[ale] OT: Letter to AT&T Broadband re Channel Removal

[Glenn C. Lasher Jr.]

I mentioned recently that I had gotten Dish Network.  My upstairs
neighbour has had DN for over a year now, after giving up on DirecTV and
cable.  I have no affiliation with any of the above, or anyone else I'll
mention in a second here....

First off, I am in upstate New York, so YMMV with regards to cable.  I
have to assume that AT&T cable is similarly priced to TW. Basically, I
picked cable's highest package versus Dish Network's middle package,
versus DirecTV's middle pachage.  All three get around 100 channels, with
digital delivery.

The rundown:

		TW Cable	DirecTV		Dish Network
Equipment	$  0		$ 50		$199
Installation	$  5		$  0		$  0
Months 1-2	$ 39		$ 32		$  9
Months 3-4	$ 48		$ 32		$  9
Months 5-12	$ 58		$ 32		$  9
Months 12+	$ 58		$ 32		$ 31

...so you can see where the promos are.  TW cable is cutting slack on
their installation fee (normally $50) and the first four months of service
(normall $59), DirecTV is cutting slack on the equipment (normally $199)
and installation (normally $100) and Dish Network is cutting slack on the
first 12 months of service (normally $31) and installation (normally
$100).  All values have been rounded to the next highest dollar.

Now, if we add this up, we get the following costs for the first two
years:

TW Cable:
	Installation:		1@	$  5	$  5
	Equipment:		1@	$  0	$  0
	Months 1-2		2@	$ 39	$ 78
	Months 3-4		2@	$ 48	$ 96
	Months 5-12		8@	$ 58	$464
						====
	First year total			$643

	Months 13-24:		12@	$ 58	$696
						====
	Second year total:			$696

DirecTV:
	Installation:		1@	$  0	$  0
	Equipment:		1@	$ 50	$ 50
	Months 1-12		12@	$ 32	$384
						====
	First year total			$434

	Months 13-24:		12@	$ 32	$384
						====
	Second year total:			$384

Dish Network:
	Installation:		1@	$  0	$  0
	Equipment:		1@	$199	$199
	Months 1-12:		12@	$  9	$108
						====
	First year total:			$307

	Months 13-24:		12@	$ 31	$372
						====
	Second year total:			$372

Now, as for the three channels of interst: TLC, SciFi and Speedvision.  I
can't speak for their placement on TW Cable or DirecTV, but on Dish
Network, TLC and SciFi are in every package, even the 50-channel package,
and Speedvision is in the 150-channel package.  The promo that they are
offering right now is for the 100 or 150 channel package ($18/mo for the
150-channel package, then it goes up to $40 at the end of the year) or you
can get some channels a la carte, but I don't know what the specifics or
limitations are there.

Now if these three are the only three you watch at all, DN also has an
item called DishPix, where you pick any channels you want for $1.50/month
each, $5.00/month minimum, but there are some restrictions--Viacom are
being assholes to them about serving their channels up a la carte.  I'm
not sure who owns what as far as these three go.  You may be able to order
Speedvision a la carte with the 50- or 100- channel package, I don't know.

Again, I don't work for DN, I am just a satisfied customer, who picked
them purely from an economic standpoint.  I haven't been disappointed.



On Wed, 12 Dec 2001, Byron A Jeff wrote:

> > Sorry about the blank reply....
>
> No problem.
>
> >
> > I arrived home late last night and discovered that SCI-FI, Speedvision
> > and TLC, 90% of my television viewing, had been removed from my
> > non-digital (AT&T) cable.
>
> Here in Dekalb, only the first two have moved. TLC is now slotted at channel
> 45 next to the Discovery Channel. The sports block has been moved one channel
> up.
>
> >
> > I cancelled the service this  morning.
>
> Understood. You may wish to consider inexpesive satellite like the Dish
> Network.
>
> BAJ
>
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-- 
glasher at nycap.rr.com
After 163 days, Verizon still couln't deliver Telocity DSL.


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