said by Superific :

Truck is needed, because you need a special modem to handle docsis 3.0. enough with the theories. and no, you cant pick it up at the cable store.

said by Bobcat :

Wow, a $335 fee is one way to cut back on demand.

said by Shamayim :

Then use UPS to deliver it.

said by Anonymous Coward :

E.g. it ensures that not every damn Usenet/P2P leecher (or uploader) orders it and brings the house down on his node with their legally questionable activities - activities that simply are not happening in a business context, for multiple reasons

It's also a good way to throttle demand during the startup phase of a new service: the last they want is a hundred techs having to go out on a service call for something that is brand-new to them, with probably plenty of opportunity to screw it up. A not unsubstantial part of that is probably related to some sort of manual step that prevents the service from being self-install today.

said by Shamayim :

You can buy it but will CV provision it?

said by shadowgod :

Does anyone know? It's got to be more than a simple a modem swap for $300? Or is the initial fee so high just so they can keep the monthly price down?

said by Thinkdiff :

Horrible business model from the consumer's standpoint, but effective.

said by RickNY :

. . . whereas the people that truly need it will stick around"

said by KewlRobd :

They have to, FCC regulations says they have to allow you to buy and use your own equipment.

said by RickNY :

The reason for the 300 fee is easy -- its to separate the people that plan on trying it for a month and then cancelling (ala Boost) from the people that are intending to use it long term.. I think most people that get this will quickly realize they do not need a 101 Mbps connection and would be more quick to cancel after one month - whereas the people that truly need it will stick around

said by Thinkdiff :

Exactly.

I was planning on sticking with the service from now until at least September. In September, I was planning to make a decision to keep it or downgrade back to Boost. Chances are I would've kept it (giving CV $1200/year), but the activation fee has prevented me from doing that. I guess that's a tradeoff CV is willing to make.

But I just cannot justify laying out $300 for absolutely nothing. No matter how you spin it (spreading the 300 out over a year or two), you're still paying $300 for no technical reason.

said by Thinkdiff :

I'm quite certain it's to prevent month-to-month'ers from signing up. I don't think it has anything to do with the modem, as it's already been pointed out they're fairly cheap. You're less likely to cancel a service after a month if you just paid 300 non-refundable bucks to set it up.

said by RARPSL :

There is one GOTCHA however. It must be a model that they support (in this case a DPC3000 or SB6120). If you try going with a SBV6220 (to keep your current VoIP) they may or may not support it before they start offering their own SBV6220s.