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okolepooka
join:2014-08-20
Pennellville, NY

okolepooka

Member

[Internet] Pennellville, NY - How would I convince TWC to lay new lines?

I'm in need of ideas to convince TWC to lay a new line down my street. I currently can only get DSL through Windstream, and even though I live only 11 Miles from the nearest city with one of their network hubs/centers, the best speeds I can get is 3mbps and that's on a good day after midnight.

So I called TWC and after a few phone calls I was told that the line ends roughly a half mile to the North and to the South (on the same road) leaving a 1 miles stretch unserviced by them, and would cost me $30,000 to extend the line.

So, my question is does anyone have any ideas to help me avoid having to pay 30k?
Phroz
join:2005-11-23
Lewiston, ME

Phroz

Member

said by okolepooka:

So, my question is does anyone have any ideas to help me avoid having to pay 30k?

If you have any neighbors you could try getting them to split the cost with you. Otherwise you're pretty much out of luck.
bodosom
Leger de main
Premium Member
join:2004-03-05
WNY/Niagara
ARRIS SB6183
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
pfSense SG-2220

1 recommendation

bodosom to okolepooka

Premium Member

to okolepooka
said by okolepooka:

So, my question is does anyone have any ideas to help me avoid having to pay 30k?

You can't avoid paying the fee* but that sounds a bit high. You have to ask for a contract to get them to do a construction survey. At the end of that process they'll send you a contract with a real number that accounts for any new residences that are now in the service area and any special consideration your inside sales rep can get for you**. Telephone "quotes" don't include new residence credits because they don't know how many there are until they do the survey. You get a credit for each house they pass and they'll extend the line (for free) about a tenth of mile to reach more residences past yours. Each potential new customer is about $1,000 credit -- if they sign up or not.

If you sign the contract they'll want 50% to start and the rest sometime after completion. The first payment may require a certified check.

My final number was less than half of the original over-the-phone quote.

I started the process in late spring 2013 and had service by mid-August. I'm in the Rochester region and the distance was a bit over 1/2 mile.

*This a matter of NYS regulation.
**So yes, better reps can get you a better deal. You have no influence over this.
aguen
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Grants Pass, OR

aguen to okolepooka

Premium Member

to okolepooka
Don't know how things are controlled/regulated in your town but you might want to check to see if TWC has a Franchise agreement with your local gov't which grants them the right to do business. If so, then they could be obligated to provide service to areas as the town/city grows in size, etc.
bodosom
Leger de main
Premium Member
join:2004-03-05
WNY/Niagara
ARRIS SB6183
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
pfSense SG-2220

bodosom

Premium Member

said by Phroz:

If you have any neighbors you could try getting them to split the cost with you. Otherwise you're pretty much out of luck.

said by aguen:

Don't know how things are controlled/regulated in your town

I've answered this question correctly for upstate NY which is where the OP claims to be. ME and OR are not NY and the above speculations are wrong for this area.
aguen
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Grants Pass, OR

aguen

Premium Member

said by bodosom:

I've answered this question correctly for upstate NY which is where the OP claims to be. ME and OR are not NY and the above speculations are wrong for this area.

Which is why I qualified my suggestion, but thanks for playing the part of the "asshat" with your followup post.
bodosom
Leger de main
Premium Member
join:2004-03-05
WNY/Niagara
ARRIS SB6183
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
pfSense SG-2220

2 recommendations

bodosom

Premium Member

said by aguen:

Which is why I qualified my suggestion, but thanks for playing the part of the "asshat" with your followup post.

Normally I would have allowed for your qualification but in this case I clearly and in significant detail explained the process so qualified or not you were either inattentive or thought that your pearls of wisdom were so important it didn't matter that they were (with qualification) wrong.
okolepooka
join:2014-08-20
Pennellville, NY

okolepooka to aguen

Member

to aguen
said by bodosom:

You can't avoid paying the fee* but that sounds a bit high. You have to ask for a contract to get them to do a construction survey. At the end of that process they'll send you a contract with a real number that accounts for any new residences that are now in the service area and any special consideration your inside sales rep can get for you**. Telephone "quotes" don't include new residence credits because they don't know how many there are until they do the survey. You get a credit for each house they pass and they'll extend the line (for free) about a tenth of mile to reach more residences past yours. Each potential new customer is about $1,000 credit -- if they sign up or not.

If you sign the contract they'll want 50% to start and the rest sometime after completion. The first payment may require a certified check.

My final number was less than half of the original over-the-phone quote.

I started the process in late spring 2013 and had service by mid-August. I'm in the Rochester region and the distance was a bit over 1/2 mile.

*This a matter of NYS regulation.
**So yes, better reps can get you a better deal. You have no influence over this.

In our one mile dead zone here there are 15 houses, I'll call again and see if I can get them to do a site survey. Maybe they'll realize houses are popping up here every year...
said by aguen:

Don't know how things are controlled/regulated in your town but you might want to check to see if TWC has a Franchise agreement with your local gov't which grants them the right to do business. If so, then they could be obligated to provide service to areas as the town/city grows in size, etc.

How do I even go about finding the franchise agreement? Should I just call the town or county clerk? I've looked online and found one for all the towns around me, which I've noticed they include in everyone the other areas nearby they have agreements with and my town is on there.
bodosom
Leger de main
Premium Member
join:2004-03-05
WNY/Niagara
ARRIS SB6183
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
pfSense SG-2220

1 recommendation

bodosom

Premium Member

said by okolepooka:

I'll call again and see if I can get them to do a site survey.

You can't do that. You can call and ask to go forward with a cost-shared installation. They may try to discourage you, if so be persistent. They'll open a ticket with construction and an inside sales rep will call you and give you another estimate. Tell the rep you want to proceed and they'll (eventually) send you a contract to sign with final price. They may also call you with the final price but the contract is the last word. If you don't like the number you don't sign. By the way your assessment of new residences coming into the service area is not a consideration. Their survey is the only number that matters but it may be higher than you think unless you know exactly where the extension starts.

For some reason this isn't discussed much but there was a tale of woe in the Albany area a few years ago. Apparently the guy could see the cable from his house but they quoted him $33,000. I never found a follow-up.
said by okolepooka:

How do I even go about finding the franchise agreement?

The franchise agreement is irrelevant. Cost-shared installations are under the purview of the state utilities commission.
spdickey
join:2002-11-17
Pacific Palisades, CA
Technicolor E31T2V1
eero Wi-Fi System
Obihai OBi202

spdickey

Member

Here'e the follow up from that poor guy with a tap 1,000 feet away, but the pole line is over 3000 feet. As of this story, he still doesn't have cable service.
In New York, the PSC requires cable companies to extend service at their own cost in areas with at least 35 homes per cable mile. In some localities, including Ballston, the required density is reduced to 20 homes per mile.
»www.timesunion.com/local ··· 7166.php

resistfutile
@69.193.6.x

resistfutile

Anon

I'm in the same boat, service on both sides of me, the closer one being .82 miles, they would pass ~12 additional houses with the extension. I tried the relentless push and push again, I finally got a 30 plus page letter with the moreau franchise agreement copy and an official final price of $48k to "extend the plant". Yes, forty eight thousand, not four thousand eight hundred. So, glad the state gave them another grant of 5 million to extend to the unserviced and under served in NY.

unbelievable...
$5,266,979 Statewide Broadband Expansion
The Statewide Broadband Expansion Project is a statewide project serving 9 regions. Time Warner Cable will deploy robust high-speed Internet service to 4,114 households in the Capital, Central, Finger Lakes, Mid-Hudson, Mohawk Valley, NYC, North Country, Southern Tier and Western regions of New York State. The project will also provide residents with access to digital TV, telephone services and security services.

I would love to see that exact list/addresses of the 4,114