Fios if you can get it is the way to go. Hated Comcast & there customer service is a joke.

on 3/21 the city is holding a hearing to "renegotiate" Comcast's service contract to JC. Personally I'd love to see them gone and replaced with Cablevision (or even Time Warner). not sure if that much of a change is on the table, but apparently all are invited to come and express their thoughts.

I saw this on the City's FB page.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/city ... ty-hall/10150660223334437

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Verizon has a partnership with DirectTV. When you are in an area that doesn't have fiber, you get DSL with a Dish.

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I would call them and ask. I checked yesterday and it said the same for me, but I know my upstairs neighbors have it. When I called, there was a glitch in the system and my addressed had not been entered correctly. FIOS was indeed available.

I'm switching and getting more premium channels than I had with Comcast and still saving $35/month.

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Not sure why Verizon is directing you to a competitor. What happened when you clicked on FIOS TV ? FIOS all around is a great deal, it can't be beat.

I want to switch to FIOS too, and when I typed in my address on the verizon website, I see they only offer DirectTV (along with internet and phone) - does that mean I need to install the dish on my roof / somewhere? Is this what everyone is using? Is there another, perhaps, better option? I also see "FIOS TV" and I'm wondering if thats the best.

I dropped comcast a few years ago, just doing Netflix and clear now which is 47.99 a month. pretty good set up. :)

I do ! I switched to FIOS 2 years ago when Comcast couldn't find my new place. That office on Kennedy is a disaster and a dump. The FIOS office at 30 Montgomery is clean and bright and they answer your questions in a professional manner. While waiting your turn in the Comcast office you felt as though you were on a cheese line begging for for your last meal. Most of all the service and variety that FIOS offers is excellent there are so many channels on their bare bones basic package along with the free DVR so you can tailor your programs according to your schedule.

From what I read they're not expanding outside their network now. So if Verizon is in your area, they'll hook you up.. They are not going into new markets.

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MDM said:
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Not sure where you heard, or read, that. FiOS is definitely expanding all over JC and the tri-state area. My building just got outfitted with FiOS recently and subscriber sign-ups took place over the weekend and on Monday.

I am scheduled to get my service installed and enabled this week.

I am SO happy to get rid of Comcast. I am paying through the nose for really sub par service. I will get immense pleasure when I call them to cancel, especially if they ask me why I am canceling the service.

From what I have read, Verizon has stopped expanding the FIOS network. Instead Verizon is putting its focus on expanding its wireless services.

I had an awful time with Comcast: outages, billing errors, and the worst costumer service ever. I switched to Fios, and was immediately inundated with calls and sweet deal offers from Comcast. I told one saleslady, "look, if I'd gotten half of this attention when I was actually a Comcast customer, I wouldn't have switched." There was silence on the other end, before she sighed and said, "I hear that a lot."

This business model should simply be killed off in favor of a more consumer friendly model like utilities, because it is a utility. We should pay a bandwidth charge, and a content charge, instead of being shackled to whoever pays off the city. Bandwidth is a separate service than content. Comcast should have to compete against content competitors like Verizon, Netflix & Amazon for each customer, and against FIOS for bandwidth service separate from the rest of the package. Maybe then people who want HGTV but not ESPN, or who want HBO but not any other cable, can get what they pay for.

i switched to fios...i had nonstop problems with comcast and lots of lag between switching channels, the guide never working, and horrible customer service.

I dislike the fact that I have to complain every six months just so I can stay on the same "promotion" and not have my rates rise even higher.

honestly, Comcast is better than Time Warner, and about equal with Optimum. But I still hate them, simply for the fact that they have a monopoly over us. Local cable monopolies are the dumbest god damn thing and I don't understand why they still exist.

Are you happy with your cable?
City about to renegotiate with Comcast; wants resident input
by E. Assata Wright
Reporter staff writer
Mar 04, 2012 | 404 views | 0 | 0 | |

The city will this month begin renegotiating its cable franchise agreement with Comcast.


Are Jersey City residents getting all they can from their local cable TV provider? This is one of the many questions local officials and residents will start asking this month as the city begins to evaluate its current franchise agreement with Comcast.

In 1998, the city signed a 15-year local franchise agreement with Comcast to supply cable service to Jersey City residents. This agreement expires May 13, 2013, but the city is required by law to file a report this May 13 that evaluates Comcast?s service and details the future cable needs of residents. This report will be filed with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

As a first step in this process, the city is asking residents to come to a special public hearing at City Hall on Wednesday, March 21 at 6 p.m. Residents will be asked to discuss their experiences with Comcast and which services they?d like to see from their local cable provider in the future.

More than a few residents will probably express an interest in seeing a greater penetration of Verizon?s FIOS network, which already has a franchise agreement with the state of New Jersey and is not required to negotiate agreements with individual cities. Thus, residents can avoid Comcast and subscribe to Verizon, but only if the neighborhood has been wired with the company?s fiber optic technology.

While Jersey City could grant another long-term franchise agreement to Comcast, city officials might try to get services and other commitments from the company that were not included in the 1998 contract.

One sticking point could be whether the city is able to keep channel one, known as Jersey City 1 TV, a station dedicated to municipal government meetings and city news. A city official said that Comcast may want the channel back.

__________

On March 21 residents will be asked to discuss their experiences with Comcast.

__________

Cable concessions

Despite its size, Jersey City was one of the last cities in New Jersey to get cable service, according to City Clerk Robert Byrne. He estimated that the city signed its first cable franchise agreement with Comcast in the late 1980s. For decades, the company was the only cable game in town.

?When we renegotiated the contract in 1998 we negotiated for a PEG (public education and government) channel, and that is Jersey City 1,? said Byrne. ?We want to hang on to Jersey City 1 because we have a brand. But Comcast wants to capture [channel one] for its own purposes. So, this is guaranteed to be an issue in this renegotiation.?

Jersey City 1, also known as JC 1 TV, broadcasts the city?s public meetings, the show ?Teen Talk,? and cultural events across the city. While some residents have been critical of the narrow range of programming, most seem to agree that residents should have access to a municipal channel for Jersey City issues.

Jersey City 1 TV is only available to Comcast customers and cannot be accessed by Verizon, DirecTV, or Dish Network customers.

Under its 1998 agreement with the city, Comcast also agreed to provide equipment, training, and support to get JC 1 up and running.

Since Comcast uses public infrastructure ? such as utility poles ? and public right of ways for its equipment, it pays the city a 2 percent fee from its annual gross revenues from local subscribers. Last year Jersey received approximately $626,000 in fees from Comcast, Byrne said.

The city also received about $550,000 in fees from Verizon, which has been building its fiber optic FIOS network in Jersey City over the last few years.

New player could affect community demands

According to Byrne, there are only a limited number of circumstances that would allow the city to deny a franchise renewal to Comcast: if the company hasn?t complied with its 1998 agreement; if Comcast?s service is poor; if Comcast lacks the financial or legal capacity to deliver service in the future; or if the company is unable to meet the future needs of the community.

Given Verizon?s penetration of the Jersey City market, some residents might argue that it is better suited to meet the needs and interests of the community ? particularly in the area of WiFi service. The city could theoretically make a franchise agreement with Verizon, but only if the city can meet the criteria to deny Comcast a renewal.

?Until Verizon came along, the people of Jersey City had no choice for cable television,? Byrne said. ?Now at least they have a choice. But Verizon didn?t come to the communities. It went to the state and got a statewide franchise.?

In 2006 the state legislature approved a law that allowed companies to seek statewide cable franchise licenses from Trenton, rather than having to get these licenses from individual municipalities. The measure ? which was signed into law by then-Gov. Jon Corzine and was specifically written to help Verizon ? streamlines the cable franchise approval process. But critics maintain that it allows companies to bypass local governments and limits the amount of local programming available to customers.

This fact, cable companies argue, is proof that communities are more likely to have their local needs met by them rather than Verizon.

?Local franchising works. It has been an effective method for communities to work with providers to ensure that local cable-related needs and interests are addressed,? said Comcast spokesman Jeff Alexander. ?The process is time-proven and it allows all parties to sit at the table with each other and discuss matters that are meaningful to the local area.?


Read more: Hudson Reporter - Are you happy with your cable City about to renegotiate with Comcast wants resident input
http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_s ... ce=lead_story_left_column

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Hahaha.

I would have probably explained the problem but people like you shouldn't have access to cable news. Good luck trying to figure things out. I hope your job is outsourced.

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Nice xenophobic comment jerk. It seems your stuck in the past, why the hell do you have cable when you can get netflix, a blu ray dvd play that supports netflix, and a good outdoor antenna, and bam! Entertainment for a fraction of the price.

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You mean the mail to get a little digital box for all the other TV's mail. Just do it. We did it. No hassle. No problems.

Try having Cablevision and losing the Monster channel.

Hi... its Friday night at 9:28.

Something happened earlier tonight.

All of a sudden, I lost like all of my good channels. And now I am going from channel 63 to 101.

I tried doing customer service online but got stuck in an internet BOT loop asking a billion questions.

Finally called and was told "Service Disruption".

MY ASS. Comcast has been sending me mail to "upgrade" and get all new boxes lately.

Are YOU having issues with disappearing channels on Comcast?

If this is not resolved I am going to just cancel and get the free digital channels on the Air.

Plus... sorry, what is left is like half Spanish and Chinese. Hello... English only... Learn the language folks. If comcast wants to cut channels... Cut things regular folks can't understand.

Thanks.

FG

Comcast worked fine here throughout the storm.

I woke up and had no phone, cable or Internet. Then when I came home early this afternoon it was back on. Then it went out again late this afternoon. I called Comcast and was told that the system signal reset itself, which is what they always tell me when my Internet goes out. I just had to unscrew the cable from the modem and screw it back in. Sometimes I have to take the battery out and put it back in.

Yes, I know there is a lot of hate for Comcast around here and there are lots of things I do hate about them, but my service has been fine all day today.

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I would NEVER defend Comcast because they BLOW, but we live over by Grove Street and had TV, Cable and internet service all morning.

Fios was working fine..

my fios has worked flawlessly throughout the entire storm. no blips, no slow downs, and no pixelation on the tv at all.

its time to switch murican.

So were Comcast customers the only ones in JC without cable or Internet service all morning or were Verizon FIOS and VERIZON DSL customers affected too? Mine was out from @8am to 12:15pm.