After reading the story about the guy whose internet was shut off for a year by Comcast as punishment for breaching their data cap, reader Brian tried to check out his Comcast bandwidth meter. He did not want to have the same fate befall him. However, when he got to the screen, all the data and graphs that had been there months before were gone. Comcast told him that the bandwidth meter isn’t working for some customers but gave him a number to call if he needed to check on his data consumption. [More]
cable
5 Pay TV Companies Make 19 Most Hated Company List
By 7.13.11
5 of the 19 companies getting the lowest scores on the American Customer Satisfaction Index are pay TV providers. In 3rd, it’s Time Warner, 4th, Comcast, 5th, Charter, 17th, Cox, and 18th, Dish. Hmm, why might that be? [More]
I Should Never Have Given Comcast A Second Chance
By 7.11.11
After leaving Comcast because of their prices, John tried to come back to try and get some faster internet. But despite being a prior customer, nobody could give it to him because they couldn’t verify his address. Even though this address had already received service in his name. Neither the online order system, chatroom CSR, local office, nor a regional salesperson could help. Shrug, what’s one dissatisfied customer when you have a virtual monopoly? [More]
Woman Comes Home To Find Cable Guy Dangling In Back Yard
By 7.8.11
Working with cables and electronics is a dangerous and potentially deadly job. Just ask a Kansas woman who found a cable guy dangling 15 feet off the ground from a pole in her back yard. [More]
Cable Boxes Slurp More Electricity Than Refrigerators
By 6.27.11 — Updated: 12.6.12
The biggest energy hog in your house is probably sitting right under your TV. That little ol’ set-top box could be using up more electricity in your house than your refrigerator or central air conditioning, according to a new study by the Natural Resources Defense Council. [More]
TWC Ends Chat When You Ask Them To Honor To On-Time Guarantee
By 6.16.11
In New York City you are entitled to a free month of service if the cable guy doesn’t show up on time. It’s part of the franchise agreement the cable companies have with the city. But here’s a chat transcript showing what happens when a informed consumer tries to claim their credit from Time Warner Cable… [More]
Court Denies Disney Injunction Against Dish Promotion
By 6.6.11
When Dish Network prepared a promotion to celebrate its 30th anniversary that provided free access to Starz, Disney and Starz cried foul, filing lawsuits to prevent Dish from giving its programming away. A New York District Court judge sided with Dish in Disney’s suit, blocking Disney’s attempt to stop the promotion with a preliminary injunction. [More]
Netflix Now Has More Subscribers Than Comcast
By 4.28.11
The Rubicon has been crossed. Netflix now has more people subscribed to it than Comcast. Netflix reported 23.6 million subscribers at the end of the 2011 first quarter, while Comcast ended 2010 with 22.8 million. (They could still possibly report more but considering that they’ve been dropping the past few quarters, it’s unlikely). See, we don’t need to worry about hegemony or legal monopolies, they’ll just obsolete themselves out of business. [More]
Comcast's CEO Pay Valued At $31.1 M. Did He Earn It?
By 4.7.11
$31.1 million is what you get for being the CEO of Comcast, reports the AP in their breakdown of Brian Robert’s compensation package. Do you feel this pay is deserving and accurately reflects your experience as a Comcast customer? Our handy poll has buttons that you can push to tell the world your opinion. Just don’t push the red button with the lips on it. That orders more naughty movies and makes a silver bell in Brian Robert’s office go ting-a-ling. [More]
How Do You Convince The Cable Co To Lay Broadband To A Semirural Area?
By 3.28.11
Like many Americans, Liv and her neighbors are cut off from high-speed broadband access because they live in an area that the cable company says is too far for them to run lines to. She says she’s spent a few years trying to convince them but hasn’t made any headway, even getting the neighbors to band together and say they would all agree to service. What can she do to change AT&T or Comcast’s mind, or can she even and would she be better off with a DIY solution? [More]
Time Warner Charges Guy $16.4 Million For Cable
By 3.25.11
If you thought your cable bill was outrageous, get a load of the $16.4 million Time Warner Cable charged an Ohio engineer. Unsurprisingly, his presumably automatic credit card payment for the bill was rejected due to insufficient funds. [More]
Broadband Internet Keeps Cable Companies Dominant Despite TV Losses
By 3.9.11
Cable companies are hemorrhaging subscribers, but the businesses are still sitting pretty thanks to the trump card of broadband internet access. [More]
FCC To Reconsider Rules For Negotiations Between Broadcasters And Cable Companies
By 3.3.11
In recent years, the disputes between cable companies and broadcasters have gotten especially ugly as boardroom squabbles have spilled over onto the airwaves and online. And in the end, it’s always the subscribers who get hurt with blackouts and eventual price hikes. That’s why the FCC voted today to reinvestigate the rules and its role in these negotiations. [More]
Comcast Disconnects Your Cable. You're An RCN Customer.
By 3.3.11
You don’t need to actually be a Bank of America customer in order for them to foreclose on your house, and you don’t actually need to be a Comcast customer for them to disconnect your cable. That’s what Brett writes happened to him recently when a neighbor had their cable fixed. [More]
Rich DC Burbs Pay $9.58, Rurals Pay $31.17/Mbps
By 2.18.11
The rich get richer while the poor get…slower? A new report by investigative journalist John Dunbar cracks open the numbers that are tightly held by the industry and found vast disparities in the quality and price of service based on how close to town. By comparing customer speed tests and surveys, he found that while folks in the low-income areas outside of the Washington Metropolitan Area pay slightly less for their broadband, those in the wealthier DC burbs are getting far more bandwidth for their buck. The poor are paying on average $31.17/Mbps while the rich are paying only $9.58. [More]
Cable Co. RCN Tried To Bill Fire Victims For Incinerated Cable Boxes
By 2.17.11
A family in Allentown, PA was lucky to escape with their lives after a natural gas explosion destroyed their block and took five of their neighbor’s souls. Then their cable company RCN told them they would have to pay $170 a pop for the cable boxes that were destroyed in the fire. [More]
Move Your Comcast Account, Get Bonus $8 Late Fee
By 2.2.11
Mark wrote to us with a warning for Comcast customers: if you move while your account is set on auto-pay, the system is set up so that you will miss a payment and be hit with a late payment fee. Why is it set up that way? Nobody knows. [More]
More People Stream Netflix, Fewer Subscribe To Premium Channels
By 1.31.11
There are only so many monthly fees people are willing to pay to watch movies at home, and Netflix’s options seem to be dominating those of premium channels. [More]
