“For me, it’s amazing that he could have a vision of what the future might be, and then make that happen at a grass-roots level.” – Linda Jane Maaia, president & CEO
Our Story
Three Generations Serve Barrington, Warren and Bristol
More than 45 years ago, John Donofrio had a vision for cable in Rhode Island’s East Bay. He founded Full Channel in 1965 and began working immediately to develop the platform which would become cable television in Rhode Island. In 1982 Full Channel opened its doors on Everett Street in Warren. Today, his daughter, Linda Jane Maaia, son-in-law William Maaia and grandson Levi Maaia; run the company that he founded.
“My father was a real visionary,” said Linda Maaia, president and CEO of Full Channel. “He started out repairing television sets as a hobby,” she explained. “Then he became interested in what he thought would be the future of television and spent a lot of time researching and studying cable television.” She added that at early regulatory hearings, he was often the one who knew the most about this emerging technology.
In spite of increased competition, Full Channel is still the entrenched local provider with a nearly 30-year history of serving the community. The company has always been an early supporter of innovative cable technologies. “Full Channel was the first company in the state to offer pay-per-view,” explained company Vice President Levi Maaia. “In mid-1982, Full Channel was among very few cable providers to offer addressable cable boxes, to offer premium services with the press of a button.” Linda added that her father was also an early adopter of high-speed cable modem technology.
Full Channel continues its support of the community through the recent major renovation of its studio for producing local public access programming. Levi explained that in Rhode Island, the state gave cable operators the choice of either continuing to host their own local public access channels or to funnel public access fees to the state’s public broadcasting outfit, which would then host the access channels. While the other TV providers opted into the state plan, Full Channel decided to keep its local production facilities in Warren. “This isn’t a hindrance, but a benefit to us as a small local provider,” said Linda. “It’s part of something that people recognize us for. We want people to come in and see us.” As a result of its community commitment Full Channel was the recipient of the 2009 CableFAX Top Op Community Service Award.
Today, Full Channel offers more than 80 channels in its Standard Plus programming tier, with many networks in high definition. It has a robust lineup of hundreds of additional digital tier channels and offers a DVR product as well as high-speed Internet access. In 2008 the company began offering GreenLink, a partnership with People’s Power & Light to deliver cable and Internet services to customers via 100% wind power.
“I’m in awe of what my father created from nothing,” Linda said. “For me, it’s amazing that he could have a vision of what the future might be, and then make that happen at a grass-roots level.”
modified from a story which appeared in ACAction
the newsletter of the American Cable Assoc.
