GILROY
– Charter Communications, Gilroy’s cable service provider, has a
new leader for its central and northern California offices.
GILROY – Charter Communications, Gilroy’s cable service provider, has a new leader for its central and northern California offices.
Edward Merrill, an eight-year veteran manager for the company, was named vice president and general manager Aug. 1 of the company that has angered city officials and some of its customers.
Charter completed a cable infrastructure upgrade nine months late and has yet to remove remnants of the old system as well as complete a remote audio and video project.
Mer-rill visited The Dispatch Friday and was trying to arrange a meeting for later that day with
Gilroy Mayor Tom Springer in an effort “to get off to a fresh start.”
“I’m trying to build a relationship with the community where people know I’m accessible,” Merrill said. “I know I have a big job ahead of me.”
Merrill said his company is working daily to assess the amount of “cleanup” work it still must do to the old system. And, Merrill said, in two weeks Gilroy will have all the remote broadcast sites wired with the exception of four locations that need more input from the city before wiring can be installed.
He said the perception that cable companies are struggling to stay afloat since the rise of satellite TV is off-base, at least in Charter’s case.
“We’re actually gaining customers because of the increase in digital and high-speed Internet,” Merrill said. “But we’re in a competitive, highly competitive, environment.”
Merrill believes Charter’s ability to package regular TV, digital cable, premium movie packages and high-speed Internet connections makes the company competitive.
Over the near term, Charter’s plan to compete will hinge on a marketing strategy that allows new and existing customers to receive or upgrade any level of service for free for two months. Over the long-term, Merrill says a revamping of the company’s managerial structure is key.
Merrill responded to comments by Springer in a Dispatch article last week regarding certain apartment complexes and homeowners association’s in town that still do not get digital cable services. Springer expressed concerns that customers there were “a captive audience” because often there are restrictions to placing satellite dishes in rental properties.
“The reality is we really want to please those customers,” Merrill said. “We need them because they are easy to service since they make up a large number of potential customers in one location.”
