While residents in these areas have to rely on satellite television for now to get their CNN, this might soon change. This year, the town of Los Gatos will renegotiate its cable franchise agreement with Comcast, a deal that could potentially bring in more than just cable access for residents.

Cable franchise deals are contracts between a city and its cable provider. Although Los Gatos' cable system was originally constructed in 1969, this will be the town's first renegotiation of that contract. In the past, the system was either transferred to another provider or the town extended the franchise agreement.

The renegotiation process is designed to give an opportunity to local governments to enhance their communication systems and can provide communities with ample benefits. In Gilroy, residents received three additional public educational and government channels; Palo Alto used money from its renegotiation to build a new media center. Other cities have constructed Institutional Networks, communications links between schools, libraries and other city facilities.

Cities are limited in what they can request during a renegotiation.

But negotiations are also long and tedious processes. At a study session last week, town officials were advised that the effort could take anywhere from 12 months to three years to complete.

Los Gatos already has a fairly advanced cable system, a fact that could further compound negotiations. For example, the city already has an I-Net throughout the town, but might want to expand that capability. Although the infrastructure might not be state of the art, Comcast might feel that the system doesn't warrant the extensive upgrades other cities have received.

The town has two options during the negotiation process: The council can pursue an informal negotiation with Comcast, or the cable provider can initiate a formal process. Of the two, informal negotiations are said to be more flexible.

In preparation, the town has already surveyed some residents and held focus groups to establish the community's cable needs and interests. In a needs-assessment poll, more than 80 percent of respondents thought that Comcast's service was good or very good. About 75 percent of respondents thought it was important to have local cable TV channels that featured programs about Los Gatos and its residents. The KCAT public access facility in Los Gatos is located at Los Gatos High School and deals with a low operating budget and restricted showtimes, keeping the amount of local programming to a minimum.

Another issue the town will have to address is a conflict of interest with KCAT's board. Members of the board are appointed by the town council, which could expose the town to legal liability issues under the First Amendment. A consultant to the town has recommended that the board be reestablished as an independent entity.