audee
join:2012-06-13
Oak Park, IL | reply to mogamer
Re: [Price] Cable Card Pricing!! There is a law on the books that says Comcast can't artificially lower the rent on dct(set top box) and pump up the cost with service fees. (cross-subsidizing)
Integrated Cable Act: Communications Act of 1934
Sec. 629. [47 U.S.C. 549] Competitive availability of Navigation Devices
»www.calcable.org/files/File/TOC_···ions.pdf page 232
"629 gives the Commission broad power to adopt regulations to assure the commercial availability of navigation devices and states that multichannel video programming distributors may lease their own devices, as long as “the system operator’s charges to consumers for such devices and equipment are separately stated and not subsidized by charges” for multichannel video programming service."
Federal Communications Commission FCC 10-181 p13
Customers Owned Equipment credit = $2.50 is "equal to an amount not less than the monthly rental fee reasonably allocable to the lease of the operator-supplied navigation device "
FCC Rule 76.1205(b)(5) »www.hallikainen.com/FccRules/2012/76/1205/
dct equipment fee = $2.50
The cablecards is free but you have to pay for the outlet. (outlet [A/O] = dct in billing terms)
»customer.comcast.com/help-and-su···rds/#cc9
Therefore, the cablecards inside a dct equipment fee = $0.00
Total equipment fee $2.50
A/O fee = $8.95
the total service fee
$8.95 - $2.50 = $6.45
n% of $8.95 is $6.45
72% service or 75% if A/O fee = $9.95
These are clearly way too high, not to be cross-subsidizing.
Comcast can legally say the rent for dct equipment is $2.50 but than the total charge or A/O fee can only be a maximum of $4.95, which amount to 49.49% service. Any higher % service, I think would definitely be cross-subsidizing.(subsidizing the costs of leased set-top boxes with service fees) |
|
| About 6 months ago Comcast changed my CC cost from $1.50/each per month to $1.15/each per month, AO fee $0. This is in the Hartford CT area. The above posts is of some concern to me as i have 4 CCs |
|
|
|
 halfbandPremium
join:2002-06-01
Huntsville, AL
 ·Comcast
| reply to audee
The basic rate for an additional cable card has been $2.50 for a while so the CC cost is pretty well established.
As audee points out, the fcc does not want the box rate subsidized. If the extra outlet rate is $10 then the minimum charge to add a full box on an account would be $12.50 if the actual box itself is valued a $0.
The FCC regulations on the box value are very well defined (cost of box amortized over x number of months.) I suspect that comcast is buying so few actual non-DVR boxes that they are hoping to declare that the actual cost of the bulk of the old set top boxes is now pretty much paid off. The $20 DVR free and any non-dvr fee above $12.50 leaves plenty of wiggle room to declare a $10 A/O fee acceptable.
All this is probably something that can be slipped past the nose of the bureaucratic and well lobbied FCC. But it is totally despicable behavior to try and nickle and dime the consumer with the endless fees and charges to help support the elite entertainment content provider class. But as long as we keep buying it, I guess we deserve what we get.
--
Registered Bandwidth Offender #40812 |
|
halfbandPremium
join:2002-06-01
Huntsville, AL Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to TiVo Man
said by TiVo Man :The above posts is of some concern to me as i have 4 CCs This kind of fee structure would make your media configuration ridiculously expensive. The obvious solution would be to change to a system that utilizes internal streaming to media extender type devices. But the equipment cost and limited available choices make that somewhat distasteful.
--
Registered Bandwidth Offender #40812 |
|
| Yep, all of us card users should be concerned - others have posted on tivocommunity.com that they are now getting hit with A/O's for extra cards where they didn't before. Comcast may finally be auditing card usage systemwide and adjusting bills accordingly, I have seen more than one person over at TCF say that they don't get charged at all for cards (and get $2.50 credits for each!).
If Tivo ever delivers the Mini (IP STB) to 'extend' a 4-tuner XL4, this would be a viable option in addition to using Windows Media Center, because you may only need one card. But no one knows when they will do so. |
|
