Gessner told council MCTV recently purchased the local system from Crystal Broadband and he already knows the system is not where it needs to be. According to Gessner, plans are already being completed to bring fiber optic lines to the Salineville area. He said they will be building an entirely new system and until it is in place, he cannot see billing the current customers for the service.

“We’re not going to charge anyone until we have the new one up,” Gessner said. “It’s not up to our standards so we’re not going to charge you for it.”

Once they are in place, MCTV will offer both television service and internet. The internet will not slow down even when there is a number of people on it, Gessner said. The rate will be based on how large of a bandwidth the customer wants. He noted the current customers of Crystal Broadband will be the first to see the fiber optics heading in their direction.

Council member Sally Keating questioned whether those answering customer calls will speak English, to which Gessner replied they hire local people. According to the information he handed out to council members at the meeting, there are currently 169 local employees working for MCTV including 14 new ones hired in 2017. MCTV currently operates in Stark, Wayne, Summit, Holmes and Tuscarawas counties and is serving more than 49,000 customers.

Another concern brought up during the meeting was the channels. Although Gessner said Pittsburgh channels costs his company more, he listened to Keeting’s concerns that there are three Pittsburgh channels she watches regularly. Gessner said Salineville is actually in the Youngstown market, but is positioned between Youngstown, Wheeling and Pittsburgh.

http://www.morningjournalnews.com/news/local-news/2018/06/company-pledges-to-bring-improved-internet-cable-service-to-salineville/