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LA Sues Time Warner Cable Over Adelphia Mess
Claims company violated franchise agreement with sloppy integration

Time Warner Cable (TWC) had a hell of a time with the acquisition and integration of Adelphia and Comcast customers in Los Angeles last year. The deal increased their subscriber count from 350,000 to 1.9 million instantaneously, resulting in a very ugly impact on service quality in the city. After the initial integration, complaints about service tripled from a year earlier, and our forums were filled with angry users.

TWC claimed their integration plan was supposed to take 6 weeks, but after numerous delays Time Warner Cable stopped giving timelines. Last March, the company fired local LA boss Roger Keating, and replaced him with Albany, NY, boss Stephen Pagano "to work with local management to expedite those improvements." Last I checked, complaints had quieted down considerably, though the city today said they're still suing Time Warner Cable:
quote:
The suit says the company failed to live up to its part of the franchise cable agreement requiring that a company answer subscribers' calls within 30 seconds and begin repairs of service interruptions within 24 hours of notification in 90% of its calls for service. The suit claims that no more than 60% of customer service calls were answered in time.
The suit claims that broadband and TV service "was so intermittent and inferior in quality that it was not much better than no service at all."
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Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium Member
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1

Anonymous_

Premium Member

i hope la wins!

haha to twc

moves to fios area .......

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

1 recommendation

djrobx

Premium Member

Re: i hope la wins!

While I'm all in favor of holding TW accountable, they'll just "pay" for this lawsuit through increased cable rates. TW will have the last laugh.

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: i hope la wins!

It will come out of their huge margins.

fireflier
Coffee. . .Need Coffee
Premium Member
join:2001-05-25
Limbo

fireflier

Premium Member

Re: i hope la wins!

said by Dogfather:

It will come out of their huge margins.
By a weird combination, I have to agree with you AND djrobx.

It should come out of their margins but they'll probably just lube up their customers and bend them over yet again.

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: i hope la wins!

I don't think so. The penalties are likely cheaper than the attention of a price increase and revamping materials.

They'll just pay the dough and continue shuffling management given things are already improving (according to these news reports).

If they just raise prices in response to the franchise authority it will just bring another and much bigger response from the franchise authority.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 recommendation

FFH5 to djrobx

Premium Member

to djrobx
said by djrobx:

While I'm all in favor of holding TW accountable, they'll just "pay" for this lawsuit through increased cable rates. TW will have the last laugh.
Yes. The only winners would be the law firms on both sides that would drag this out in the court for years.

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: i hope la wins!

That is unless TWC actually fixes their problems.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4 to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
And customers get a coupon for so much off a month or a free product/service for a few months. No big deal.

aztecnology
O Rly?
Premium Member
join:2003-02-12
Murrieta, CA

aztecnology to Anonymous_

Premium Member

to Anonymous_
I was one of the unfortunate ones that got switched from comcast to crapwarner. I hate crapwarner, I'm about to go to satelite...

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: i hope la wins!

I had zero problem with TW in Temescal Valley, but Comcast was the worst. They raised my video HSI rates 30%, latency was 500ms and their video was 30% more than ATTB.

Thankfully out there I'm getting FiOS. Now if only Laguna Hills was in VZ territory.

aztecnology
O Rly?
Premium Member
join:2003-02-12
Murrieta, CA

1 edit

aztecnology

Premium Member

Re: i hope la wins!

I had zero problems with comcast, had all the hd programming for free, and had the best on demand selection of free movies and hd content possible...

forgot to add that my hsi speed was higher with comcast and my bill was lower than today as well

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: i hope la wins!

Aren't you in FiOS land?

aztecnology
O Rly?
Premium Member
join:2003-02-12
Murrieta, CA

aztecnology

Premium Member

Re: i hope la wins!

surrounded in fiber but out of my grasp until i move...

Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium Member
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1

2 edits

Anonymous_ to Dogfather

Premium Member

to Dogfather
said by Dogfather:

I had zero problem with TW in Temescal Valley, but Comcast was the worst. They raised my video HSI rates 30%, latency was 500ms and their video was 30% more than ATTB.

Thankfully out there I'm getting FiOS. Now if only Laguna Hills was in VZ territory.
my latency is 15,000ms from time of click to start of download
on lot's of sites

google.com takes 30 seconds to load

speedtests are fine cause they get realtime priority
xsiddalx
join:2005-03-11
Chicago, IL

xsiddalx

Member

Re: speedtests

said by Anonymous_:

speedtests are fine cause they get realtime priority
whatcha saying?

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

Dogfather

Premium Member

Good

Force the cable operators to live up to their agreements or surrender the franchise.

Derspankster
Premium Member
join:2003-02-12
Marion, OH

1 recommendation

Derspankster

Premium Member

Re: Good

said by Dogfather:

Force the cable operators to live up to their agreements or surrender the franchise.
The big question is - to whom?

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

1 edit

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: Good

TWC isn't the only cable operator on the planet or perhaps Los Angeles can run it themselves as a muni or Cox Communications which operates in south Orange County.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5 to Derspankster

Premium Member

to Derspankster
said by Derspankster:
said by Dogfather:

Force the cable operators to live up to their agreements or surrender the franchise.
The big question is - to whom?
Good point. Who would pay TWC for their infrastructure if LA awarded them a franchise. US law would prohibit the state from confiscating TWC property without recompense. And if LA awarded the franchise to someone else, it would take years for them to build their own system, or they have to pay TWC big bucks.

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

1 edit

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: Good

Compensation is subjective and without a franchise agreement the cable system is worthless to TWC.

Meanwhile let the city or another cable system pay TWC big bucks. Cable operations are highly profitable if not mismanaged.

Personally I think all this infrastructure should be municipally owned so this isn't a problem in the future.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88 to Derspankster

Member

to Derspankster
said by Derspankster:

The big question is - to whom?
RCN

Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west

1 edit

1 recommendation

Caddyroger to Dogfather

Premium Member

to Dogfather
Yes they can surrender the franchise, all they have to do is turn off the switch.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Re: Good

Yeah, the question is to whom...Comcast? Charter? *shakes head*

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

3 edits

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: Good

There are dozens and dozens of cable operators.

For LA, Cox comes to mind given their local presence and success here. They run their OC operations very well (from my 10+ year digitial CATV+HSI experience with them anyway).

Cthen
Premium Member
join:2004-08-01
Detroit, MI

Cthen

Premium Member

Re: Good

said by Dogfather:

There are dozens and dozens of cable operators.

Could you please list these 24 cable operators that you speak of?

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

3 edits

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: Good

said by Cthen:

said by Dogfather:

There are dozens and dozens of cable operators.

Could you please list these 24 cable operators that you speak of?
There are tons of regional and local cable providers. Here is a partial list of about 50 and doesn't include Verizon or AT&T who theoretically could buy it.

Adelphia
Advanced Cable Communications
Alameda Power and Telecom
Allegiance Communications / Buford Media Group
Armstrong
Astound Broadband
Avalon (Catalina) Cable
Bermuda CableVision
Blue Ridge Communications
Bresnan Communications
Bright House Networks
Buckeye Cable System/Buckeye Cablevision/Erie County Cablevision (all owned by Block Communications)
CableOne
Cablevision
Cebridge Connections
Charter Communications
Choice Cable TV
Comcast Corporation
CommuniComm Services
Cox Communications
Crestview Cable
Cable Systems Incorporated
Fairpoint Communications
Full Channel
General Communications
Graceba Total Communications
Hometown Cable
Insight Communications
Jet Broadband
Kuhn Communications
Lexcom Communications
LIberty Cablevision
Massillon Cable TV
Mediacom
Midcontinent Communications
Midtel Cable TV
Millennium Digital Media
Muscatine Power and Water
Nelson Cable
Northland Cable Television
Patriot Media
Qwest Communications
RCN Corporation
Seaport Capital (includes Conversent Communications, Everest Cable, MCV Broadband, Metrocast Communications, Mid-Missouri Telephone and Otelco Holdings)
Service Electric
SuddenLink
Susquehanna Cable
Tele-Media Corporation
Time Warner Cable
Trinity Cable
Truvista Communications
US Cable
Viacom
WB Cable
WOW! Internet Cable Phone
Wyandotte Municipal Services (Community-Owned, Not-for-Profit Services Provider, Wyandotte, Michigan)
EPS4
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

EPS4

Member

Re: Good

Viacom owns a cable company?

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

4 edits

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: Good

I thought they owned one but it got absorbed by another cable operator. The old Viacom system looks to be owned by Comcast. I crossed it off the list I found. There are probably a few others on there that aren't around any more.
Col_DH
join:2004-03-28
Northridge, CA

Col_DH

Member

Re: Good

I stopped counting after 24.
erikthebean
join:2007-06-25
Milford, NH

erikthebean to Dogfather

Member

to Dogfather
half of those are out of business or bought by comcast lol
xsiddalx
join:2005-03-11
Chicago, IL

xsiddalx to Dogfather

Member

to Dogfather
Are these all options to you?
said by Dogfather:

said by Cthen:

said by Dogfather:

There are dozens and dozens of cable operators.

Could you please list these 24 cable operators that you speak of?
There are tons of regional and local cable providers. Here is a partial list of about 50 and doesn't include Verizon or AT&T who theoretically could buy it.

Adelphia
Advanced Cable Communications
Alameda Power and Telecom
Allegiance Communications / Buford Media Group
Armstrong
Astound Broadband
Avalon (Catalina) Cable
Bermuda CableVision
Blue Ridge Communications
Bresnan Communications
Bright House Networks
Buckeye Cable System/Buckeye Cablevision/Erie County Cablevision (all owned by Block Communications)
CableOne
Cablevision
Cebridge Connections
Charter Communications
Choice Cable TV
Comcast Corporation
CommuniComm Services
Cox Communications
Crestview Cable
Cable Systems Incorporated
Fairpoint Communications
Full Channel
General Communications
Graceba Total Communications
Hometown Cable
Insight Communications
Jet Broadband
Kuhn Communications
Lexcom Communications
LIberty Cablevision
Massillon Cable TV
Mediacom
Midcontinent Communications
Midtel Cable TV
Millennium Digital Media
Muscatine Power and Water
Nelson Cable
Northland Cable Television
Patriot Media
Qwest Communications
RCN Corporation
Seaport Capital (includes Conversent Communications, Everest Cable, MCV Broadband, Metrocast Communications, Mid-Missouri Telephone and Otelco Holdings)
Service Electric
SuddenLink
Susquehanna Cable
Tele-Media Corporation
Time Warner Cable
Trinity Cable
Truvista Communications
US Cable
Viacom
WB Cable
WOW! Internet Cable Phone
Wyandotte Municipal Services (Community-Owned, Not-for-Profit Services Provider, Wyandotte, Michigan)

•••
xsiddalx

xsiddalx to Dogfather

Member

to Dogfather
I won't bother, but one could also list 1100+ local telephone companies. It certainly doesn't mean we have 1100 choices, or anything more than 1 for that matter
said by Dogfather:

said by Cthen:

said by Dogfather:

There are dozens and dozens of cable operators.

Could you please list these 24 cable operators that you speak of?
There are tons of regional and local cable providers. Here is a partial list of about 50 and doesn't include Verizon or AT&T who theoretically could buy it.

Adelphia
Advanced Cable Communications
Alameda Power and Telecom
Allegiance Communications / Buford Media Group
Armstrong
Astound Broadband
Avalon (Catalina) Cable
Bermuda CableVision
Blue Ridge Communications
Bresnan Communications
Bright House Networks
Buckeye Cable System/Buckeye Cablevision/Erie County Cablevision (all owned by Block Communications)
CableOne
Cablevision
Cebridge Connections
Charter Communications
Choice Cable TV
Comcast Corporation
CommuniComm Services
Cox Communications
Crestview Cable
Cable Systems Incorporated
Fairpoint Communications
Full Channel
General Communications
Graceba Total Communications
Hometown Cable
Insight Communications
Jet Broadband
Kuhn Communications
Lexcom Communications
LIberty Cablevision
Massillon Cable TV
Mediacom
Midcontinent Communications
Midtel Cable TV
Millennium Digital Media
Muscatine Power and Water
Nelson Cable
Northland Cable Television
Patriot Media
Qwest Communications
RCN Corporation
Seaport Capital (includes Conversent Communications, Everest Cable, MCV Broadband, Metrocast Communications, Mid-Missouri Telephone and Otelco Holdings)
Service Electric
SuddenLink
Susquehanna Cable
Tele-Media Corporation
Time Warner Cable
Trinity Cable
Truvista Communications
US Cable
Viacom
WB Cable
WOW! Internet Cable Phone
Wyandotte Municipal Services (Community-Owned, Not-for-Profit Services Provider, Wyandotte, Michigan)

Dogfather
Premium Member
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA

2 edits

Dogfather

Premium Member

Re: Good

Please read the thread.

At no time did anyone state that these are your CURRENT choices in Los Angeles.

But yes, there is little (other than gov't protesting) that would stop one of our local telcos like Verizon or AT&T from buying a cable system like the one operaterated by TWC in Los Angeles. They certainly have the money to do so and the skill to run it if they chose to. AT&T Broadband around here (Corona) was very well run before Comcast got it and promptly ran it into the ground with 30% price increases and cuts in service.
xsiddalx
join:2005-03-11
Chicago, IL

xsiddalx to Dogfather

Member

to Dogfather
said by Dogfather:

There are dozens and dozens of cable operators.

For LA, Cox comes to mind given their local presence and success here. They run their OC operations very well (from my 10+ year digitial CATV+HSI experience with them anyway).
Please name 12 (1 dozen only)
Col_DH
join:2004-03-28
Northridge, CA

Col_DH

Member

Is it possible?

I haven't call in for my RR line in forever, not cause it doesn't go down, just, its a back line for my DSL, so I just unplug it and check it again the next day. But I don't think I've ever called them and got some one in 30 seconds or less. For that matter, I do not think I've called any place and talked to some one in that short of time.

How could anyone company agree to that with out snickering?

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: Is it possible?

I had TWC in Northridge as well. I actually didn't mind it much. They had self install kits for discount back then (gave me 2 free months of service). When I moved from Northridge to Valencia, Comcast was there and was VERY pricey upfront to get service.
Eg. TWC was $90 for HSI + digital (2001/2002)
Comcast was +$100 ($60 for digital + $45/month for internet )

TWC had no charge install or install yourself and receive free service (1 month for adding digital, 1 month for adding HSI, and 1 more month if I did referral)

Comcast wanted a $100 install fee + shipping/handling of the digital box (fedex) + programming fee

Comcast also 'bundled' some channels into higher tiers:
Newsworld International was bundled into an international tier which required digital + extra tier.
TWC offered it as part of the basic digital service, as did DTV.

Worst part was that I would have gone 'Broadcast Basic' however, they would not sell it to me, as 'it was not available in your zip code' wether I ordered through CS or online.

ztmike
Mark for moderation
Premium Member
join:2001-08-02
La Porte, IN

ztmike

Premium Member

lol ?

From the article:

"The suit says the company failed to live up to its part of the franchise cable agreement requiring that a company answer subscribers' calls within 30 seconds"

That's pretty funny right there..I wish every company answered their customers calls within 30seconds.

This suit is stupid.

••••••

Authority
join:2000-03-29
Los Angeles, CA

1 edit

Authority

Member

Done with cable!

I am DONE with cable television. The service sucks. The attitude sucks. The pricing is stupid for what would otherwise be free over the air. I've been a subscriber of the top tier "every chanel" package for years... and they lost me completely. "Basic" cable should be ad supported and free so they can get the boxes into the homes and upsell "premium" content.

I canceled my cable and now get 100% of my shows on-line.

If I were at the TV networks, I'd be leaning on the cable companies to get their collective acts together... network TV is loosing their path into the home.

••••••
Rick5
Premium Member
join:2001-02-06

Rick5

Premium Member

Good Grief...

cut TW a little slack.

350k to 1.9 million customers overnight and they want them answering the phones in 30 seconds?

I'd like to propose a little test. How about everyone who frequents BBR call LA city hall tomorrow at 9am all at the same time and see if they answer their phones in 30 seconds.

LOL...you probably couldn't get 1/2 their "civil servants" out of bed by 9am..never mind on the phone.

•••

jgkolt
Premium Member
join:2004-02-21
Avon, OH

jgkolt

Premium Member

ohio

I wonder if Ohio would go along the same way as LA and sue Time warner over the mess over here too?

MsGeek
We Jam Econo On This Ship, Sailor
join:2001-06-06
Panorama City, CA

MsGeek

Member

Don't mess with LA, suckas...

Rip 'em a new one, Councilcritters!!!

I would *love* to see the largely united LA market go up for competitive bid. If TW can't cut the mustard, it's time to open it up to competition.

TW Sucks
@sbcglobal.net

TW Sucks

Anon

Way to go LA!!!

Way to go LA!!! Time Warner, as well as most of the corporations are just bunch of greedy SOB'S, who don't give a shit about their customers.
mikelibra
Premium Member
join:2003-08-22
Pacific Palisades, CA

mikelibra

Premium Member

Re: Way to go LA!!!

Back in January 2007 following months of frustration with the takeover by TWC of the Adelphia network I posted my comments, on the Adlephia Forum, which included a suggestion for making a formal written complaint to the LA City Council of their performance, and it was immediately sent to the Rants and Raves Forum. It was not unreasonable to expect some issues with the change but TWC kept advertising superior services and higher speeds as a result of the change. It simply did not happen as they promised and promoted. Clearly, now with the law suit, there were enough Adelphia customers who felt the same way. That said their performance has greatly improved over the past year but I am now paying twice the price, for about the same speeds, I initially had with Adelphia.