US Cable Support > Charter Internet/TV > [HSI] Charter will No longer support Customer Owned modems?!?

reply to Anon0miss

Re: [HSI] Charter will No longer support Customer Owned modems?!

reply to KoRnGtL15
Good Morning All,

We have been monitoring this thread for a few days now, and there is definitely a lot of interesting information. I am glad to see there is some excitement building, as well as some valid questions. The problem with leaked information is it is rarely totally accurate. Let me start by saying, for those that have not seen any of the other threads, we will be launching some new pricing and packages on June 26th. Without a doubt our new packages are based around the value of the Triple Play. That being said, If you ever have specific questions and want the correct answer, please head on over to the Charter Direct Forum (»/forum/charterdirect) and create a new thread. We are always happy to help you. As Clover69 pointed out, we may not always be able to provide the answer right then, but I think most of you understand the need for data integrity.

Let’s talk equipment, as part of the new pricing and packaging, we have decided to include the modem at no additional cost to the customer. As a result, we will no longer provision customer owned modems on our network when a customer signs up for Charter Internet service. If you are an existing Charter Internet customer and own your own modem, and you are content to stay in your current package and pricing, you can continue to use your modem. If you decide you would like to come to the new pricing, at that point, we will issue you a new Charter modem. We made this decision for a variety of reasons. 1) We want every Charter Internet customer to have the best on-line experience possible. 2) We thoroughly test every modem that we issue to customers to ensure they will perform optimally on our network. 3) By providing the modems, we can ensure that they all have the most up-to-date firmware. 4) As technological advancements are made, we can make sure every customer’s modem is upgraded accordingly.

As others have indicated, with the release of the new pricing, we are temporarily pausing further WiFi deployment under our current model. What wasn’t mentioned is we are pausing it to take a fresh look and gain new perspectives on our product offerings. If you currently have Charter WiFi and choose to remain in your current package, we will continue to support your home network and the equipment. If you are a Charter WiFi customer and want to come to our new pricing and packages, in certain instances, you will be able to maintain the use of the Charter issued Gateway. It all hinges on if a truck roll is required for the change, ergo a new line of business is added or you are moving from analog to digital. This is a temporary change and is not a signal that Charter is exiting the WiFi business. We know that it is an important service to provide our customers and we will begin to provide it again in the future.

I could address the DVR topic, but I think this link does an excellent job, so I’ll just allow you to review the new TV Packages: »charter.com/tvpackages.

What is not addressed in that link, is Multi-Room DVR, so we will provide some details around that here. Like Charter WiFi, as of June 26th, we will no longer offer a Multi-Room DVR (MR DVR). It is our belief that the best Charter TV experience involves a fully functioning DVR in every room. Secondary receivers of MR DVR service do not allow you to pause or rewind live TV, nor schedule or manage recordings. All of these functions are available with individual DVRs, maximizing your control. In addition, you have increased hard drive storage space throughout your home. With MR DVR you only have one hard drive. For those that have visited the link above and done the math, putting a DVR in four rooms will be less expensive than having a 4 room MR DVR. For those of you that currently have MR DVR, like the others changes, if you stay in your current pricing and package, you will be able to keep your MR DVR. If you want to migrate into a new package with our new pricing, we will swap your multi-room receivers for fully functioning DVRs. We are exploring options to provide a service that would allow for content sharing, without sacrificing other core DVR functionality.

Going forward, we will not offer Charter Phone as a standalone product. For those that are unaware, we are not the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) in any of the markets where we provide telephone service, and in most cases we are one of several Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC). So, we are often replacement for existing phone service. Phone is a tremendous value as part of a Double or Triple Play. Not only will you get Unlimited Long Distance within the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, and Canada, you will also get 13 awesome calling featuring with the option to add more, like Distinctive Ring.

I want to close by reiterating that if you are an existing customer, your service will remain unchanged. You can keep your current pricing, package, and equipment.

As always, if you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact us in the Charter Direct Forum: »/forum/charterdirect.

Thanks, Eric

reply to CharterEric

You are welcome. Sorry it took us so long to jump in, we just wanted to make sure we had all the proper approvals and were certain the information was correct, as to not further muddy the waters.

reply to cloves69

Thanks CharterEric for taking the time to post as much as you were able to. I really appreciate the efforts of all you Charter Direct folks. You are 200% better than 1-800-Get-Charter and even better than a trip to the local office.

That being said, the information on the DVR program is woefully short on details.

First, I know that Charter deploys several models of DVRs, not just in different areas but within an area (currently at least 3 in my area).

Second, Charter is non-committal on DVR capacity or on how many tuners you get, and will not commit on what DVR you will get. What the tech has in the truck does not cut it.

How is this going to affect those of us with TiVo or those planning on getting a TiVo?

Thanks
--
DadCooks
(aka Eric)

reply to CharterEric
Thank you for the clarification Eric. If my owned Motorola SB6120 D3 modem was to fail, will I be allowed to switch in a replacement D3 modem or will I be forced to pick one up from a local office?

You can switch in another DOCSIS 3.0 modem of your own.
--
CompTIA Network+ Certified

reply to DadCooks

reply to bshelly

reply to CharterEric
@CharterEric -- I like your humor. Yes, I dial 888, not 800; in fact it is on "speed dial". But as I alluded to, when I want a real answer real fast, the first time, the Charter Direct Forum cannot be beat.

The reason I mentioned the DVRs is that I recently inquired at my local office about getting 2 DVRs and they would not guarantee that they would both be the same, or what capacity they would be.

reply to CharterEric

quote:

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Cable operators may not prevent customers from using their own equipment if such equipment is technically compatible with the cable system.

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reply to Zappa2000
I asked in direct about the following. If I own the same exact modem Charter is handing out at my local office. Would I still need to get a modem from the local office? Short answer. Yes. That makes zero sense to me and actually cost Charter more money by having to order more modems for customers. I will be able to continue using mine until my promos are up. After. I can choose to pay the old non promo prices. Which are insanely high btw. Or get into the new pricing system coming up with plans. I have phone and internet through Charter. So, yeah. Gonna have to go into a bundle now to keep our phone. We have CenturyLink but they are HORRIBLE for internet and phone. Plus they don't even come close to what Charter offers speed wise for internet. They only offer 1.5mb/896Kbps DSL. Compared to Ultra 100 (100mb/5mb) I have with Charter. Screw that crap!

reply to Zappa2000

reply to CharterEric
CharterEric & Charter Direct Team Members,

Thanks so much for the clarifications here. I just finally got around to upgrading to a Docsis 3.0 for myself and two family members less than 2 weeks ago(I paid for all three)

Then I was reading that we could no longer use our own modems and was furious. And as you said . . leaked information is rarely totally accurate so I am glad this wasn't.

The Charter Direct Team is as efficient as any customer service I have ever dealt with in my life!

Much appreciated.

reply to BF69