Portland, OR - Frontier - Page 54

Yes, I am using HDMI and I just want to be sure there is no Burn in. It is not on that often...just the news in HD, but it is not right and they know how to fix it.

Also, when I re upped for 2 years on Frontier the rep said they did not want to kill FIOSTV as they make more mony on that than as a reseller of DIRECTV.

According to OregonLive (and dslreports) Frontier wants out of FIOS TV in Oregon!

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i..._cable_tv.html

Not a surprise, take the outskirts out first and then move out of Beaverton and Gresham.

"Surprise, surprise, surprise" said Gomer Pyle. I wonder if Mrs. Mary Agnes Wilderotter is the issue of an unholy union between Gomer and the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer? As in: "I'm a simple country bumpkin CEO. This strange box with flashing pictures and loud sounds confuses and frightens me".

Still, all hope is not lost. I notice you didn't make any predictions about Tualatin. Perhaps we'll be spared!

Whatever happened to due diligence? How could anyone believe that Frontier was unprepared for the complexities and costs of providing TV content? Isn't this a breach of public trust? I will ride out my new two year contract and see what happens.

Tualatin = outskirts. You're peanuts compared to Beaverton and Gresham.

Don't expect them to be around in two years with tv service.

I think our "regulatory" agencies need to start paying attention, big time!

The article sort of stated that Verizon threw in the FiOS TV as a deal sweatener. This implies that Frontier was perhaps only interested in the telephone and internet services.

The way the Frontier folks are handling this from a PR perspective is a disaster. The executives or the PR people need to make a statement that isn't so wihy-washy. Everything seen so far looks like amateurs are running the operation.

If it is so hard, I don't understand why Frontier simply doesn't subcontract everything back to Verizon, who at least seem to now how to run the operation; and of course, Verizon FiOS is quite active in other parts of the country.

If the worst case happens, we are all at a loss.

I guess Frontier simply does not know how to negotiate with the programming suppliers.

If Frontier hopes to continue phone and internet service, they still have a lot of back room equipment to operate. Sounds like the reall issue is lack of negotiating heft on the programming side.

I guess we're just small time cable customers!

Mike

I am not deluding myself to think they will be around. What I will be watching closely is when they do step away is what will be their tactic to satisfy the remainder of my contract. I cannot receive satellite TV. Will there be a buy out? Maybe the terms of the contract would help - if I could ever find that.

If they drop tv, you're out of your contract and can move to someone else without penalty. You don't think they're contractually obligated to serve you for two years do you because that's not what the contract is for.

No, no. Severability payment is what I expect. If I cancel or end the contract early, I have to pay them $xx for months remaining. They should have to pony up if they do not provide me with a suitable alternative to that which is being taken away ... or a monetary payment. Since I can't get satellite service and I don't consider Comcast as suitable, what's left (for example)?

That's what you'd like to see.
Unfortunately you don't have any rights with the contract you've signed, or with services like this in general.
If you go back and read your agreement you will find that Frontier (or Verizon) has reserved the right to terminate service at any time and without any notice.

Pretty sure they have to give 30 day notice (or 15), but yes they do have that right to terminate at anytime.



*edit* Looks like it's a 90 day notice actually...three months. Anyone want to bet we see something along these lines at the end of September?

I wish Verizon would do the smart thing and buy it all back from Frontier at half the price.

With all the trees around my place I'm sure I can't get satellite, and I don't want Comcast either.

Wow, I hadn't been following all this, beyond the January price increase that got pulled back, apparently replaced with a $500 installation that would discourage new business. Frontier wants only internet, funny. When FIOS came to town, Verizon would not sell me internet only. I have slow DSL, and pay $48 for phone and internet, it's too slow for Netflix. I suspect Verizon grew the business for the sale. Once Frontier signed the contract, Verizon cut my DSL speed in half. Frontier bought a bunch of unhappy customers.

If anybody has advice for best internet only service, ideally without phoneline required, I'm all ears.

I don't know why Verizon wouldn't sell you just Internet. I have a Sales Order Form from early last year, when I got their "Triple Bundle", and it was quite possible to order just Internet. Price was $50/mo for 15/5 and $65/mo for 25/25. One year contract required, $165 ETF.

Comcast has Internet. They used to charge $35 for their economy service, which was 1mb/384kb. That probably won't get you good streaming. As of about a year ago, their faster service started at about $55. But they probably offer deals for 6 or 12 month discounts. Why not call them?

Something else to think about is CLEAR. If you are in their coverage area you can get 1.5mb/500kb for $35. But they are hurting, I don't think they will make it.

Thanks for the info on Clear, Phantom. $35 for rock bottom internet doesn't sound like a great deal to me, but it seems to be the price they all get away with. They still had triple play FIOS for $90, but for intenet only for both FIOS and DSL, Frontier quoted me over $55 last July. Plus installation. Frontier would allow internet only, but Verizon did not, at least no when FIOS was new. I know, I should call again, but I hate using the phone, and I never get a bottom line answer from anybody, not that it's any clearer online. I have hesitated losing my landline, so maybe I should shut up and live with what I've got, and forget about streaming.

Possibly because Verizon sold that business in Oregon to Frontier, along with landline phone and TV? Verizon Wireless is the only remaining service you can buy from Verizon in OR.

I'm referring to FIOS when it first became available here, and Verizon owned it. Verizon told me they would not install FIOS internet unless I got FIOS TV too. Perhaps they needed a minimum number of FIOS TV subscribers for clout in negotiating channel programming. Or perhaps it wasn't worth it to install FIOS for two services. Or perhaps bundling was their strategy to lock out the competition.

The Clear service is most beneficial for mobile users. If you're buying the service for a stationary position (like at home or office) I don't think it makes as much sense as a hard-line solution. (DSL/Cable/Fiber/etc.)

Verizon FiOS internet was made available (at least to me) a year prior to the TV service even being rolled out. I had both services as soon as they hit market.

Yep, I was one of the first tv installs and was in the first month or two for internet for Verizon.

I just wonder if people in the Portland area have noticed that the Newspaper ads from Frontier have these new offers for FIOS Internet and Phone. Not a word about TV!

doesn't surprise me.....my patience with them are growing very tiresome. I am looking more and more into DirecTV.

I renewed for 2 years and got a great rate with 6 Months free HBO/Cinemax. EVERY month I have to call them to find out what to pay as the bill has not been correct yet!

No they have TV in most of the ads I've seen....it's just missing a "Direc" in front of it! Why they think they can still try to make money off home telephone is beyond me.

Well, the insert in today's paper has no mention of TV at all.

I was walking thru Washington Square this afternoon, and quizzed the sales critters at the FiOS kiosk about this. They said:

1) they're selling DirecTV to customers
2) they don't know if/when FiOS TV goes away
3) they think we will have at least 3 months notice before TV goes dark
4) they're also upset, because they are also customers
5) they don't make the decisions
6) they think that Frontier still has value, because their Internet service is better than Comcast's. I didn't really argue that point with them, other than to point out that
6a) when I had Comcast Internet it was just fine
6b) Comcast's bundling deals (triple play or whatever they're called) will make it harder for Frontier to compete

I've never shorted a stock in my life, and I'm not about to start now, but I certainly won't be buying FTR stock. I think it's being run simply to generate cash. No long term future for the company. The stock currently pays a very generous 9.3% yield. One way to interpret that is that Wall Street is betting that the company will have to cut its dividend. Note that they already cut once, from $1 to $0.75, when they bought the Verizon assets.

BTW, this whole business situation is being actively covered at a national level. It's not just local coverage like from the Oregonian. E.g. here is a Bloomberg (nee Businessweek) article about it.

I sold off my FTR stock, received when VZ divested itself of us for about $9.44 and haven't been happier. The dividend will be cut again in the very near future and more people will dump the stock.

And Phantom is right, the double/triple play price will kill Frontier in the end against Comcast. Hopefully someone else (even a municipality) buys up the fiber portion from Frontier for pennies on the dollar and puts out a quality product like Verizon did.

My 2 issues about Comcast are...

1. Byte counting
2. TiVo's had more pixelization when I was on CC.