Legislative Update October 2025: News from Trenton & Washington, DC – Changes in the FCC

Posted: October 15, 2025 by Doug Seidel

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

A Special Webinar held on September 29th regarding the Altice PEG Channel Switches in New Jersey, and the Surrounding Tri-State Municipalities

Around the 21st of August, all PEG Stations who are part of the Altice/Optimum cable system had their channels switched from their normal positions to the 1300-1317 spectrum. It effected the entire tri-state area and no-one received messages from Altice that this change was coming or had time to re-brand our stations to inform our residents.

After a lot of yelling from the municipalities and other parties, all channels were switched back to their original positions by the 3rd week of September.

Below are a some points that were made from our special webinar to prepare all of us for the future, in the event this channel change is attempted again:

From Gerard Lederer, Attorney – Best, Best and Krieger:

Make sure that your city attorney or your town attorney or township attorney understands, that unless the franchise agreement talks about notice, so there’s just not a notice of the changeover,
You can also ask for money to help you with the updating of the branding. That’s something that can be in the franchise.
What you need to do right now is fight for your current channel position. There’s the government way that you can send letters to Altice and the BPU stating *not* to move your channel and you can urge that people are grown accustomed to its current position because your station’s been around for, “Number of Years”. It is also used for our emergency management needs. Also, who’s footing the bill for your services? the community is the consumer, that’s who!. And anything that disrupts the consumer, they will take it into account.
- The Value of the Location: It’s always the number and you’ve made an investment in. There’s a legal theory of detrimental reliance. You rely upon a representation to your detriment and if the other person pulls the rug out from underneath you, may have a claim or a cause of action for that detrimental reliance.
- What’s your stationary have on it? What’s your logo look like? Does it incorporate the number? If it has those things now, that’s going to have to be changed out and where does the resources come from to do that?
- The argument that many of us make at the negotiating table for why if you move us, you got to give us time. You got to give us a certain amount of money so that we can update things like our stationery. And If you have a locally negotiated franchise, then it ought to be addressing you as an individual community.
Encourage your municipalities to send out a letter to Altice and BPU, stating that you want your channel to remain in this position, that you’re, communities invested in this year. The BPU has got to know from your mayors, your council, your clerk. They have to know what’s going on for them to watch and act. They’re a reactive organization, so they don’t just step out and stop something, they react when something happens. So that’s why you must keep them informed and they react on what the municipalities and people send them. The BPU must be copied on letters sent to Altice.

Additional Information about HD and Systemwide Franchises from Gerard Lederer, Attorney – Best, Best and Krieger:

HD – if you’re under a local franchise, it would have to be something that would have to be negotiated. Altice has moved to a system-wide franchise in this state in several of their communities. Under the rules of the system-wide franchise, the state has already, the BPU has already stated that an HD channel must be part of that package. So if you’re in a community where your franchise is no longer under local and they’ve moved to the system wide, you can request an HD channel.
To Request HD: All letters have to come from the township on municipal letterhead. That’s always the case because they are the overseer of the franchise.

“Dear, …, it has come to our attention or it is our belief that our community, (put your community’s name in it), franchised with Altice, now holds a systemwide franchise for our service area. That being the case, the community would like to request that our PEG channel be elevated to HD as provided by the system-wide franchise negotiated by the BPU.”

How do you know if your cable provider requested to be a systemwide franchise? They would send an application into the BPU and the BPU would notify you and they would also would notify your municipality as well. They would let both your municipality and the BPU know that they want to switch that over to the system wide franchise. So your clerk would have received the letter. It’s the municipal clerk that the BPU communicates with.

JAG Sessions at NJ League of Municipalities Annual Conference November 18-20 Annual NJLM Conference

Nov. 19, 10:45-12:00pm in room 416: Are Your Municipal Codes Ready for new Wireless Technologies?

Speakers: Bob Duthaler, JAG President, Gerard Lederer, Attorney at Law, Best Best & Krieger LLP, and Mayor Brian C. Wahler, Piscataway

Association: Jersey Access Group (JAG) and NJ League of Municipalities

Description: With anticipated changes to the wireless and broadband deployment regulations from Washington, are your municipal codes ready to deal with changes to shot clock regulations and design standards. This panel will tell you what to expect and what you need to do to protect your rights to control the future deployment of wireless transmission equipment in your municipality.

Nov. 20, 10:45-12:00pm in room 310: Maximizing Municipal Benefits in Local/Statewide Cable Franchises

Speakers: Bob Duthaler, President, JAG, Gerard Lederer, Attorney at Law, Best Best & Krieger LLP, Michael Ruger, Committee Member, Hopewell Township, and Nancy Wolf, Coordinator, State & Local Planning NJBPU

Association: Jersey Access Group (JAG), and NJ League of Municipalities