I had assumed the lawsuits would ultimately kill Vonage… And while they still might, as part of our moving prep, I made the decision to proactively kill service. My 2.5 years with them has been somewhat rocky, including poor customer service and call quality issues. Complaints from folks on the other end of the line is what finally led me to this decision.
In Vonage’s defense, I’ve really appreciated the voicemail->email feature and their pricing was extremely competitive. However, our multiple cell phones and SkypeOut should be sufficient going forward. If not, for the first time in years, we’ll consider going back to a reliable Verizon landline.
In other home service changes, I finally got around to having Comcast provide an M-Card for the bedroom TiVo HD. Though, I got a bit testy when informed CableCARD installs (still) require a ($20) truckroll in my area and next availability would be two weeks later… The squeaky wheel gets the grease and they ultimately serviced me next business day and waived the fee. The fee doesn’t bother me, sitting at home waiting around for a technician does. Especially, when he ended up hanging out with me about an hour while on hold to activate the card. There’s got to be a better way.
No FiOS in your new neighborhood?
We looked at several apartment complexes and the one we ended up in doesn’t have FiOS TV yet. Though, we do have a balcony facing southwest – I may take a colleague up on an offer to have Dish installed (in my home office) and keep Comcast (TiVo units) in the living room and bedroom.
I just got a TiVo HD and was able to pick up the M-Card at the local office no problem. Sucks you had to wait. There’s absolutely nothing that a tech needs to do that any person can’t easily do themselves.
Dave, you guys (Sling) get free Dish service now that you are part of the same company?
Ivan, no Sling employee discounts or free service at this time. Who knows what could happen in the future though. However, I may have an internal hookup. ;)
Chris, it’s like you and I always say – Comcast should standardize nationally on what they offer, how much they charge, etc.
I had almost the exact same experience with Charter when I got my M-Card. The tech didn’t know what it was though so I had to walk him through how to install it…
I agree with Dave, that Comcast should standardize their services nationwide. In Seattle, I was able to pick up my M-Card and call Comcast Tech Support to activate it.
BTW, I have an S-Card (Sony DHG-HDD250) and adding the M-Card (TiVo HD) only added $1.79 to my bill! (The first card was free)
Well, at least you guys can get HD programming. The cable company in my apartment complex pulls cable signal from Dish (no box for analog, but uses Dish receiver for digital cable) and can’t even tell us when we’ll get HD. Can’t install satellite due to apartment location so have to resort to OTA HD :(
I just called yesterday about getting U-verse where I live. The Death Star’s storm trooper…err…I mean AT&T customer service person said it wasn’t available in my area.
Does anyone in here know what hardware U-verse uses? Is it like a cable box? Just wondering since there isn’t any info on att’s web site.
You who can pick up your own cards – consider yourself lucky.
My friend just had to order two S-cards (no M-cards here yet) for her new TiVoHD from TWC. And it requires a truck roll. And a two week wait.
Ridiculous!
In earthquake country, you’re pretty much insane to go with anything but a landline. Plus, you gotta admit, it’s probably been the most reliable device (the landline phone) ever invented (that and UHF/VHF tv).
Hard to argue with something that just works.
TWC in the Dallas area told me I could pick up a cablecard over the phone. When I went to the sales center to pick it up over lunch, I was turned away and told they don’t give them out to customers anymore, due to customers breaking the cards. So, I wasted half my lunch break and had to schedule a truck roll. They come tomorrow, we’ll see if they bring an M-card or two S-cards for my brand new TiVo HD.
Todd…we have U-verse, and it’s just like a cable box. The DVR and regular boxes are exactly the same, except for the hard drive and probably the software they’re running. Both boxes support HD. They connect to the residential gateway (from 2-wire) either through HPNA through the coax, or by ethernet.
I believe U-verse uses Motorola boxes.
> Theres got to be a better way.
There is: competent installers and CSRs. My initial CableCard setup (2 “S” cards because they didn’t have “M”s yet) was a four-day, six-card, ninety-minutes-at-home-with-a-tech nightmare. My “M” card? Once I convinced my local Comcast office that despite what they thought they were told, it would indeed work in a TiVo HD, it was a 20-minute phone call when I got home that night.
Truck roll to install a cable card? Here in Shoreline Washington and serviced by Comcast Seattle the customer can do the CC install themselves and the 2 cards for my TiVo HD only costs $1.79. I do have 2 SD cable boxes.
Nice blog! Keep up the good work.
Another consideration is a “wireless landline” service like Verizon’s “Home Phone Connect” service. It doesn’t require a broadband connection, and is $20 per month unlimited local and long distance.
Imagine a Vonage box with an antenna instead of a network connection. The antenna connects the box to Verizon’s cellular network, so all calls are effectively cellular calls, except they are made from your home phones.
A friend of mine signed up for this service, and he’s very satisfied saying that the call quality is comparable to a good cell connection.
We’re leaning toward Vonage, but this is definitely an interesting alternative.