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Portland, OR - Frontier - Page 57

post #1681 of 1813
8/3/11 at 8:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmihalik View Post

From a technology standpoint, realize that TV, Internet, and Phone are all FiOS services.

What is likely is that somehow the TV services are costing Frontier a lot more than they had planned, hence the high installation fee for new customers. The cost being either what Verizon is charging Frontier, or that Frontier is not equipped to negotiate with the various content providers.

Mike

What I think it really comes down to is that it costs a ton to install new fiber to anyone's house that isn't already connected. It doesn't seem like Frontier wants to absorb that cost directly so they're passing it on to anyone who wants to add the service.
If all the infrastructure was in place I'm guessing the installation costs would be reduced.
It'd be interesting if someone moved to a house that was already set up for FIOS if they would still have the same installation fee or not.
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post #1682 of 1813
8/4/11 at 3:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rewdpost View Post

What I think it really comes down to is that it costs a ton to install new fiber to anyone's house that isn't already connected. It doesn't seem like Frontier wants to absorb that cost directly so they're passing it on to anyone who wants to add the service.
If all the infrastructure was in place I'm guessing the installation costs would be reduced.
It'd be interesting if someone moved to a house that was already set up for FIOS if they would still have the same installation fee or not.

Not exactly what I meant with my comment.

Absolutely, if fiber isn't already running by the home, it costs big bucks to run fiber. It is clear that Frontier is not adding any new fiber capacity to their network.

What is surprising, however, is that Frontier is doing nothing to gain new subscribers, or to instill confidence in existing subscribers in neighborhoods that have fiber capability.

My comment was directed towards fiber neighborhoods.

Why Frontier is not marketing to these neighborhoods is the surprise.

Just to remind everyone, if fiber is in your neighborhood, an install is to run a smaller fiber cable to your home, install a network box, and you are all set. Same as what is required for internet or phone only service in fiber neighborhoods.

Adding TV capability is simply providing the coax to outlets in the home from the network box.

Therefore my comment was referring to the programming costs to Frontier from the various providers. Delegating to DirecTV allows Frontier to pass all this to DirecTV, and Frontier simply collects a finder fee for each new subscriber.

Mike
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post #1683 of 1813
8/15/11 at 8:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rewdpost View Post

What I think it really comes down to is that it costs a ton to install new fiber to anyone's house that isn't already connected. It doesn't seem like Frontier wants to absorb that cost directly so they're passing it on to anyone who wants to add the service.
If all the infrastructure was in place I'm guessing the installation costs would be reduced.
It'd be interesting if someone moved to a house that was already set up for FIOS if they would still have the same installation fee or not.

It depends.

We've been FiOS internet and TV customers since pretty much day one. We're moving next month to a house that's already wired for FiOS but doesn't have TV service. They had to check if certain equipment was installed in that house (I'm not sure what equipment exactly), and if it wasn't they'd have to charge us $500 to move.

Fortunately, the house was properly equipped, so no fee was involved. They did have to jump through a few hoops to get the move scheduled, though. Apparently, to their system, a move is sort of like a new account. As they're not providing FiOS TV to new customers, the rep I got was having a hard time getting our triple play contract to transfer over. We did have to reup for a new two-year contract, though. (Which is fine by me unless the TV service really degrades. It only added a year to our current deal.)

Looks like we got everything sorted out. I'll know more in mid-Sept after we move.
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post #1684 of 1813
8/15/11 at 11:05pm
As a former Cable employee in Portland for 20+ years it looks like this to me. Frontier has a serious case of buyers remorse! They are going to pull the plug on all Fios customers they can once the December anniversary is behind them and force them to take DirecTv. To even keep small clusters of Fios here and there due to unavailability of DirecTV, their preferred provider, is very cost prohibitive. Forget the programming costs the benefits of keeping a few Fios customers happy is greatly outweighed by the monetary sucking sound. Fios here will be a memory in a year or less. It is unfortunate as it is a great delivery device. If I was a Frontier customer currently, used to be, I'd vote with my feet before they try and do the hokey pokey in January and force there new "bundles" on you. Comcast is not exactly a great alternative as they remind me of the Death Star with Darth at the controls of the download speed so users like me don't get too much bandwidth but at least they are consistent. Centurylink isn't making any bones about their TV bundle choice...DirecTv and only Direct, they're not even trying to widen their pipe for video.
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post #1685 of 1813
8/15/11 at 11:12pm
I can tell you from my inside sources that Frontier is going to completely dump Fios after their December anniversary comes. It is too expensive and to even keep a token amount going is too cost prohibitive. They will bride any customer they can to switch from Fios to DirecTv that hesitates. Vote with your feet if you are a Frontier Fios customer and switch.
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post #1686 of 1813
8/16/11 at 8:13am
After March 2012, Frontier will deal with Dish only...so they'll try to make you switch to yet another provider after your DirecTV contract ends!
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post #1687 of 1813
8/16/11 at 8:16pm
America's most reliable network is down for email services. I kept getting a rejection from the POP3 server this afternoon saying my log in was incorrect. I finally called Frontier, which was intercepted by the Verizon automated voice saying there was a nation-wide outage for email and their engineers are working on the problem. No resolution estimate was given. I still can't get my email.

I have found quite a few times over the past month or so that I have to continually log back in to retrieve new email - like the connection to the POP3 is dropped. Never had this problem before but it seems like a persistent problem.
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post #1688 of 1813
8/17/11 at 7:08am
As I wrote previously, FiOS fiber is essential for delivering all 3 services: TV, Phone, and Internet.

Pulling the plug on TV may stop the hemorrhaging for programming costs, but the fiber will still be there and expected to deliver phone and internet. If they intend to fall back onto good old copper for phone and internet, they will incur even more costs backfilling to keep their customers.

In another article discussing the Verizon strike, it was mentioned that FiOS is also not cost effective for Verizon.

Perhaps all that will happen is that Verizon/Frontier will simply raise rates to cover expenses, or renegotiate programming costs with the providers.

As for the email...long ago, I severed my email provided by ISPs. Much better to use independent email services that not tied to ISP domains that seem to change every few years as marketing or company identities change.
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post #1689 of 1813
8/26/11 at 4:31pm
There was a message on the DVR saying Tennis channel will no longer be available as of September 3rd.

Any legally inclined forum members know if this can be ground for breaking the contract and getting rid of Frontier?
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post #1690 of 1813
8/26/11 at 9:50pm
Wonder if it's getting dropped for the Pac-12 channel starting next summer?
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post #1691 of 1813
8/27/11 at 8:29am
I hadn't watched the Tennis Channel much but several months ago as I was paging through the upper-500 channels, I thought when I got to the Tennis Channel it said I wasn't subscribed to it. Not a big thing for my personal viewing but I did think it odd since I recall watching a few of those "masters" matches they had on. So I knew it was in my package at one time but thought it was removed quite a while ago, not recently.
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post #1692 of 1813
8/27/11 at 12:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ridgefamus View Post

I hadn't watched the Tennis Channel much but several months ago as I was paging through the upper-500 channels, I thought when I got to the Tennis Channel it said I wasn't subscribed to it. Not a big thing for my personal viewing but I did think it odd since I recall watching a few of those "masters" matches they had on. So I knew it was in my package at one time but thought it was removed quite a while ago, not recently.

It is channel 592 (HD), and was one of the reasons I re-upped with the ultimate package. I am just wondering how many channels can Frontier remove and still claim that we are under the contract obligation for the specific "package."
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post #1693 of 1813
8/28/11 at 10:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hormoz View Post

It is channel 592 (HD), and was one of the reasons I re-upped with the ultimate package. I am just wondering how many channels can Frontier remove and still claim that we are under the contract obligation for the specific "package."

I bet if I was able to find the contract verbiage and read the whole thing I'd find a passage that says roughly we agree to changes they may make from time to time. I'm not really looking for a way out of my current 2 year deal for the triple play Extreme. Trading tennis for soccer as the only substantive change over the past ~6 months is pretty good in my book. We'll just have to see what happens down the road to other programming (that they can't afford).
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post #1694 of 1813
8/28/11 at 1:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ridgefamus View Post

Trading tennis for soccer as the only substantive change over the past ~6 months is pretty good in my book. We'll just have to see what happens down the road to other programming (that they can't afford).

No argument on trading FSC-HD with Tennis-HD. I just wonder if this is the start of a trend. BTW, I did not see any discussion of Tennis channel being dropped on the Verizon FIOS TV forum. I guess the separation from the mothership has begun!
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post #1695 of 1813
9/29/11 at 9:08am
I know this thread is basically dead right now, but a heads up for everyone, Frontier refreshed their channel lineup again yesterday.
Much like earlier in the year the channel numbers of most stations didn't actually change but favorites and all DVR series recordings for certain stations will not work.
You'll have to go in a reprogram any series recording for these stations. Easiest way to see if a series is going to be effected is to look at the series manager.
If you only see a channel number and not a station name you'll need to reprogram the series.

Last time this was rolled out over a couple of days so you may have to do this multiple times.
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post #1696 of 1813
9/29/11 at 9:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmihalik View Post

From a technology standpoint, realize that TV, Internet, and Phone are all FiOS services.

What is likely is that somehow the TV services are costing Frontier a lot more than they had planned, hence the high installation fee for new customers. The cost being either what Verizon is charging Frontier, or that Frontier is not equipped to negotiate with the various content providers.

Mike

I get that our bundled package is all FiOS but sorry Mike, I don't buy the cost angle at all. I don't know if you have Frontier or had the experiences we have had since day one but within weeks of purchasing the Verizon assets they made a deal with Dish Network to install satellite TV (in lieu of FiOS TV). This was at the exact same time they jacked the FiOS TV installation price (with or without phone and broadband) to $500.

Frontier had no interest in supporting TV to start with. They're an old school copper wire phone provider and got in way over their heads to secure Verizon's phone system. They had no experience with television or fiber optic delivery systems prior to this what-so-ever.

The $500 installation fee and attempted 50% rate hike were instituted within six months of the Verizon purchase. Costs did not skyrocket in that period of time.

As others have said, if their claim that the costs to operate FiOS TV were far greater than they expected they were either completely negligent in performing the due diligence that any company would be expected to do prior to acquisition or they are lying.

I do agree that Frontier is not equipped to negotiate with content providers or run a professional business for that matter.
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post #1697 of 1813
9/29/11 at 9:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rewdpost View Post

I know this thread is basically dead right now, but a heads up for everyone, Frontier refreshed their channel lineup again yesterday.
Much like earlier in the year the channel numbers of most stations didn't actually change but favorites and all DVR series recordings for certain stations will not work.
You'll have to go in a reprogram any series recording for these stations. Easiest way to see if a series is going to be effected is to look at the series manager.
If you only see a channel number and not a station name you'll need to reprogram the series.

Last time this was rolled out over a couple of days so you may have to do this multiple times.

TIVO is looking better and better all the time.
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post #1698 of 1813
9/29/11 at 9:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArtoriusRex View Post

TIVO is looking better and better all the time.

It's a term thrown around way too much, but having used TiVo for about 10 years now...I can tell you that it is awesome.
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post #1699 of 1813
9/29/11 at 10:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by richsadams View Post

It's a term thrown around way too much, but having used TiVo for about 10 years now...I can tell you that it is awesome.

After our latest round of DVR STB hassles with the Frontier folks, we're sick of the current DVR offerings and their lack of understanding of what people actually want.

We're going to switch to TIVO as soon as we're able even though the net cost is going to be a few dollars more each month.
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post #1700 of 1813
9/29/11 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rewdpost View Post

I know this thread is basically dead right now, but a heads up for everyone, Frontier refreshed their channel lineup again yesterday.
Much like earlier in the year the channel numbers of most stations didn't actually change but favorites and all DVR series recordings for certain stations will not work.
You'll have to go in a reprogram any series recording for these stations. Easiest way to see if a series is going to be effected is to look at the series manager.
If you only see a channel number and not a station name you'll need to reprogram the series.

Last time this was rolled out over a couple of days so you may have to do this multiple times.

Thanks for the note. Now I know why I lost most of the Favorites last night. Of course shouldn't expect any mention of it from Frontier, including DVR message!
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post #1701 of 1813
9/30/11 at 7:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by richsadams View Post

I get that our bundled package is all FiOS but sorry Mike, I don't buy the cost angle at all. ...

I do agree that Frontier is not equipped to negotiate with content providers or run a professional business for that matter.

No need to agree, as it is only my opinion.

I too have been with FiOS since the first day it was offered in my neighborhood. I am a happy customer, but am concerned about the future. Yes, I have seen the satellite promotions. You'll know things have gone downhill completely if/when they partner with Comcast for TV.

I did speak and correspond with the Oregon Frontier general manager. His assurances are perhaps only worth what replying to my email and answering my phone call cost. Definitely not a contract or guarantee that FiOS TV will continue forever.

Due diligence lacking? Perhaps.

In any case, if they were making money hand-over-fist, we wouldn't be speculating about the future, would we?

Again, I plan to continue with FiOS until the bits stop flowing. I monitor the Comcast threads, and all is not rosy there, either. And neither Dish nor DirecTV can deliver the same quality service as FiOS. Internet TV? Not yet.

Yes, I will miss FiOS TV if it ever shuts down in the area.

On a related note, I also am disappointed that Frontier has not enabled the Internet services with the premium channels -- e.g. unable to get access to HBO2GO, TNT, and other similar services. Yes, Verizon FiOS TV subscribers can get these, but not Frontier subscribers.

In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy what they are able to deliver.

Mike
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post #1702 of 1813
9/30/11 at 7:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rewdpost View Post

I know this thread is basically dead right now, but a heads up for everyone, Frontier refreshed their channel lineup again yesterday.
Much like earlier in the year the channel numbers of most stations didn't actually change but favorites and all DVR series recordings for certain stations will not work.
You'll have to go in a reprogram any series recording for these stations. Easiest way to see if a series is going to be effected is to look at the series manager.
If you only see a channel number and not a station name you'll need to reprogram the series.

Last time this was rolled out over a couple of days so you may have to do this multiple times.

Which channels? I just checked mine, and all seem to be OK, and recorded as expected.
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post #1703 of 1813
9/30/11 at 9:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmihalik View Post

Which channels? I just checked mine, and all seem to be OK, and recorded as expected.

USA, Spike, Food Network, History, Travel Channel, Bravo, all the ESPN networks. Probably quite a few more too. Basically it seemed to be most of the non-network stations.
It happened once before and people saw the changes roll out through the region over a few days. I think last time they also did 2 waves up updates to the channel information so you had to do the whole process at least twice.

It might just be worth keeping an eye on if you notice some shows not recording or your favorites list isn't looking right.
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post #1704 of 1813
9/30/11 at 7:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArtoriusRex View Post

TIVO is looking better and better all the time.

I had a problem with one of my TiVos, where the CableCARD seemed to be defective. Frontier couldn't reinitialize it over the phone, but they showed up the next day with a new card. It worked! So, there are still some people at Frontier who are competent and are willing to support TV / TiVo, regardless of how bad things look overall.

If you buy a TiVo, you will be able to use it for Comcast, should FiOS ever go away. However, not for Dish or DirecTV.
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post #1705 of 1813
9/30/11 at 9:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantom Gremlin View Post

I had a problem with one of my TiVos, where the CableCARD seemed to be defective. Frontier couldn't reinitialize it over the phone, but they showed up the next day with a new card. It worked! So, there are still some people at Frontier who are competent and are willing to support TV / TiVo, regardless of how bad things look overall.

If you buy a TiVo, you will be able to use it for Comcast, should FiOS ever go away. However, not for Dish or DirecTV.

Well, there is the new DirecTV TiVo coming out very soon but yes the regular TiVo's work with just about everyone besides satellite.
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post #1706 of 1813
10/1/11 at 6:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmihalik View Post

No need to agree, as it is only my opinion.

I too have been with FiOS since the first day it was offered in my neighborhood. I am a happy customer, but am concerned about the future. Yes, I have seen the satellite promotions. You'll know things have gone downhill completely if/when they partner with Comcast for TV.

I did speak and correspond with the Oregon Frontier general manager. His assurances are perhaps only worth what replying to my email and answering my phone call cost. Definitely not a contract or guarantee that FiOS TV will continue forever.

Due diligence lacking? Perhaps.

In any case, if they were making money hand-over-fist, we wouldn't be speculating about the future, would we?

Again, I plan to continue with FiOS until the bits stop flowing. I monitor the Comcast threads, and all is not rosy there, either. And neither Dish nor DirecTV can deliver the same quality service as FiOS. Internet TV? Not yet.

Yes, I will miss FiOS TV if it ever shuts down in the area.

On a related note, I also am disappointed that Frontier has not enabled the Internet services with the premium channels -- e.g. unable to get access to HBO2GO, TNT, and other similar services. Yes, Verizon FiOS TV subscribers can get these, but not Frontier subscribers.

In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy what they are able to deliver.

Mike

Agreed. It's just that after spending some time researching Frontier's CEO Maggie Wilderotter's work history as well as statements she made prior and subsequent to acquiring Verizon's business I hold out little hope for their long-term success. Nothing she or any of her executives have said or done since the acquisition have indicated that they understand the business much less know how to grow it.

The "front-line" folks are ex-Verizon and still understand and care about what they built so that's one saving grace. However in the long run nothing Frontier has done should give anyone any warm fuzzies about their future.
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post #1707 of 1813
11/2/11 at 9:19am
I need some help troubleshooting an audio problem I've been having. I get frequent audio drops of about 1 - 2 seconds occurring about every 8 - 10 minutes. The most recent episodes were on Mon. evening starting when we were watching news on KGW 508 from 5pm - 6pm and then on the Mon. Night Football on ESPN 570. It appeared again last evening on KGW during the 5 - 5:30pm news. It's very annoying.

I switched over to KGW on my OTA feed to determine if this was a source issue (should not be since I got the same issue on KGW and ESPN). As I suspected there were no dropouts during my OTA session. I switched back to my 7216 and got no drops for the rest of the newscasts. Since it doesn't always happen it's very hard to pinpoint the cause. I use the optical out for audio to my receiver so I guess it could lie in that chain. I only use the HDMI out for the video direct to my TV.

My own suspicion is that the problem is with bad sectors of the 7216's hard drive. But before I go through extensive cable swapping or go to Frontier, I thought I'd ask the community whether they had experienced any similar audio issues with the Frontier signal. If it lies in what they send down the FiOS pipe then they have a bigger issue and getting a new box won't solve mine. So am I alone with this problem?

TIA
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post #1708 of 1813
11/2/11 at 9:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ridgefamus View Post

I need some help troubleshooting an audio problem I've been having. I get frequent audio drops of about 1 - 2 seconds occurring about every 8 - 10 minutes. The most recent episodes were on Mon. evening starting when we were watching news on KGW 508 from 5pm - 6pm and then on the Mon. Night Football on ESPN 570. It appeared again last evening on KGW during the 5 - 5:30pm news. It's very annoying.

I switched over to KGW on my OTA feed to determine if this was a source issue (should not be since I got the same issue on KGW and ESPN). As I suspected there were no dropouts during my OTA session. I switched back to my 7216 and got no drops for the rest of the newscasts. Since it doesn't always happen it's very hard to pinpoint the cause. I use the optical out for audio to my receiver so I guess it could lie in that chain. I only use the HDMI out for the video direct to my TV.

My own suspicion is that the problem is with bad sectors of the 7216's hard drive. But before I go through extensive cable swapping or go to Frontier, I thought I'd ask the community whether they had experienced any similar audio issues with the Frontier signal. If it lies in what they send down the FiOS pipe then they have a bigger issue and getting a new box won't solve mine. So am I alone with this problem?

TIA

Funny you should mention this...we experienced the same problem with audio drop-outs on KGW News the last couple of evenings. We have TiVo. So I don't think it's anything on your end...just a bug on Frontier's side.

I haven't experienced it since on any other channels, so I'd chalk it up to "one of those things".
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post #1709 of 1813
11/3/11 at 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by richsadams View Post

Funny you should mention this...we experienced the same problem with audio drop-outs on KGW News the last couple of evenings. We have TiVo. So I don't think it's anything on your end...just a bug on Frontier's side.

I haven't experienced it since on any other channels, so I'd chalk it up to "one of those things".

Yeah, I hate when that happens. Thx
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post #1710 of 1813
11/3/11 at 12:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by richsadams View Post

Funny you should mention this...we experienced the same problem with audio drop-outs on KGW News the last couple of evenings. We have TiVo. So I don't think it's anything on your end...just a bug on Frontier's side.

I haven't experienced it since on any other channels, so I'd chalk it up to "one of those things".

We get this a lot on Bravo HD too.
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