PhoenixDown
-- Wants FIOS
Premium
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY
clubs:   | TWC can build out thier own network
Isn't that how the argument begins?
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{Insert Something Witty Here} |
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Voyager2K2
join:2001-10-04
Wayne, PA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| One Minute Hold Time?
I doubt that.
When things go horribly wrong, everyone starts calling.
Do you keep a huge tech support staff around to handle those infrequent massive call loads?
Me thinks that MI needs to do some more homework before they really know how to run a cable outfit. |
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Cheese
Premium
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL
clubs: | Hmmm
From FAQ:
The current franchise overseer until 2008 will be Time Warner, which will be separating its customers from the MI-Connection customer base in the three towns during the remainder of 2007. |
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bmn
? ? ?
Premium,ExMod 2003-06
join:2001-03-15
hiatus
| reply to Voyager2K2
Re: One Minute Hold Time?
You missed the key word in that phrase... In "approximately one minute." That falls under the same category of covering your ass as the "up to" language that providers use.
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Prove it...
Save the Internet Time (NTP) service, use the pool. |
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cajun4x4
join:2000-10-02
Baytown, TX
 ·ViaTalk
| Government saying what is right for the people.
Are we not all for keeping out big government out of our business. Boy this sure opens up a can of worms when they start getting notices that there are people using p2p on the network and sharing copyrighted material. Point being that no government should have any control on an information service like this or telephone. There are always cases of misuse or abuse. |
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wscato
join:2001-06-22
Huntersville, NC
| Living amongst the mess
Thank god Huntersville opted out of it. I live right here and this has been the hot topic for quite awhile. Wonder how Davidson and Cournelius will handle the people that live on the outskirts that were serviced by TW when Adelphia was still in business. Will they have to switch or can they keep TW? |
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ke4pym
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC | More power to them
I hope it works out as well as some of the other Muni projects. TW could stand to learn a thing or two around here. |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
 ·RoadRunner Cable
 ·DSL EXTREME
| reply to cajun4x4
Re: Government saying what is right for the people.
6 of one... half dozen of the other. There are cases of misuse/abuse from corporate America as well.
Would you be less concerned about...
- Having your billing/cs performed overseas (i.e. people overseas in other countries having access to your SSN)
- Having corporate 'packet shaping', 'content filtering (yeah you, AT&T)
- Companies selling your marketing info (to preferred business partners aka data miners) to keep your rates low.
- Being part of a corporate run enterprise, which means you are a statistic, and we don't care as long as we make money from you.
OR
- We are the government, ELECTED locally to run YOUR LOCAL Cable Co.
- We keep rates low, because we're not out to make a profit.. our CEO is the mayor, not someone that flys over you, never to see what you (or your town) wants/needs. Besides, we can always raise taxes.
- We are the government... NSA is part of our life... accept it and move on. |
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soothsayer15
join:2002-03-01
Irving, TX
1 edit | reply to cajun4x4
They're going to find out how expensive it really is to run an ISP. I don't think they have any clue how long it's going recoup $39,000,000 while incurring expenses. $39 Million is $15,000 for each of the 2600 customers they're getting. Buying bandwidth, hiring billing and tech support reps, network engineers, network admins on top of paying their benefits isn't going to be anywhere close to cheap. Don't forget about maintenance on the fiber and cable out in field.
Maybe they'll fund this with a bond, but I doubt it. No one votes for tax increases unless it's for schools. The guy in the article said the business plan made sense to him. I don't see how. |
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jtudor
Xm 60's On 6 Freak
Premium,MVM
join:2002-12-07
Morganton, NC
| It works here
One of the nice things about a muni cable system is that they are forbidden by the FCC from making programming decisions. That usually means that a "cable TV" board will be implemented, which will be local citizens, usually from a cross section of the community.
The advantage is that decisions about what channels are offered on the system are made locally by people who may actually be affected by those decisions, they are not made in a corporate boardroom where the only thing that matters is the bottom line.
If you want programming changes, you can attend the public meetings of the board and tell them what you want. If enough people want it, then it will happen. If the board does not make the changes the people want, they can show dissatisfaction at the ballot box and elect a new mayor or council who should then change the makeup of the board.
It works well on our system in Morganton, NC.
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Best of luck
"Do, or Do not, there is no try!" Yoda
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sheik28
Premium
join:2000-10-15
New York, NY
| Does it work well because decisions made have been favorable in your opinion? Have there been any decisions which you didn't agree with?
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There is no such thing as a stupid question, and yes, the camel types.  |
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CtrlAltDel
WORSE. THAN. CARTER.
Arbitrary Text
join:2001-12-30
Backyard | Will Rigas Be Watching Cable TV IN NC?
How ironic that North Carolina was chosen. John Rigas and son Tim just left for a long stay in North Carolina on Sunday. »The Rigas Family Heads To Prison |
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ricep5
Premium
join:2000-08-07
Jacksonville, FL
·AT&T Southeast
·AT&T CallVantage
·VoicePulse
·Comcast Formerly ..
| reply to soothsayer15
Re: Government saying what is right for the people.
$39 million is $41 a sub/month over a 30 year bond. That is pretty high for a purchase. Either they expect to increase the sub count in a big way, or they serve some fairly wealthy clients. Even at Comcast rates the gross margin for a non internet sub will be very small.
Most commercial cable buyouts have been in the $21-$28/mo per sub range. The last muni analysis I saw was around $14/mo per sub. |
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jtudor
Xm 60's On 6 Freak
Premium,MVM
join:2002-12-07
Morganton, NC
| reply to sheik28
Re: It works here
Yes there have been decisions I didn't agree with. but it still works better than the corporate giants.
It works well most of the time because the decisions were made on the local level, with local input, and not in some high tower by people who have never been in this town.
The worst decision made here was with the first internet offering that was one way cable. Cable down, dial up for upload. and it was priced the same as DSL, around $50 a month. After two years, they took it offline due to lack of subscribers. A year later they regrouped and came up with a new offering that rivals much larger systems.
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Best of luck
"Do, or Do not, there is no try!" Yoda
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK | reply to ricep5
Re: Government saying what is right for the people.
There's probably more to it then that. The city is probably figuring the money they'll save in running their own network vs paying for it to outsiders at the moment. |
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davoice
join:2000-08-12
Saxapahaw, NC
·Comporium
| reply to CtrlAltDel
Re: Will Rigas Be Watching Cable TV IN NC?
said by CtrlAltDel  :How ironic that North Carolina was chosen. He's headed to Butner. That's no where near either of the cable systems in question. It's closer to Raleigh.
But on a better note, "Camp Butner" is not only home to the prison where Rigas will be housed... it's also the state capital for loony bins. It's home to the new state funded psychiatric hospital. And home to Umstead and Dorothea Dix mental hospitals (which are presently being replaced b/c they needed too many repairs).
}Davoice |
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tkdslr
join:2004-04-24
Pompano Beach, FL
·Speakeasy
| reply to soothsayer15
Re: Government saying what is right for the people.
said by soothsayer15 :T$39 Million is $15,000 for each of the 2600 customers they're getting. "Towns in north Mecklenburg and south Iredell counties approved the purchase"..
I counted a lot more than 2600 customers..
"Cornelius officials voted 4-1 to transfer 2,600 customers to the north Meck-south Iredell system but not have an ownership stake."
"The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners will vote Tuesday on transferring another 1,500 customers."
from their FAQ..
"How many customers will MI-Connection have?
The company will have an immediate customer base of approximately 10,500 customers."
Maybe more.. given the recent activity which probably not included in the FAQ. ~15,000 customers for 39M$... $2600 per household.. not bad..
If they offer a good deal, they'll pickup another 40 to 70% more customers using the same infrastructure. (Note: average cable penetration ~50% of households they pass by.) |
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ncbill
Premium
join:2007-01-23
Winston Salem, NC | reply to davoice
Re: Will Rigas Be Watching Cable TV IN NC?
Dorothea Dix is in Raleigh, which is nowhere near Butner |
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igotthisone
join:2001-11-23
Davidson, NC
·Callcentric
·AT&T CallVantage
2 edits |  Hallelujah!
I live in this effected area, and I'm glad this decision has been made....
After living in Huntersville, NC for nearly ten years with Time Warner Cable I had been a loyal subscriber. I had almost no issues with their system except for a broken cable to my home that took a bit of work to get fixed.
I recently moved to Davidson, NC in the Iredell county portion in a new development. The high speed service has been intermittent at best, with no issues with the television. Time Warner's response to my issues has been horrible! I've really gotten an opportunity to see just how disconnected their whole support infrastructure really is. The local and national help desks are so inefficient. Hold times are ridiculous and the ability for their support folks to actually get the right people on the issue has been abysmal.
The attached graph is an example of how today has gone. This isn't abnormal in the past four months of being here. |
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