Franchise Information for Biddeford

This page links to the Franchise Agreement between a local municipality (Biddeford) and Time Warner Cable

Under federal law, a cable operator is required to have a franchise agreement to provide cable services over the public rights of way in the municipality. This agreement is governs the cable operator’s the use of those rights of way.

In some cases, these documents may name cable companies other than Time Warner Cable. These are systems that Time Warner Cable has acquired over the years and in all cases the documents available here are current and in effect.

Provisions of a typical franchise agreement may include:

• Under federal law a municipality may assess a franchise fee of up to 5% of gross annual revenues derived from the provision of cable service over the cable system in the community. Franchise fees are collected from cable customers and remitted to the municipality for use in administering the franchise and for costs associated with the operation of public, educational or governmental access.
• Other general components of franchise agreements include: customer service standards; the term of the agreement which is typically 10-15 years; service requirements; and in some cases a provision for local public, educational and/or governmental access channel(s).
• All franchise agreements are non-exclusive meaning that another cable operator can negotiate its own franchise agreement in the same community.

This agreement is a public document; Copies should be on file at the Biddeford Municipal Offices.

Questions about franchise agreements should be addressed to your municipal government.

Further questions may be directed to:

Time Warner Cable
118 Johnson Road
Portland, Maine 04102

ATTN: Government and Public Affairs Department.