What a great way to introduce U-verse to Chattanooga — headline news that an AT&T technician pepper-sprayed three dogs owned by a Chattanooga woman with a repellent known to be stronger than police pepper spray.

The nightmare for Janelle Lawrence began last week when an AT&T technician came on her property unannounced and began working in her fenced-in yard.

Janelle greeted the technician and asked him if her dogs, who were sharing her yard with the AT&T employee bothered him.

“He said not anymore.  I pepper sprayed them,” Janelle told WRCB, a Chattanooga television station.

She also noticed her dogs reeling in pain.

“My pug had pepper spray all over her body and was having trouble breathing and it got all over my arms and I started burning,” Lawrence says.

Lawrence says the technician was rude to her and refused to show her I.D. or a work order.

She recorded his truck number off the back of his work truck and called the main office demanding to know why he was there when she doesn’t subscribe to any of the company’s services.

AT&T told WRCB they didn’t need Janelle’s permission to enter her property or spray her pets.

AT&T issued a statement to the station:

“An AT&T technician has been working on this street all week for this week’s U-verse launch in Chattanooga. This AT&T technician needed access to the easement area on this fenced-in property, which is in a public right of way.”

Janelle remains deeply upset at AT&T and the employee, who appears not to be suffering any ill-effects to his job from the incident.

“You can do something to me and I’ll take it all day, but if you touch my little angels,” Lawrence says that’s where she draws the line.

The pepper spray incident took a considerable amount of shine off AT&T’s U-verse launch event, particularly for potential customers who are also pet owners like Stop the Cap! reader Sam who pointed this incident out to us.

“The same quick-drawing AT&T technician that attacked this poor woman’s pets could be aiming for yours or mine next,” he writes. “As long as this guy is still employed by AT&T, I wouldn’t have U-verse in my house even if they gave it to me for free.”

As far as Sam as concerned, AT&T pepper sprays their customers with high bills and bad service on a daily basis anyway.

“These guys have no shame buying their way into Tennessee with another one of those statewide deregulation bills that brought lots of campaign cash for supporters and very little for consumers,” Sam writes. “I signed up for EPB Fiber service, which is owned by the city, costs me less than either the cable or phone company, and delivers real fiber optic service right to my house.”

Sam also notes the guy who installed it loved his two dogs and cat.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WRCB Chattanooga Chatt woman ATT pepper sprayed my dogs 7-27-10.flv[/flv]

WRCB-TV was the only station in Chattanooga to spend more than a few seconds on U-verse’s introduction in the city this week, but it wasn’t the kind of PR AT&T was exactly hoping for.  [Warning-Content may upset sensitive viewers.]  (2 minutes)

All this during an underwhelming launch week for AT&T’s U-verse in the River City, which garnered almost no attention in the local broadcast media, except for the pepper spraying incident.  The local newspaper put the story in its Business section.

Chattanooga residents now enjoy a fifth choice for several traditional services offered by cable or satellite:

• Comcast — incumbent cable operator
• EPB — municipally owned power utility and fiber-to-the-home provider
• AT&T — U-verse brings better speeds and service than traditional DSL from the phone company
• DirecTV — Satellite TV
• DISH — Satellite TV

The biggest savings residents will find from Comcast and AT&T comes when bouncing back and forth between new customer promotions.  Or you can just stick with EPB, which seems to offer the same prices for new and old customers.  For broadband customers, EPB delivers (by far) the fastest Internet speeds — up to 100Mbps upstream and downstream.  Comcast comes in at second place, and AT&T U-verse tops out at around 24Mbps if you are lucky.

Once promotional pricing from Comcast and AT&T expire, savings are highly elusive.  Price comparisons are extremely difficult because of channel line-ups, bundled equipment, and different Internet speed tiers and phone calling plans.  Making the best choice means sitting down and exploring channel lineups, HD channel tiers, how much broadband speed you require, and what kind of phone service you want, if any.

Most of the triple-play bundled promotions including standard cable, Internet and phone service will run between $119-139 a month before taxes, fees, and equipment costs.  If you sign a contract, Comcast will throw in a free iPod Touch.  Providers will keep your package price-increase-free for the length of any contract you sign.  That could be important, because AT&T and Comcast have been increasing their rates at least annually.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/ATT U-verse Launch Event Chattanooga.flv[/flv]

Raw video from the Chattanooga Times Free Press captured the launch party for AT&T U-verse in the city.  (34 seconds)

McCormick - An AT&T Friend for Life

While AT&T was patting itself on the back for its wonderfulness, AT&T took special care to extend personal credit to Rep. Gerald McCormick (R-Hamilton County) for shepherding the Competitive Cable and Video Services Act of 2008 through the Tennessee General Assembly.  It helped deregulate the telecommunications industry in Tennessee and de-fang oversight agencies tasked with protecting consumer interests.  The result has been a myriad of customer service nightmares for Tennessee residents, particularly for those who are with AT&T and have faced repeatedly inaccurate bills and terrible customer service.

McCormick was right there in the press release to help celebrate the achievement:

“As Tennessee policymakers, our goal was to increase investment throughout the state and give consumers more choices and innovative new services, and I’m honored to help AT&T celebrate this launch,” Rep. McCormick said.

AT&T invested $180,000 in Tennessee lawmakers like McCormick to do the right thing by AT&T and pass the bill.  The Chattanooga Times Free Press delivered a breakdown in April 2009 summing up the spending as AT&T pushed forward its bill:

State Election Registry records show AT&T’s PAC gave almost $180,000 to candidates, usually incumbents, as well as PACs operated by legislative leaders and caucuses and parties in the two-year 2008 campaign cycle.

The PAC, funded by top executives, gave $2,000 to Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, the Senate speaker, records show. The PAC gave another $8,000 to Mr. Ramsey’s leadership PAC, known as RAAMPAC, according to records.

The AT&T PAC contributed $5,000 to then-House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, and another $4,000 went to Mr. Naifeh’s leadership PAC, the Speaker’s Fund, records show.

Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, who is sponsoring the AT&T-backed deregulation bill, reported receiving $1,250 from AT&T’s PAC in 2007, records show.

“I don’t know how much money I’ve gotten from them,” Rep. McCormick said Tuesday. It is “up to each individual legislator whether they let that kind of thing influence them. I would hope that nobody would. I certainly don’t. I don’t need the campaign money that bad, to be honest with you.”

Janelle Lawrence and her beloved pets enjoyed none of this AT&T largesse — just the literal sting of the results.

Comcast subscribers in cities across the country are getting as hot as the summer as they learn the cable company is jacking up prices again — for many the second time in a year.  This time, the rate hikes are blamed on the cost to deliver an expanded lineup of HD channels, increased programming costs, and new cable modems.  Yet on the eve of the European Union approving a proposed Comcast-NBC Universal merger, many Comcast cable customers are beginning to wonder if all of these rate hikes are going to pay for that deal.

Here is a sampling of press reports from across the country on the latest round of increases:

San Francisco Chronicle: Comcast Corp. said it is raising rates for California cable and Internet customers by an average of 3.8 percent starting Aug. 1. The average video customer will see their monthly bill increase by $2.49 from $60.76 to $63.25 a month. Internet service will also increase for the first time in five years from $44.72 to $46.67 a month, a $1.95 increase. Andrew Johnson, regional vice president for Comcast California, said the increase is necessary to pay for more programming choices, new features, faster Internet speeds and improvements to customer service.  The last rate increase came October 15, 2009 when rates went up just over 1 percent.

The Record (Stockton, Calif.): For the second time in less than 10 months, Comcast Corp. customers in San Joaquin County face price increases for cable television service and, for the first time in five years a boost in charges for a cable Internet connection, the company announced recently. Customers in Stockton, Manteca, Lathrop and San Joaquin County served by Comcast will see an increase of nearly 4 percent in their cable bills beginning Sept. 1. Notices began going out to subscribers late last week. Other Northern California areas served by the cable giant will see prices change Aug. 1.

“They’ve got you tied in,” said Art Hickey of Stockton, who has five television sets in his home and subscribes to the highest tier of digital service. “They tease you with those six-month deals and 12-month deals and they don’t say what it’s going to be after that. People buy into it and then they’re just stuck with it,” he said.

So why not try another source of television?

“I haven’t compared, and I don’t want to because it’s a nuisance,” Hickey said.

The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.): Most of Spokane’s Comcast subscribers will see price increases in their Internet and video services effective in August, the cable company announced. Comcast’s last price increase went into effect October 2009. According to Comcast spokesman Walter Neary, most Spokane cable television subscribers will see an average monthly increase of about $3.21, or 4.9 percent. Customers who subscribe to Limited Basic, the least expensive package of Comcast TV channels, will have no increase in their monthly bill. Limited Basic includes all over-the-air local stations and the public, education and government channels.

Customers who pay for Comcast cable Internet will see two increases – a modem rental fee that will rise to $7 from $5 per month, and a $3 hike for monthly Web service. Subscribers who bundle Internet with either Comcast voice or TV service won’t pay the $3 hike, but will still see the modem fee increase, Neary said. Subscribers can eliminate the modem fee by buying their own modem. The Internet price hike reflects increased investment by Comcast in additional security services for subscribers and technology upgrades, Neary said. Another price increase, not reflected in Comcast’s stated 4.9 percent average monthly hike, is a $2 hike in the “HD technology fee.” TV subscribers who see HD Comcast channels will pay $8 per month for that technology fee, said Neary.

York Daily Record (York, Penn.): Comcast Cable is about three weeks away from putting into effect its second price increase in less than one year. On Aug. 1, the company will boost the average York County customer’s bill by roughly 3.5 percent, said Bob Grove , a spokesman for Comcast Cable’s Keystone Region. That increase is on top of a 1.9 percent price hike for the average Comcast customer that took effect Nov.1. The current rate increase is rooted in Comcast’s company-wide digital upgrade that calls for a jump in the number of high-definition channels to climb from 50 to 100, Grove said. Also, Comcast’s on-demand video menu will increase from 18,000 choices, 4,000 of which are HD, to 20,000 selections with 5,000 of those coming in as high-definition, he said.

“We’ve continually invested in next-generation technology to support new product features, more programming choices and improvements to customer service,” according to a statement released by Comcast concerning the increase. However, for those currently enrolled in a Comcast promotion, your bill will remain unchanged until that particular deal ends, Grove said. “Nearly half of all Comcast customers are on some kind of promotion,” he said.

Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Penn.): Many Comcast customers will see an increase in their monthly bills starting next month. The average customer bill in the Chambersburg area will increase by about 3.5 percent, according to a company spokesperson. The new rates take effect Aug. 1. A customer with standard cable or digital starter service will now pay $63.50 a month, or $3.50 more. Expanded basic, digital preferred, digital premier and total premium services are also increasing by $3.50 a month. Limited basic service, digital economy and family tier services are not affected. Economy, Performance and Blast! tiers of high-speed Internet will be increasing $2 a month. Monthly prices for the Ultra and Extreme 50 tiers will not change. Digital voice services will also cost $1.95 more a month.

Centre Daily Times (State College, Penn.): Comcast this week started sending out another round of mailings notifying customers of another change. But this time around the mailing isn’t warning of an impending digital conversion, or announcing the addition of more high definition television channels. This time around, it’s a notification of a rate increase. Effective Aug. 1, the average price for Comcast in the State College area will go up about 3.5 percent.

The company cited technology and infrastructure investments when contacted for comment. “These investments make it possible to deliver continued innovations, such as more HD and On Demand choices, converged services, faster Internet speeds, multi-platform content and new services consumers want and value,” said Bob Grove, director of public relations for the Keystone region of Comcast. Grove said the recent digital conversion by the company was one of the cost factors, as well as other programs that have included increasing Internet speeds for customers in the area. He noted that bills for customers whose service operates under one of the company’s promotions will not be affected until the promotion period expires.

A major owner of apartment complexes in 13 states in the southeast and south-central United States has a deal for you, whether you like it or not.

Mid America Apartment Communities, which maintains a portfolio of 42,252 apartments, is requiring its residents to purchase cable television from providers like Comcast or they’ll find the $40 month cable fee tacked on their rent, water, or refuse collection bill.  They call it a wonderful savings opportunity for their residents.  But a Stop the Cap! investigation followed the money and discovered the real benefits are in kickbacks paid to Mid America by participating cable companies.

Mid America is extending the policy to all of its apartment complexes over the coming months, notifying residents about its new CableSaver program through flyers.  Enrollment in the program is automatic for new residents, and will take effect for existing residents upon the renewal of their annual lease agreement.

Known as “bulk buying,” apartment complexes can receive preferential discounts for their residents if they commit to mandatory cable service for each apartment.  In Chattanooga, residents of Mid America’s Hamilton Pointe, Hidden Creek, Steeplechase, and Windridge Apartments were notified this month they’ll be compelled to spend $40 a month for Comcast’s Digital Starter Package.

Mid America owns apartment complexes in 13 states. All of them will find the CableSaver program coming their way sooner or later.

The mandating of cable service is not going down well with every resident, particularly those who purchased satellite TV equipment or who have service with other providers like AT&T’s U-verse or Verizon FiOS.  While Mid America isn’t banning competing cable services from serving its complexes, residents will still be forced to pay for cable service in addition to whatever their current provider charges.

Lydia Ramirez of Chattanooga lives in a Mid America Apartment Communities property.  She told WDEF-TV News, “We told them that we are not interested in this but they say it’s mandatory. And so here we are.”

Ramirez just had Dish Network installed but says she’s been told she will have to pay for Comcast cable, too, if she renews her lease.  She said, “We don’t want Comcast and we feel that should be our choice instead of them making it mandatory.”

Instead of being allowed to choose satellite or other cable providers, Ramirez says being forced to go with Comcast is kind of like being told you can only grocery shop at Food Lion.  Ramirez adds, “I don’t see how they can do that. I think we as tenants have an option to choose what cable company we want to go with.”

Some renters in Houston, Texas have been there and done that.  Late last year, KPRC-TV reported residents at The Reserve at Woodwind Lakes got a deal they couldn’t refuse.  A letter from the front office promoted an exciting new offer: It reads the complex “has teamed up with a cable company to bring you an exclusive offer that will allow you to enjoy expanded basic service at a greatly reduced rate.”  Sounds great until you get to the second line of the letter, which uses language only a credit card company could love:

“If you have not yet chosen to opt in, the reduced rate of $40 will be added to your water and trash bill once your renewal takes effect.”

Text of a flyer delivered to Houston-area renters at a Mid America complex

In other words, your “choice” to “opt in” is neither.

Mid America is selling this mandatory cable program as a real money-saver.  But we discovered it’s actually a real moneymaker for Mid America, who earns compensation from kickbacks paid by cable companies in return for cramming cable service down renters’ throats.

Kickbacks for cable is nothing new in the rental business.  Complex owners used to routinely make exclusive deals with providers to deliver service to residents, often through contracts that kept competitors out.  But a 2007 FCC ruling made such exclusive arrangements illegal.  A Federal Court of Appeals agreed: cable companies cannot have exclusive rights to provide service in apartment buildings that they wire.  But complex owners and cable operators discovered an enormous loophole — complex owners can force residents to pay mandatory cable fees as part of their rent so long as they did not bar would-be competitors from also providing service.  But given that renters would already be paying for service, it is unlikely they’d choose another and pay double or more for duplicated cable service.

Cable companies like Comcast enter into these agreements because they provide guaranteed revenue for minimal cost, thanks to “install it once” cable wiring and bulk billing.  Since many renters are also young — renting their first apartment after leaving home — establishing a relationship with those customers may make them customers for life.  Cable companies can also use the program as an opportunity to sell add-on services to renters, such as broadband, digital phone, and premium channel packages.

But why would a company like Mid America want to alienate at least some of their renters who do not want to be forced to pay for cable service?  The answer is easily found in Mid America’s publicly disclosed financial reports — Mid America makes a healthy profit from the CableSaver program.

Mid America owns apartment complexes in these states

Mid America’s quarterly 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows the company is earning so much money from cable companies like Comcast, it has broken the revenue out into a new section of its financial report.

In the first quarter of 2010, as Mid America introduced its CableSaver program, the company reported earning $1.3 million dollars in revenue from cable kickbacks.  The company tells investors its new mandatory cable program will become an important source of new revenue for the complex owner:

“We continue to develop improved products, operating systems and procedures that enable us to capture more revenues. The continued roll-out of ancillary services (such as re-selling cable television), improved collections, and utility reimbursements enable us to capture increased revenue dollars.”

It’s all a part of a profit-making strategy to increase shareholder value and stick residents with increasing costs to deliver fatter profits.  Renters might be interested to know the company has more in store for them in the coming months:

Our goal is to maximize our return on investment collectively and in each apartment community by increasing revenues, tightly controlling operating expenses, maintaining high occupancy levels and reinvesting as appropriate. The steps taken to meet these objectives include:

• […] developing new ancillary income programs aimed at offering new services to residents, including telephone, cable, and internet access, on which we generate revenue;
• implementing programs to control expenses through investment in cost-saving initiatives, including measuring and passing on to residents the cost of various expenses, including water and other utility costs.

Unfortunately for residents, short of moving, there is no escaping these fees. Some residents have contacted their member of Congress or the FCC to complain about the loophole that allows a complex owner to charge for cable service residents don’t always want. Another way to send a message is to tell Mid America you will not do business with them until they make the CableSaver program truly optional. If the company stands to lose more money than it receives from cable company kickbacks, it may choose to amend its policies.

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Mandatory Cable 7-19-10.flv[/flv]

We have four reports on this story, courtesy of WDEF-TV Chattanooga, Tenn., and KPRC-TV in Houston, Texas  (10 minutes):

1. The FCC bans exclusive cable contracts forcing renters to buy service from one provider.  (KPRC-TV 10/31/2007)
2. Can Complex Choose Your Cable Company? In Houston, Mid America Forcing Renters to Buy Comcast Cable.  (KPRC-TV 1/7/2010)
3. Four Chattanooga Area Apartment Complexes Make Comcast Cable Mandatory for Renters. (WDEF-TV 7/12/2010)
4. AT&T U-verse Arrives in Chattanooga (But Won’t Be Too Attractive to Mid America Residents). (WDEF-TV 4/30/2010)

Earthlink, which depends on phone and cable companies to deliver its broadband service, has imposed a monthly usage limit of 250 gigabytes on its customers obtaining service from Comcast.

Customers began receiving postcards in May notifying them about the change in service terms which took effect July 1st.  Earthlink blamed the usage limits solely on Comcast, noting they were dependent on other companies to provide the infrastructure necessary to reach customers:

Comcast and other cable providers provide portions of the network that EarthLink High Speed Cable service uses to deliver broadband Internet access. EarthLink provides the other portions of the network and services like Webmail and the myEarthLink Start Page®.  EarthLink works with its business partners, like Comcast, to manage the network infrastructure.  […]Because Comcast is EarthLink’s business partner in providing the EarthLink Powered by Comcast Service, EarthLink is working closely with Comcast in implementing this Usage Cap.

Internet providers routinely sell the benefits of their broadband accounts to better accomplish data-heavy activities like online video using their service, even though in some cases all of that "heavy use" is being used as an excuse to implement usage limits on customers.

In reality, Earthlink offers little more than a handful of its own services to customers.  Most of its network connectivity, billing, and other services are handled by the providing cable or phone company.  Customer support with many technical issues is handled by Earthlink’s own off-shore technical support staff.

Still, Earthlink had offered an alternative to those threatened with Internet Overcharging schemes by Time Warner Cable and Comcast because the company had not adopted those usage limits until Comcast insisted they follow suit.  Presumably with this precedent in place, any other Overcharging schemes imposed by these providers would also impact their respective Earthlink customers.

For those violating the usage limits, enforcement won’t come from Earthlink.  Instead, the provider warns, Comcast will be the entity that comes down on your head.

For now, Earthlink customers will have to call the company (888-327-8454) to determine how much data they’ve used during the month as the Comcast data usage meter is apparently only for Comcast customers.

I’d like to hear your impressions of Clear’s 4G wireless broadband service, which is also known as Road Runner Mobile in Time Warner Cable territories or Comcast High Speed 2Go where Comcast provides cable service.

I am specifically looking for speed results, coverage impressions — whether the coverage maps reflect reality or not, and what type of wireless modem you’ve chosen with the service.  Also, customer service impressions are welcomed.  Feel free to leave your comments in our comment section or use the Contact Us link above if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.  Please remember to include your city and state.

YouTube is littered with negative reviews and complaints about the service, but I’d like to hear from our readers.

Here is one annoyed customer who literally attached her USB modem to a broom handle and mounted it halfway up the side of her home and still could not connect. (Warning: Profanity) (3 minutes)