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landrover
join:2013-09-17
Martinsburg, WV

landrover

Member

[CustSvc] Franchise Agreement

What's the best way to get a hold of someone within Comcast to talk about getting service in an area in accordance with the cable franchise agreement?

I've tried direct support on here months ago & never heard back.
Same results with calling the Comcast 800 number's.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

1 edit

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

[CustSvc] Re: Franchise Agreement

The best route would be the local government that enforces the franchise agreement. They should have a "Cable TV" or "Broadband" franchise department with info. They can contact Comcast.

Another route will be the local Comcast office.

Good luck!

EDIT:
Your cable service is regulated by Jefferson County. Here are service requirements:

»www.jeffersoncountywv.or ··· ion.html

If your within 200ft of existing cable plant construction should be free.

landrover
join:2013-09-17
Martinsburg, WV

landrover

Member

Thanks for your suggestions Zenit! I was able to get a survey done, and Comcast called today with the results.

They said the plant extension would cover 8 houses and required 5000 ft aerially.
BUT they said it would require $20,000 customer contribution...

I'm a bit surprised given the plant extension covers at least 8 homes with potential for more.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Well, that cost seems just a bit inflated to me - but its almost a mile of extension with only 8 homes so Comcast is concerned about ROI.

Worst case for construction cost will be a new node, in which case Comcast's price is pretty accurate. I would bet that the existing cable plant was not designed with this extension in mind, making it difficult to make a simple branch off.

Did you try offering to sign up for Business Class instead of Residential? Others have posted success with getting the upfront construction cost knocked down, but the trade off is a 3 year contract.

If you and your neighbors are sick of Frontier, you may be able to work something out with Comcast to get the upfront cost reduced. They need to know that its worth it and that they will get enough uptake.

Just some additional info, here is a map of Comcast footprint in Jefferson (from W.VA Gov, may not be 100% accurate):



If this map is anywhere near accurate, Comcast did a great job building out in your county.

To compare, here is Loudoun County's miserable Comcast coverage:



I would assume Comcast would want to work towards 100% coverage in Jefferson for bragging rights to the government, perhaps as a cookie to get the TW merger approved.

"See, look at us! We deploy broadband even in rural areas! Let us merrrrgeee!!!! "

landrover
join:2013-09-17
Martinsburg, WV

landrover

Member

Re: [CustSvc] Franchise Agreement

Great maps there, thanks for sharing. In this case I am working with Berkeley County, where my folks live.

As far as Comcast's number of 8 house, I'm not sure where they got that. By my count it would actually service 15. I understand your point on ROI though.

In 2000 Adelphia, pre-Comcast here, offered to bring cable down our road for free, but the great grandmother at the time was satisfied with her antenna! So, i would assume it is extendable, or not hard to extend.

I'll get back with Comcast and see if people signing up would lower the costs or eliminate them. I understand short-term might not be great, but long-term it will be. The only internet is Frontier at 3 mbps, with no indication of upgrades coming. Comcast blows them out of the water.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Ah, so this is for service in Berkeley. I have heard the horror stories of Frontier there. It's not entirely their fault, they bought a totaled telephone network from Verizon held together with trash bags and electrical tape (VZ let their C&P Tel of W.VA Bell assets fall apart).

Its sort of sickening what VZ did - their goons were like "Yah, in 2007 we will deploy FIOS in select areas of W.VA!" and then nope, time for a sale.

Anyways, back on topic: Usually when you have multiple people requesting service they will knock down the cost of extension. Do you know of any potential new developments happening in the area?

landrover
join:2013-09-17
Martinsburg, WV

landrover

Member

Exactly! Our unit is an old fiber fed retrofitted Catena SLC5. The fiber is there, just not the equipment. I don't see that upgrade happening.

There is a new development 1,600 Ft up from our quoted road. It already has the conduit laying at the road for cable, but there is no cable. I assume the developer never pushed for that. I did the measurements with satellite, and they match Comcast's. The cable doesn't go towards that development though as it is coming from the other way.

The cable route they are following passes 14, not 8 houses. If all 14 signed a contract, Comcast would make the construction costs back in 24 Months. From then on, just profit. Even if only 8 or 9 would sign, the timeline for ROI is around 24.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

The Catena retrofit for the Western Electric SLC5 is not even very complex - just inserting some cards into the available slots...



Its amazing how dated our telephone infrastructure is becoming in the USA.

Perhaps Comcast will consider building up your street when they deploy cable to the new subdivision. They probably have to build there due to population density/service requirements in the cable franchise. If the county failed to negotiate that, they messed up.

landrover
join:2013-09-17
Martinsburg, WV

1 edit

landrover

Member

Just an update. Spoke to Construction manager today, and they ball parked it at $35,000. They said some poles would need replaced as there is not enough required room.

Also said they would not take service commitments.
Pretty disappointing.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

1 edit

telcodad

MVM

said by landrover:

They said the plant extension would cover 8 houses and required 5000 ft aerially.
BUT they said it would require $20,000 customer contribution...

said by landrover:

Just an update. Spoke to Construction manager today, and they ball parked it at $35,000. They said some poles would need replaced as there is not enough required room.

Yeah, it appears that they normally quote at a rate of about $7/foot:

»Comcast- 1,100 Feet of cable for 3 Houses ???

»[Install] Just another "Extend the Plant Request" post..

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx to landrover

Premium Member

to landrover
Well, it looks like your only hope is that when the new subdivision is wired, they will choose to come down the street. It sounds unlikely as some poles need to be replaced...

I am surprised they would not take commitments. Did you try dealing with Business Class vs Resi?

landrover
join:2013-09-17
Martinsburg, WV

landrover

Member

I actually started with business first and they told me that was up to the Resi side..
The cost isn't too bad if split between the 8 houses. However, getting those 8 neighbors to commit $4,300 would be pretty tough. I have no issue forking out that much.

Apparently some of the poles don't have enough spacing between electric and telco to keep the Catv wiring above the minimum distance from the ground.
rody_44
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA

rody_44

Premium Member

FWIW. Your ROI is way off. One dollar of subscriber money equals about ten cents for ROI and thats after comcast pays for the labor and equipment costs of inhouse installs. Than consider in most cases comcast has to rent the said poles. 4 dollars a foot is dirt cheap when your talking about plant extensions. Your best hope is the development up the street decides to eat the cost.