September 11, 2015
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Rally and March for Comcast to Fund Our Schools, Friday, September 11, 2015.
Protesters gathered outside the Comcast Center Friday afternoon, demanding the cable company expand affordable, high-speed Internet access and fund technology education in Philadelphia schools.
Comcast and the city of Philadelphia are negotiating a new, 15-year franchise agreement that would give the company the authority to use public rights of way to operate and deliver cable services.
PHOTOS: Schools advocates protest outside Comcast Center
The protesters, led by the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools and the CAP Comcast Coalition, say the contract presents an opportunity to hold Comcast accountable.
"I'm out here to demand Comcast pay their fair share and make Internet affordable, to support our schools," T.C. Owens said.
Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, wants Comcast to "be a good neighbor" by providing funding to the School District of Philadelphia.
"I'm not talking about something that is pie in the sky," Jordan said. "I'm asking for basic reading, writing, arithmetic, nurses, counselors, music, art and technology classes. ... I'm just saying give the children of Philadelphia a fair shot. If they have the opportunity to learn, they will."
Comcast has provided the school district more than $100 million during the last seven years, according to spokesman Jeff Alexander. The company pays $130 million in annual taxes and fees to the city and has made $241 million in donations and in-kind contributions to Philadelphia-area nonprofits.
Lisabeth Marziello, chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Boys and Girls Club, highlighted the company's charitable giving in an interview arranged by Alexander.
Comcast has spearheaded a $40 million fundraising drive to replace its Germantown club and upgrade six other facilities. The company also has provided the Boys and Girls Club with computers and Internet access.
"The company, as a whole, is like George Bailey," Marziello said, referencing the generous character in the film "It's A Wonderful Life." "They do anything they can for the community. It makes me want to cry to think about what they've done in terms of changing these kids' lives."
Earlier this year, the city released a cable franchise needs assessment that found 26 percent of Comcast cable subscribers in Philadelphia are dissatisfied with their overall service. Comcast contested the results, saying that many of the findings were "inaccurate, overstated or misleading."
The report, conducted by a city consultant, included various city recommendations to improve cable service, including upgrading all 12 public, education and government access channels to high definition, strengthening customer service standards, adding a remediation program to address code compliance issues and installing a fiber-based infrastructure for city government telecommunications.
PhillyVoice photographer Thom Carroll contributed to this report.
