CATV service charging per connected TV

Status
Not open for further replies.
brantmacga

brantmacga

Señor Member
Location
Georgia
Occupation
Former Child
Did I read somewhere that its not legal for the cable company to charge an additional fee for each TV connected? For some reason I was thinking I'd read about a law that prohibits them from doing this.
 
for some reason i was thinking i read something saying they couldn't do that, but it could've been something else entirely. I was perusing the FCC website and it appears small cable systems can be completely exempt from any type of regulation. this particular company has probably 100 subscribers. most all of the towns they serve have less than 300 subscribers from what i've found online.

i was working on a trim-out for a remodel yesterday and found that a splitter i installed had been disconnected, and all the cable lines were re-routed to the grounding block outside. the cable co. happened to call the house while i was there to tell me i couldn't set a splitter because they charge for each tv connected. i'd never heard of a cable co. charging fees like this unless there was a set-top box, which my understanding was that was an equipment rental fee.
 
What I do is run a hr back from each location. The newer network high speed bi directional stuff is not what you grandparents had.
I use rg6 quad shield and when I run a hr to each location there is never a problem. WHen you start to split this newer network high bandwidth cable there are no guarantees.
Especially to the typical homeowner/radioshack/nightmare you find in most houses. My new line is 99 a location where do you want em and another 99 to bring the phone line back to the main block in cat 5 for voice over ip.
Where is your router for another 99 per?? hardwired or wireless the numbers add up to substantial amounts in most houses.
 
this is a vacation rental property; 4 tv locations w/ basic cable service. owner wanted simple and cheap. the question is not what i charge to run the cable line, but can the cable company charge an additional fee for each one when there is no set-top box involved. what i was saying is that i thought i read that its not allowed, but even if its not, it looks like this cable co. can be exempt if there is such a law because they're a small system.
 
Tell them there is 1 tv then do your own thing when they leave like everybody else does. The cable co charges for each computer here but everyone knows to get a router to put as many as you want when they leave and they cant see past the router. Some cable cos install he interior wiring which they rent to you for a few bucks a month. Most people install thier own wiring after initial install.
 
Last edited:
Here they charge $4 "extra outlet" fee, although that's with all the runs terminating in their lock box/grounding block. Of course all those newfangled structured media panels tend to throw them for a loop, and in some cases they only charge for a single connection (in opulent 3000 ft? homes - go figure)

And if one happens to own the keys required to access said lock boxes, moves/adds/changes become moot. It still surprises me how those with $750k-plus homes have the tightest purse strings with regards to things like their cable bill.
 
Last edited:
Whether a cable company does or does not charge per jack is going to be a moot point. All cable companies will be eliminating the analog channels which means that a TV without a cable box will no longer work, and they charge per month for each box.

-Hal
 
mdshunk said:
I have a friend that runs a company donig buildout for Comcast. Apparently, your "free box" to get the local stations will be crippled.
Click to expand...

I doubt thats true.












You have no time for friends. :grin:
 
From the FCC link:

[The cable company may] carry the signal only in digital format, provided that all subscribers have the necessary equipment to view the broadcast content.

Does it say anywhere that the cable company has to provide the "necessary equipment" for free?

Already cable companies are eliminating analog channels. The reason is that they can put 10 digital channels or maybe 3 high def channels in the space of one analog (depending on compression).

The "free box" is to receive HD channels on an old analog TV from an over-the-air UHF channel and an outdoor UHF antenna.

-Hal
 
Last edited:
hbiss said:
Does it say anywhere that the cable company has to provide the "necessary equipment" for free?
Click to expand...

IMO yes.

This line makes it clear

By statute, cable operators must make local broadcasters? primary video and program-related material viewable by all of their subscribers.
Click to expand...

Really the upshot of that notice is they are giving the cable operators two ways to comply.
 
I think they could still broadcast what will probably amount to 3 or 4 local channels in analog also, since it's coming over their wire and not in the air. No?

In any event, it doesn't look like they're doing that. They're giving you the first box for "free" basically, to comply with the law. Every box after that you're paying rent on.
 
A TV with a QAM tuner will receive the digital signals sent over the cable without requiring an external cable box. You only need the cable box for encrypted signals. Hopefully, Comcast isn't going to wreck this (and they already scramble almost all of their HD signals except for a few local stations).

I don't know the answer to the original question. I know when I first got cable here they wanted a few dollars for each additional TV outlet. I said I just had one and did my own distribution.
 
hbiss said:
Whether a cable company does or does not charge per jack is going to be a moot point. All cable companies will be eliminating the analog channels which means that a TV without a cable box will no longer work, and they charge per month for each box.

-Hal
Click to expand...

All cable companies won't be doing this. The system I'm on is all analog w/ about 1200 customers. They're not changing. This other cable company I started the thread about has several systems w/ only a couple hundred subscribers on each; they're not switching. These small cable systems can request exemption from a lot of these rules because of the financial burden.
 
Hal,
Are you sure? Both our local company which is a small regional company as well as Comcast say that they are going to continue to provide analog signals to their customers.
Comcast has you covered in the switch to digital broadcast.
If all your TVs are currently connected to Comcast, you don't have to worry about a thing. When February 17, 2009 rolls around, you can just sit back, relax and keep watching your favorite shows.
Click to expand...
What do I need to do if I am a Mediacom customer?
If you are a cable customer, you may have to do little or nothing to enjoy your favorite programming after the switch to Digital TV (DTV). Mediacom will take care of the transition for you!
That's because Mediacom already has technology in place to handle DTV. It does this by capturing these digital signals and sending them to your home through the same cable connection that delivers popular national channels like ESPN, CNN, HBO and hundreds of others. As long as your TV sets are connected to cable, they'll display local DTV stations, along with the many other stations cable has to offer. And, if you've signed up for Digital Cable, you're already enjoying all the benefits of Digital TV, including more channel choices and better quality picture and sound.
And even better, if you have a high-definition TV (HDTV), you can ask to be connected to Digital Cable with HDTV. You'll get lots of national and local channels in crystal-clear, high-definition resolution.
Of course any secondary analog television sets you have that are not connected to cable or a digital converter will not receive the new DTV signal. You can call Mediacom to connect those televisions to cable, or see "What to do if... I have an analog TV connected to an antenna," below.
Click to expand...
 
anyone who currently has a cable box is already covered. you may need to get a different box, but the cable company will provide it.

the only ones who may have an issue are the very few systems that only run analog. and they tend to be very small systems.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top