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Like a lot of RCN customers, Randy Laughlin got a shock with his bill last week -- a letter saying he has to have converter boxes on his televisions by Sept. 22 or he won't get cable reception.
"I'm kind of content with the channels I have and I do not see a need for a converter box," Laughlin said.
No matter. If you're an RCN customer in the Lehigh Valley, your bill probably is going up because the company is requiring digital converter boxes for all televisions that receive cable. The good news? The first box is free. The bad news? Additional boxes cost $2.95 each per month. And you need a box for every TV that gets cable.
The cable provider is phasing out analog service -- which comes through a coaxial cable into a television -- to create capacity to add more channels, particularly those in high definition.
Randy Schwartzman, an RCN spokesman, said the company is updating in response to customer demand as the cost of HDTVs have made the sets affordable and increased the need for HD channels.
RCN already has made the all-digital conversion in Boston, Chicago and Washington.
"It's a tremendous number of HD channels and these are what people are asking for. There are so many channels out there and to keep competitive you have to offer the best product," Schwartzman said. "This will beat what DirecTV and Dish Network provide as well as FiOS [a Verizon cable-like service]."
But some customers, such as Laughlin, don't like having to pay more for channels and boxes they don't want.
"If they are going to roll out a digital network, it should be included in the service and not an additional charge for boxes," said Laughlin, who will be adding $2.95 a month to his $75 bill for cable and Internet service.
"I'm frustrated and feeling like they are taking advantage of us and trying to generate revenue," said Nancy Stahly of Coopersburg, an RCN customer who voiced her complaint to the company, the Pennsylvania attorney general's office and The Morning Call and is considering switching to satellite service.
Schwartzman said RCN knew some customers would defect.
"We always factor that in and it is to be very minimal and to be made up by the additional people to join," he said. "Customers will know we have more advanced services than competitors, but there will be some that don't want it."
Service Electric Cable and Communications, RCN's chief competition in the Lehigh Valley, has reported an uptick in new customer calls.
"We are getting calls from their customers based on the changes they are making," said Jack Capparell, Service Electric's general manager. "We're telling them our analog is still in place."
Service Electric plans to add 100 HD channels by the end of the year, but has vowed to keep its analog service too.
RCN's switch to an all-digital network -- Project Digital Crush -- is in line with changes being made by many cable providers in the nation in an attempt to offer more HD channels and faster service to keep pace with competition from satellite service providers and FiOS.
Cable providers have been scaling back analog programming in recent years, replacing it with digital, which multiplies a cable provider's channel capacity. Each analog channel is the equivalent of three HD or 10 standard- definition digital channels.
RCN has said the switch, which started in parts of Allentown this week, will allow for 100 high-definition channels, up from 29 previously, and will increase the digital lineup by about 20 channels.
High definition produces crisper picture quality, with images about six times sharper than analog. Other HD capabilities include theaterlike widescreen display and Dolby digital audio.
RCN is converting roughly 6,000 customers each week and plans to have the process completed in the Lehigh Valley by the end of the year, Schwartzman said. He added that customers will receive notices about the conversion 30 days before it happens.
Some customers have said they did not know about the upgrade until they turned on their televisions to find either a blank screen or a message to contact RCN.
tyrone.richardson@mcall.com
610-820-6779
"I'm kind of content with the channels I have and I do not see a need for a converter box," Laughlin said.
No matter. If you're an RCN customer in the Lehigh Valley, your bill probably is going up because the company is requiring digital converter boxes for all televisions that receive cable. The good news? The first box is free. The bad news? Additional boxes cost $2.95 each per month. And you need a box for every TV that gets cable.
The cable provider is phasing out analog service -- which comes through a coaxial cable into a television -- to create capacity to add more channels, particularly those in high definition.
Randy Schwartzman, an RCN spokesman, said the company is updating in response to customer demand as the cost of HDTVs have made the sets affordable and increased the need for HD channels.
RCN already has made the all-digital conversion in Boston, Chicago and Washington.
"It's a tremendous number of HD channels and these are what people are asking for. There are so many channels out there and to keep competitive you have to offer the best product," Schwartzman said. "This will beat what DirecTV and Dish Network provide as well as FiOS [a Verizon cable-like service]."
But some customers, such as Laughlin, don't like having to pay more for channels and boxes they don't want.
"If they are going to roll out a digital network, it should be included in the service and not an additional charge for boxes," said Laughlin, who will be adding $2.95 a month to his $75 bill for cable and Internet service.
"I'm frustrated and feeling like they are taking advantage of us and trying to generate revenue," said Nancy Stahly of Coopersburg, an RCN customer who voiced her complaint to the company, the Pennsylvania attorney general's office and The Morning Call and is considering switching to satellite service.
Schwartzman said RCN knew some customers would defect.
"We always factor that in and it is to be very minimal and to be made up by the additional people to join," he said. "Customers will know we have more advanced services than competitors, but there will be some that don't want it."
Service Electric Cable and Communications, RCN's chief competition in the Lehigh Valley, has reported an uptick in new customer calls.
"We are getting calls from their customers based on the changes they are making," said Jack Capparell, Service Electric's general manager. "We're telling them our analog is still in place."
Service Electric plans to add 100 HD channels by the end of the year, but has vowed to keep its analog service too.
RCN's switch to an all-digital network -- Project Digital Crush -- is in line with changes being made by many cable providers in the nation in an attempt to offer more HD channels and faster service to keep pace with competition from satellite service providers and FiOS.
Cable providers have been scaling back analog programming in recent years, replacing it with digital, which multiplies a cable provider's channel capacity. Each analog channel is the equivalent of three HD or 10 standard- definition digital channels.
RCN has said the switch, which started in parts of Allentown this week, will allow for 100 high-definition channels, up from 29 previously, and will increase the digital lineup by about 20 channels.
High definition produces crisper picture quality, with images about six times sharper than analog. Other HD capabilities include theaterlike widescreen display and Dolby digital audio.
RCN is converting roughly 6,000 customers each week and plans to have the process completed in the Lehigh Valley by the end of the year, Schwartzman said. He added that customers will receive notices about the conversion 30 days before it happens.
Some customers have said they did not know about the upgrade until they turned on their televisions to find either a blank screen or a message to contact RCN.
tyrone.richardson@mcall.com
610-820-6779
Copyright © 2009, The Morning Call
2 comments:
nice read. I would love to follow you on twitter. By the way, did you learn that some chinese hacker had busted twitter yesterday again.
Change to Satellite TV and you don't have to face this much of hassles.
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