Having shut down in-person counter services for COVID-19, Atlantic Broadband now doesn’t plan to reinstate those services here or elsewhere — and Altoona officials are displeased.

Not resuming in-person assistance could be a violation of the company’s 10-year Altoona franchise agreement, signed in 2018, suggested City Manager Ken Decker.

“We acted responsibly to replace front counter service with safer, more convenient options for our customers in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak,” company spokesman Andrew Walton stated in an email. “Given the unpredictability of the COVID-19 situation, and the possibility that the outbreak will not subside quickly, and because we have now developed even better options for our customers that do not require travel and face-to-face contact, we have decided to end front counter transactions.”

“I’m hoping they’ll change their minds,” Councilman Dave Butterbaugh said.

When customers have cable issues, it’s far more convenient to go to the office on Beale Avenue “to talk to a real living person,” Butterbaugh said.

The customer service center has been open for many years, and “clearly, what (the company) wants to do now is something different,” Decker said. “They knew what we were expecting.”

Beyond the potential legal obligation, there’s a “moral commitment,” Decker said.

Alternatives for in-person service will be phone-based customer care and technical support, a payment drop box at the Beale Avenue location and online, phone and mail payment options, Walton stated.

“The COVID-19 situation could not have been envisioned when the City of Altoona and Atlantic Broadband entered into its current franchise agreement two years ago,” he wrote. “What is clear now is that every business in every sector has had to adjust its processes in order to protect its customers and its communities.”

The particular changes the company is making in Altoona are in keeping “with the letter and spirit of the franchise” agreement and provide a “clear benefit” to the community, Walton stated.

“To do that in mid-agreement doesn’t seem right,” Butterbaugh said.

A delegation of city officials plans to reach out to the company to discuss the situation, as a result of a discussion of the issue at a City Council meeting Monday.

“I’m totally thinking they (company officials) should defend themselves publicly,” said Mayor Matt Pacifico.

The franchise agreement is non-exclusive, Decker reminded council members.

During the past couple of years, Pacifico has been talking with a company that may be interested in investing in the infrastructure that would be necessary to serve Altoonans alongside Atlantic Broadband, Pacifico said.

Aside from the new in-person service issue, such an effort could benefit consumers because it would mean competition for Atlantic Broadband, he said.