[cypherstream]

In the Comcast region next to mine, starting this week there are NO MORE DISCONNECTS. That's right. Every home that's ever had cable will have an active drop. They went mostly digital. Only the OTA channels remain in analog, and the thinking is that since they are available on OTA anyway, the revenue loss negates the price to roll a truck. There will be huge increases in self install kits, either picked up at retail locations or shipped.
This is in the Comcast Philly metro and suburbs area, known as the "freedom region". Our regional tech VP in the next market over where I am said, this is indeed the plan eventually. My area is not all digital yet so we can't do it for a few months. So what do you all think? Besides the loss in jobs? What about the node health, ingress issues? I think its going to fail. In a few months or year down the road, there are going to be leaks from customer homes that will need addressed anyway. What about the self install where the customer puts a bunch of 4-way's at the demarc and hooks some up backwards? I just don't think its a great idea.

Sure there's addressable tap systems out there, but that's not great either. In high churn area's in Philly they have some, and people have figured out how to get around it if the tap is not in a lock box. Plus the extra setup and how touchy they are. What about noise canceling tap plates? Do they really work?

I just think nothing beats an old fashioned truck roll for disconnects and installs. My opinion, in a year or two later they will go back to truck rolls.

[theotherguy]

get ready to work some noise.
I hope u have a good CLI program.

[olo131]

So what do you all think? Besides the loss in jobs? What about the node health, ingress issues? I think its going to fail. In a few months or year down the road, there are going to be leaks from customer homes that will need addressed anyway.

What a bad Idea NO DICSO's. Just because your all digital ingress and/or egress dose not go away.

What about the self install where the customer puts a bunch of 4-way's at the demarc and hooks some up backwards? I just don't think its a great idea.

Now here is another bad Idea..... If 80% of service calls are customer related why would you let them do a self install sounds like a truck roll anyway, Unless there is a fee which is a way for the Cable co to generate revenue.

Just my thoughts
olo131

[System Tech Senior]

Horrible Idea. I can't believe this is coming from one of the top 3 too.. Big no no..

[Dak]

Horrible Idea. I can't believe this is coming from one of the top 3 too.. Big no no..

"Sigh"

Another back in the day lesson learned story.

When I was a tech, we decided that demarcation boxes would be
a great ideal. No more pole climbing or pedestal hunting for
disconnects. And the sales staff could now do their own installs, so
it freed up some of the time for the technicians. So we hired
some contractors to come in and install a box on every house that
had ever had service.

The problems started because no one no longer looked at the poles
anymore, so all that routine maintenance that a tech would normally
do at the pole during a reconnect never got done. Leakage sky rocketed
and customers were reconnected by sales staff who had no tools
or training on how to fix a drop problem, leaving a real shitty first
impression. Not to mention the increase in sales related service calls.
In those days we had no full active reverse except on runs that had
institutional channels. These had long ago been repressed with reverse
filters on every drop in those particular runs. The demarcation boxes also
made it a snap for the customer to steal service. These boxes just made it
easy for the lazy techs. They would do a reconnect and run. Most often the
customer would call in with a complaint, instead of the tech, who should
have got his butt up the pole and fixed the problems.

Eventually the problems were fixed after a rebuild was done. Each
and every drop was evaluated and replaced, and because of the full
active reverse, the tools were available to monitor and fix leakage and
ingress as they occurred. The demarcation boxes were pitched. This by
the way was long after I had left that system. When we came in to
rebuild this system, they had a flyover leakage test performed. The system
failed everywhere except in the portions where we had had finished the
rebuild and drop swaps. (We repaired all drop problems at the pole as
part of the rebuild. Mostly squirrel chews and corroded connectors.)

The lesson was that if no one is looking at the plant, no one is fixing
the plant. As long as this industry is going to stick with an HFC architecture,
then it is going to need to keep up the high level of maintenance that it
requires.

In the case of this Comcast system, it will still have to run on every
ingress and leakage problem. By leaving the OTA's on the system,
it will just encourage the non-customer to mess with the drop so that
they won't have to mess with an antenna. Time will tell.

Dak

This post has been edited by Dak: 08 February 2010 - 07:35 AM

[System Tech Senior]

Agreed Dak..

[Forbins]

When i started 10 years ago we filtered every non digital customer at the pole, and if they had digital service we would scan and filter every non digital line in the house. Life was good, then a few years later they decided to go filterless so that customer's can do their own installs. Well we all thought it was a horrible idea and i believe we were right. Now we're spending way too much time chasing down ingress. I'm wondering if this idea paid off in their big picture?

[olo131]

Dak For President

The man speak with wisdom and a willingness to see the big picture.......For this reason I cast my vote to Dak For President


olo131

[Dak]

Dak For President

The man speak with wisdom and a willingness to see the big picture.......For this reason I cast my vote to Dak For President


olo131

OK ...OK...I'll stop all the speechifying!

Dak

[System Tech Senior]

I think olo is in love.. You two need a room?

[Dak]

I think olo is in love.. You two need a room?

Holy Moly, again with the man love. STS, quit reading your Playgirl! ROTFFLMAO!

Dak

[christopher]

disconnects? .......whats that?.... lol
i love addressable units! :)

[System Tech Senior]

Addressable units doesn't disconnect someone.

[christopher]

Addressable units doesn't disconnect someone.

just a keystroke from the office.

[System Tech Senior]

That just turns the box off from the DAC (Digital Addressable Controller) The drop is still connected. You sure you work in cable Christopher?

[christopher]

That just turns the box off from the DAC (Digital Addressable Controller) The drop is still connected. You sure you work in cable Christopher?

well i did today anyways.....lol

our interdiction unit is a little different than an addressable tap.
when its disconnected (turned off). it cannot backfeed any trash back into the system. no need to disconnect the drop.

[System Tech Senior]

You're on crack.. If that drop is connected shit can get back into the plant. Voltage from a faulty outlet can take over our ground, bare wire can touch a cable outlet, basic TV can have a hot chassis, loose f con, do I need to go on?

[christopher]

you ever worked in a system with interdiction units. doesnt sound like it.
if that port is turned off......im telling you nothing is getting back!

[lineman69]

We tried do customer install internet didn't take long to learn that you would roll a tech on every one of those. There is too much that can go wrong with never having a tech go out and check the drop whether a disconnect or a reconnect. But with us we will still have to roll a tech on disconnects our company is going to use open qam so if you have a digital tuner you get tv. And as for addressable taps been there done that nothing but a headache from the start.

[System Tech Senior]

Addressable taps are a pain. Too many problems with them and they do not stop all noise from getting back into the plant. I do give credit that it reduces it, but they do not completely stop it.