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More reasons to hate Time warner! modem lease fee start Oct. 15!

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    1. User has not uploaded an avatar
      SlopeDuder

      getting it
      Joined: Jan '10
      Posts: 160

      As of Oct. 15, an INTERNET MODEM LEASE FEE will be applied to Time Warner Cable provided Internet modems at a rate of $3.95 per month. If you would like to use your own modem, visit twc.com/approveddevices for a list of approved modems.

      http://consumerist.com/2012/10/03/time-warner-cable-tells-customers-oh-by-the-way-you-now-have-a-monthly-modem-rental-fee/

      Got my notice yesterday. Well I'm not paying these thieves $3.95 a month so I want to pick up a SB6141 which is supposed to be the superior of the 2 DOCSIS 3 modems, but no one seems to have it in stock! Thanks Thief Warner Cable!

      edit: just got it on amazon, only 8 left!

      # Posted 7 mos ago
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      Peanuts

      above average
      Joined: Nov '07
      Posts: 577

      I spoke to a friend of mine at work who has Comcast because Comcast has always charged for the modem. She used to have her own but then switched to renting one from Comcast on the advice of a tech person - he had said when you don't use theirs everytime you have a problem they blame the modem. Not to defend TW, but I understand all the other cable companies have been doing this for quite some time.

      Peanuts
      # Posted 7 mos ago
    3. User has not uploaded an avatar
      SlopeDuder

      getting it
      Joined: Jan '10
      Posts: 160

      Eh, they can blame the modem all they want. I can lie too -- hey I tested it with 3 different modems! Same problem!

      Also, I just checked the modem I have now -- DOCSIS 1! At least I know I'll have DOCSIS 3.

      # Posted 7 mos ago
    4. User has not uploaded an avatar
      Peanuts

      above average
      Joined: Nov '07
      Posts: 577

      All true SD but I don't care to sit there arguing with them. When I first saw the story I was pissed but less so when I realize other cable companies have been doing this for quite some time. My choice is not to purchase a modem but that's a personal choice (who knows - I may change my mind later down the road).

      Peanuts
      # Posted 7 mos ago
    5. turtle95
      turtle95

      think about it first
      Joined: Jan '07
      Posts: 299

      I got my own modem a few months ago but still had a rental because I didn't bother to turn it in. When I got the postcard I was pissed. But I went today to turn it in and it only took 45 minutes! (that was sarcastic)

      # Posted 7 mos ago
    6. User has not uploaded an avatar
      SlopeDuder

      getting it
      Joined: Jan '10
      Posts: 160

      turtle95 said:
      I got my own modem a few months ago but still had a rental because I didn't bother to turn it in. When I got the postcard I was pissed. But I went today to turn it in and it only took 45 minutes! (that was sarcastic)

      Care to share why you bought your own months ago? Was it just the low quality/DOCSIS versions of the TW modems that was causing you a problem?

      # Posted 7 mos ago
    7. turtle95
      turtle95

      think about it first
      Joined: Jan '07
      Posts: 299

      I bought my own a few months ago because the one TWC had given me died. It was a pretty cheap modem and it just stopped working.

      They said if I wanted to swap it out they had to have a tech come out and I couldn't get an appointment until a week and a half later so I asked if I could buy my own and they said sure. They just didn't tell me that it would take six days to get my own modem activated and I had to call them 8 times before they finally provisioned it.

      # Posted 7 mos ago
    8. kosherdave
      kosherdave

      The Kosherist
      Joined: Jan '06
      Posts: 1,036

      I have TW Roadrunner. My modem from them is about 4 years old (well, it might be older, I've had it 4 years). Would a new modem be "better" in terms of improving speed or quality on streaming movies? I use a 3 year old apple timecapsule as my router, if that matters.

      # Posted 7 mos ago
    9. User has not uploaded an avatar
      SlopeDuder

      getting it
      Joined: Jan '10
      Posts: 160

      kosherdave said:
      I have TW Roadrunner. My modem from them is about 4 years old (well, it might be older, I've had it 4 years). Would a new modem be "better" in terms of improving speed or quality on streaming movies? I use a 3 year old apple timecapsule as my router, if that matters.

      Well, that is the $130 question, and that is what I am hoping for. I'll let you know, my modem is supposed to be activated by today or tomorrow. According to some searching I've done, (here for example), it might very well improve the stability and speed of your connection IF you are connected to a DOCSIS 3.0 backbone. Of course if your router is crap too that might just negate any benefits anyway. (I use a Linksys E300 router with Tomato firmware -- you can really monitor and tune your traffic with QOS, built in VPN for travel, really cool stuff.)

      I have standard internet which is supposed to be 10mbps down/1mbps up, and my major problem is that I never get above above 500kbps up. This is really painful when trying to back up my files off site to skydrive, etc. so I really have nothing to lose taking the gamble, and I should be able to notice any improvement from the docsis 3 modem.

      # Posted 7 mos ago
    10. booklaw
      booklaw

      admin
      Joined: Nov '07
      Posts: 2,409

      I recently paid TW a small fortune to upgrade my Roadrunner account to 50 mbps. They installed a huge new modem (Arris TG852G), and their installer had some difficulty getting it initialized or provisioned or whatever.

      It now works fine with my apple airport extreme, but the thought of buying my own modem and trying to get it working without a TW installer involved is simply too frightening to contemplate. Also, the $150 +/- it would cost to purchase my own modem would take about three years to amortize at the monthly rate of $4.00 that TW will now charge, and I figure I may want to replace it with the next new thing sooner than 3 years.

      # Posted 7 mos ago
    11. User has not uploaded an avatar
      SlopeDuder

      getting it
      Joined: Jan '10
      Posts: 160

      Well my new modem just got activated.

      Last Result:
      Download Speed: 9853 kbps (1231.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
      Upload Speed: 1039 kbps (129.9 KB/sec transfer rate)

      This is a little over double the upload I used to get so I am happy.
      RE: cost, I can always sell it if I want to upgrade in the future, but Time Warner is SO SLOW to upgrade to the newest standards , I will probably die before they upgrade their network to handle any successor to DOCSIS 3, (which there isn't yet, nothing is even specced.)

      # Posted 7 mos ago
    12. User has not uploaded an avatar
      SlopeDuder

      getting it
      Joined: Jan '10
      Posts: 160

      http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/time-warner-cable-sued-modem-scam-article-1.1201649

      Time Warner Cable sued for modem ‘scam’
      Time Warner was zapped with two class-action lawsuits that could affect 15 million customers Tuesday over its decision to charge a $3.95 monthly 'lease' fee for modems.

      more here http://consumerist.com/2012/11/13/two-class-action-suits-filed-over-time-warner-cables-modem-rental-fee/

      # Posted 6 mos ago
    13. steveo
      steveo

      getting it
      Joined: Dec '05
      Posts: 199

      What will stop them from saying, "okay, never mind" and just raising the regular monthly rate by $4?

      # Posted 6 mos ago
    14. User has not uploaded an avatar
      SlopeDuder

      getting it
      Joined: Jan '10
      Posts: 160

      steveo said:
      What will stop them from saying, "okay, never mind" and just raising the regular monthly rate by $4?

      Then they wouldn't get kickbacks from Motorola for recommending their expensive modems!

      I'm sure they had many a meetings about rental fee vs $4 monthy rate increase and chose the rental fee because they could defend it with "everyone else does it."
      Plus $$$ from modem manufacturers for recommending their modems for purchase.

      # Posted 6 mos ago
    15. User has not uploaded an avatar
      MW11215

      getting it
      Joined: Sep '09
      Posts: 88

      and the reasons continue to pile up:

      http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8916606

      # Posted 5 mos ago
    16. User has not uploaded an avatar
      SlopeDuder

      getting it
      Joined: Jan '10
      Posts: 160

      MW11215 said:
      and the reasons continue to pile up:

      http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8916606

      Well that seems it was one dude who called the police on his own volition, i cant blame TWC for that. But... why is she here illegally and have an expectation to not be sent back? If I were found to be living illegally in Mexico and was found out, would I expect them to say "oh ok no problemo!" No, I'd expect I'd be sent on my merry way. So what is all the hub bub I don't get it, please enlighten me.

      # Posted 5 mos ago

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