Federal Law and FCC regulations limit what the City can do to attract companies since the City must maintain parity between Comcast and potential other wireline cable television providers. For most companies, expanding onto Bainbridge Island would require major financial investment which could be financially unfeasible. There can be negative consequences to overbuilding, and as cord-cutting increases, those potential downsides also increase.
In accordance with Federal Law, the City drafts its cable franchise agreement to be non-exclusive. This means that other cable companies can choose to build out a cable system on Bainbridge Island, but building a cable network is expensive. Dish, and Direct TV are direct broadcast satellite providers and are available alternatives. Additionally, services such as Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix now provide alternatives to traditional cable service.