cable/phone/internet providers
 

hey all,

I'm new here - and while I did search the forums I did not find any recent answers on this - so in case anything has changed I figured it would be worth asking...

I just bought a place in Laconia and we need cable/basic phone/ and internet...

I'm a Boston person who is used to Comcast - so I would really appreciate any input on who you guys feel is the best option in the area - at least the most reliable option. I don't mind paying a bit more for better service if that's what it takes....

any input is much appreciated!

http://i44.tinypic.com/1499wms.gif jtill75, I just noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum and glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends.

I'm sure you will get many replies to your request on cable packages and suppliers. Best of luck.:)

http://i54.tinypic.com/2e56yqf.gif

Cable-Direct TV
Internet-Metrocast
Phone-Ooma system

If you're used to Comcast, then Metrocast will be familiar to you, it is also expensive and unsatisfying.

thank you! i look forward to learning a lot here!

this looks like it may be the way to go - thank you!

I went with metrocast for all as the price was cheaper as a bundle.

I have everything with Metrocast and it's pretty good.

It's really no different here than elsewhere. It depends on what services you have available in your location.

Metrocast is similar to Comcast. You can buy a bundled package that is often "cheaper" than purchasing each separately. It is still the best option for your internet connection. One bill, one call for changes, etc.

We used to have DirectTV for video. I still think it is the best service for TV/video services. The downside for me was no viable option for internet, and still needing to go elsewhere for phone service. You also need to make sure you have a clear line to the satellites.

If we could get a cell phone signal at our house, and could get decent reception for the network channels over the air, I'd drop all but internet. Increasingly, we are finding that most of our tv watching is shows via streaming services.

In Laconia
 

Verizon for phone. I have a docking station to use the service with land-line phones.

Metrocast for internet. Fairpoint have fibre optics in Laconia but is not offered for residential use.

I have a 'smart tv' and laptop connected to the TV. I may get all my shows after they are aired but I am not renting a DVR cable box and I see no need for a cable subscription.

Verizon 'hotspot' is great when internet is down, but the unlimited plan is expensive. Metrocast internet is about 60% reliable. It is down a lot!

This must be location dependent. I have been pleasantly surprised at the reliability I've experienced since moving here full time. It's been MUCH better than the Comcast connection I had in MA. I can't even tell you the last time it was down.

MetrCast Bundle
 

We are very satified with our bundle package with MetroCast at our cottage on East Bear Island.

cable
 

I have basic cable, no internet, no home phone. I use my cell for all of my calls. For cable, I have Metrocast. I have lived in my house for 7 years. When I first moved in cable was $22.00, now it is $37.00 and I get less than I used to. I lose channels in the middle of watching a program. Channels come and go, seemingly almost every day. Channels freeze on me. I now have 2 Chinese speaking channels, which after a glass of wine, can be fun - for a few minutes. I am most definitely going to be getting rid of them and going with Dish or Direct, depending on which I can get at my house. Their customer service is not helpful. No clue on the internet or anything else they provide but the cable service is NOT my favorite!

Some of you complaining about lost signals and downtime may want to check with your nearby neighbors to see if they are having the same problems. Some of the symptoms being described are often due to signal problems or noise on your own home cable network.

Today's digital signals are much more robust on cable that is shielded and has proper connections. You would be surprised to learn how much noise can be on the line if you have a bad connector or there is signal interference coming into the cable.

Many older homes are wired with older cable (RG59) that will struggle to handle the bandwidth and signal clarity required of today's cable streams.

In summary, what you perceive as a provider problem may in fact be your problem.

Unfortunately, testing for all of this requires expensive equipment. Some cable companies will do minimal testing when you report a problem. But technially, their responsibility ends once the signal enters your house. They will come out and do more extensive testing if you are willing to pay for the service, and even then, your success will be very dependent on the skill and expertise of the technician they send. In my experience, the latter can be a crap shoot.

Agree
 

When I decided to upgrade to 'high speed' internet on 2008, the technician told me the cable is too old and need to be replace. (1978 condo with cable hookup in every room except bathroom. He is not contracted to replace wires so I had to hire an electrician. One electrician told me there is nothing wrong with the wires.) Since this is a new service, he ran a new cable from the box next door outside the unit to the office. (Condo association was FURIOUS!). After connecting the router the tech said the signal is marginal and 'field service' would have to look at it. I have no idea if field service actually come. Internet and cable TV will go off whenever the weather gets damp or the snow melts. Others in the association also complained.
Fast forward to spring of 2013 during the snow melts, cable tv and internet will be down for days! Several calls to Metrocast and they tell me to turn the TV and or router off and on. They determine it is the wireless router which I own. After a few more phone calls they finally send a technician to the house who test the connection and yeap no signal. He went outside, check the box attached to the house than proceed to a box down the road. Came back and tells me the underground cables are all wet and old and the association is responsible. He also said 'field service' needs to replace the 'junction box' as it is corroded. He did replace the router with a new router stating that technology had change.
I never saw 'field service'. The association claims no responsibility for the underground wires, and that it is the responsibility of Metrocast or the Metrocast customers. Called Metrocast and said they will investigate and get back to me. They never did.
Since then I cancelled my cable. Funny you can get to account service a heck of a lot faster than support. They were giving me all kinds of temporary discounts to keep my business. I don't want discounts, I just want the damn thing fix!
I kept my internet and use my Verizon hotspot for back up. When I notice Fairpoint put in a fibreoptic trunk on the main street next to the association I called Fairpoint and they have no intention to provide fibreoptics to residential customers. It is available for business.
I had excellent internet service with Comcast in Hooksett. Metrocast is something else.

Another cause...
 

Broadhopper, when we came a little closer to the 21st century by getting a flat screen digital TV, we had Metrocast come our to install the box and get everything set up. A check of the signal showed that signal was really low. As we traced the wiring, we found no less than 3 splitters where added lines were put through a coupler. Each coupler causes a loss of signal. After replacing all but one, which was needed to feed to our bedroom TV the signal was improved but still marginal. As a last thought, I mentioned the outside box. When we opened it up, there was yet another splitter in there. He removed it, and the signal got better.

He told me the more splitters, the higher the resistance and the power the signal being passed through the lines. Add that to 1980- something wiring, and it was a signal for disaster.

Hope you can get it improved, BH.

Livenh, we have the same problems as you do with our basic cable from Metrocast. In less than 2 years our bill has gone up 25%....seems excessive. One thing that works for us when we suddenly lose a channel is to go into TV menu and have the TV scan for channels. This brings the channels back. Now if I can figure out something to do about the tiling......

Spliiters
 

So you actually solve the splitter problems outside the house and the technician did nothing about it? Interesting. The problem is Metrocast has this nylon tab on the boxes to prevent entry. So I can break the tab and take a peak?

I do know the original cables in the house was wired with a series of splitters. I was told to put a multisplitter near the outside box and run individual wires from that one splitter to the outlets in the walls. Sounds like an expensive proposition. Wires at best Buy are expensive but I found cable spools at Home Depot a lot more reasonable.

It's not exact, but every time you split the cable you cut the signal by approximately one half. This can also be affected by the quality of the splitter, connections, etc.

Broadhopper, it definitely sounds like your problem is not the Metrocast signal itself, but the wiring. If it were me, I'd start with fighting the battle over who is responsible for the wires underground in the association. (You would need to check deeds/docs, but in most instances, this is private property and therefore the responsibility of the association). Until you fix the signal quality coming from the street, you are wasting time and money and will continue to be frustrated.

I don't think Metrocast is the villain here.

wow - so many replies....and I'm still not sure what is best :)

maybe i'll give the metrocast bundle a shot and if it sucks kill it and try the different providers option...

thanks everyone for piping up...now only if we could get the snow to melt without flooding my new basement any more...welcome to NH right?

Not Quite...
 

The Tech and I were under the house in the crawl space, and he couldn't believe how many splitters there were. I had not done any of it.

As we got out from under the house, I pointed out the box, and he was the one who broke the seal. When he opened it, after a mild expletive (well, maybe not so mild), he took out the splitter and I think used a union to connect the two wires. Unfortunately, if I try to solve a problem like that, I create one that is five times worse than the original. :rolleye2::D

Direct TV $50
Metrocast Internet $55
Ooma Phone $13

If your Metrocast bundle ends up being more than this, consider these a la carte options.

My Prices.
 

Metrocast high speed internet - $55
Verizon Wireless with 2 GB data - $54

I wish it would be under $100 total :(

Just remember this about splitters:

On your splitters, the dB number shown is how much dB you loose every time you hook a TV to it. So, say you have 5 dB coming into the house and you hook a two way splitter (typically 3 dB loss on one leg) you now have 2 dB going to the TV. Now you have two more TV's you want to hook up. Well, you connect another two way splitter to the spare port on the first two-way splitter and you are now loosing 6 dB at TV number two which means you have -1 dB coming to that TV.

HD digital needs the most dB's that you can get from the cable company. If you split the db's up when it enters your house then be prepared to pay the cost of losing channels.

No, it just needs a signal within an acceptable range. You'll typically be around 0dBmv measured at your TV or set-top box.

The cable drop coming into your house is required to have enough signal level, and proper signal-to-noise ratio, to support a couple of splitters and TVs. This is actually regulated by the FCC, you are *entitled* to an acceptable signal quality as part of your subscription. This is measured where the cable drop initially terminates at your house, it is not the cable co's job to fix or deal with your *internal* wiring.

"The most dB's you can get" would actually over-drive many tuners and cause another set of issues, there is such a thing as too much signal level.

I had a similar problem with 7 tv's and a bunch of splitters. Most of the sets worked fine, but the ones in the kitchen and bedroom would frequently have the picture freeze for a second. I figured it must be signal loss, since these two sets were the farthest away by cable length and were at the end of several splitters.

I solved the problem with two items purchased through Amazon. The first was an eight port distribution amplifier for about $35. This eliminated most of the splitters and provided a solid signal to each device.

The second item was a bag of "terminators". These are just a small resistor enclosed in a screw-on cap. You place one on each unused port of a splitter or amplifier. I was told that this prevents unwanted noise from entering your cable through the open splitter ports. They're cheap and do seem to make a small difference.

I also found a corroded splice in a damp spot. I replaced the two connectors and the barrel connector and used rubber tape to waterproof the whole thing.

My television wiring is now in top-notch shape and if they ever broadcast something worth watching, I'm ready...

This what I paid for 'quality programming'. The only quality programming is NH public TV, the rest in mostly commercials. Why do I have to pay for commercials?

NH PTV is available to stream from the internet!

Alternative Cell Phone Plan
 

My cell phone uses the Verizon network, but I only pay $30 per month through Page Plus. (another incredible find thanks to this forum)

Page Plus ?
 

Care to provide some additional details on your cell service. To date, we have only trusted Verizon but are paying $150 a month for 2 iphones with data packages. Reception in NH can be real spotty but Verizon has worked well for us - so I am reluctant to switch - can you share your experience?
Thanks!

Internet, TV, Ohone etc
 

We had a condo in Gilford before we purchased our home, so we were restricted to using Metrocast for cable TV and internet. When we bought our home 2 years ago we were finally able to drop Metrocast cable for Direct TV- we have the Genie system with a single DVR that allows viewing/recording/playback on up to 5 TV sets at the same time- very satisfied. Unfortunately we have had to stick with Metrocast for high speed internet. We use Fairpoint for land lines and Verizon for cell and smart phone data service. The Fairpoint and Direct TV service is very reliable; the Verizon cell service can be spotty at timers. I wish I could say good things about Metrocast internet, but I cannot. Good luck.

I have used Page Plus for the past year and it is excellent. You need a Verizon phone to use Page Plus because they use the Verizon network, which is the most reliable up here. I set up an autopay plan with them. You can "port" over existing numbers. Each number has it's own plan. You can cancel at anytime. Great customer service too.

The association restricted us to Metrocast as well. I think in 2008 FCC made a ruling in behalf of the satellite companies that is against the law for landlords and HOAs to restrict the use of disks. The association is allowing the use of disks with reservations. You can't remove shrubs or trees to get a clear shot at the satellite.

BH, you are indeed correct. There is a federal preemption that prevents HOA/Condo Assoc or deed CC&R's from banning the use of outdoor antennas for reception of radio, TV, or satellite signals. The FCC has sole jurisdiction over the airwaves, restrictions by the aforementioned organizations notwithstanding. Such bans can be considered a restraint of trade, something else that bumps up against federal regulations and the Communications Act of 1996.