Dear Fellow Presidents, Board Members, and Residents
You all know me as the Comcast guy. I am the Regional Manager for Comcast Bulk Services in Palm Beach County. I am also a long term resident of WT (17 years) and have the privilege of serving Bermuda Dunes Village as its Association President. I do my best to attend all Foundation meetings and contribute, as needed, in a positive and professional manner.
Upon receiving and reading the Foundation letter sent to residents this week about our bulk cable services, I am shocked and dismayed by the false and misguided statements made about Comcast's technical capabilities (Coaxial vs. Fiber Optics) and the proposal to WT to continue to be the provider of choice for our residents. It is now clear that the "Cable Committee", consisting of just two members..Brad Bastien and Guy Buzelli, have unilaterally decided on the merits of Hotwire's offering WITHOUT allowing Comcast to respond with its own competitive value proposition. It appears that the "Committee", was motivated from the beginning of the negotiations to "get rid of Comcast". They did not negotiate in good faith and filtered information to the board that led them to agreeing to switch to Hotwire.
Getting the facts straight:
The section of the Foundation letter comparing Coax Cable and Fiber Optic is wrought with mis-information and lacks any level of credible technical claims. It's obvious the statements made (see below) are written to pander to ignorance and fears about the future of content distribution to end users. Such fear and ignorance is a cornerstone of ill-fated decisions made in haste and lacking proper scrutiny. After all, isn’t the real challenge of content providers today and into the future to deliver content to all consumer devices, not just TV's in the home? TV’s now stand in the company of smart phones, lap tops and tablets. It’s a fact, and our children and grandchildren prove it every day, that our lives today and tomorrow revolve around our ability to access content Anywhere, Any time, and via Any device. This ability should be hallmarks by which we consumers measure a provider’s capability and value.
So allow me to respond to the statements made in this section of your letter:
1. "Our current TV service is provided ... through a coaxial cable system which was installed at the time WT was built over 20 years ago."
A statement like this infers that the system built then has never been maintained, repaired or upgraded. That the cable is "old" and thus cannot accommodate today's demands for data and content.
Fact: Over the years, Comcast has operated a robust and technically superior cable system as required by its cable franchise and FCC specifications. It is NOT a coax only system. It is a Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) system containing both Fiber and Coax. AS for WT, the many Fiber Nodes within WT are engineered to scale signal and data capacity many times over. Over the years, the coax segments under our streets and through our neighborhoods (spans) have been replaced, repaired and/or upgraded as needed to ensure delivery of the full portfolio of Comcast services offered. Yes that includes High Definition TV on all TV’s throughout the house, Telephone service, Home Security, and the fastest Internet available. Here's a fact not to ignore: Comcast currently has almost 80% of WT homes as Internet subscribers. Yes, that means well over 1500 homes in WT are COMCAST Internet subscribers…all delivered via Comcast’s HFC system. How could it be that Comcast’s facilities are old and “obsolete” when so many of our neighbors are being served today the broad array of advanced products and services?
2. "This technology (Coax) has been around for over 30 years, is obsolete and has no room for expansion or upgrading. The Coaxial signal is shared by all users…"
Fact: Coax delivers with no problem any and all broadband services today and WELL into the future. COAX IS NOT OBSOLETE!!! It is a highly capable medium to technically serve as a backbone of many company and government networks. Coax is still widely relied upon, in conjunction with fiber, to serve the bandwidth needs of our society. Also, the signals delivered to each household in WT are NOT shared. Each house, depending on its cable subscriptions, is provisioned with the required bandwidth to deliver its subscribed services. One household’s use is exclusive and independent of its neighbors.
3. “Fiber Optic technology is the latest and greatest…”
Fact: Fiber has served major network carriers, including Comcast, for at least 25 years along with coaxial and other copper mediums to connect end users reliably and efficiently. Most Service Provider network back bones are fiber driven and while the recent trend is for providers is to extend fiber connections closer to end user devices (i.e. TV’s, Computers, Telephone), quality of service is still in large part contingent on the medium it connects to (inside home wiring). As the saying goes, “only as strong as the weakest link.” As for Cat 5E cabling, which is nothing more than copper telephone wire, is no better than coax cabling that connects fiber to end user devices.
Facts about Comcast’s proposal to Winston Trails.
Comcast HAS made it clear to the Cable Committee,” if fiber is what you want then we’ll build it”. However, the committee expressed their concern about likely disruptions due to property wreck out and the laying of cabling across the community. At the time, the Committee informed Comcast that they would be favorable to a proposal for upgraded services without fiber. However, since then, the Committee sought no additional proposal from Comcast for Fiber to the Home (FTTH) configuration and went silent on requests for additional information.
FACT: In the past two years, Comcast have converted large scale communities to FTTH. All new build communities are now being built with Fiber exclusively. Existing communities are regularly being reviewed for fiber upgrades. WT is one that Comcast has agreed to UPGRADE>
What to Consider:
Comcast current Bulk Agreement expires April 2017. Twenty Two months remaining.
Comcast will continue to advance and scale its product line (increasing internet speeds, X1 Video Platform – Emmy Award Winner). Subscribers will have complete choice of service type and level. Not so with Hotwire.
Comcast is THE largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the country. Carrier Class network and leading edge service platform provides the FASTEST internet and Award Winning Video. Comcast OWNS favorite cable channels and the entire library of content from Universal Studios. Hotwire uses multiple networks for its internet service and is a member of a satellite consortium to resell satellite Video programming. It owns ZERO content.
Comcast is willing to continue to be the bulk provider of choice in any capacity the community desires as follows:
VIDEO ONLY - continue to serve WT with Basic Digital Video. Keep rate as low as possible. Negotiate short term. Hotwire does not deliver video only. They MUST HAVE multiple services committed to for LONG TERM – TEN YEARS
DOUBLE PLAY – Upgrade Video to X1 Video Platform. Add High Speed Internet service. Competitive pricing and terms vs Hotwire.
Finally, if WT chooses to not bulk with any provider, please know Comcast will continue to provide all its services to residents with promotional offers as it does with thousands of communities across the nation. Comcast will gladly compete with ANY available provider household by household. Hot wire will NOT build out a network to compete. They want a guaranteed customer base loaded up with multiple services!!!
DON’T let the Cable Committee (two people) decide for you.!!!! You have a say as a WT Homeowner and member of the Association. Let them know you wish to stay with a provider that is an industry leader, abundant with service options and price bundles, proven long term reliability, Disaster recover expertise, along with award winning products and services. Please let your thoughts and opinions be heard at the Tue June 9th meeting. See you there.
Best Wishes
Vince Friscia
