But their firepower is limited. Their main target is Cablevision, the region's dominant provider. Wood-Ridge invited another company to make a pitch for its business, with the hope of stirring up some competition. Paterson officials have traveled to conferences on the West Coast to explore alternatives, including running their own cable system. But beyond tough talk, municipalities have little power to force a company's hand.
Customers say cable companies often ignore complaints, and by law they can.
The Tele communications Act of 1996 freed the industry of federal oversight starting in 1999. Until consumer dissatisfaction builds to a point where legislators can see a couple of votes in it, nothing will change. Then rates went up again this year, and residents started screaming. The borough is courting another cable company, RCN Corp. of Princeton. But RCN is scaling back expansion plans and competition is years away, if it ever arrives, Wood-Ridge officials acknowledge.