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pspfreak
join:2016-02-09
Silver Creek, NY
(Software) pfSense
Ubiquiti Unifi UAP-AC-LITE

1 edit

pspfreak

Member

SPP now Available in NY

I was given the choice today to switch over to the new spectrum plans and pricing. Unfortunately for our case, our bill would actually go up by about $40 just to keep what we have currently. But if you are in a case where it'd be cheaper, it is now available.
Purnerdyl00
join:2016-02-08
Queensbury, NY

Purnerdyl00

Member

Re: SPP now Available in Western NY (maybe all of NY)

Same here in Albany area. I think the rest of Spectrums footprint is now Spectrum. For us, our bill would have gone up by $30
Dampier
Phillip M Dampier
join:2003-03-23
Rochester, NY

Dampier to pspfreak

Member

to pspfreak
said by pspfreak:

I was given the choice today to switch over to the new spectrum plans and pricing. Unfortunately for our case, our bill would actually go up by about $40 just to keep what we have currently. But if you are in a case where it'd be cheaper, it is now available.

Yes, the same is true for me -- $35 higher. The D&C interviewed me yesterday about the shoddy state of broadband in western NY. Watch for that story this weekend. Charter, Frontier, and Verizon are all responsible.

Customers who paid up front for TWC 100Mbps service in Rochester are still being asked to pay a $200 setup fee for 100Mbps under Spectrum. I have two local customers telling me that today. YMMV. I can't confirm that personally because I would never give TWC $100 a month for 100Mbps when that amount will get me gigabit service with Greenlight in a few months when it is up and running in my neighborhood.
pspfreak
join:2016-02-09
Silver Creek, NY

pspfreak

Member

And I was looking forward to a little speed increase and maybe a cheaper bill. Guess not..
Purnerdyl00
join:2016-02-08
Queensbury, NY

Purnerdyl00

Member

Same. Not really a "new day" is it
RealScienceL
Premium Member
join:2015-03-12
Rochester, NY

RealScienceL to Dampier

Premium Member

to Dampier
How do we sign up for the new Spectrum packages? Do we have to use the phone or can it be done online. Through the TWC Myservices portal, it won't allow anything. Do I need to sign up as a new customer through the Spectrum web page? What kind of problems will their be with disruptions if I change to a Spectrum internet package? In other words, will my internet connection go down while they are switching the account over?
rohan
join:2017-03-14
Lansing, NY

rohan

Member

said by RealScienceL:

How do we sign up for the new Spectrum packages? Do we have to use the phone or can it be done online. Through the TWC Myservices portal, it won't allow anything. Do I need to sign up as a new customer through the Spectrum web page? What kind of problems will their be with disruptions if I change to a Spectrum internet package? In other words, will my internet connection go down while they are switching the account over?

You need to call them and have them switch, which was a bit of a pain because some of them didn't know what was going on and wanted to send a tech to my house.
RealScienceL
Premium Member
join:2015-03-12
Rochester, NY

RealScienceL

Premium Member

Thanks. I think I'll wait for a while until the dust settles. I don't want to chance having my service interrupted.
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 RealScienceL:

Thanks. I think I'll wait for a while until the dust settles. I don't want to chance having my service interrupted.

I don't imagine there would be a service interruption. I have two TiVos and own my cable modem. There was some confusion about the cablecards and tuning adapters but that was easily cleared up. My call did take a bit longer because I asked some questions that could have been answered by reading a bit more -- if the web pages were loading. Their servers appear to be a bit congested and some pages are timing out. Like the retail price list page and the pdf of the channel line up.

zapman987
join:2014-10-20
Raleigh, NC

zapman987 to pspfreak

Member

to pspfreak

Re: SPP now Available in NY

I think they cutover everywhere today. NC also cut over today (with a nice website outage for a few hrs this morning).
jeffchicago9
join:2013-02-25

jeffchicago9 to RealScienceL

Member

to RealScienceL

Re: SPP now Available in Western NY (maybe all of NY)

I was told you had to call
bodosom
Leger de main
Premium Member
join:2004-03-05
WNY/Niagara
ARRIS SB6183
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
pfSense SG-2220

bodosom to RealScienceL

Premium Member

to RealScienceL
said by RealScienceL:

1) How do we sign up for the new Spectrum packages?
2) What kind of problems will their be with disruptions if I change to a Spectrum internet package? In other words, will my internet connection go down while they are switching the account over?

1) As it says on the TWC/Spectrum site you have to call the toll-free number at the top of the page or the number in the upgrade section of my account (1-855-243-8892).
2) As usual your cable modem will reboot when they reprovision. So don't call them from a VoIP line that will drop when the modem reboots.
spdickey
join:2002-11-17
Pacific Palisades, CA
Technicolor E31T2V1
eero Wi-Fi System
Obihai OBi202

spdickey

Member

I switched from a TWC to Spectrum plan inside the Spectrum Store in Los Angelees. Got the Silver package for about $5 less than before. And it added HBO, Showtime and Cinemax to what I had before. A few minor losses of basic channels, though, like my Movie Plex tier (mostly Encores).

Racerbob
Premium Member
join:2001-06-24
Webster, NY
·Frontier FiberOp..

Racerbob to pspfreak

Premium Member

to pspfreak

Re: SPP now Available in NY

As I posted in the other thread... In case anyone is interested, Earthlink is showing one service level only now and that is 60 Mbps. The price is $44.99 a month for a year and then $64.99 thereafter. My personal objective (since I already have DirecTV) is to get Spectrum 60/5 service for $44.99 intro price for a year. I wonder if they will do that for me ? I am at $49.99 + a $10.00 modem charge now for 30/5 TW Extreme service. But Earthlink at $44.99 looks like it will be a viable option that would allow you to return to Spectrum some day as a new customer. Time to make a couple calls and find out I guess.
jcg1005
join:2013-06-05
Albion, NY

jcg1005

Member

After seeing this yesterday, I called. I was on Signature Home with WHDVR and 2 boxes. The rep was awesome. He was very understanding about me not wanting to swap equipment. He took the time to go through everything and look for codes that would screw things up.

In the end, I upped to 100/10 and my bill is going up $27.47. Without the increase to 100/10, it would have gone down about $15. He also was very careful with the $200 upgrade charge. As he processed it, he noted that it did not come up, and he added that it usually does, because they have to disclose it very clearly.

So now I wait to see what shows on my bill. So far, nothing in the transactions, there are no upgrade fees.

On another note, the upgrade got caught in the system. I had to call back this morning and a technician went through everything and pushed it through, as well as pushing an updated config to my modem. (Arris SB6183) They asked about sending one of theirs, but I declined for now.

After the update, I am speed testing at 120 down / 12 up. Interestingly, my buffer bloat score from the DSLReports speed test improved from a D to a C!
pspfreak
join:2016-02-09
Silver Creek, NY

pspfreak

Member

Out of curiosity what is your bill at the moment?

StevenB
Premium Member
join:2000-10-27
New York, NY
·Charter

1 recommendation

StevenB to jcg1005

Premium Member

to jcg1005
I called in just now at 8:30am - I have their very old Triple Play Extreme Plan. Before that it was called just triple play bundle. (been with them since they became twc, it was called QUICS cable of Queens!)

I have 1 DVR - 3 Regular Boxes. 300/20 - Regular Unlimited calling Telephony - HBO, Showtime, Starz, Epix - 210 or more I think Channels. I pay 189.99 + tax, fee's which comes out to be 203 I think a month.

I said if I could go into a Spectrum Plan. Rep told me plainly. If i take my service and switch it to a Spectrum Plan, i will be paying a hell out a lot more. I should just stick with the plan i have now. He also said, that even if I drop 1 premium or 2. I would end paying the same, or a few cents yes. Yep, he said CENTs lol

so i told him oh well, i guess i just gotta wait. I asked him about any news within the gossip of the company, if they';re going to come out with a very nice residential speed increase like other cable companies are doing with docsis 3.1 like Gigabit speeds! He told me actually, there's been huge talks about gigabit + speeds. that the CEO reads a lot of social networking sites and news sites, about his company. And he takes a lot of the rants/praises to heart.

He told me that he can 100% guarantee that gigabit speeds will be coming this year, and once docsis 3.1 improves more, more tiers will be made available. he just said the merger was a mess, and they didnt expect the transition to be this rough. so many billing systems being converted over etc..

So if this proves right, then i owe spectrum an apology for me saying they won't be upgrading past 300/20 for a very long time.

Also DocDrew was correct in his postings.

But I still stand by what I said, as this info is from a Rep, and the ycould say anything But this rep did seem very knowledable, and was probably my 3rd best rep i've ever got on the phone, and number 1 by any first line rep. The best reps i've ever gotten was from the Buffalo tier 3 center, lead by Hobgoblin and his beer crew!!! I miss those gals and guys
Dampier
Phillip M Dampier
join:2003-03-23
Rochester, NY

3 recommendations

Dampier

Member

said by StevenB:

so i told him oh well, i guess i just gotta wait. I asked him about any news within the gossip of the company, if they';re going to come out with a very nice residential speed increase like other cable companies are doing with docsis 3.1 like Gigabit speeds! He told me actually, there's been huge talks about gigabit + speeds. that the CEO reads a lot of social networking sites and news sites, about his company. And he takes a lot of the rants/praises to heart.

He told me that he can 100% guarantee that gigabit speeds will be coming this year, and once docsis 3.1 improves more, more tiers will be made available. he just said the merger was a mess, and they didnt expect the transition to be this rough. so many billing systems being converted over etc..

The rep is blowing smoke up your.... Charter has no plans for residential gigabit broadband this year or next for legacy TWC service areas. Their digital conversion project in legacy areas alone will take two years and their budget in New York will be focused on upgrading the rest of upstate to support 300Mbps as per merger conditions. The CEO told Wall Street DOCSIS 3.1 was something they'd probably look into in 2019 because they are preoccupied with digesting TWC and BH and that project will take another year to integrate everything.

Also, the CEO has been adamant about NOT offering more than one or two internet speed tiers. He specifically criticized TWC for their multiple speed tiers as being "too confusing" for customers. His vision is what you see see right now on the website -- ONE advertised speed for everyone with another option for those who call and complain they need more. That other option will eventually standardize by 2019 at 300Mbps in New York (100Mbps will eventually go away).

The CEO has shown zero interest in communicating with customers, and never did at his old job at Cablevision either. He talks to Wall Street, John Malone -- his biggest investor, and his other top execs. Nobody else.

BTW, the merger in Charter's eyes was not a mess and the tech integration went exactly as planned, ending in 1Q 2017. A few regions saw the date pushed back because of IT issues, but nothing extraordinary. They have yet to begin the real nightmare -- trying to integrate billing systems. That will be lovely.
deefop
join:2016-05-05
Boulder, CO

deefop

Member

I don't know if I'm quite so pessimistic to say that 3.1 won't show up until 2019. The reality is that Charter is now starting to compete with companies that are capable of thomping them in the bandwidth department, in many cases for better prices.

They have E6000's and Casa c100g's installed in the majority of L-TWC areas afaik. There isn't really any reason that they couldn't start bumping speeds in markets like NYC/LA in the relatively near future, similar to the way they did it with Maxx.

You are partially right about the merger... but I wouldn't say that Charter thinks things are going swimmingly. There have been all sorts of growing pains and the general consensus(at least with L-TWC) is that the way Charter does things feels like a step backward a lot of the time. That might be considered a non-issue, but remember L-TWC was by far the largest of the 3 companies and still makes up the vast majority of the workforce.

You're definitely right about the billing systems. That's going to be an absolute nightmare and will require literal years of work.

Even the SPP launch in the Northeast had people working crazy hours to get it done. Didn't help that the biggest friggen blizzard in decades chose the launch day to drop 3 feet of snow on us.

Still, the rest of the companies plans don't necessarily stop just because they're going to eventually integrate billing systems.

They need to get the digital conversions finished up to free up as much spectrum as possible, and they'll be in a position to start thinking about quality upgrades after that I would think.

StevenB
Premium Member
join:2000-10-27
New York, NY
·Charter

1 recommendation

StevenB to Dampier

Premium Member

to Dampier
Eric, thanks for the post! i know you're right but i have some hope maybe something will pop up and it will be a nice speed upgrade in both directions in the 21st century, not the 20th as what charter really is. A 20th century cable company, operating in the 21st.

Dampier, any word of Charter being bought out? lol i'll approve it

Tonice2007
Premium Member
join:2005-12-20
Brooklyn, NY

Tonice2007 to Dampier

Premium Member

to Dampier
said by Dampier:

said by StevenB:

so i told him oh well, i guess i just gotta wait. I asked him about any news within the gossip of the company, if they';re going to come out with a very nice residential speed increase like other cable companies are doing with docsis 3.1 like Gigabit speeds! He told me actually, there's been huge talks about gigabit + speeds. that the CEO reads a lot of social networking sites and news sites, about his company. And he takes a lot of the rants/praises to heart.

He told me that he can 100% guarantee that gigabit speeds will be coming this year, and once docsis 3.1 improves more, more tiers will be made available. he just said the merger was a mess, and they didnt expect the transition to be this rough. so many billing systems being converted over etc..

The rep is blowing smoke up your.... Charter has no plans for residential gigabit broadband this year or next for legacy TWC service areas. Their digital conversion project in legacy areas alone will take two years and their budget in New York will be focused on upgrading the rest of upstate to support 300Mbps as per merger conditions. The CEO told Wall Street DOCSIS 3.1 was something they'd probably look into in 2019 because they are preoccupied with digesting TWC and BH and that project will take another year to integrate everything.

Also, the CEO has been adamant about NOT offering more than one or two internet speed tiers. He specifically criticized TWC for their multiple speed tiers as being "too confusing" for customers. His vision is what you see see right now on the website -- ONE advertised speed for everyone with another option for those who call and complain they need more. That other option will eventually standardize by 2019 at 300Mbps in New York (100Mbps will eventually go away).

The CEO has shown zero interest in communicating with customers, and never did at his old job at Cablevision either. He talks to Wall Street, John Malone -- his biggest investor, and his other top execs. Nobody else.

BTW, the merger in Charter's eyes was not a mess and the tech integration went exactly as planned, ending in 1Q 2017. A few regions saw the date pushed back because of IT issues, but nothing extraordinary. They have yet to begin the real nightmare -- trying to integrate billing systems. That will be lovely.

Quick question, actually it isn't quick how do you know that the CEO of the new Charter does not speak to customers, only to Wall Street, John Malone, and other top execs? Where are your facts?

I for one do know for a fact that there is communication between the CEO and his employees, as I was an employee at TWC and I "could" reach him and he would of responded if I did reach out to him.

Also I could tell you integrating their billing systems, would not be so hard as people think even though there might and will be some mishaps; as a majority of their system are on the same billing platform.

Just my two cents.

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

djrobx

Premium Member

Regardless of who the CEO is talking to, I think it just makes sense that Charter will first focus more on getting the rest of their network up to where former Maxx areas are, rather than starting yet-another upgrade project to 1gbps. Getting their house in order then moving onto the next step just makes sense. And by waiting, D3.1 gear will get cheaper, and more of the bugs will have been worked out for them.

Charter will have irate customers in legacy areas if they don't give them some attention. And there will be the obligatory cherry picking complaints.

Yes, there's some GBit out there that they have to compete with, but in reality it's pretty sparse. Someone came up with a tool to scrape AT&T's availability database and map it:

»Script to check ATT Fiber coverage

The maps do a great job of highlighting what a sorry state that a lot of people's competitive options are actually in. A little gigabit here and there, surrounded by people who can only get 18mbps, or worse.

300mbit is probably good enough for even most power users in the short term. As long as it works well and is priced fairly people aren't going to leave in droves. Not to mention we don't have caps currently. Things aren't that bad, yet.

StevenB
Premium Member
join:2000-10-27
New York, NY
·Charter

StevenB

Premium Member

See that's ATt. Here in NYC we have plenty of competition per-say. Verizon by the summer or fall will have their gigabit tier available to all. Like it or not charter has to do something instead of wait.

Old cable minds either has to retire or just upgrade to today's mindset.

Anon899be
@rr.com

2 recommendations

Anon899be

Anon

Interesting optimism regarding NYC broadband.

The NY State Attorney General so far has law suits in progress against Spectrum AND Verizon.

Spectrum getting sued for grossly failing to meet the advertised speed on their internet service.

Verizon getting sued for failing to meet their contracted plan to install FIOS in most of the city.
It turns out Verizon has stopped the roll out completely.

Upstate the picture is even bleaker.
Spectrum is mostly a monopoly and as the OP indicated pricing are increasing on most plans.

Always believe consumers are getting what they allow given to them
The Comcast merger was protested given their poor service record experienced in other States, regulators stopped the merger due to public pressure.
The Charter merger should have been protested just as vigorously but that did not happen, now the mess is here to stay.

Competition is missing in US internet service and getting worse every year.

hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium Member
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY

2 recommendations

hobgoblin to StevenB

Premium Member

to StevenB
said by StevenB:

But I still stand by what I said, as this info is from a Rep, and the ycould say anything But this rep did seem very knowledable, and was probably my 3rd best rep i've ever got on the phone, and number 1 by any first line rep. The best reps i've ever gotten was from the Buffalo tier 3 center, lead by Hobgoblin and his beer crew!!! I miss those gals and guys

Thank you!
Satch
join:2009-11-25

1 recommendation

Satch

Member

When deciding whether to switch from TWC to Spectrum, what factors in a package will determine if you are paying more or less in the carry over? Assume the same level of service. Say from TWC Triple Play to Spectrum Triple Play Gold.

Satch

PS. Good to see you Hobgoblin!
deefop
join:2016-05-05
Boulder, CO

1 recommendation

deefop

Member

Charters system of pricing is a lot more straightforward than TWC's was, fortunately.

here's the basics:

the 3 core services have some normal retail price, and when you get more than one service there will be small "bundled discounts" applied

not counting starter/broadcast tv, you've got:

tv select for about 64.99
spectrum internet for 64.99
spectrum phone for... i wanna say 29.99?

when you bundle them together they'll give slight discounts on the internet for example, it isn't huge but for all 3 i wanna say the price is in the mid 140$ range without including taxes and equipment

if you then wanna add the internet upgrade, tack on another 40$
if you wanna add spectrum tv silver, thats another 20
spectrum tv gold is yet another 20(on top of silver, so 40$ total)

if you get the highest levels of service, the cost adds up quickly

on the other hand, the retail rates aren't totally horrendous if you have just internet for example, especially for the maxx markets that have faster internet tiers

Rick4769
join:2012-11-21
Buffalo, NY

Rick4769 to StevenB

Member

to StevenB
Does Hobgoblin now work for Spectrum? He has gone through Adelphia and Time Warner. Just wonder if he is still around.

Anon6689a
@rr.com

Anon6689a to pspfreak

Anon

to pspfreak
Is Spectrum TV all digital in Buffalo, NY?

Will I be able to watch TV without a cable box?

Is renting a DVR/Cable Box required with Spectrum TV Basic or Select?

Tonice2007
Premium Member
join:2005-12-20
Brooklyn, NY

Tonice2007

Premium Member

said by Anon6689a :

Is Spectrum TV all digital in Buffalo, NY?

Will I be able to watch TV without a cable box?

Is renting a DVR/Cable Box required with Spectrum TV Basic or Select?

I believe (from the last time I checked as a TWC employee) Buffalo has already migrated to an all digital and encyrpted signal for TV service so you would either need a DTA (not provided by Spectrum anymore) or a cable box.