Mr. Ralph J. Canina This is Me

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1. 1. Read winning article, Spot Medium Category, 2004: The Morning Call - Many Have No Cable TV Choice

   www.sabew.org/sabewweb.nsf/8aa - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/13/2004   Last Visited: 3/2/2005

   "We're as guilty as Serve Electric," said Ralph Canina, who became RCN's Lehigh Valley regional manager earlier this year.
   ...
   Canina, RCN's Lehigh Valley regional manager who moved to the area in February, said he was shocked to learn about the exclusive agreements that are so prevalent throughout the Valley.
   
   "I go back to my office and I say, "What the hell is going on here?' " the Boston native recalled. After working in the cable industry for 20 years, he said, he had never seen anything like it. Elsewhere, competing cable companies are free to lay cable when new developments are under construction, he said.
   
   Canina would soon be affected personally as well. He bought a home in the Willow Bend subdivision in Lower Macungie Township that was wired for Service Electric only. He was eventually able to get RCN service only because his house was situated on the edge of his neighborhood and could be approached from the back yard.
   
   Now, in a stark illustration of the arbitrary nature of exclusive agreements, Canina and his neighbors on his side of the street have a choice between Service Electric and RCN. Across the street, they do not.
   
   Canina said he quickly forbade RCN from entering into additional exclusive agreements. Beside being the right thing to do, he said, the decision makes financial sense.
   
   Every penny counts at RCN these days. The company is struggling for its life. It has posted losses totaling roughly $4 billion since going public in 1997, during the heady days of the stock market boom.
   
   Earlier this month, the company posted yet another quarterly loss, of $111 million.
   
   "Because we're a public company, we really can't be involved in these kinds of bidding wars," Canina said.

2. 2. Packet Online

   www.pacpub.com/site/news.cfm?n - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/7/2002   Last Visited: 8/7/2002

   "We're very pleased to be moving forward with the rebuild of our New Jersey service area, which is bringing exciting new services to thousands of our local customers," said Ralph J. Canina, RCN's General Manager for Central New Jersey. "We've made some solid progress to date on this substantial undertaking and we're looking forward now to completing the upgrade of Franklin Township and continuing work in other communities in the area, such as Montgomery." More than 20 percent of all homes in RCN's Central New Jersey service area have been upgraded to receive the additional services. This area includes approximately 22,600 homes in Hillsborough, Millstone and parts of Franklin Township in Somerset County. RCN has also begun preliminary work on rebuilding the cable systems in Branchburg and Montgomery townships, and Princeton Borough and Township. Residents in upgraded areas have access to RCN's enhanced cable TV channel line-up, of more than 220 channels of programming. According to the company, this expanded services include 72 analog channels and digital services, RCN's 31-channel Digital Vision SM programming tier, and 45 music channels, as well as premium movie channels and pay-per-view options.

3. 3. RCN Must Rebuild Its System for New Franchise

   www.towntopics.com/0501rcn.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/22/2002   Last Visited: 5/22/2002

   In addition, Ralph Canina, general manager for RCN of Central New Jersey, indicated that the company is taking steps to improve customer service including pre-installation calls to ensure appointment times and post-installation follow-up calls. "We are making an effort to try to do a better job," he said.
   
   Joint Cable TV Committee Presentation