YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — After a somewhat rocky first two years, Yokota’s cable TV, Internet and telephone provider has shored up recent problems and anticipates a "long history" at the base, its chief executive officer said.

Keith Southard, head of Allied Telesis Capital Corp. in San Jose, Calif., said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes that he’s "extremely confident" about the project’s direction and that new initiatives will improve the quality and value of services.

But not only have there been technical issues and elusive timelines, officials now must placate a customer base that’s expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the service it’s received.

"We understand there are going to be growing pains," said Tech. Sgt. Fereeda Seunath, a south-area tower resident whose family was among the first to go online in March 2007. "We fill out trouble tickets and they’re prompt coming to fix problems. That wasn’t an issue. The problem is there are a lot of issues.

"But you don’t have options," Seunath added. "It’s not like you can walk in and go with another provider. It’s Allied Telesis or nothing."

In September 2006, Allied signed a 15-year contract with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service to deliver voice, video and data services at Yokota.

The promises came with much hype from a handful of project managers no longer with the company. One stated there would be a "paradigm shift" from what base customers were accustomed to.

The reality has been different.

The premium cable lineup was slow to develop due to delays that began in 2007 with changes in plans. Officials scrapped Internet Protocol Television this past spring and shifted all programming to the base’s coaxial system.Allied solidified its Internet service after struggling to overcome slow speeds in the spring and summer of 2007. Last month, however, a glitch surfaced with incoming telephone calls to Yokota customers. The problem has since been fixed, but it’s led to a legal fight between Allied and IP Triple Communications, its former provider of Voice over Internet Protocol at the base.There also are allegations of financial woes for Allied and the loss of subscribers, particularly in cable TV.Base officials did not respond to several queries seeking comment on Allied’s status at Yokota and whether they had concerns about how the company’s project is progressing.

Asked whether his company is having problems paying creditors or subcontractors, Southard said Allied "is meeting its on-going obligations each month."

"ATCC’s current financial situation is stable and on an improving trend," he said. "We have made substantial investment in the infrastructure to deliver services."

Larry Salgado, the Yokota Exchange’s general manager, said AAFES’s goal is to provide base customers with services comparable to those found outside the gate in any U.S. metropolitan area.

"The service provided by Allied is not there yet, but the gap is closing," he said.

Southard said the biggest obstacles facing channel expansion is securing broadcast rights. Since Yokota is overseas, every cable network has conducted a long legal review to determine if it can grant redistribution rights, he said.

"Some studios have taken the position that they don’t know the answer… and the population on base is so small they won’t even undertake the effort to conduct the legal review. They have just flat-out declined redistribution," Southard said.

Allied wants to add more channels and is currently negotiating with two premium networks, which Southard declined to identify.

Allied lost 178 cable television subscribers between January and June of this year, according to an AAFES report obtained by Stars and Stripes.

Southard said the decline "can be clearly attributed to a lineup that, at that time, did not deliver good value."

Allied Telesis tacked on eight channels to its premium cable TV lineup Sept. 1. Since then, subscriber numbers "have significantly rebounded and continue to grow every day," Southard said.

An improved electronic program guide will be added next while work continues to move prime-time U.S. broadcasts other than news and sports to evening hours at Yokota.

A contract amendment paved the way for Allied’s move to coaxial cable, Southard said, adding there were financial and infrastructure considerations. He said wiring inside some base housing units isn’t conducive to delivery of Internet-based TV broadcasts.

Salgado says the industry trend is toward digital TV and that’s been AAFES’s intent all along, adding the plan still is to transition from COAX.

New customers, however, are being harder hit when they sign up. In July, Allied began charging a $40 new service activation fee and $45 per hour to complete work on elective services.

But in September 2006, AAFES said there would be no connection, reconnection or installation fees associated with the Allied project.

Southard said an installation charge is "standard fare within the industry" for connection of a new customer.

"A contract amendment was approved that recognized the extra work and resulting cost associated with the installation of a new customer at Yokota," he added. "Although it is also customary within the industry to charge for reconnection when a customer moves, Allied does waive those fees."

An AAFES official in Dallas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the change in fees.