Last month, the Grand Rapids Community Media Center announced that Comcast was removing public access channels from its basic cable packages and offering them instead only as part of its digital cable packages.

However, on Monday a U.S. District Judge in Detroit temporarily ordered Comcast to halt the move pending a lawsuit. In the order, Judge Victoria Roberts wrote, "While the court agrees there are some general benefits with digitizing channels, it finds the public interest is better served by the temporary preservation of the PEG [Public Access, Education, and Government] channels in their analog format so the public may maintain access to vital information." The temporary halt was ordered following a lawsuit filed by Dearborn and Meridian Township. The two communities argued that the change violates Michigan and federal law.

In Grand Rapids, the city government issued a news release applauding the decision and expressing concern that moving the stations to digital cable would limit citizens' access to information. Mayor Heartwell said:

"Comcast has failed to provide accurate and timely notices to its customers of the transition to digital channels or to widely publicize its offer of a free converter box and installation. The City had serious concerns that public schools and colleges would also have to incur additional cost to rent converters."

The city further stated that the court's decision should ultimately take into account the effect on viewers of these channels and the government and educational institutions that utilize them on a daily basis.