A public hearing Tuesday night on beginning the analysis of Cox Communication’s franchise agreement with Gloucester County was fraught with controversy, as a couple dozen residents turned out to voice their displeasure with the telecom company.

The Gloucester Board of Supervisors’ hearing was intended merely as an introduction to the renewal or expiration process and strictly deal with issues of cable television and right-of-way; however, multiple speakers steered the discussion towards issues of telecom monopoly, low quality of service, and lack of access to broadband throughout the county.

Cox’s franchise agreement, which allows the company to make use of county rights-of-way for the purpose of laying cable lines, is set to expire in 2021.

According to county administrator Brent Fedors, “there is a very limited amount of things the county can require” of Cox, per FCC regulations.

Supervisor Phillip Bazzani asked if increasing competition was somethin...