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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK

Premium Member

FoxNews Commentator says new fee is great....

.... because it will spur people to buy their own "better" modems and make their connections faster....

Typical.... no mention of the idea of charging modem access fees whether you own it or not, however....
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

1 recommendation

rradina

Member

Read the same article and I love this paragraph:
...On the other hand, moving to the customer-owned model has benefits for the cable company. Time Warner isn’t rolling trucks out to make the switch or install new modems for customers, for example. Tech support could also be sloughed off on the cable modem manufacturers. And once you’ve bought a modem that only works with Time Warner, you’re less likely to switch to a competing service.
1) Not many people have a choice and cannot switch to another provider even if they hate their current cable provider.
2) DOCSIS is a standard. A DOCSIS modem should work on most any cable system.
3) The cable modem manufacturer is going to support your Internet connection when HSI isn't working? Really? I've had DOCSIS-based HSI from Charter since August of 2000. For the better part of a decade, I used one of the 3COM "Sharkfin" DOCSIS 1.1 modems. When my HSI didn't work, it was never the modem. For the past several years I've been running a Moto SB51xx DOCSIS 2.0 modem and likewise, when HSI hasn't worked, it's never been the modem. Sloughing support off on the cable modem manufacturer sounds like a pipe dream.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

1 edit

1 recommendation

djrobx to KrK

Premium Member

to KrK
Argh. Let's see, this is good because ...

In the end, you’ll get better performance out of a new modem you purchase than from hanging onto the old model. I replaced an ancient RCA model with a zippy $150 Motorola SURFboard SBG6580 modem and wireless router. In anecdotal tests, I immediately saw performance improve by roughly 30 percent. And if you’ve got an older Wi-Fi router, the SBG6580 should also improve wireless connections around the house.

The commentator seems to think the fee is a good thing because his new SBG6580 is "zippy".

He seems to gloss over 1) TWC leases SBG6580s. 2) He has been able to buy his own SBG6580 whenever he felt like it and 3) Speeds should be dictated by the tier you purchase, not the modem. His DOCSIS 3 modem may actually be slower if he's on a basic package, since TWC doesn't do power boost on D3 modems.

Or maybe this is a good thing because...

Now the question is, if Time Warner and others now see potential benefits to having customers buy their own cable modems, could they begin to offer the same option when it comes to set-top boxes and DVRs? One can only hope.

Oh, so now this is good because by adding a fee to lease modems they're ... going to start offering you the option to buy a cable box? Boy, that's a leap. Comcast has let you own your own modem for what, a decade now? No signs of cable box purchasing there.

Good to know TWC is writing stories for FoxNews.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK

Premium Member

"Greed is good!"