![]() The Universal Service Fund is paid into by telecom operators, who are permitted - but not obligated –to recoup that cost from consumers. The FCC’s Universal Service Fund pays for programs like Lifeline that expand phone and Internet coverage to include more rural and/or low-income Americans who would otherwise be unserved. ![]() If your channel package includes any sports channels (which all but the most minimal do), you pay this fee. This is their way of recouping that money - whether or not you’ve ever watched a single one of those channels in your life. Pro sports broadcast contracts cost money. So it’s a sneaky way to make that money.Īgain, this might sound like some sort of required regulatory charge, but this fee, just like the “Broadcast TV Fee,” is a way to raise rates while pretending not to raise rates.Ĭomcast (NBCUniversal) owns and operates several regional sports networks in the areas it serves. Except, of course, that’s what you’re paying for when you pay for cable TV anyway. Nominally, the fee is to recoup costs associated with networks’ carriage contracts. It is a $5 increase on whatever TV or bundle price the consumer is paying.Ĭomcast began adding this fee - initially only $1.50 - to consumers’ bills late in 2013. This might sound like some sort of mandatory fee put on your bill by a state or federal regulator, but in fact, it is just a way for Comcast to raise prices while pretending not to raise prices. Not pictured: Any specific voice fees incurred, like collect calling or international calls, would appear here. In some states, this is taxable (see #13 below). If they use their own modem, there should be no charge here (though we’ve heard countless stories of Comcast customers being charged for phantom modems). If a Comcast customer rents their modem from the company, this is where you’d see that amount. (The bundle provides for up to 75 Mbps this customer reports regular speeds of about 150 Mbps.)Ī paid speed increase would also appear here it would just have a fee higher than $0. This particular subscriber called Comcast in 2015 to negotiate a better rate and got their Internet speed increased for free as part of that agreement. #4: Speed increase: Blast! Internet Promotional Rate Not pictured: Additional television services, like premium cable channels, which this subscriber does not get. The adapter fee is lower than the fee for a full box. Instead of having a set-top box and DVR attached to it, they just have a digital adapter that descrambles the signals so that the TV actually works. This subscriber has a second television in their home. When the FCC says that consumers are paying $20 billion a year in box rental fees, this is the kind of fee they mean. In this subscriber’s case, it is Comcast’s widely-touted X1, cloud-based, app-running box. This is the fee Comcast charges for your set-top box DVR. This is, in short, the price you expect to pay, and the one you sign up for. I just received a new bill for the next billing period and I didn’t want to pay for another month.The price for new customers is also $10 less per month than this eight-year subscriber pays. My biggest concern was that Xfinity generates bills one month in advance. I used my own modem, so I didn’t need to return any equipment. So I asked the new tenant to come with me to Xfinity to make the transfer She just needed to bring an ID and a credit card to make the deposit. Since canceling the service is troublesome and requires a lot of paperworks, the Xfinity staff person told me it is easier to transfer the service to the new tenant at this address. It takes a lot of time, so I followed their advice and drove to the nearest store which is just a few miles away. If you call in to cancel the service, they will transfer you to different departments and convince you to stay with them after moving. Therefore, I want to share with you my own experience to make the cancellation process go smoothly.Īfter doing some research and contact a live-chat agent, I figured out that the fastest way is actually visiting a Xfinity store. That’s the worst scenario and I want to avoid it at all costs. Some people even ended up with debt collectors and a hundred point drop in their credit score. Canceling the Xfinity Internet service by Comcast was my biggest worry because I’d heard about a lot of dramas when customers tried to cancel their service. I moved to a new address last month and updating with all of my services was a huge burden, especially when they don’t want me to switch to another provider.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |