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Bright House Jacks Up Modem Lease Fee
From $2.00 to $3.50 Starting March 1

Users in our Bright House Networks forum say they're being notified of an increase in the fee charged for modem rentals. According to the notice, the modem rental fee will be increased from $2.00 to $3.50 starting on March 1. According to the company, the fee hike "reflects our continued investment in technology." The company is also informing users they're increasing the late payment processing charge from $5.50 to $6.00.

Both fees, the company claims, "reflect changes in programming, operating costs, and continued investment in technology and customer service." We of course recommend not paying your carrier any more than you have to by buying their own modem.
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nothing00
join:2001-06-10
Centereach, NY

1 recommendation

nothing00

Member

Feenovation

Let's see:

1. The modems are cheaper than ever to manufacture.
2. The cable company gets a tax write off for depreciation.
3. Customers have to pay an inflated full price to replace them regardless of the age of the modem.
4. The cost to the consumer is going up 50%.

Sounds an awful lot like a 'screw you fee'.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207

Premium Member

Re: Feenovation

said by nothing00:

Let's see:

4. The cost to the consumer is going up 50%.

75%!

nothing00
join:2001-06-10
Centereach, NY

nothing00

Member

Re: Feenovation

Whoops. Yup!

Levi
@cox.net

Levi to nothing00

Anon

to nothing00
Buy your own modem? Plenty said it themselves, they are cheaper than ever, so go buy one.

Swindle
Shattered Dreams
join:2006-07-24
Tampa, FL

Swindle to nothing00

Member

to nothing00
Not interested in seeing this huge a jump in modem fees ... Especially after paying $8.00 on two Set-Top Boxes that were manurfactured in 1996.
47717768 (banned)
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL

47717768 (banned)

Member

Got my own

I got my own already

BHNUser
@bhn.net

BHNUser

Anon

And those with phone?

They won't enable Customer owned units for the phone service requiring a separate device... aaaa no thanks! So NO CHOICE FOR US!

Why??? Be specific.. none of this techno mumbo jumbo!

Really starting to make Fios worth the effort to change...

pros
higher speed
better price v. speed (which is the reason for the speed upgrade)

cons
port 25 blocked unless you get static

Only interested in data and/or phone...

And the BHN "rep" here... well I can tell you right now if that was my official rep on this site for MY company... I would be ashamed and TERMINATED HIM!

Can't not tell you how many times I wanted to reach through the monitor after reading posts... like the bit about DBS not eating their lunch and Fios as well on my street alone 10 houses, 10 DBS users, the only BH service to any of them is either data or voice, or both.. NO VIDEO! I see more DBS dishes on houses as I drive by than I can count...

Oh remember, BH, its just a shell on paper for TWC ... thats why TWC intervened(s) in situations... regardless of Mr. BHNReps .. looks divested and separate on cursory review... dig deeper... Advanced/Newhouse... some of us are not that stupid!
Os
join:2011-01-26
US

Os

Member

Re: And those with phone?

Drop phone service already. That seems to be the end result.

VoIP is nothing but easy profit for them anyway.

People need landlines like they need holes in their head at this point.

John97
Over The Hills And Far Away
Premium Member
join:2000-11-14
Spring Hill, FL

John97

Premium Member

Re: And those with phone?

said by Os:

Drop phone service already. That seems to be the end result.

VoIP is nothing but easy profit for them anyway.

People need landlines like they need holes in their head at this point.

If I didn't have my 80 year-old mother-in-law living here, I'd have ditched the landline already.

That being said, I am awaiting the call back so I can start using my own modem/router combo.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080 to BHNUser

Member

to BHNUser
said by BHNUser :

They won't enable Customer owned units for the phone service requiring a separate device... aaaa no thanks! So NO CHOICE FOR US!

This is a good time to switch voip services to a carrier such as Ooma.. sure you pay taxes and fees, but the price of the service amortizes over 6 - 18 months depeding on the cost of your previous carrier (based on the price of the device). Also letting the cable company know that their higher fees are the reason why you got rid of their voip service.

NYTPA
@bhn.net

NYTPA to BHNUser

Anon

to BHNUser
You have to remember that Dishes stay on the top of houses even when service is disconnected. So yes, most people at some point have had DBS but that does not mean that they all currently have it. I would be absolutely shocked if a street of 10 houses all subscribed to DBS and not a one subscribed to Brighthouse or Verizon
brianiscool
join:2000-08-16
Tampa, FL

brianiscool

Member

save your money

Get a used modem for $20 on amazon
47717768 (banned)
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL

47717768 (banned)

Member

Re: save your money

said by brianiscool:

Get a used modem for $20 on amazon

What kind did you get?
I got Scientific Atlanta modem.
BHNtechXpert
The One & Only
Premium Member
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL

1 edit

BHNtechXpert

Premium Member

The modem fee is optional...

Regardless of your level of Internet service (Lite, Standard, Turbo, Lightning) if you wish to bring your own modem and avoid the fee the list of approved modems is here:

»support.brighthouse.com/ ··· et-9115/

Remember, there are advantages to using a Bright House Networks provided modem especially for those folks who live in lightning prone areas or those who don't want the headache of maintaining the modem/gateway on their own or upgrading the device as technology evolves.

If you have any questions or need assistance with this please feel free to reach out to me in our forums here or by email at BHNtechXpert@mybrighthouse.com
54761437 (banned)
join:2013-01-18
Durham, NC

54761437 (banned)

Member

Re: The modem fee is optional...

Headache of maintaining the modem? What headache could there possibly be? Plug it in and forget it--reboot occasionally.

The fact is it's money for nothing. The costs associated with upgrading the modem should be rolled into the bill since those costs are static, rather than being tacked on to the end.

LightS
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
Greenville, TX

LightS to BHNtechXpert

Premium Member

to BHNtechXpert
Please tell me you aren't the official rep for BrightHouse on this forum?

Literally the only disadvantage to owning your own modem is having to get the ISP to allow your modem's WAN Mac address onto the network.. It's not like ISPs constantly ship out updated modems to customers anyways.

eric1004
@bhn.net

eric1004 to BHNtechXpert

Anon

to BHNtechXpert
which modem w/router is better than ddw2600 which offer by brighthouse? i dont want to spend more than $60.

steelingbox
join:2005-07-09
Casselberry, FL

steelingbox

Member

Well....

The problem is that the fee is low enough that it does not warrant getting your own modem.

Dragasoni
We're All Mad Here
Premium Member
join:2001-12-14
Palm Bay, FL

1 recommendation

Dragasoni

Premium Member

Re: Well....

I think it does, $3.50 a month is $42 a year. You can get your own modem for less than that.

I'll be getting my own modem shortly, screw this stupid fee!

-Dragasoni-
47717768 (banned)
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL

47717768 (banned)

Member

Re: Well....

said by Dragasoni:

I think it does, $3.50 a month is $42 a year. You can get your own modem for less than that.

I'll be getting my own modem shortly, screw this stupid fee!

-Dragasoni-

I agree. I got my modem for $15 on eBay with free shipping.

andyross
MVM
join:2003-05-04
Aurora, IL

andyross

MVM

Cheaper than Comcast

Given that Comcast charges $7 for modem rental, $3.50 is a bargain.

LightS
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
Greenville, TX

LightS

Premium Member

Re: Cheaper than Comcast

So does my ISP (a local coop) ;'(

JimMcCoy
join:2011-08-20
Midlothian, VA

JimMcCoy

Member

So your complaining about $3.50 per month....

When that equals just under $0.12 cents per day, when it covers ANY issue that the modem may have (firmware lockups, surge's on the line, "power users" who tinker and hose their modem, etc.)

Your touched in the head if you really have nothing else to complain about, given that its far cheaper than other modem rental fees.

But hey, I guess $0.13 cents buys a lot these days.

WayOut
@bhn.net

WayOut

Anon

Double-talk

Purchased a eMTA modem after verifying compatibility on the BHN website. Along with the statements below, gleaned from the BHN web site in regards to support for your own eMTA equipment, I was told that I would not be allowed to use my own modem. What am I missing here?

»www.brighthouse.com/mich ··· m-policy

"To use your High Speed Internet and Home Phone services, you will need a cable modem or an embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter (eMTA), collectively "referred to as Modem or Modems. You have the option of leasing a Modem from BHN, or you may use a DOCSIS-compliant Modem purchased from a third party retailer.

If you are using a BHN Modem, you will be assessed a Modem charge on your monthly billing statement. This charge includes technical provisioning, support and maintenance of the Modem. BHN will also repair and replace a BHN Modem for you at no additional charge.

If you are using your own DOCSIS-compliant Modem, you will not be assessed a Modem charge on your monthly billing statement. Please go to our support article for the most current list of DOCSIS-compliant Modems supported by BHN.

If the modem you provide is an eMTA, please be aware that BHN must install, secure, and provision that eMTA for use with Home Phone services. Additional service and installation charges may apply for installing and provisioning customer-owned eMTAs".
WayOut

WayOut

Anon

Re: Double-talk

Well, I guess you need to talk with the right support person. I heard back from BHN and now I can use my own eMTA model, once they create their database to handle it. They've recorded my MAC addresses and I only have to wait to hear back from them. They are already removing the monthly equipment fee from my account.

eric1004
@bhn.net

eric1004

Anon

modem

is it possible to use modem that is not on brighthouse compatible modem list?