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Comments on news posted 2012-10-08 18:33:54: Last week I noted how Time Warner Cable has joined a growing list of companies who are charging cable broadband customers an additional fee to rent their cable modem. ..


Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

So thankful to have Comcast..

I'm so thankful to have Comcast.
bookertdub
join:2012-10-08
San Diego, CA

bookertdub

Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

I thought Comcast charges a $7 modem rental fee every month?

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by bookertdub:

I thought Comcast charges a $7 modem rental fee every month?

I thought it was now $5, but I could be wrong. But where Comcast made things easy was on self install of your own purchased modem. I bought mine, went thru self-install, and returned their modem the next day to have the monthly rental removed. Everything went smoothly.

I get a 4x3 channel bonding on a Motorola SB 6120.

P.S. $7 mo for rental modem my area when I checked

djdanska
Rudie32
Premium Member
join:2001-04-21
San Diego, CA

djdanska to bookertdub

Premium Member

to bookertdub
said by bookertdub:

I thought Comcast charges a $7 modem rental fee every month?

They do but the have a nice, super ez system to get your newly bought cable modem running in a few minutes, without calling!
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to Robert

Member

to Robert
...who has had a modem rental fee for 4+ years now. The modem rental fee has gone up on Comcast from $3 (reasonable) to $5, then $7 or $8 (unreasonable, even if you include a wireless router in the deal).

But hey, they don't require you to buy an 8x4 D3 modem or gateway from Motorola if you want to buy rather than rent. TWC does, which bugs me...my node only has 4x1 bonding right now so a SB6120 or 6121...or, heck, a Zoom 5341J if they really want 8x4 capability...would work just fine. But no, TWC had to pick (for D3 users anyway) a wireless gateway that's rather expensive and a modem that's now both expensive and hard to find.
patt2k
join:2009-01-16

1 recommendation

patt2k to Robert

Member

to Robert
said by Robert:

I'm so thankful to have Comcast.

Rob,I'm so thankful to have Verizon Fios.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by patt2k:

said by Robert:

I'm so thankful to have Comcast.

Rob,I'm so thankful to have Verizon Fios.

FioS =! Cable

Tomek
Premium Member
join:2002-01-30
Valley Stream, NY

1 recommendation

Tomek

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by Robert:

said by patt2k:

said by Robert:

I'm so thankful to have Comcast.

Rob,I'm so thankful to have Verizon Fios.

FioS =! Cable

Connected similar way, FIOS modem is most usually connected via Coax

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff

MVM,

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

That's not a FiOS modem - it's a router. The way internet is delivered over the coax is completely different from cable.

Justanon
@cgocable.net

Justanon

Anon

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by Thinkdiff:

That's not a FiOS modem - it's a router. The way internet is delivered over the coax is completely different from cable.

Coax and 'cable' are the same thing. Hardly an argument.

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff

MVM,

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

DOCSIS and MoCA are the same thing? News to me...

There's no parallel between traditional Cable internet and FiOS.

anon
@reliablehosting.com

anon to Robert

Anon

to Robert
said by Robert:

I'm so thankful to have Comcast.

comcrap has its own problems so you arent in the clear either with them.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by anon :

said by Robert:

I'm so thankful to have Comcast.

comcrap has its own problems so you arent in the clear either with them.

What problems? Cause I'm pretty happy with them. Online self-activation, a large selection of supported modems, IPV6, etc. Nothing like TW and their shenanigans.

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by Robert:

What problems? Cause I'm pretty happy with them. Online self-activation, a large selection of supported modems, IPV6, etc. Nothing like TW and their shenanigans.

Biggest one is the usage cap issue which trumps any real benefit that you listed above.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by swintec:

said by Robert:

What problems? Cause I'm pretty happy with them. Online self-activation, a large selection of supported modems, IPV6, etc. Nothing like TW and their shenanigans.

Biggest one is the usage cap issue which trumps any real benefit that you listed above.

Does it? The cap is 300 GB/mo. I average btw 20-30GB/mo. I don't see the cap as a downside to all the positives.

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by FFH5:

said by swintec:

said by Robert:

What problems? Cause I'm pretty happy with them. Online self-activation, a large selection of supported modems, IPV6, etc. Nothing like TW and their shenanigans.

Biggest one is the usage cap issue which trumps any real benefit that you listed above.

Does it? The cap is 300 GB/mo. I average btw 20-30GB/mo. I don't see the cap as a downside to all the positives.

I think so.

Online activation- once my connection is up through whatever method, who cares about the online activation? ive had to activate once in 11 years.

Supported modems- a big list is nice but does it make you feel better when paying your bill each month? do you think of it as a value added service? i hardly see it as a reason to be happy one way or another about an ISP as it is a non issue once your connection is up and running.

IPV6- not a huge issue for me and mostly a non issue for the majority. certainly wouldnt make me happier about the service. Most want to get to the sites and services that they require and this runs fine without IPv6.

I suppose you could say the same about bandwidth caps...different strokes for different folks?
Wilsdom
join:2009-08-06

Wilsdom to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
If you don't mind being ripped off. Mailing the bill to you is probably Comcast's biggest expense in providing that service.

Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west

Caddyroger to anon

Premium Member

to anon
What problems none here

RickNY
Premium Member
join:2000-11-02
Bellport, NY

RickNY to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
Im so thankful to have Optimum Online...

No modem fees whatsoever. $49.95 for 15/2 or $64.95 for 50/8. Modem included (Arris TM802 for me).

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

Yikes, $49.95 for 15/2?!

mackey
Premium Member
join:2007-08-20

mackey

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by Robert:

Yikes, $49.95 for 15/2?!

That's better then the $62.99/month I'm paying Time Warner for 15/1.5... And that's before this modem rental BS started!

/M
Gandalf4503
join:2002-06-27
Guilderland, NY

Gandalf4503

Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by mackey:

said by Robert:

Yikes, $49.95 for 15/2?!

That's better then the $62.99/month I'm paying Time Warner for 15/1.5... And that's before this modem rental BS started!

/M

Uh... what? I have TWC and I'm paying $48.98 a month for 20/2. Either your market is overpriced or you're being ripped off.

»www.speedtest.net/result ··· 4650.png

mackey
Premium Member
join:2007-08-20

mackey

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by Gandalf4503:

Uh... what? I have TWC and I'm paying $48.98 a month for 20/2. Either your market is overpriced or you're being ripped off.

How about both?

Read it yourself: »www.timewarnerla.com/pri ··· 0712.pdf
"Standard Internet............. $ 52.99"
I'm on the old, discontinued "Turbo" 15/1.5 plan which is +$10

/M

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX

sivran

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

And I'm paying that for 10/1.

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff to Gandalf4503

MVM,

to Gandalf4503
Is that on a promo? OOL is $29.99 on promo for 15/2.

TWC is $52.99 for me as well (10/1). That combined with this new ridiculous fee has driven me back to DSL ($29.99), which is actually faster than TWC's 10/1 service. It's being installed next week.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

CylonRed to mackey

MVM

to mackey
I am paying more than that for my DSL simply so I don't have to deal with TW...

mbernste
MVM
join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ

mbernste to RickNY

MVM

to RickNY
said by RickNY:

Im so thankful to have Optimum Online...
No modem fees whatsoever.

You also left out the fact that we have no usage cap.

crazediamond
Maybe you shouldn't be so proud?
Premium Member
join:2002-01-19
Brooklyn, NY

crazediamond to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
I'm glad I got hit by a bus instead of a dump truck.

MxxCon
join:1999-11-19
Brooklyn, NY

MxxCon to Robert

Member

to Robert
Oh ya, Comcast is without problems »consumerist.com/tag/comcast/

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by MxxCon:

Oh ya, Comcast is without problems »consumerist.com/tag/comcast/

Still 100 times better than TW and the crap they try to pull on their customers, time and time again.

LightS
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
Greenville, TX

LightS

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

No, they aren't.
I personally have had great service with Time Warner when I had them for 2 years. No issues, great customer support (English speaking, too!) and endless promos.

Time Warner tries to enforce things such as metered billing - and customers revolt, and they stop. When has Comcast ever listened to their customers?

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

said by LightS:

No, they aren't.
I personally have had great service with Time Warner when I had them for 2 years. No issues, great customer support (English speaking, too!) and endless promos.

Time Warner tries to enforce things such as metered billing - and customers revolt, and they stop. When has Comcast ever listened to their customers?

When has [xxx] ever listened to their customers? No one does. TW is still trying to pull the metered billing crap with low caps, and low speeds.

LightS
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
Greenville, TX

LightS

Premium Member

Re: So thankful to have Comcast..

At least they're not being forced on you.

j1349705
Premium Member
join:2006-04-15
Holly Springs, NC

j1349705

Premium Member

DOCSIS 3 customers are screwed at the moment

The only approved DOCSIS 3 modems are the Motorola SB6141 and SBG6580 (with built in router + wireless). The Cisco DPC3010, Motorola SB6121, and the Ubee DDM3513 are not approved.

The SB6141 is out of stock at most vendors and some eBay gougers are now listing them as high as $200. They were going for $99 on Amazon before all of this chaos started.

Those on slower tiers who can use a DOCIS 2 modem have more choices, but buying an outdated modem isn't a good idea for the long term.

Packeteers
Premium Member
join:2005-06-18
Forest Hills, NY
Asus RT-AC3100
(Software) Asuswrt-Merlin

Packeteers

Premium Member

Re: DOCSIS 3 customers are screwed at the moment

you may want to check with support... i could not confirm this statement but someone on reddit claims the published list is limited, but they may allow other modems as well, so it does not hurt to ask. just don't get your hopes up... people are reporting other misstatements being made by ill prepared TWC employees, such as scheduling a premise visit to pick up your old leased modem (unneeded), or that you can't use a docsis3 modem on a docsis2 lower speed service (untrue).
bookertdub
join:2012-10-08
San Diego, CA
·Charter

bookertdub

Member

Bought a Motorola Surfboard SB 6141 modem

Well as soon as I heard about this modem rental fee, I bought the Motorola SB6141 modem on Tuesday, 10/2 on Amazon.com for $114.99 including shipping(interestingly enough, the next day, that same modem on Amazon.com went up $20 the next day). I got the modem on Friday, 10/5, installed it around 10pm that night. It took me about 15 minutes to activate the modem over the phone. Then on Saturday, 10/6, I returned the TWC owned modem and I was in and out of the TWC office in10 minutes. The modern works fine on TWC's standard internet plan, but for whatever the reason, Powerboost doesn't seem to work for the tier of internet with the Motorola 6141, but I do get the advertised speeds. In the end I'm happy with what I've got and ready for DOCSIS 3.0 whenever that transition occurs. While the new fee may suck, at least for the time being, Time Warner Cable still has uncapped inherent. I suppose if a new modem fee or buying modem meant delaying capped internet, I can't complain too much. I suppose thats the glass half full approach I usually take.

trparky
Premium Member
join:2000-05-24
Cleveland, OH

trparky

Premium Member

Re: Bought a Motorola Surfboard SB 6141 modem

PowerBoost doesn't work on DOCSIS 3 modems.
mario44222
join:2003-11-22
Cliffside Park, NJ

mario44222

Member

Modem Fees

I thought TWC of NYC/NJ always has been charging a fee for modem rentals... I might be wrong though. But when I had TWC before moving to FIOS I was charged a rental fee.

MxxCon
join:1999-11-19
Brooklyn, NY

MxxCon

Member

Re: Modem Fees

My dad in Fort Lee never paid for a modem and my coworker in Brooklyn never paid for a modem..
Both of them received a notice about this charge.

FLATLINE
join:2007-02-27
Buffalo, NY

FLATLINE

Member

Always had modem rental here.

Wtf is this? I've had internet with TW here in Buffalo since the adelphia takeover and TW has always charged for modem rental. I purchased my own.

Screwtwc
@rcn.com

Screwtwc

Anon

No rental fee for rcn...yet

So glad rcn doesn't charge a rental fee for now and no caps. $35 a month for 25/2 in NYC.

Packeteers
Premium Member
join:2005-06-18
Forest Hills, NY
Asus RT-AC3100
(Software) Asuswrt-Merlin

Packeteers

Premium Member

don't believe every article you read on the web

i bought a factory reconditioned docsis2 $28 modem from amazon on wednesday, it arrived friday, i called TWCable with the new MAC address and my account number - the entire call and hold time was under 10 minutes. 72 hours later I get a call from a human saying they switched my service from old to new MAC modem and urged me to return the old lease modem as soon as possible. I physically switched out modems and 2 minutes later I was back online. I'll try to hit the local service center line mid day to avoid the worst lines, but the net result is after 7 Months my modem will be free from the 4*7=28 I will save.

»[TWC] TWC New York Modem Activation

Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium Member
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1

Anonymous_

Premium Member

Re: don't believe every article you read on the web

said by Packeteers:

i bought a factory reconditioned docsis2 $28 modem from amazon on wednesday, it arrived friday, i called TWCable with the new MAC address and my account number - the entire call and hold time was under 10 minutes. 72 hours later I get a call from a human saying they switched my service from old to new MAC modem and urged me to return the old lease modem as soon as possible. I physically switched out modems and 2 minutes later I was back online. I'll try to hit the local service center line mid day to avoid the worst lines, but the net result is after 7 Months my modem will be free from the 4*7=28 I will save.

»[TWC] TWC New York Modem Activation

Do not forget that your modem will still crap out $4 every month as well.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Digital Phone customers are screwed

Grandma up in Maine will be wondering why her bill went up by $4 per month. I would love to buy an Arris TM822G EMTA for her (available on Amazon) but I don't think they will allow customer owned EMTAs.

She currently has a D3 Ubee voice/data gateway (gateway is so I can connect my gadgets to the Internet at her house).

If I bought her an EMTA, I would get one with a battery. I own an Arris TM722G (that I have on Comcast) and Arris hardware is top notch quality with solid voice quality. The junk that TWC issues is cheap trash compared to my Arris modem. I have dealt with Ubee and SA/Cisco equipment at her house and the voice quality of that equipment is not even as good as my Verizon iPhone (cell phones can never match the audio quality of a landline) and I can tell its the modem because I at one time had the exact model of cordless phone as grandma. I was always replacing her phones and my phones (either uniden or radio shack) and I finally bought Panasonic based on advice from DSLR.

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff

MVM,

Re: Digital Phone customers are screwed

You can keep the EMTA for free. They'll just disable the ethernet port when you add your own modem. Yes.. they are that dumb that they'll give you the same exact hardware for free as long as you're not using the internet on it.

vgernyc
@rr.com

vgernyc

Anon

In the begining TWC/NYC did charge for modem

I remember when TWC in NYC came out with their cable modem service, they did have an itemized charge for renting a modem. I think it was like $3.50-$5 more or less. Very breifly they also gave an option for one to buy a modem to avoid the fee.

I bought a Motorola SBG6580, replacing the old cable modem and my WiFi router to recover some money back through my electric bill.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

So how is this different than a STB feee?

All cable companies charge a fee for their STBs. In fact so do DirecTv and Dish Network. But charge for a cable modem and oh god forbid all hell breaks loose. I'm not seeing the difference. Don't get me wrong I love free hit as much as the next guy but I'm seeing how this is different. Same people complaining about $4 are the same ones gladly paying $20 a month for a DVR. Which to me is a rip off.

••••
mlcarson
join:2001-09-20
Santa Maria, CA

mlcarson

Member

Charter

At least it's not like Charter where they now REQUIRE you to rent a modem rather than BYOD.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Charter

said by mlcarson:

At least it's not like Charter where they now REQUIRE you to rent a modem rather than BYOD.

Actually you don't rent a modem for Charter. Renting implies a rental fee which there is none. Oh by the way I'm a Charter customer and I use my own modem.

Grandetx
@grandenetworks.net

Grandetx to mlcarson

Anon

to mlcarson
Grande Communications also requires their docsis 3 customers to either rent the modem, or purchase the modem from them. Customers are not allowed to used modems purchased elsewhere.

Irun Man
Premium Member
join:2002-10-18
Millsboro, DE

Irun Man

Premium Member

I'm set

I acted quick... the day I got the dreaded postcard I bought an SB6141 off eBay for $99.. Called TWC support, took one business day to switch service and was called to confirm. Hoping for a short line at the walk-in center to turn in the leased modem.

Elector
join:2000-05-25
Albany, NY

Elector

Member

TW Cable Modem Fee

Well I called TW in my local area and was told they were not charging any fees for the modem. Because we have some sort of TW Cable services.

My neighbor also called and he was told the same thing. I guess we will have to wait and see.

However just in case I went a bought the higher end Motorola with the wireless ( the 6141 was not available ) I disabled the wireless router function since I already have the new A/C router from Netgear (R6300) which works perfectly.

I called TW Nationwide Support ( big mistake) who after taking the Mac ID said they were sending to a level 3 tech to complete the activation.

I was on hold for 1 hour in which the new modem had been restarted and I looked at the lights and all seemed well. However no Internet access.

Call the local TW Office and a level 3 Tech went in and corrected their screwup ( had two active modems on the same account) although I would not see a problem with this the tech turned off the TW modem they supplied.

He restarted the new purchased modem and the modem works blazing fast, and not rebooting all the time as the other one did.

I know it will take years to re-coup the investment in the newer purchased modem but it will eventually be a cost savings, if the supplied Modem was still functioning after years being with TW I can be so happy.

Just remember to watch for some other costs at TWC to rise. We have decided if any more increases we will drop the cable portion which is 2/3 of the bill each month and go back to satellite which is $24.99 versus $100+ a month.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

what you see here..

is a rush to raise prices to match Verizon FIOS's price hikes.. possibly giving an incentive to switch carriers if it's available.. an emboldened duopoly is never a good thing to encourage..

hmm
@mindspring.com

hmm

Anon

inactive account means what

I haven't goten a bill for the past few months from earthlink/timewarner? I still have service. I got a letter about changing my service, what 's going on? The girl downstairs moved out, but had a different cable service. Am I getting free internet or a big bill eventually

DorianBenkoi

Anon

This still the case?

It's been more than a week. Are there still horrible wait times and long long lines?

My experience. I had to stay on hold for about 30 minutes yesterday -- and was basically told "good luck" trying to get them to not institute the fee -- but have not yet decided whether to buy a modem that, for the 1.5 years left on my contract will cost a bit more than leasing from them.