Comcast Phone Wiring ?
Bob
So hard trying to get meaningful answers out of their phone reps.
Presently, we have Verizon for our phone service.
Thinking of getting one of the Comcast packages with their phone service.
Now have 3 phones (extensions) hooked up to Verizon now.
The phones are all wired together, in parallel, in the basement.
If we go with Comcast, do we have to have new Comcast wiring to each
phone jack, or would they just pick up the connection where the 3 phones
are presently wired in the basement, without any new wiring.
New Comcast wiring would be rough, as we had a devil of a time stringing
thru the walls, etc.
How is this handled, please ?
BTW: how well does Comcast phone work ? Any caveats or gotchas ?
Thanks,
Bob
Tom Clark
for the 4 phones in my house. Comcast tech changed the single plug jack
near the Comcast modem to a two plug jack... the modem and one phone plug
into that jack... no other changes were required for the other phones...
and all work just as they did when I had verizon for my phones... I've had
no phone issues in the three years I've had the Comcast triple play.
Tom
"Bob" <rgs...@notme.invalid> wrote in message
news:j01evq$u4e$1...@dont-email.me...
NormanM
> If we go with Comcast, do we have to have new Comcast wiring to each
> phone jack, or would they just pick up the connection where the 3 phones
> are presently wired in the basement, without any new wiring.
The only things necessary to switch the services are to:
A. Disconnect from Verizon at the demarc.
B. Plug the Cocmast modem phone jack into any convenient phone outlet in the
premises.
Comcast install tech will probably cut the Verizon connection wires so
nobody can accidentally re-connect the wires.
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum
me again
> On Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:12:08 -0400, Bob wrote:
>
>> If we go with Comcast, do we have to have new Comcast wiring to each
>> phone jack, or would they just pick up the connection where the 3 phones
>> are presently wired in the basement, without any new wiring.
>
> The only things necessary to switch the services are to:
> A. Disconnect from Verizon at the demarc.
> B. Plug the Cocmast modem phone jack into any convenient phone outlet in the
> premises.
>
> Comcast install tech will probably cut the Verizon connection wires so
> nobody can accidentally re-connect the wires.
>
The OP should be OK unless he has some OLD phones with high value RE (Ringer Equivalent).
Add up all the RE values for every phone and phone modem and fax machine
and it must be less than the RE drive of the Comcast modem - probably will be.
John Weiss
All phone wiring remains intact. Disconnect your present phone service
from the box coming in the house, hook up the Comcast phone adapter to
any of your phone jacks, and it's done.
Phone service is great; no complaints (Seattle area).
AnnE
No complaints in the west Minneapolis area also. (20 miles)
AnnE
Adam H. Kerman
>Presently, we have Verizon for our phone service.
>Thinking of getting one of the Comcast packages with their phone service.
>Now have 3 phones (extensions) hooked up to Verizon now.
>The phones are all wired together, in parallel, in the basement.
>If we go with Comcast, do we have to have new Comcast wiring to each
>phone jack, or would they just pick up the connection where the 3 phones
>are presently wired in the basement, without any new wiring.
>New Comcast wiring would be rough, as we had a devil of a time stringing
>thru the walls, etc.
>How is this handled, please ?
>BTW: how well does Comcast phone work ? Any caveats or gotchas ?
Assuming you are in a number porting area and want to retain the same
phone number, DO NOT disconnect your existing phone line prior to
installation of new service, otherwise you'll lose your existing
phone number.
Comcast will not touch your inside phone wire, period; they aren't trained.
No, they won't install new runs. They should snip the connection between
your inside phone wire and outside wire coming from Verizon on the
line pole or underground from the pedestal. If your phone wire comes into
your basement near where your electrical service comes in, the outside
wire connection probably is on a terminal block where your runs to your
various phone jacks originate. You may have a gray box on the outside of
your home, which is is the legal demarcation between inside and outside
wire; none of the equipment in this box is used by Comcast.
Note that with Comcast, you'll have no outside telephone wire at all,
just inside wire.
They'll swap your cable modem for EMTA, a device that's both a cable
modem and provides the interface to your inside wire.
Ideally, you'd have a rack in the basement where you'd make telephone
and Ethernet connections with power and support equipment like the
router and EMTA. Practically, the EMTA will be installed in the room
where you currently have your router, assuming there is a nearby
phone jack. Then telephone service will be back fed into your inside wire
through this jack, down to the punch down block in the basement, then
distributed to the other jacks in your house.
Comcast provides Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone service. Usually the
sound quality is acceptable but Comcast telephone service is definitely
not as robust as Plain Old Telephone Service from the phone company,
in which the line is powered by enormous batteries at the phone company
central office and, as long as the loop is intact, you'll have dial tone
during a major power outage.
Comcast has network problems from time to time that cause phone outages,
plus if you have a power failure, the EMTA has battery that provides power
to telephones only, not to Internet, during the emergency, but it won't
last more than four hours.
Comcast is significantly more expensive than other VoIP services, but
has the advantage of participating in number portability, which the
others do not. Also, Comcast dedicates a channel between your home and
the head end strictly for voice, so you don't share telephone bandwidth
with Internet.
Voice is a high markup item for Comcast.
Adam H. Kerman
>Comcast install tech will probably cut the Verizon connection wires so
>nobody can accidentally re-connect the wires.
This shouldn't be a SHOULD but a MUST, but the tech may forget to do it.
Given that outside phone wires represent another path for electricity from
a lightening strike to enter the house, and Verizon won't even pretend
to maintain the ground if the home owner no longer subscribes, this
connection MUST be snipped.
me again
In most connections the Verizon will be UN-PLUGGED, not 'cut', and
a tag attached saying something like "Disconnected by Customer, do not reconnect"
me again
Actually the wire from the pole to house will remain until its owner,
Verizon, removes it.
> They'll swap your cable modem for [an] EMTA, a device that's both a cable
> modem and provides the interface to your inside wire.
Plus, the EMTA will provide battery backup for the phone, so you can still
make calls for 4 to 8 hours after loosing house power.
...
Jack Hammer
>
> Comcast will not touch your inside phone wire, period; they aren't trained.
> No, they won't install new runs.
Strike 1!
Comcast tech wall fished a new outlet for us. Did an excellent job too.
> Comcast provides Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone service. Usually the
> sound quality is acceptable but Comcast telephone service is definitely
> not as robust as Plain Old Telephone Service from the phone company,
Strike 2!
After years of Digital Voice service, I'd say DV has better sound
quality than my old SBC POTS line.
>
> Comcast has network problems from time to time that cause phone outages,
> plus if you have a power failure, the EMTA has battery that provides power
> to telephones only, not to Internet, during the emergency, but it won't
> last more than four hours.
Strike 3! You're out!
Check your facts numbnutz. The Arris TM602 they just gave me has a 24
hour battery.
Now hit the showers, loser!
Adam H. Kerman
>MUST be disconnected, but certainly not "MUST be snipped". My demarc
>has a simple RJ-11 plug/jack that I was able to disconnect. A small
>piece of electrical tape over the jack, plus a note explaining why
>it's disconnected, was all I needed.
>If I ever decide to go back to POTS, it's as simple as plugging it
>back in. Never snip when you can disconnect.
I'm thinking it should be snipped right at the punch down block. The
phone company leaves plenty of slack here, making it simple to
reconnect. I'm not going to agree with you and Rick about merely
unplugging given how easily it can be plugged back in, but taping over
the jack is a good idea.
I recall that the previous owners of the house my mother moved into
subscribed to Comcast voice; she subscribed to phone company telephone
service. The phone company merely turned on dial tone at the switch for
her circuit without sending a technician. My mother had to call for an
installation visit (yes, phone company customer service can be worse
than Comcast's). Turns out she didn't have dial tone because the Comcast
tech had snipped the outside phone wire leading to the gray box,
something he absolutely should not have done.
Later, Comcast made her an offer she couldn't refuse on Voice, although
it's certainly a lot more expensive than other VoIP services.
Adam H. Kerman
>Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>Note that with Comcast, you'll have no outside telephone wire at all,
>>just inside wire.
>Actually the wire from the pole to house will remain until its owner,
>Verizon, removes it.
I know, Rick; I wasn't addressing that issue.
Adam H. Kerman
>On 7/19/2011 10:59 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>Comcast will not touch your inside phone wire, period; they aren't trained.
>>No, they won't install new runs.
>Strike 1!
>Comcast tech wall fished a new outlet for us. Did an excellent job too.
I can report my own experience in which they refused to touch any
inside wire.
>>Comcast provides Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone service. Usually the
>>sound quality is acceptable but Comcast telephone service is definitely
>>not as robust as Plain Old Telephone Service from the phone company,
>Strike 2!
>After years of Digital Voice service, I'd say DV has better sound
>quality than my old SBC POTS line.
I note that you totally ignore uptime. If the loop to the central office
is intact, nothing beats POTS.
I said the sound quality is usually acceptable on Comcast voice, although
sometimes I've heard echoes and voiceback (sorry, I cannot recall
what this is called when one's speaking voice is fed back to the earpiece)
that's too loud. The former, I guess, is an audio version of pixilation.
If you had years of less than adequate sound quality on POTS, then that's
on you for not following through with the phone company on troubleshooting,
till they found the water infiltration or bad wire allowing interference
and corrected it. As a subscriber for years to both Comcast and the phone
company, I can tell you I've have experiences with technicians from both
ranging from excellent to acceptable to wondering if they knew not to put
their left shoe on their right foot.
When you get a technician who cares enough to troubleshoot until he finds
the problem, the issue is solved on that visit. If the subscriber allows
either company to not fix something, that's his choice.
>>Comcast has network problems from time to time that cause phone outages,
>>plus if you have a power failure, the EMTA has battery that provides power
>>to telephones only, not to Internet, during the emergency, but it won't
>>last more than four hours.
>Strike 3! You're out!
>Check your facts numbnutz. The Arris TM602 they just gave me has a 24
>hour battery.
Again, I note that you ignore the issue of network uptime. You know what
really turned me off to Comcast Digital Voice and Internet service? When
it took them over three weeks to install upgraded equipment at their head
end, after warning subscribers that service would be intermittent for
just the weekend. It was an outrageous situation, something the phone
company never screws up that badly.
With regard to life of the battery backup, if you didn't used to have
mere 4 to 8 hours of backup, you're lying. Glad you got an improved EMTA.
>Now hit the showers, loser!
It's curious that you take the time to praise Comcast in a newsgroup in
which Comcast is the main topic of discussion but refuse to put your
name on the article and change your pseudonym frequently. You like
Comcast but you fear the cable cops? Bizarre.
If you really wish to be anonymous, I wouldn't post from work.
NormanM
> I'm thinking it should be snipped right at the punch down block. The
> phone company leaves plenty of slack here, making it simple to
> reconnect. I'm not going to agree with you and Rick about merely
> unplugging given how easily it can be plugged back in, but taping over
> the jack is a good idea.
Most residences do not have punchdown blocks. Maybe a station protector in
older residences, or a proper NID for newer ones. The drop in my NID only
has enough slack for one "snip". But I do have a DSL splitter, and enough
slack on the premises wiring side to snip it there; assuming I was too lazy
to pull the cover and undo the attachments to the "Voice" and "Data"
terminals.
Jack Hammer
> Now hit the showers, loser!
My email address is not really mine, and any of you who wish, can forge
articles as if I was the poster. Damn! I can't fight you guys, can I?
me again
> Jack Hammer<ja...@hammer.nul> wrote:
>> On 7/19/2011 10:59 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>
>>> Comcast will not touch your inside phone wire, period; they aren't trained.
>>> No, they won't install new runs.
>
>> Strike 1!
>> Comcast tech wall fished a new outlet for us. Did an excellent job too.
>
> I can report my own experience in which they refused to touch any
> inside wire.
The level of "service" varies a lot from place to place.
>>> Comcast provides Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone service. Usually the
>>> sound quality is acceptable but Comcast telephone service is definitely
>>> not as robust as Plain Old Telephone Service from the phone company,
>
>> Strike 2!
>> After years of Digital Voice service, I'd say DV has better sound
>> quality than my old SBC POTS line.
Sound quality on POTS varies a lot from place to place, BUT all VOIP
services, including Comcast's, DIGITIZES AT the HOUSE with the result
that there are no interferences from line drop or transformer noise.
> I note that you totally ignore uptime. If the loop to the central office
> is intact, nothing beats POTS.
...
Adam H. Kerman
>On Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:41:44 +0000 (UTC), Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>I'm thinking it should be snipped right at the punch down block. The
>>phone company leaves plenty of slack here, making it simple to
>>reconnect. I'm not going to agree with you and Rick about merely
>>unplugging given how easily it can be plugged back in, but taping over
>>the jack is a good idea.
>Most residences do not have punchdown blocks.
I don't know about that. I'd assume any wiring additions would result
in the installation of a punchdown block, even if existing wiring
runs aren't changed.
In any event, there will be a screw terminal. Can't miss those.
>Maybe a station protector in older residences, or a proper NID for newer
>ones. The drop in my NID only has enough slack for one "snip". But I do
>have a DSL splitter, and enough slack on the premises wiring side to
>snip it there; assuming I was too lazy to pull the cover and undo the
>attachments to the "Voice" and "Data" terminals.
I was thinking it should be snipped on the premises wiring side, definitely
not on the telco side.
Adam H. Kerman
Well, no, seamus, they can't. Posting something with a munged address
and no domain and not even resembling an email address at all cannot
be forged.
Adam H. Kerman
>>>On Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:41:44 +0000 (UTC), Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>>>I'm thinking it should be snipped right at the punch down block. The
>>>>phone company leaves plenty of slack here, making it simple to
>>>>reconnect. I'm not going to agree with you and Rick about merely
>>>>unplugging given how easily it can be plugged back in, but taping over
>>>>the jack is a good idea.
>>>Most residences do not have punchdown blocks.
>>I don't know about that. I'd assume any wiring additions would result
>>in the installation of a punchdown block, even if existing wiring
>>runs aren't changed.
>I've actually never seen a punchdown block in a residence. I'm not
>saying they aren't common, but I've lived in houses from Mississippi
>to South Dakota, from Nevada to Idaho, and many places in between,
>(part of the fun of a military career), and in all of the houses where
>I've lived I've never had a punchdown block.
>No big deal, just saying.
Ok. Are you still seeing screw terminals? What exactly is at the point
at which wires branch off to go to specific jacks?
I live in a 110 year old apartment building with two screw terminals in
the basement, neither of which are currently in use. Both are still
properly grounded, though, inside the basement.
My phone wire was installed at various times over the years, one job
uglier than the next. At one point, branches were connected with
electrical wire nuts, obviously the wrong size for the guage of low
voltage wire and incapable of keeping the connection from rusting.
This was replaced with a punchdown block. At the point the wire from
the gray box splits into the run to the kitchen and the run to the rest
of the apartment, another punchdown block was installed.
I've got two. I figured most people have at least one.
AnnE
> On Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:53:51 +0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
>
>
>
>
>
> <a...@chinet.com> wrote:
> right now. I know there's a smallish gray box (5x5? 6x6?) on the
> outside of the house that has one incoming line and multiple outgoing
> lines that terminate in the house at the various jacks. Everything is
> in that small gray box, including the RJ-11 that connects the incoming
> line to the 'inside' bus. I don't remember for sure because there's a
> second cover inside the box that covers the cable terminations, but I
> think it's just a small terminal strip with screw terminals.
>
> --
> Bill- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Now that you mention that gray box....I have a neighbor who doesn't
have one of those...all you see are the connectors......wide open to
the elements. And they always seem to have problems with Comcast.
Might this be a reason?
AnnE in MN
NormanM
> Ok. Are you still seeing screw terminals? What exactly is at the point
> at which wires branch off to go to specific jacks?
The place where I am living originally had a "station protector"; a black
device with five terminals (one central for ground; two top for network and
two bottom for premises), and, probably, being newer, a carbon block
protector.
During troubleshooting of a voice line problem, SBC tech replaced the
station protector with an NID (Network Interface Device) which had positions
for two lines from the drop, a disconnect jack for each line, and
protectors.
Premises wiring was run from the demarc to a phone jack on the first floor,
which was then daisy chained to another phone jack. Two additional runs were
added at the station protector; one to an upper floor room, and another to
the TV center, where it connected a satellite receiver. The latter was an
"Okie" job, and the SBC tech told me they wouldn't have touched the inner
wiring unless we paid them (despite the WirePro fee), had the trouble been
in the premises wiring.
At this point, and before the station protector was replaced by the NID box,
I rewired the premises, using a pair of RCA screw terminal blocks as a sort
of "Poor Man's Punchdown". And wired from the blocks to all wall jacks.
Most residences I have seen have premises wiring cobbled together in an
unplanned, ad hoc manner. Usually a mix of daisy chain and star topology.
I expect that punchdown blocks in residences are either found in "high end
homes" (need to be a millionaire to buy), or as a result of a DiY project by
a previous owner.
NormanM
> Ok. Are you still seeing screw terminals? What exactly is at the point
> at which wires branch off to go to specific jacks?
The place where I am living originally had a "station protector"; a black
device with five terminals (one central for ground; two top for network and
two bottom for premises), and, probably, being newer, a carbon block
protector.
During troubleshooting of a voice line problem, SBC tech replaced the
station protector with an NID (Network Interface Device) which had positions
for two lines from the drop, a disconnect jack for each line, and
protectors.
Premises wiring was run from the demarc to a phone jack on the first floor,
which was then daisy chained to another phone jack. Two additional runs were
added at the station protector; one to an upper floor room, and another to
the TV center, where it connected a satellite receiver. The latter was an
"Okie" job, and the SBC tech told me they wouldn't have touched the inner
wiring unless we paid them (despite the WirePro fee), had the trouble been
in the premises wiring.
At this point, and before the station protector was replaced by the NID box,
I rewired the premises, using a pair of RCA screw terminal blocks as a sort
of "Poor Man's Punchdown". And wired from the blocks to all wall jacks.
Most residences I have seen have premises wiring cobbled together in an
unplanned, ad hoc manner. Usually a mix of daisy chain and star topology.
I expect that punchdown blocks in residences are either found in "high end
homes" (need to be a millionaire to buy), or as a result of a DiY project by
a previous owner.
> I live in a 110 year old apartment building with two screw terminals in
> the basement, neither of which are currently in use. Both are still
> properly grounded, though, inside the basement.
>
> My phone wire was installed at various times over the years, one job
> uglier than the next. At one point, branches were connected with
> electrical wire nuts, obviously the wrong size for the guage of low
> voltage wire and incapable of keeping the connection from rusting.
> This was replaced with a punchdown block. At the point the wire from
> the gray box splits into the run to the kitchen and the run to the rest
> of the apartment, another punchdown block was installed.
>
> I've got two. I figured most people have at least one.
Okay, apartments are a bit different. I am referring to single dwelling
units. Most apartment complexes I have seen do have punchdown blocks outside
of the dwelling units; often in a utility closet in a common area. Even
then, though, I've never seen a punchdown block inside of a dwelling unit.
Adam H. Kerman
>On Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:53:51 +0000 (UTC), Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>Ok. Are you still seeing screw terminals? What exactly is at the point
>>at which wires branch off to go to specific jacks?
>The place where I am living originally had a "station protector"; a black
>device with five terminals (one central for ground; two top for network and
>two bottom for premises), and, probably, being newer, a carbon block
>protector.
>During troubleshooting of a voice line problem, SBC tech replaced the
>station protector with an NID (Network Interface Device) which had positions
>for two lines from the drop, a disconnect jack for each line, and
>protectors.
>Premises wiring was run from the demarc to a phone jack on the first floor,
>which was then daisy chained to another phone jack.
Daisy chain; ouch. There is signal loss at each link in the chain. A problem
anywhere on the chain makes static at each outlet. A bad first link can
take out service at all jacks.
>Two additional runs were added at the station protector; one to an upper
>floor room, and another to the TV center, where it connected a satellite
>receiver. The latter was an "Okie" job, and the SBC tech told me they
>wouldn't have touched the inner wiring unless we paid them (despite the
>WirePro fee), had the trouble been in the premises wiring.
>At this point, and before the station protector was replaced by the NID box,
>I rewired the premises, using a pair of RCA screw terminal blocks as a sort
>of "Poor Man's Punchdown". And wired from the blocks to all wall jacks.
Thanks for the description.
Screw terminals weren't awful. They just require that the electrical contacts
be cleaned every so often when they get badly oxidized. At least you can
see it.
>Most residences I have seen have premises wiring cobbled together in an
>unplanned, ad hoc manner. Usually a mix of daisy chain and star topology.
Unfortunately, yes, to few put any thought into it.
>I expect that punchdown blocks in residences are either found in "high end
>homes" (need to be a millionaire to buy), or as a result of a DiY project by
>a previous owner.
. . . because he had a bad experience troubleshooting existing inside wire.
AnnE
> On Thu, 21 Jul 2011 07:34:50 -0700 (PDT), AnnE
> cables, but the concept is the same. There really should be a
> weatherproof box that houses all of those connectors to keep rain and
> snow out of them. Exposure to weather can certainly be a problem over
> time.
>
> --
> Bill
Thanks for the info. I'm gonna walk over and tell her. And also
bring her some zucchini bread that I just made.
AnnE in MN
Adam H. Kerman
>>>Now that you mention that gray box....I have a neighbor who doesn't
>>>have one of those...all you see are the connectors......wide open to
>>>the elements. And they always seem to have problems with Comcast.
>>>Might this be a reason?
>>I was talking about phone lines and I think you're talking about coax
>>cables, but the concept is the same. There really should be a
>>weatherproof box that houses all of those connectors to keep rain and
>>snow out of them. Exposure to weather can certainly be a problem over
>>time.
>Thanks for the info. I'm gonna walk over and tell her. And also
>bring her some zucchini bread that I just made.
Sounds good.
hopet...@gmail.com
> Hello,
>
> So hard trying to get meaningful answers out of their phone reps.
> Presently, we have Verizon for our phone service.
> Thinking of getting one of the Comcast packages with their phone service.
>
> Now have 3 phones (extensions) hooked up to Verizon now.
> The phones are all wired together, in parallel, in the basement.
>
> If we go with Comcast, do we have to have new Comcast wiring to each
> phone jack, or would they just pick up the connection where the 3 phones
> are presently wired in the basement, without any new wiring.
>
> New Comcast wiring would be rough, as we had a devil of a time stringing
> thru the walls, etc.
>
> How is this handled, please ?
>
> BTW: how well does Comcast phone work ? Any caveats or gotchas ?
>
> Bob
On Monday, July 18, 2011 10:12:08 AM UTC-4, Bob wrote:
> Hello,
>
> So hard trying to get meaningful answers out of their phone reps.
> Presently, we have Verizon for our phone service.
> Thinking of getting one of the Comcast packages with their phone service.
>
> Now have 3 phones (extensions) hooked up to Verizon now.
> The phones are all wired together, in parallel, in the basement.
>
> If we go with Comcast, do we have to have new Comcast wiring to each
> phone jack, or would they just pick up the connection where the 3 phones
> are presently wired in the basement, without any new wiring.
>
> New Comcast wiring would be rough, as we had a devil of a time stringing
> thru the walls, etc.
>
> How is this handled, please ?
>
> BTW: how well does Comcast phone work ? Any caveats or gotchas ?
>
> Bob
I read a lot of comments on this subject. So Comcast does not use the wires from the telephone poles on the road to my house? My wires are old and causing phone problems. I tested at that gray box and not my house wiring.
If I get triple play with Verizon Fios two of my TVs and phones are in rooms with crawl space. My neighbor's installation of FIOS ran from basement up to their rooms for TV and internet. Can't do that here. So thinking of Comcast triple play. Am I thinking right?
Plus - do they charge per phone or charge per TV? I have comcast tv now and boxes on each TV as none hi def.
Hoping for advice.
Adam H. Kerman
>I read a lot of comments on this subject. So Comcast does not use the
>wires from the telephone poles on the road to my house?
VoIP uses your Comcast Internet service, but reserves a channel specific
to voice services that's separate from channels reserved for data, so making
a call doesn't interfere with other data traffic.
The disadvantage is it's magnitudes more expensive than other VoIP service.
>My wires are old and causing phone problems. I tested at that gray box
>and not my house wiring.
argument against spending more money with them for FiOS.
>If I get triple play with Verizon Fios two of my TVs and phones are in
>rooms with crawl space. My neighbor's installation of FIOS ran from
>basement up to their rooms for TV and internet. Can't do that here. So
>thinking of Comcast triple play. Am I thinking right?
>Plus - do they charge per phone or charge per TV? I have comcast tv now
>and boxes on each TV as none hi def.
receiver, depending on how things are set up. Either there's an Additional
Outlet Charge (for receivers that are CableCARD hosts in which you've
installed their CableCARD security module), or there's a charge per
set-top box or DTA. The latter tune in selected channels only and are
for any remaining 4:3 televisions and VCRs with analog tuners you still
wish to keep in service. The first two DTAs on a subscriber's account had
been free, but now there's a monthly charge. Set-top boxes can be around
$17 a month with the HD service charge and DVR rental, and the Additional
Outlet charge may be nearly as high was renting another set-top box.
Yeah. Thanks to the Additional Outlet charge, you're paying Comcast to
use your own receivers.
Barry Margolin
> argument against spending more money with them for FiOS.
They're not going to be eager to repair something that they want to get
rid of.
--
Barry Margolin
Arlington, MA
Frank
year but copper was deteriorating and they put FIOS to house. Old
interior phone lines were used. Connection came in house to battery
backup wiring and back out to a box that connects into the old box.
With Comcast triple play, I dropped one phone and put it on the modem
which back feeds into the old wiring - FIOS connection for that one
phone was just disconnected, plug pulled.
Might also mention that both phones worked during power outage a few
days ago.
Adam H. Kerman
>"Adam H. Kerman" <a...@chinet.com> wrote:
>>If you can't get Verizon to repair your existing phone wires, that's an
>>argument against spending more money with them for FiOS.
>I've read that Verizon is trying to phase out the old copper wires.
>They're not going to be eager to repair something that they want to get
>rid of.
makes existing subscribers unhappy. The subscriber has no reason to
care what the provider wants, beyond the provider's willingness to please
the subscriber.
Barry Margolin
losing. If they won't upgrade to the "new and improved" product, but are
instead costing the vendor extra money trying to keep the "old and
moldy" product working, they'd rather he just go away.
meagain
Frank
suspected ruse to get me to totally convert. Not so, and they called to
get permission to change it because they have to come into my house with
backup battery and needed an appointment.
Figure with underground lines, it was not cheap for them. All the
utility guys had to come out to mark their lines in advance, then a what
I call a crew of illegals had to tunnel under my driveway and bring the
optical cable to the house. It was a bit of a cluster fuck as they went
to the wrong side of the house and when the installers came out, they
called the crew back and went across my front lawn.
Good thing I have no plans to plant anything there as line is only
buried about six inches and I don't know exactly where.
Frank
assume they pulled the plugs.
Old copper was a constant problem. I think for the two phones I had to
have 3 service calls in a few week period. Then it might take a week to
fix an outage. They would always insist you check connection to the box
first and make a appointment even though problem was outside the house.
Dealing with the telephone company poor service over the years has kept
me from a total FIOS triple play type install. The FIOS line I kept is
used for business and one of these days I'll fully retire and get rid of
it. It does not have internet type pricing, i.e. you pay the local
service and need pay long distance service. If a client was not paying
the whole bill, I'd ditch it.
Adam H. Kerman
>"Adam H. Kerman" <a...@chinet.com> wrote:
>>Barry Margolin <bar...@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
>>>"Adam H. Kerman" <a...@chinet.com> wrote:
>>>>If you can't get Verizon to repair your existing phone wires, that's an
>>>>argument against spending more money with them for FiOS.
>>>I've read that Verizon is trying to phase out the old copper wires.
>>>They're not going to be eager to repair something that they want to get
>>>rid of.
>>Yes, Barry, but that's of no interest to the subscriber. Poor maintenance
>>makes existing subscribers unhappy. The subscriber has no reason to
>>care what the provider wants, beyond the provider's willingness to please
>>the subscriber.
>As far as the vendor is concerned, this is a subscriber they don't mind
>losing. If they won't upgrade to the "new and improved" product, but are
>instead costing the vendor extra money trying to keep the "old and
>moldy" product working, they'd rather he just go away.
fully depreciated wire plant that's not being maintained? I don't think it's
terribly significant. The issue is the POTENTIAL cost of being forced to
replace it if they can't rid themselves of the last subscriber who has the
nerve to want his telephone service to work.
Again, you're missing the obvious. I agree the vendor doesn't want this
subscriber, but instead of giving the subscriber an incentive to subscribe
to what is offered as replacement service, the vendor is merely discouraging
the subscriber from keeping his current service. Unless the subscriber is
a complete idiot, at the point at which he becomes completely fed up with
the vendor he'll switch to a competitor's service, not the vendor's
replacement service.
Adam H. Kerman
>Figure with underground lines, it was not cheap for them. All the
>utility guys had to come out to mark their lines in advance, then a what
>I call a crew of illegals had to tunnel under my driveway and bring the
>optical cable to the house. It was a bit of a cluster fuck as they went
>to the wrong side of the house and when the installers came out, they
>called the crew back and went across my front lawn.
>Good thing I have no plans to plant anything there as line is only
>buried about six inches and I don't know exactly where.
service is buried well below any level at which it would be affected by
typical gardening activities and would be cut only with a major excavation.
Frank
I had my asphalt driveway resurfaced a couple of years ago and had two
feet added on one side. Found later when Miss Utility came out to mark
the utilities that electric service is under that section. Fortunately
probably more than a foot and a half or it would have been hit.
I did mention a while back when Comcast replaced the cable on my street
they cut the FIOS lines a couple of times. My next door neighbor had a
FIOS line just lying over his driveway for over a week. Not only was he
driving over it but he was having a lot of work done on his house and
tradesman with their trucks were driving over it. Wouldn't think an
optical cable line would be that tough.