Comcast: Get a box or lose your cable TV service

Comcast will encrypt the entire lineup of its cable television service, including local channels, starting with two markets in New England and gradually rolling out this summer across all of Comcast’s service areas.

The encryption will obsolete cable reception of QAM signals, which some cable customers use to avoid paying for set-top equipment.

Comcast called FCC approval of its encryption request a victory for consumers because it will “allow us to automate certain system functions and will reduce the need for scheduled in-home appointments, providing greater convenience for our customers.” Comcast also candidly said it will dramatically reduce signal theft and unauthorized viewing by past due customers, which can now be shut off from the cable office instead of dispatching technicians to the home to disconnect service.

Consumer and Comcast customer Brier Dudley begs to differ. In two columns in the Seattle Times, Dudley writes Comcast is tightening the screws on its customers, forcing them to get unwanted equipment that will eventually cost them monthly rental fees set “at market rates.”

Comcast began requiring digital adapters to unscramble digital signals in 2009. Since then, it steadily has been converting more of its system to digital, scrambling more channels and expanding the requirement to use some kind of a cable box or adapter on every TV.

This requirement received the FCC’s blessing last year. The agency agreed to let cable companies scramble all of their channels and require descramblers on every set.

The FCC’s justification was muddled. Scrambling would purportedly prevent stealing content, though the FCC requires conventional television broadcasters to beam their shows freely over the air.

The FCC also made a tortured environmental argument for the move, saying the mandatory adapters allowed cable companies to remotely activate and deactivate service, reducing service calls and their carbon footprint.

Unmentioned is the environmental effect of factories in China making adapters that must be delivered, attached to every TV and continuously plugged in.

Comcast is attempting to mitigate customer anger about the necessary new equipment, offering free boxes for a limited time. But customers might need a road map to find what they qualify for without having to pay an even higher cable bill:

Limited Basic customers with no set top boxes in their homes will be eligible for up to two DTAs (standard definition digital signal adapters), at no charge for two years (five years if you also receive Medicaid), if they request DTAs beginning 30 days before the date of encryption and no longer than 120 days after encryption. New customers, customers who already have DTA devices or those who request them after the offer period will likely be subject to rental fees much sooner, if not immediately;

Customers who subscribe to a higher level of service and receive Limited Basic service on a secondary TV without Comcast supplied equipment are eligible for one device at no charge for one year;

All other customers are subject to Comcast’s new $1.99 per month “additional outlet service charge” for each outlet registered to a DTA. In Seattle, customers who want to watch local channels in HD have to fork over another $2.50 a month for a special HD version of Comcast’s DTA box.

What if you don’t want the extra equipment and return it? Comcast will automatically cancel your cable TV service.

“Customers who do not have digital equipment on their account will not be able to view any channels after Limited Basic channels are encrypted. For this reason, XFINITY TV service will be removed from the account,” warns Comcast. “This may affect multi-product package rates or discounts.”

The encryption will also cripple third-party set-top devices like older versions of Boxee (not compatible with Comcast’s DTA) and TiVo, which will now need a mind-numbing, complicated workaround to keep operating.

Comcast customers will receive written notification as the company gets ready to encrypt service in each area.

Time Warner Cable customers in the Carolinas will soon pay $90.49 a month for digital cable television, including one set-top cable box. Customers who buy broadband, television, and phone service will see their monthly bill rise to $167.89.

The rate increases will not initially apply to customers on term contracts or promotional pricing until those terms expire. Others will begin to pay higher rates in March.

Almost 70 percent of Time Warner Cable’s eastern North Carolina subscribers have digital cable TV. The rate increase for television-only service amounts to an extra $5 a month or $60 a year. Triple play customers will also pay an extra $5 a month.

Time Warner’s last rate hike, not including the introduction of a $3.95/month cable modem rental fee last fall, was in late 2011.

Although Time Warner claimed increased programming costs were responsible for the bulk of the rate increases, the cable company keeps adding more channels. In 2012, Time Warner added NFL Network and NFL RedZone, both costly sports networks. In the last few months, Time Warner added an additional 30 channels to the cable lineup in the Carolinas, including a number of new HD channels and barely watched networks including Retirement Living Television and Magic Johnson’s Aspire TV.

A rate change notice mailed to customers in the Carolinas will include exact pricing changes applicable in different communities, but customers in Fayetteville and surrounding parts of the eastern Carolinas will see these changes starting in March:

• Broadcast cable: From $16.19 to $17.99
• Cable programming tier: From $53.30 to $54.50
• Basic cable: From $69.49 to $72.49
• Digital tier: From $10.68 to $9.01
• Basic cable, when bundled with standard Internet and/or home phone unlimited nationwide: From $68.99 to $71.99
• Digital cable includes basic cable, digital tier, digital equipment and Navigator interactive guide: From $85.49 to $90.49
• Digital cable when bundled with standard Internet and/or home phone unlimited nationwide: $82.49 to $85.49
• Basic cable, standard Internet and home phone unlimited nationwide: From $162.89 to $167.89
• Cable card: From $2 to $2.50
• Digital equipment primary outlet: From $6.82 to $8.99
• Navigator interactive guide: Not applicable to $2.17

Customers affected should consider reviewing our tips on how to fight for a better deal from Time Warner.

Zombie bill.

Time Warner Cable has pulled back on their winter promotions for new customers, bundling slower broadband and significant equipment fees into the bottom line price that may cost as much as $20 or more than the cable operator’s advertising suggests.

Several readers contacted Stop the Cap! over the last few weeks about the disparity between Time Warner’s advertised new customer pricing and the out the door price that arrives on the first month’s bill.

Diane, a Stop the Cap! reader in Brockport, N.Y., was attracted to an $89.99 triple play promotion for TV, Internet, and phone service until she learned what did not come with the deal.

“By the time I got off the phone, that $89.99 offer turned into more than $130 a month once adding a DVR, faster broadband service, and a second cable box,” Diane complains. “You really have to read the fine print. They only give you 3Mbps broadband speed on most of their offers now and DVR service is rarely included. In fact, all the equipment turned out to cost extra.”

Stop the Cap! checked out the offer Diane was interested in, and it turns out the $89.99 advertised price only tells half the story.

The wall of text. Time Warner’s rebate offer has hoops customers will consider an Olympic event.

First, Time Warner requires customers on this promotion to pay for at least one cable box, at $8.99 a month. A CableCARD is also available for $2.50 a month for televisions equipped to support that. Most consumers stick with traditional boxes. Diane wanted one DVR box and a second box for a bedroom. DVR Service from Time Warner, which does not include the box itself, has dramatically increased in price over the years. In 2013, the combined rate for the “box” and the “service” is $21.94 a month in western New York. A second cable box for Diane’s bedroom ran another $8.49 a month. The new Internet modem rental fee is also not included, so that adds an additional $3.95 a month.

Diane is also correct about broadband speeds. Time Warner bundles only 3Mbps service in most of its promotional packages. Increasing to Standard speed (15/1Mbps) generally costs an additional $10 per month. Now Diane’s monthly bill is well over $130 a month.

In fact, Diane should have selected a more deluxe package from Time Warner at the outset. Their $104.99 promotion bundles Turbo (20/2Mbps) Internet, free Showtime, and at least covers DVR service (although Diane still has to pay $9 a month for the DVR box). Her out the door price for that package is less than $127 a month.

Customers served by AT&T U-verse or Verizon FiOS stand to come out better if they plan to dump the phone company in favor of Time Warner. The cable operator is throwing in a debit card worth up to a $200, but only for customers switching away from a competitor. Diane just had Frontier phone service, so no $200 reward card for her. Time Warner requires customers to switch from services comparable to those selected from Time Warner to qualify for the maximum rebate.

For those that do quality, the rebate hoop-jumping begins:

• Customers qualifying for the reward card have to write down a promotion code and register their rebate request online within 30 days of starting service.
• Customers must remain active, in good standing and must maintain all services for a minimum of 90 days after installation.
• Customers are required to upload a scanned copy of their last provider’s bill, showing active service within the last 90 days. Card should arrive 4-6 weeks after a 90 day waiting period.
• Comparable services do not include wireless telephone service or online-only video subscriptions.
• Offer is not available to customers with past due balances with Time Warner Cable during the program period or customers who have been disconnected for non-payment during the twelve months preceding this offer.
• The customer’s name and address on file with Time Warner must exactly match the name and address on your former provider’s bill.
• Customers better spend the money quickly. After six months, the issuing bank deducts a $2.50 monthly “service fee” from the debit card until empty, except where prohibited by law.
• If the card is lost or stolen, there is a $5.95 Re-Issuance Fee. If you need to dispute a charge on the card, you are out of luck. The issuing bank will not intervene on your behalf.
• Customers cannot apply the rebate to their Time Warner Cable bill.

Time Warner Cable customers in southern California are bracing themselves for a rate increase that will raise prices by 8.2 percent — almost four times the rate of inflation.

The price for digital basic cable, the most popular cable television package, will rise from $67 to $72.50 per month. The price charged to record shows from that package is also going up. “DVR service,” which does not include the DVR equipment itself, is rising 18.6% — from $10.95 to $12.99 a month.

Stop the Cap! reader Steve in Carlsbad adds his rate increase notification also mentions price increases for bundled packages:

All Standard and Basic packages and bundles will increase by $5.00 and all digital video packages and bundles will increase by $3.00.

The rate increases are by no means over. As Time Warner mails its price change notifications for 2013 to customers, it also signed a 25-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for yet another regional sports channel showcasing the baseball team. Industry insiders estimate the deal is worth between $7-8 billion and could eventually cost cable subscribers an additional $5 a month, whether they watch the channel or not.

It is likely the latest rate increase does include the cost of the 2012 launch of Time Warner Cable SportsNet, which features the Los Angeles Lakers. Time Warner asks competing satellite and telephone company video services to pay between $4-5 a month to provide SportsNet to their customers.

The rate increases will not affect customers on retention or promotional packages until they expire. As usual, Time Warner blamed the rate hike on increasing programming costs, notably for sports and broadcast television stations.

Although many Californians have alternatives, ranging from AT&T U-verse to two satellite television providers, those companies are raising prices as well:

• Comcast (San Francisco Bay area) rates went up 4.3% last year and will increase again this summer;
• DirecTV rates will increase Feb. 7 by about 4.5 percent;
• Dish Networks’ most popular packages rose $5 a month on Jan. 17;
• AT&T U-verse will boost prices on components of its service by around $2 a month each on Jan. 27.

Customers facing price increases can use the rate increase notification as the trigger to threaten to cancel service to win a lower price with a customer retention offer. Stop the Cap! published a comprehensive guide on how to win a lower rate from Time Warner in 2012 and those tips are still working for our readers today.

If Time Warner seems unwilling to bargain, customers can also consider taking their business elsewhere by signing up for a promotional introductory offer with a competitor. When that offer expires, Time Warner will take you back with a new customer promotion as well.

In general, bundling all of your services with one provider will save the most money. Triple play packages consisting of television, broadband, and phone service are the most economical when considering the cost of each service. But it is also a good idea to consider whether you need all three services.

The weakest link of the triple play package is the landline. If you subscribe to broadband and cable service, consider switching to a broadband-based phone company like Ooma, which received a high rating from Consumer Reports. After an initial investment of around $150 for the equipment, the price of the phone service itself is next to nothing and includes nationwide unlimited calling. Ooma basic customers only pay for FCC-mandated fees and local taxes and surcharges. Combined these are usually well under $7 a month. Ooma Premier customers pay $119.99 a year and get a free number transfer, free calling to Canada, the choice of a Bluetooth Adapter, Wireless Adapter or Extended Warranty, a large list of calling features, a second line, voicemail, and free mobile calling minutes.

This digital adapter cable box is free through 2015. A traditional set top box from Time Warner costs $8.49/mo.

Next consider your current cable television package. Scrutinize your bill for add-on fees, especially for digital/HD add-on packages for channels you may never watch. Do you still need to pay for HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz? Consider Netflix, Redbox, and Amazon video — among others — to satisfy your movie needs without paying more than $15 a month for HBO alone.

Equipment fees may also make up a substantial portion of your bill. If you pay separately for DVR equipment and service, you are probably paying Time Warner’s regular customer rates. Seize the opportunity to demand a better deal. Customers with multiple set top boxes may want to consider ditching them on secondary sets, especially if they don’t need an on-screen program guide or access to on-demand programming.

Time Warner is offering customers “digital transport adapters” (DTAs) at no cost through 2015. These boxes, a fraction of the size of a traditional set top box, will allow older sets to access most digital channels that are included in your cable television package. But a DTA won’t work with on-demand programming or premium channels, at least for now. The devices also do not support a handful of digital channels that Time Warner provides under a bandwidth-saving scheme that only delivers a network if a customer with a traditional set top box actually starts to watch. In western New York, we found about 10 unavailable channels, virtually all very minor networks that won’t prove much of an inconvenience. Using a DTA instead of a set top box can save up to $8.50 a month for each cable box it replaces.

If you subscribe to Time Warner Cable broadband and are paying the company’s $3.95 a month modem rental fee, you are throwing your money away. Invest in purchasing your own cable modem. They are simple to install and are reliable. You’ll earn back the purchase price in as little as a year. Now may also be a good time to review your speed needs. Time Warner recently boosted its standard broadband speed to 15/1Mbps. If you pay extra for Turbo, this might be a good time to consider dropping it if you don’t need the incrementally faster 20Mbps download speed Turbo offers.

A Comcast customer in Albany, Calif. got the cable company to pay her $290 towards the purchase of a new television after her cable box went out with a bang.

Kay Corlett’s television, plugged into the back of the box, was an unintended casualty.

Corlett had no trouble getting Comcast to replace her defunct cable box at no charge, but her television was another matter.

“I was very distressed because I had the feeling that they caused the problem so they should be taking care of it very quickly,” Corlett told KGO-TV News.

Corlett played phone tag with a supervisor assigned to investigate her claim and other Comcast employees proved unable to help.

Attitudes changed when KGO’s “7 On Your Side” consumer team intervened. With Comcast’s ongoing intransigence threatening to end up on the evening news, Comcast quickly asked their insurance company to cover the loss.

Corlett received a check for $290 which she put towards the purchase of a new and improved television.

Comcast called the incident extremely rare and recommended customers use surge protectors on their electronic equipment. It was unclear whether the cable box spontaneously failed or if a surge in a nearby power line caused the problem.

[flv width=”600″ height=”358″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/KGO San Francisco Comcast buys woman TV after cable box exploded 11-26-12.flv[/flv]

KGO-TV in San Francisco helped Kay Corlett get compensation for the damaged television she says failed after her Comcast cable box exploded.  (3 minutes)