving until the upgrade work on their street has been completed.
The rest of the island will be upgraded after Lihu’e and Kapa’a are completed. That work will go much faster, as that part of the system is newer and easier to work on, Harkins explained.
However, there will be some unavoidable service interruptions for customers while the the new equipment is being installed in their neighborhoods, he added.
In the end, Garden Isle will have more bandwidth and channel capacity (870 MHz) than Oceanic Cable in Honolulu (750 MHz).
“With this system, we will be able to add hundreds of new channels and any other services that our customers want access to. I don’t think we will ever have to upgrade this system again,” said Harkins.
“When I came here in 1987 and took over Derby Cable, the system could only carry channels 2 through 13, and the reception was terrible,” Harkins said. “It’s always been my dream to build a reliable, state-of-the-art cable system here, and now it’s becoming a reality. We are all very excited about it.” Regarding rates for cable TV service, Harkins said they are based on programming costs. For example, every year Garden Isle’s costs for channels such as ESPN are increased, and when the local cable operator increase rates, it is based only on those costs and a formula established by the Federal Communications Commission.
Garden Isle’s owner put up the money for the in-progress system upgrades, Harkins said.
Garden Isle Cablevision and Kaua’i Cablevision merged in mid-1997 when the parent company of Garden Isle purchased both systems.
In Hawai’i, the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Cable Television Division regulates cable TV companies.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
