Kanawha County Commission approves franchise agreement with CAS Cable

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Commission has approved a 15-year cable franchise agreement with a Parkersburg company related to cable, internet and telephone services in the county.

The commission approved the agreement with CAS Cable last Thursday, two weeks after commissioners held a public hearing regarding a likely agreement.

CAS Cable is expanding its reach to Kanawha County; the Charleston City Council approved the city’s cable franchise agreement with the company during its Jan. 17 meeting.

“Whenever I talk to constituents, they always ask me what can we do for broadband and internet? I tell them we have to have more competition,” Commissioner Lance Wheeler said. “Having more companies offering more choices and competing with each other with pricing, it creates a balance in our county when it comes to the broadband.”

Kanawha County officials included language in the deal to require CAS Cable to report service outages to Metro 911. Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said the inclusion is tied to the growing scope of cable companies.

“In those days, the only thing that would go out is HBO,” he said.

“It’s a lifeline for telemedicine, it’s a lifeline for the internet, it’s all intertwined now.”

CAS Cable will begin with offering services in the Sissonville area. According to operations manager Lisa Wilkinson, the company aims to start adding customers in six months.

“We’ve done all the engineering work. We were just waiting for the official franchise,” she said. “It’s just a matter of getting someone to put it up now.”

CAS Cable has also reached out to South Charleston officials about offering services in the city.