Boston Secures HD Upgrade for Community TV in RCN Ownership Transfer Hearing

BOSTON -- March 17, 2021, Boston advances RCN transfer to Stone Peak, wins high-definition community access TV upgrade. The City of Boston held a public hearing on the indirect transfer of RCN Telecom Services of Massachusetts to Stone Peak Infrastructure Partners, with city Broadband and Cable Office director Mike Lynch and outside counsel Gerald Letter of BBK presiding alongside RCN Vice President Thomas Steele and Stone Peak counsel Michael Nielsen of Harris Wiltshire. An independent forensic auditor jointly engaged by Boston, Seattle, Washington D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland returned a clean report on the transaction and recommended a small number of safeguards, to which Stone Peak agreed in principle; the city will post the final agreement publicly. Stone Peak has agreed to reimburse the city up to $10,000 in review costs. Boston Neighborhood Network Media General Manager Glenn Williams testified that BNN's two community access channels remain stuck in standard definition, calling it "difficult to promote ourselves as a quality 21st century media production facility" under those conditions; Steele responded by committing to provide two HD channels for BNN as part of the license renewal. The public comment record closes March 19, with the 120-day federal transfer deadline driving the compressed timeline.