Nesquehoning has renewed a franchise agreement with Blue Ridge Communications for the next five years.

On Wednesday, council voted to extend the contract five years with the same terms as the previous contract.

The borough receives a small percentage back from cable subscribers with the franchise agreement, but that is not the reason for the agreement, officials said.

In November, council spoke about the renewal agreement with BRC and discussed questions residents had been asking about the agreement.

At the time, solicitor Robert Yurchak explained that the agreement is just a formality that allows BRC to provide cable service to the borough and the borough gets a percentage back from the agreement. It does not prevent another cable company from coming in to provide service options. It just prevents another company from using the existing lines that are already installed by Blue Ridge, meaning a new company would have to run its own lines.

On Wednesday, Councilwoman Mary Fox said that there have been complaints by residents saying Blue Ridge is the only company allowed into the borough.

But she said that she feels it is more so because no other company is going to come in and run all new lines due to the expense.