European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes columns p a a i i v i a a a Cable to reception on Economy we read with great interest the stars and stripes article on Cable to Jbf Mannheim and Pitburg military communities. It is great that the family housing areas on these two bases Are to receive Cable to with nine English speaking channels including an and it is great that the army and air Force commands plan to introduce Cable to on installations throughout Germany however we would like to know what the plans Are for the larger percentage of military and department of defense civilian families who live on the Economy and not in housing areas. Also what about the single servicemen and women living in quarters. Some of us Are fortunate enough to receive a weak an signal and watch the snowy an picture on our to sets but we assume that once Cable to with an is in place on most military installations there will no longer be an an signal for us on the Economy. T others of us Are fortunate to have German Cable to in our Homes on the Economy. However at the present time the Only English speaking channels Are super and eur Asport. Sky is no longer available and has been replaced with european sports programming 24 hours a Day on euros poit. We can Only watch music videos on super during the Day and an occasional Black and White movie at night. One of us recently wrote sky and asked about its future plans in regard to German Cable to. He was informed that once current agreements Between sky and the German Bunde Spost expire sky would no longer be available on German Cable to. It will be replaced by eur sport 24 hours a Day. This of course has already occurred. Some of us enjoy practising our German language skills by watching the american programs dubbed in German on German to. However in Light of the new direction of the european economic Community in phasing out american programming and phasing in european developed to programs that too will become a thing of the past. We understand that an was available on German Cable to at one time. It was supposedly removed because of concern Over copyright infringement the germans were watching american programs without paying royalties. If such is the Case we done to understand this concern since the German television set pal is not compatible with the an signal a tsp. Surely there Are not that Many German families who would go to the expense of buying an american or Multi system television set just to watch an. At any rate the an signal could be scrambled just like Hob and others Are in the states with de scramblers made available Only to . Forces personnel. Accountability for the de scramblers could be handled just like the Cable to company handles them Back in the states. If Revenue neutrality is an Issue they could be sold at the pickup Points with the rest of the to accessories. We re sure some brainstorming could produce other viable alternatives. Of course some of us can at our own expense buy a to satellite dish system assuming we can get our landlords approval to have it installed on the House. But it is highly inequitable for. Us to expend $1,000 or More while those on Post pay Only the Small monthly fee of $10. Are we americans on the Economy included in any future plans to provide English speaking Cable to to . Forces personnel or Are we at Best relegated to music videos and old Black and White movies on the super Channel we think the Cable solution is fantastic and the concept should be expanded to consider the folks on the Economy especially those who already get or will soon be getting Standard Bunde Spost Cable service. We re sure the Powers that be can plan a Little better than in the past and be creative in providing solutions to those not in military housing. A Freddie s. Rush a Glenn r. Schuster a Donald f. Founder Heidelberg West Germany editors note a we received two replies to this letter. The first is from col. Jay Missal. Office of the Deputy chief of staff information management he Usa eur use com is obtaining English language Cable to for us. Installations bases Soldier billets facilities quarters Sites and cased Gove nunsent housing areas in the Federal Republic of Germany. Providing the service to local Economy quarters is desired but an existing broadcast Type system that would make this possible cannot currently be licensed in Germany. The Cable to system Usa eur is proposing will offer English language programming from several european distributors. It will offer Many More English language programs than will Ever be available on the regular German Cable to system. The two systems Are not related. The . System is intended Only for us. Forces personnel end their families in the Federal Republic of Germany and will not be available to the German Public. It. Col David Macnamee of arts and it. Col. Charles Lang he use com Cable to project officers in a joint Effort also reply he use com in conjunction with Safe. Usa eur us aver and arts has been working to. Bring additional English language to broadcasting services to All us. Forces personnel within the european theater. In the past several years ibis continuing initiative has seen the addition of live satellite service increased hours of programming and service to Many isolated areas that had tip arts service in the past proved ing an alternative Channel is now at the top of the list. With the current cabling of German communities by the Deutsche Bunde Spost Tele Kom dip to Safe began a test to bring the newly available English language programming on various european satellites to  forces locations in West Germany. Pitburg a was the first and More Are in various stages of planning. This will Benefit All those living in base housing including dormitories and will be offered to those in eligible leased housing areas. The Pace of this project has slowed considerably due to the uncertainty of the exact locations and numbers of personnel to remain in West Germany. However the dept has reiterated a Strong interest to work with us to Complete the project which is now Mote dependent on decisions not yet made concerning our Long term presence. A for those living in Economy quarters arts continues to explore ways to expand service to More areas and add a second Channel. Arts planners met with dept representatives in january to discuss these very issues. The question of adding an a to the existing dept cabling was on the Agenda. Unfortunately current German policy does not allow encrypting on the Cable. To protect the majority of programming made available to arts itts not possible to re introduce the service to a foreign commercial Cable system without it being limited to Dod viewers. A sophisticated Over the air encryption tem and a second Over the air Channel were also discussed but there Are no frequencies currently available in Germany for these services. Be assured that enhanced dept Cable supplements the an a service it does not replace it. An a transmitters now in operation will continue to operate and efforts Are constantly under Way to improve existing service and add new transmitters to increase the Over the air coverage. We have not forgotten you As the old adage says a we Are working the difficult now the impossible just takes a Little longer. A rate increases for arc hotels explained i Miick pc Rrth try ortir1# Art a up Iii i ii Iii lil a a r a a _ _ i must respond to the article on arc accommodation Price increases. It seems incredible that the Price of a room needs to increase $4 or $5 As a result of a lower Exchange rate. When i calculate the difference Between the 1.68 actual Exchange rate and the 1.80 budgeted rate i see a 6.7 percent difference. Why then a 20 percent room rate increase Are customers paying for inefficiencies in 1980, when the Exchange rate was about the same As it is now a room without Bath for an e-5 and below was $4.50. That rate stayed the same for several years but went up when the Dollar Exchange rate improved. The reason then Quot with the improved Exchange rate potential customers Are going elsewhere and we have overhead to cover Quot in 10 years the Price of a room without Bath for e-5 and below has increased 433 percent. Meanwhile inflation for the same 10-year period has gone up Only around 75 percent. Appropriated Funa support to arc hotels has not decreased significantly. What gives to be fair there have been some significant improvements in some of the facilities particularly in Chi Emsee and Berchtesgaden and customers now have Nice towels and soap but the Price increases Are staggering. Lower your rates and ill bring my own Towel and soap. I would expect that the new hotel in Garmisch will require a credit reference Check before you make reservations. Is arc going to Price itself out of business a name withheld Berlin editors note a Harry i. Connors jr., Public affairs manager armed forces recreation Center Europe replies what an interesting letter a almost All of the letter writers facts and figures Are Correct except for one very important statement. Quot appropriated fund support to arc hotels has not decreased  fact is that since 1980 Congress has withdrawn All appropriated funds apr associated with category a cd facilities except Utility Cost which includes arc hotels. If you remove the majority of the appropriated binds from the budget for operating afr cts hotels add the Why the rates have gone up Over the past 10 years. This decrement of hotel operations apr Over the same 10-year period has amounted to Well Over $5,000,000 in expenses that culminated last year with the removal of the last support apr for All linens laundry communications and military manpower some $800,000, please realize that for every $1 in expenses previously paid by apr which is now paid from operations the amount of Revenue necessary to pay that $1 Quot Able exam. Replaced with approximately $2,000,000 in additional revenues. However it is important to keep in mind that arcs room rates Are at least 25 percent less expensive than similar civilian Foll service hotels in arcs operating areas arc has been attempting to upgrade its facilities at every Opportunity and not with just the now famous yellow towels and soap but rather with real renovations to meet the needs of today a military members the Complete renovation of arc cd Emsee is an example. Baths radio television and telephones in every room along with american furnishings Are just some of the improved features of the Chi Emsee hotels the Lake and Park. The campgrounds to include the Campstone building Complex have been completely renovated at Chi Emsee and the campgrounds in Garmisch have been expanded. In those facilities in Berchtesgaden and Garmisch where Lack of funds have prevented a total renovation continual upgrades such As installing new carpeting in almost every hotel facility repainting rooms and adding american sized style furnishings have started and will continue this year. One of the most modern Sld lodges was constructed on the site of the old plywood Hansberg Lodge in Garmisch. The Skytop Lodge in Berchtesgaden has been improved upon with extra lifts being added to the slopes there the newest in environmentally oriented Snow making systems has been installed in Berchtesgaden and on the american slope of the Hausberg to Garmisch the Snow making equipment is being upgraded and the list goes on. Since we have not discovered a Way to perform upgrades renovations and build new facilities without paying for them we have to adjust rates to cover these expenses. A tie rooms Uve renovated at Chi Emsee arc management has not received one complaint on the Cost of rooms there because there is perceived value by the guest. During planning stages of the new notel in Garmisch a proforma statement was developed which projected the Cost of a double room in the new hotel at $45-50. As these will be american sue rooms with american furnishings Queen size double r j. 4 a tos with a hide a bed in every room family of four will be Able to sleep in one room compared to having to use two rooms now this should family Novera savings for the average military. Single personnel May double up to share the Cost or just enjoy the luxury of a Large room on their own. K a Correct when the new Bote is built there will no longer be Quot crash pads a . Small rooms with no Bath with just a bed and minimum furnishings. Just modern rooms with All the amenities and features that our military members expect and deserve a at a fair Price