wthPremium
join:2002-02-20
Iowa City,IA Reviews:
 ·Mediacom
| 30 HD channels will be ADDED by Years End-Iowa City Bonus: Docsis 3.0 being tested in Des Moines
Mediacom report to the Iowa City Telecommunications Commission on 1/26/2009. It's on page 2
»www.icgov.org/boardminute/1896.pdf
MEDIACOM REPORT
Grassley reported Mediacom has been busy negotiating with broadcasters for rights to digital
transmissions in preparation for the switch to all digital broadcasting. Mediacom has contracted
with a company in the Philippines to handle call center overflow during the 3rd shift. Thirty
percent of the employees are college educated and all must have passed an English proficiency
test. So far it has worked out well. The contract will be evaluated in 6 months. Changes in the
channel lineup are continuing and its likely that 30 high definition channels will be added by the
end of the year. The digital transmission of broadcasters may be pushed back to June. There
have been problems with the federal program to subsidize the cost of converter boxes. Any
change in the February 17 date for digital transition would take legislation. Mediacom’s flood
relief event in association with the University of Iowa raised about $200,000. In response to a
question from Mekies about Internet speeds Grassley said in many countries the government has
subsidized the infrastructure. Often the service is not universally available and is very
expensive. Mediacom offers a service of up to 20 megabytes. Subscriber results from specific
web sites will often be slower than the 100 megabytes the fastest systems now offer. Mediacom
is currently testing DOCSIS 3.0 in Des Moines, which is providing about 105 megabytes. The
service is synchronous, which allows the same speed for uploads as downloads. Hoerschelman
said that for the user the upload and download speeds differ so that it is an asynchronous service
from the users perspective. Mekies asked how Mediacom compares to other cable providers and
technologies around the country. Grassley said Mediacom’s systems are hybrid fiber coax, as
are most cable operators. ATT and Verizon are building fiber to the home. As bandwidth
demand increases, Mediacom decreases the number of households per node. Currently the Iowa
City system has 71 nodes. Two years ago there were about 32 nodes. Bandwidth use monitoring
capability has been enhanced in that time period as well. Comcast and Verizon offer DOCSIS
3.0 and subscription rates are less than 3%. Mekies asked about subscriber complaints about
slow Internet speeds and asked if they were due to system congestion during peak times.
Grassley said he was unaware of concerns about bandwidth speed and said if there were specific
areas of with problems, Mediacom will look at it. Fisher, Hoerschelman, and Hardy noted
problems on certain channels. Grassley said he will look into it and said Mediacom is still
feeling the effects of the flood. The problems with pixilation should be totally resolved in 2012
when Mediacom’s transmission is 100 per cent digital. Grassley said the test done during the
presidential inauguration address was required by the FCC and planned far in advance. Once the
test is scheduled it has to be performed. Kemp noted the press release from Mediacom
apologizing for the test. Hoerschelman asked if Mediacom has a system to track consumer
complaints. Grassley said there is an internal system. Once a complaint reaches a certain
number in from a localized area it is treated as an outage. Hoerschelman asked if there is any
way to inform the public of outages other than a subscriber calling Mediacom. Grassley said he
believes that there is a place on the main Mediacom website where subscribers could check. He
will look into it. Hoerschelman said City resources such as InfoVision could be used.
Hoerschelman asked if Grassley sees a time when Mediacom will guarantee a certain level of
Internet speed on other than the business tier. Grassley said that is unlikely. There may be a
point when a minimum could be guaranteed. Mekies said that since Mediacom is looking to get
a standardized channel lineup nationwide that it would make sense to group channels by content.
For example, all channels geared towards children could be adjacent. |
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wthPremium
join:2002-02-20
Iowa City,IA Reviews:
·Mediacom
| Somethings wrong, because back on 3/24/2003 the mediacom rep said that 60 nodes will be added in Iowa City, and the report in the OP's post stated that Iowa City had 32 nodes 2 years ago (2007 or 2006) »www.icgov.org/boardminute/461.pdf page #2 |
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 drslashGoya AsmaPremium
join:2002-02-18
Marion, IA | I think that Grassley guy is just wrong with some of his information. If he is taking it off the top of his head when answering those questions, he is probably wrong. A good clue is that he thinks outages are reported on a Mediacom web page. Yeah...right! |
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1 edit | said by drslash:I think that Grassley guy is just wrong with some of his information. If he is taking it off the top of his head when answering those questions, he is probably wrong. A good clue is that he thinks outages are reported on a Mediacom web page. Yeah...right! x2. Outages reported on the mediacom website?! I don't think so. |
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| reply to wth
ouch - congrats Iowa City on the upgrade... wish they had that for my small community!! |
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wthPremium
join:2002-02-20
Iowa City,IA Reviews:
·Mediacom
| said by BlackHole2:ouch - congrats Iowa City on the upgrade... wish they had that for my small community!! I'll bookmark this in my Outlook calander and see where mediacom is in mid 12/09, which is 9 months away. It'll probably happen to some extend system wide also. |
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 IowaManPremium
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA | reply to wth
Cool,! I wonder when Mediacom will unleash DOCSIS 3.0 to the entire state? Although, reading some of the results on the site let's hope they add a couple nodes to the state first. |
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| reply to wth
When do I start Laughing...  |
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wthPremium
join:2002-02-20
Iowa City,IA Reviews:
·Mediacom
| reply to Turbocpe
said by Turbocpe:said by drslash:I think that Grassley guy is just wrong with some of his information. If he is taking it off the top of his head when answering those questions, he is probably wrong. A good clue is that he thinks outages are reported on a Mediacom web page. Yeah...right! x2. Outages reported on the mediacom website?! I don't think so. And this statement:
"Grassley said he believes that there is a place on the main Mediacom website where subscribers could check."
Like what good would this do if I can't "connect"? |
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1 edit | said by wth:said by Turbocpe:said by drslash:I think that Grassley guy is just wrong with some of his information. If he is taking it off the top of his head when answering those questions, he is probably wrong. A good clue is that he thinks outages are reported on a Mediacom web page. Yeah...right! x2. Outages reported on the mediacom website?! I don't think so. And this statement: "Grassley said he believes that there is a place on the main Mediacom website where subscribers could check." Like what good would this do if I can't "connect"? I'm sure some have back-up connections (dial-up or cell phones with Internet service). I've seen numerous posts in this Mediacom forum alone that start with something like (paraphrasing) "I'm posting this from my cell phone because..."
Not to mention any cable TV outages, which can occur without an Internet outage. Des Moines alone has had numerous cable TV outages, taking "blocks" of channels offline for hours at a time. Of course, when you call Mediacom about those outages, they have no knowledge of them - despite Mediacom later claims they were "maintenance" work. |
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| reply to wth
when your hear about Hendersonville, NC getting an upgrade plz let me know! - thx! |
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| reply to wth
Hendersonville will not be getting upgrades from Mediacom. That market was sold to Morris Communications. Man, I feel sorry for you guys. |
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| reply to wth
Yes and No... Morris Broadband sent letters out saying:
"On February 13, 2009, Morris Cable, LLC (doing business as Morris Broadband) completed the acquisition from Mediacom of the cable system serving your community. We are pleased to now be the provider of your cable and broadband services and look forward to being a part of your community."
"In the coming weeks and months, Morris Broadband will be busy working to improve the service we provide to you, our customers. Our plans include upgrading our network to provide higher quality and more reliable service, launching additional services such as more high-definition products (HDTV) and other services, along with extending our cable system into more unserved areas."
"For Morris Broadband, these improvements represent a multi-million dollar investment in the infrastructure of the cable system plant and operating facilities. For our customers, we believe these improvements will represent a significant improvement in the service and products available for their use and enjoyment!"
We shall see Hville!
-Bh |
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