Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved
Regards,
*** ***
In regards to the above-mentioned customer concern, I appreciate you giving me an opportunity to explain the situation. In early February, our technician came to the apartment building where this customer resides, The landlord pays for the Lifeline service. There are times when we do audits of our...
cable system to make sure everyone is receiving the services to which they subscribe. We have to put a device on the line for the Lifeline service and that is what our technician did on that day. We do have notes in the account showing that our technician did attempt to fix the issue with the modem service — he replaced some fittings outside but he also had to go in to the apartment to check a few things but he was unable to do so. We have had a few service calls since this incident — we replaced the modem on April 1, 2016 and there was a service call scheduled on April 7, 2016 that was canceled by the customer due to her being under the weather. To resolve this issue, we will contact this customer and work with her to fix any outstanding service issues. We will also discuss any credit that she may have coming.
I am responding to the message you sent to the Revdex.com and the email messages you have been exchanging with our tech support personnel. I do appreciate your diligence and dedication to the tests you have undertaken, l also appreciate your willingness to assist by continuing to test...
from your location. I won't try to recap all of this because you and my techs understand what has been communicated. I doubt I could craft a summary that would be helpful to the Revdex.com. Suffice it to state that the last communication I have seen from you is: "Just following up as [redacted] called yesterday evening and said you folks were trying something and wanted to see how my pings were. So far, yesterday and today, the pings have been perfect and in many cases much much lower than they used to be during off hours. Whatever it is you folks did or are doing, keep that going. Out of curiosity, would you be able to share any insight as to what you did?" (Thu, 18 Jun 2015 21:00:12 -0400). It appears that our efforts together have achieved the resolution you desire. I learned some things from this process. One is a little more about ping tests. My network engineers related to me a couple of [redacted] documents (attached) that explain more about how ping tests are treated by their routers. As I understand it, routers consider ping tests to be secondary to actual data. As a result, the router gives ping tests the lowest priority. Therefore, as traffic increases, ping tests to routers will almost always show reduced [redacted]s or be dropped completely. Servers are a more appropriate end point to use for a ping test because they do not apply the same prioritization protocol as routers. Based on this, it makes sense that ping tests will almost always show slower results during periods of increased usage. The router is busy with more traffic, so the ping tests must wait longer to receive attention from the router. The fact that ping tests take more [redacted] does not mean regular data traffic is not being efficiently routed. Regardless of the difference between routers and servers, there was something that needed to be adjusted. We have, as you know, made some changes and we continue to monitor and consider further changes. I know you would like to know what we have done, but I really can't share that information for security reasons. I do want to spend a moment correcting the information you apparently received from other cable TV companies. Those are the statements about local franchises and monopolies. It is a common misconception that TV service and Internet service are provided under exclusive franchise agreements. That is untrue. Franchises A franchise is not required at the local, state or federal level to provide Internet service. There simply is no such requirement.A franchise is required to provide TV service. In that regard, MCTV does not have a local franchise. The State of Ohio passed a law in 2007 (ORC Chapter 1332) taking control of the TV franchise process from local communities. Any company that provides TV service in Ohio must obtain a franchise from the Ohio Department of Commerce.[redacted] can obtain a franchise in any community in the State of Ohio by filing a request and paying a $100 fee. That's all it takes to acquire a franchise for a new service area. All of those companies (and [redacted] and others) have done precisely that in the hundreds of areas they serve. I don't know who you asked at the various companies, but they obviously don't understand the state's franchising law. Any company can obtain a franchise in Massillon (or any other city). They have chosen not to do so.MCTV had a local franchises, but it has been superseded by the state franchising process.The local franchise was never exclusive. It did not grant a monopoly, only a right. Other providers have always been able to operate a TV system under the same terms and conditions.[redacted] already has a franchise to operate where you live ([redacted]). They operate in the eastern portion; approximately as far west as [redacted].MonopoliesMCTV does not have a monopoly on Internet service in the Massillon area. [redacted] offers similar services. However, I do not know if [redacted] services are available at your particular address. I don't know [redacted]'s decision making process for areas to serve.I don't know the reason [redacted] and other providers choose not to construct additional infrastructure, but it is not due to any legal or franchising restrictions. In fact, MCTV has been actively building new plant in areas already served by [redacted] (like [redacted]). It does not appear that rates are as big an issue as the ping [redacted]s you were experiencing, but I will touch upon them. I think we both know that advertised speeds are simply that, advertised speeds. They do not necessarily mean you will achieve those speeds at all [redacted]s. MCTV advertises speeds and delivers them. That's our goal. It also is important in any discussion of rates to consider other elements, for example the $7 or $8 a month modem fee charged by others. That typically falls "below the line," so it is not considered part of the price. Clearly it is and it makes a big difference in the net cost. MCTV does not levy a modem fee on our customers. Regarding your desired settlement, MCTV is constantly evaluating bandwidth utilization and the means to improve throughput and reliability. We add equipment, split service groups and nodes and undertake other measures on a regular basis. We really cannot switch a single home to a different node or neighborhood. Nodes and neighborhoods are physical locations that we cannot change. I have ordered a $50.00 credit to your account for all your help and patience during this [redacted]. I hope I have answered your concerns. Thanks again for bringing this to our attention and assisting in the resolution. We are not done in this regard. We are continuing to monitor, investigate and make adjustments as necessary. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved
Regards,
*** ***
In regards to the above-mentioned customer concern, I appreciate you giving me an opportunity to explain the situation. In early February, our technician came to the apartment building where this customer resides, The landlord pays for the Lifeline service. There are times when we do audits of our...
cable system to make sure everyone is receiving the services to which they subscribe. We have to put a device on the line for the Lifeline service and that is what our technician did on that day. We do have notes in the account showing that our technician did attempt to fix the issue with the modem service — he replaced some fittings outside but he also had to go in to the apartment to check a few things but he was unable to do so. We have had a few service calls since this incident — we replaced the modem on April 1, 2016 and there was a service call scheduled on April 7, 2016 that was canceled by the customer due to her being under the weather. To resolve this issue, we will contact this customer and work with her to fix any outstanding service issues. We will also discuss any credit that she may have coming.
I am responding to the message you sent to the Revdex.com and the email messages you have been exchanging with our tech support personnel. I do appreciate your diligence and dedication to the tests you have undertaken, l also appreciate your willingness to assist by continuing to test...
from your location. I won't try to recap all of this because you and my techs understand what has been communicated. I doubt I could craft a summary that would be helpful to the Revdex.com. Suffice it to state that the last communication I have seen from you is: "Just following up as [redacted] called yesterday evening and said you folks were trying something and wanted to see how my pings were. So far, yesterday and today, the pings have been perfect and in many cases much much lower than they used to be during off hours. Whatever it is you folks did or are doing, keep that going. Out of curiosity, would you be able to share any insight as to what you did?" (Thu, 18 Jun 2015 21:00:12 -0400). It appears that our efforts together have achieved the resolution you desire. I learned some things from this process. One is a little more about ping tests. My network engineers related to me a couple of [redacted] documents (attached) that explain more about how ping tests are treated by their routers. As I understand it, routers consider ping tests to be secondary to actual data. As a result, the router gives ping tests the lowest priority. Therefore, as traffic increases, ping tests to routers will almost always show reduced [redacted]s or be dropped completely. Servers are a more appropriate end point to use for a ping test because they do not apply the same prioritization protocol as routers. Based on this, it makes sense that ping tests will almost always show slower results during periods of increased usage. The router is busy with more traffic, so the ping tests must wait longer to receive attention from the router. The fact that ping tests take more [redacted] does not mean regular data traffic is not being efficiently routed. Regardless of the difference between routers and servers, there was something that needed to be adjusted. We have, as you know, made some changes and we continue to monitor and consider further changes. I know you would like to know what we have done, but I really can't share that information for security reasons. I do want to spend a moment correcting the information you apparently received from other cable TV companies. Those are the statements about local franchises and monopolies. It is a common misconception that TV service and Internet service are provided under exclusive franchise agreements. That is untrue. Franchises A franchise is not required at the local, state or federal level to provide Internet service. There simply is no such requirement.A franchise is required to provide TV service. In that regard, MCTV does not have a local franchise. The State of Ohio passed a law in 2007 (ORC Chapter 1332) taking control of the TV franchise process from local communities. Any company that provides TV service in Ohio must obtain a franchise from the Ohio Department of Commerce.[redacted] can obtain a franchise in any community in the State of Ohio by filing a request and paying a $100 fee. That's all it takes to acquire a franchise for a new service area. All of those companies (and [redacted] and others) have done precisely that in the hundreds of areas they serve. I don't know who you asked at the various companies, but they obviously don't understand the state's franchising law. Any company can obtain a franchise in Massillon (or any other city). They have chosen not to do so.MCTV had a local franchises, but it has been superseded by the state franchising process.The local franchise was never exclusive. It did not grant a monopoly, only a right. Other providers have always been able to operate a TV system under the same terms and conditions.[redacted] already has a franchise to operate where you live ([redacted]). They operate in the eastern portion; approximately as far west as [redacted].MonopoliesMCTV does not have a monopoly on Internet service in the Massillon area. [redacted] offers similar services. However, I do not know if [redacted] services are available at your particular address. I don't know [redacted]'s decision making process for areas to serve.I don't know the reason [redacted] and other providers choose not to construct additional infrastructure, but it is not due to any legal or franchising restrictions. In fact, MCTV has been actively building new plant in areas already served by [redacted] (like [redacted]). It does not appear that rates are as big an issue as the ping [redacted]s you were experiencing, but I will touch upon them. I think we both know that advertised speeds are simply that, advertised speeds. They do not necessarily mean you will achieve those speeds at all [redacted]s. MCTV advertises speeds and delivers them. That's our goal. It also is important in any discussion of rates to consider other elements, for example the $7 or $8 a month modem fee charged by others. That typically falls "below the line," so it is not considered part of the price. Clearly it is and it makes a big difference in the net cost. MCTV does not levy a modem fee on our customers. Regarding your desired settlement, MCTV is constantly evaluating bandwidth utilization and the means to improve throughput and reliability. We add equipment, split service groups and nodes and undertake other measures on a regular basis. We really cannot switch a single home to a different node or neighborhood. Nodes and neighborhoods are physical locations that we cannot change. I have ordered a $50.00 credit to your account for all your help and patience during this [redacted]. I hope I have answered your concerns. Thanks again for bringing this to our attention and assisting in the resolution. We are not done in this regard. We are continuing to monitor, investigate and make adjustments as necessary. Please contact me if you have any questions.