After 10 Years Of Service, Charter Declares Home 'Unserviceable'

These kinds of situations would be ideal for cable companies offering contracts. Presuming that this is a private home, a contract could be offered that stipulates that Charter be compensated should the owner sell the house before the term of the contract expires.

(RG6 -- 350 feet is too far) I used to work as a contractor installing cable modems for Charter. I measured long drops with my handy measuring wheel many times. Charter pressured us to get these customers up and running when their own techs couldn't do it.

1 RG11 drop for the TV sets - Digital boxes
&
1 RG11 drop for the Cable Modem and VOIP

Yea.. we're missing part of the story.. I've run RG11 drops farther than 350' before and hooked up interactive services just fine..

.. something stinks here. An honestly.. one drop could run that whole service.. amp it in the home and it's fine.

This would be a day in the Park for Comcast, Just install some QR320 or RG11. I used to work for Comcast in Baltimore but now I live in SC, and I now work for direct tv. I am praying charter goes under and Comcast eats them. I would not mind dawning the black and red again but I know for sure I will never work for charter lol.

Hmmm....distance-limited cable Internet. What a concept. So much for that tired old argument against distance-limited DSL.

What you mean the TRUTH? lol

Get real.

What this man needs is a spool, some pipe, and a... DITCHWITCH!!!!!!!

»www.ditchwitch.com/trenc ··· destrian

Yeah. The truth about cable is finally out.

lol indeed.

A lot of regional franchises bar or limit cancellation fees and ETFs, and the fcc has made a lot of noise on limiting them. More importantly, FCC limits ETFs from being applied if the customer moves into a non-serviceable area. (That might create a very bizarre catch-22 in this case that could allow the customer to cancel at any time without the fee.)

Also, if the franchise is sold, customers get the option of terminating any existing contracts.

I think there is a legal loophole that prevents these kinds of contracts.... Although I am not sure, I believe that a contract can never have any penalties if the service cannot be offered.

It's the same with cell phone service, if you move to an address that is not serviced by a cell tower, you can legally and without penalty break the contract, even if it is 2 months old and you got the $300 phone for "free" with a 2 year signup.

Again, I am not entirely sure, but I think there is a law that prohibits companies from selling contracts for service that the enduser cannot get out of, IF the company cannot even supply the service.

In this case, if he would sell the house, move 50 miles into say TWC or Comcast territory, there is no legal way Charter can insist on a penalty. If he however would move into an area served by Charter, he could at least be kept to the contract - at least if there is a "so many years" contract.

Now I am sure there are many different types of contracts, but I am pretty positive the deciding factor is "can the service or product be offered". If yes, you can't get out. If no, you can cancel/get out without penalties.

My grandmother was in the same boat back in the day when she wanted just television cable. She lived in a farming community and got her TV over the air with an antenna on the roof of the house. When cable TV started popping up down the road from her, she inquired about getting it. The cable company's response?

"You are too far away to get access. The cable run ends about 500 feet from your house."

The cost to extend the run? Tens of thousands of dollars in labor and material (probably labor).

This case is eerily similar except that in this case, this poor guy had service and they just stripped it from him which is pretty bad.

wow just wow

they're his only choice for "good" internet and they might be able to get away with charging an arm and a leg or more but they wouldn't even deal

We tried to bargain when it came to my grandmother and getting cable TV. They would budge if we paid $10,000. Eventually, the run came down the street, but the point is that it was a shame it worked out that way.

I'd say if she paid the 10K that they should pay her a fee if anyone else uses that drop

Municipalities do that when a developer wants to extend services (sewer, water, etc) to a development in an area that will have services in the near-future. We call them "Oversizing charges" and whenever someone else connects to the service, the developer or owner gets a rebate or credit.

It took them 10 years to figure this out this house wasn't serviceable?

NO. It was because the ongoing switch from analog channels to digital channels made that drop non-serviceable.

RTA:

I thought something similar. However if you click the link to the original thread, the homeowner mentions that the previous homeowner had cable + HSI for 10+ years. While it's possible that Charter has done network upgrades that have since made the network incompatible, the fact that the previous home owner had HSI would imply that a decent digital signal was possible at some point in time.

So digital is better how?

IF YOU GET the signal, it is better & clearer on digital. Digital is pretty much you get it or you don't. But if it is a weak signal, then analog will still work, even though the picture may not be very good.

Yup, digital is better for most people, but as this thread indicates, some users will be worse off.

This switch to digital is ALSO affecting over-the-air TV broadcast saturation. Some antenna users who were able to receive adequate analog signals will not be able to receive adequate digital signals after the change.

For example, see this:

FCC Identifies Hundreds Of Stations With DTV Coverage Gaps
»www.broadcastingcable.co ··· 975.html

No it has been serviceable for 10 years. That's why it's stupid. The previous owner had cable with Charter for a decade.

I know this....

Get DirecTv With hughs net.

From the article:

Time to get the chainsaw out and start cutting some firewood... I found satellite (DirecTv) to be VERY reliable out here in SoCal.

That's what I say. If it's your only option and you own the house, cut a tree or three. It's usually only one or two trees that block a signal anyway, not a whole forest. Cut down a couple of tall trees, then plant some short ones or shrubs to take their place so it still looks pretty and is good for the environment.

How does that provide low latency fast internet?

It doesn't (well, considering one's definition of "fast"). But it DOES provide another option. It may SUCK, but sat internet is better than no internet at all.

Latency wise, no it is not. Dial-up is better.

lies... 900mhz gear should cut through it like butter... hell... 2.4 ghz shouldn't be too bad depending on the distance.

If there are no nearby wireless wisps... he has the option of an aircard (EV-DO or 3G) or perhaps soliciting the help of a neighbor who CAN get access... then getting 2 linksys wrt54GL routers running tomato and 2x yagi antennas.

Would get his internet problem solved... but he would still be hosed for TV.

In the article, they said that sattelite was not possible because there was no clear view to the southern sky.

HughesNet? You have *GOT* to be kidding me.

Look for any alternative before you go satellite.

Yes, we all know how much sat internet sucks, but if Charter doesn't work out, it may be their only option.

Maybe the cable company would be willing to terminate the connection on the border of the property... that might be within their distance limitation.

From there, the end user can run their own line to their house - or if its just for internet service, connect to it via wifi.

The challenges are creating a place for the tech to securely terminate the drop (if they do it at all) and running the wiring (power at the least) from the home to the outside dmarc.

Charter: Get a $25-50 bi-driectional booster amp [probably cost under $5 in large volume], stick it in the middle of that 350ft cable run, and stop bellyaching.

... or maybe the customer should go with Hughes etc.

Don't lots of cities require universal service of the entire community as a condition of their franchise? So one might complain to the city/governing unit. Or has this been over-ruled by current FCC rules?

A chainsaw seems the obvious answer.

If you don't need internet for income, then I'd consider just how much it and the tv is worth.

1 for TV
1 for HSI and VOIP

might need for the TV feed if you have lots of outlouts --

The whole reason he can't get service is he is above the 300' limit. Analog would work fine over this (to a point) which is why at 350' he was still able to get service. But if he tried to get HSI or something I'm sure if the install even took place, he would not be a happy camper afterward.

One thing people don't realize is that the actual labor and material cost for a plant extension is NOT the only cost. That's the only cost the consumer sees but the cable company (or any other company) still has the attachment fees for the poles they have to attach to in order to extend the plant to you. I don't know what they are now but many years ago I recall Bellsouth's attachment fees being in the neighborhood of $30-40 per pole.

After two poles, it's easy to see why they would deny it. Even if you foot the bill for the extension, your monthly bill would not make up for THEIR monthly bill for the pole attachment increase. Generally they will only extend the plant if it gets them lots of customers or they have to extend the plant to reach a new subdivision and you just happen to be "in the way" then count yourself lucky.

I do have another suggestion though. I doubt it will work but it would be cheaper than a plant extension. If you can find some RG-50 coax it should barely make it the distance without too much loss. It has a larger center conductor (0.109") compared to RG-11 (0.064") or RG-6 (0.040") meaning it has less signal loss over distance.

At 1000 MHz, RG-11 loses 4.35 dB every 100 feet. That's an average loss of 15.23 dB over that 350 feet which is easy to see why it's considered "unserviceable" since that's before ANY splitters. At the same frequency and distance, RG-50 has a loss of 2.59 dB every 100 feet for an average loss of 9.07 dB. For reference, RG-6 has a loss of 6.5 dB every 100 feet or 22.75 dB over this run.

CommScope sells the cable (which is where I got the specs from) so it's available but I would all but guarantee no cable tech has a spool. The other issue would be the connectors and crimp tool. But, even if you had to buy all that yourself you would still come out ahead compared to a plant extension that may or may not be granted. The other concern is convincing the tech to string up the cable (if you do try this route, be sure to get "messenger" cable or the tech won't be able to string it up or "flooded" cable if your area is underground.

ha! 350 ft? thats all?

Here, if an address has had service previously, even if the drop is 400ft, we "have" to service it. The only time we don't install over 350ft is it its a new house or there's never been cable ran.

If the customer throws a fit, our supervisors make sure there's a way to get them service. If we have to hot tap, install a line extender, run 2 RG-11 drops, WHATEVER it takes to get them service...

we even have a few people trench their own feeder from pole to house and we put in LE's...

If i were this customer, i'd be pissed too!

Seems like digitizing things through coax is just a mess...

Just stupid to cut it off completely like that. So what if a digitized signal couldn't quite work? At least the old analog signals were getting there in a mostly watchable form from what I gather.

If it were me, I'd be very upset that they cut it like that.

Call 'em back and kindly request analog service... then add internet back to the package a day or two later

If they provided analog before, surely they will again.

As to why they up and cut a perfectly good piece of cable, that's just dumb.

Good luck, that is some pretty crappy news for you.

So have you considered Mobile Broad Band (MBB)? As a former user, I'd definitely NOT recommend Hughes satellite, but you might have good results with MBB. Check the Verizon and Sprint service pages on line to see if you have data coverage in your area. The coverage maps show service for phone and data - it's the data you're interested in. You might need an antenna, but these are available at reasonable cost.

This is called abandonment of service. Requires public hearings and lots of paperwork on the cable companies side, other wise prepare for fines from the PUC.

dude...just go bury a piece of 4 inch conduit from your house to the pole where the tap. Go to your local Charter office, ask to speak to either a supervisor or someone in construction. Show or tell them what you've done and how much money you've spent and TELL them that you need them to run a "superdrop" RG-50 I believe. If they balk tell them you are going to the local newspaper with the story.

Got *any* cellphone reception?

If so, you're in luck. Internet over cellphone reception is often superior to dialup and satellite Internet these days. You could try to get Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T Internet over EDGE/GPRS/3G. It's vastly superior to satellite, and even though you may only be limited to a few gigabytes download per month, it's still much better than satellite 'FAP' behaviour. (And it's almost not possible to download a gigabyte of data in the first place using dial-up, anyway)

3G highspeed coverage is expanding all the time. I now get approximately 1.5 megabits/sec in the deep "cottage country" forest using Internet over my cellphone being used as a modem for laptop or PC. There are also called 'Internet sticks' (typically Novatel USB modems). These sticks can be used in a regular PC's USB port too, and via certain models of routers.

Sue them, if they provided service for 10 years previous, sue them for redlining! The drop probably paid for itself after 10 years of service. Or have them put a digital to analog converter in a box on the pole and you could pay the electric bill for it.

What you should do is build a small play house about half way between you home and the road, Put a TV and couch in it. Then order service to it.

Then setup a router either wireless or wired. Setup a wireless TV tranmitter with 300 feet range to your main TV in your house. The kind that sends the remote control signal to the box and let you change channels from the remote location.

After you get it all setup you can then turn the play house into your tool shed.

This really is the answer. Get a copy of the local building codes and find out what the minimum dimensions and requirements for a designated 'dwelling' are... then put the "house" in the corner nearest the cable. Have them drop to your "house" and then wire it up how ever you like.

Just be sure to file for the necessary permits and be prepared to pay more tax on your two-dwelling lot.

Or buy a Sprint USB Aircard and get a $30/month unlimited Blockbuster account. Seriously, what are you missing? The Biggest Loser?

we had to get a petion going in our subdivision for them to come into it, but they did like 6 months or so after getting 90 percent of the area to sign saying they wanted it like 130+ ppl at 100.00 a month sounded interesting after that, they was all ready in the sub with analog tv only said was to far for digital till then.

I remember another situation with a Comcast customer who was willing to foot the bill to run the cable 10,000 feet to his home and Comcast still said "no" because they didn't want to be responsible for servicing it in the event a storm knocked it out or a squirrel chewed it through or it just didn't perform up to spec. It didn't matter that he was willing to waive all claims on this. Comcast just didn't want the headache of dealing with it, with him, or whoever might own the place after him.

The user agreements often give the cable company the right to make this decision as well, making a threat of a lawsuit empty. Building a play house isn't going to fool them. People have tried to pull that one before, and so now there are often standards within the user agreement about what kind of structure the cable can be run to and where it can be relayed after that (commonly only within the first structure) that would specifically exclude this workaround.

Cable companies used to be much more accomodating just to get customers here and there. Now if they see a downside in you to their bottom line, you're out. See the 250Gb cap discussion>soon to be 200Gb>150Gb etc., I'm guessing, for further evidence of this.