Adams-Russell Cable Services Tells Norwood Selectmen Local Cable System is Completed-August 8, 1984

Company Announces Energizing of Public Institutional Loop as Two-Year Rate Freeze Certification Process Approaches

NORWOOD — Representatives from Adams-Russell Cable Services informed town selectmen last night that Norwood’s cable television system is officially complete. The declaration marks a critical milestone for both the Waltham-based company and local subscribers, as certification triggers the start of a two-year rate freeze mandated under the town’s franchise contract, barring any price hikes during that window. The completion timeline had been contested in June when town counsel ruled that formal certification should be withheld until the “institutional loop” connecting public municipal and school buildings was fully operational. Addressing the board, Adams-Russell manager Jay Somers stated, “My opinion is that the system is completed—so much so, that we energized the institutional loop last Friday.”

Somers acknowledged that the firm was still finalizing specific hookup locations for the institutional network, noting that pinpointing exact cable “drop” sites proved complex, and added that the company acted in good faith despite uncertainty regarding how the town intends to utilize the network. Meanwhile, Gordon Smith of the Cable Communications Commission noted that his panel had not been formally notified of the network’s completion and would review the matter to issue a recommendation to selectmen in September. Negotiations also touched upon a previously withdrawn $30,000 corporate offer to finance a second local cable studio—withdrawn in June after town officials deadlocked on a site location. When Selectman Chairman Walter J. Dempsey asked if the funding could be reinstated, Adams-Russell Vice President William C. Henchy declined, explaining that the firm had already exceeded projected installation costs by $900,000. Regarding subscriber complaints about missing channels, Somers explained that the company’s receiving tower was currently too low to capture them, though zoning permission was being sought to raise the structure. Henchy added that despite the missing signals, the company was actively broadcasting five more channels than originally promised in the contract.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger