Comcast services agreement without Bulk service

Started by DeniseM7 • 7 replies • 2163 views

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DeniseM7 (Minnesota)
Posts: 10

Posted:

HELP!!! I am on the board of a CIC homeowners Association. We have twin homes on plated lots. Our homes were built in the 70s and have been wired for what ever the homeowner wants Comcast, Dish etc. The declarations read that a unit is everything between plated boundaries. Exterior unit elements are everything on the lot for the exclusive use of the owner. The exterior unit Elements are described and allocated to the unit as follows. goes on to list Chutes, Flues, ducts, pipes, wires, conduit, or other utility installations. Our property manager pushed Comcast on us. Comcast wants us to sign a ten year agreement that does NOT include bulk service. She told the board that Comcast will not service us because they have to put us in their budget etc. They want a right of way entry and to record an easement also they say if they connect to our wires then they will own all the wires. Right now there are about 63 people who have Comcast out of 72 units. I don't believe for one second that they will not take care of their existing customers. We have 7 board members and 3 of us voted against it. My questions to everyone are; Who owns the wires right now? I was under the impression that the homeowners do. How can the board sign over rights on property that they don't own. (Our property manager says the association owns the wiring.) We are not getting any money. We are not getting bulk service. We are just signing over right of entry and our entire cable system. And they expect us to police homeowners for unauthorized cable boxes, remotes and any dishes running through their boxes. That are not theirs yet. Any help would be appreciated. The board has not signed the contract yet. I am desperately trying to stop this.

Our property manager pushed Comcast on us. She told the board that

LetA (Nevada)
Posts: 2,679

Posted:

I am trying to get a picture of what you are saying. Are these single family homes? attached? detached MDU's???
Secondly, is the current Comcast service provided by drops from a utility pole to each unit? Or is the cable service provided from ground utility boxes?
If these are MDU's, Multi Dwelling Units, Comcast can ask for a minimum subscription participation and Yes they own the equipment even if it is in the ground or on a pole.

As to who owns the wires right now, typically the cable system owns the wires from the TAP, thats the connector seen on poles and in the ground, they may own or maintain
the coax from the TAP to the first service feed point. In a house that would be from the street to the first feed point in the house. that is typically the point where you see the service panels or gray plastic boxes on the side of the house.

I did some installations for a cable provider and some were SFH and some were MDU's with the MDU's depending if FO was dropped to the TAP on the property or a RG8 coax was dropped from a pole or underground to the MDU , there from the MDU the cable connections to each unit was made to the pre existing coax installed in the building. I did encounter some connections that were fouled because of the age or condition of the existing coax, we replaced the coax running it along the exterior of the dwelling. That drop was complimentary, a part of the installation and I believe that the SUB, subscriber retained the rights to the coax from box to the apartment.

Hope this helps.

DeniseM7 (Minnesota)
Posts: 10

Posted:

Thank you for you post!!! These are detached twin homes, we have 36 buildings each has 2 units. We all own our lots. So the property lines go through the center of units out to platted lots. We are a CIC association. Currently the lines run from green posts that are spread throughout the association to each units gray plastic box. Right now none of these boxes are labeled by any provider or locked with any special key. Comcast will not change a thing if this agreement does NOT go through. If it does everyone who has a dish will have to remove the wires from the gray boxes. I am understanding from what our declarations say that this is not property of the association so how can they sign it away. The agreement also states that it will allow our property manager to have access to our units. I am so thankful for any help or advice!! I need to stop this ASAP before the agreement is signed!!!!!!!

LetA (Nevada)
Posts: 2,679

Posted:

I see from the other post that Comcast is trying to bamboozle the HOA into an exclusive right to provide cable service to the members of the HOA.
That could be a good thing or bad thing. If Comcast price fixes their package and guarantees that price for the entire ten years it might be a good deal.
A vote like that should go to all the homeowners. I would ask for a few caveats like guaranteed fiber optic services. exempt land line providers like century link from
being included in the exclusive right; and I think satellite services are already exempt because they use their own equipment and their installers will NEVER
connect their equipment using existing coax other than pre installed in wall installations because the home owner owns that wiring not Comcast.

DeniseM7 (Minnesota)
Posts: 10

Posted:

This Comcast agreement has no services attached. Its only for the ownership of the wiring. That is why I can't understand why the other board members voted for it.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DeniseM7 on 10/03/2016 7:32 AM

That is why I can't understand why the other board members voted for it.

I suspect that the Association is having some financial issues or there is a project that the Board would like to do and the funds from this agreement will help address the issues/project.

DeniseM7 (Minnesota)
Posts: 10

Posted:

As I mentioned in my first post, there are no funds or money of any kind coming to the association.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DeniseM7 on 10/03/2016 11:20 AM
As I mentioned in my first post, there are no funds or money of any kind coming to the association.

I must have missed it.

If there is no money or services, it's simply (in my opinion) stupid to limit competition.
Companies pay for exclusive rights. That should most definitely be looked into.

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