By LEAH DEARBORN
PEABODY — City officials are on the lookout for competition to rival its sole cable provider, Comcast.
Mary Bellavance, secretary of the Cable Commission, said the commission has advertised for cable companies to come to the city, but it’s been a long time since a new provider expressed an interest.
“They have to want to come here,” she said, adding that the number of smaller providers in the area has dwindled over the years.
She said about a decade ago, Boston Edison, now part of Eversource Energy, was close to making a deal with the city but pulled out at the last minute.
Bellavance said she finds the reluctance on the part of cable companies somewhat surprising, given the population of the city and the high cable saturation.
At a City Council meeting in February, a number of board members expressed frustration with the available services.
Ward 1 Councilor Jon Turco said the majority of South Peabody was without power for 18-20 hours during a recent winter storm.
“They had zero response from Comcast,” he said. “I don’t understand how a city of 50,000 people doesn’t have a second cable provider.”
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Marc Goodman, a Comcast spokesperson, apologized for any inconvenience caused by the storm when contacted for comment.
He said local engineers were dispatched to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
“Comcast operates in an extremely competitive marketplace … We work hard everyday to earn the trust of consumers,” said Goodman.
Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt Jr. has previously said that he and Mayor Kim Driscoll of Salem contacted Verizon about bringing fiber optic services to the city. He was told that Verizon is not currently building out any additional infrastructure.
“It’s frustrating, I know, but we’re continuing to look at other options,” said Bettencourt.
Stanley Usovicz, regional director of government affairs for Verizon, said that when the company rolled out fiber optic services, it was with an allotted amount of money and time that has already been expended.
He said there are no plans on the table to extend services to new communities.