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Mediacom

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Mediacom Rate Changes Effective December 22, 2020

Mediacom Seasonal Packaging 2020-2021 South Bethany

South Bethany – Mediacom Outage Letter – 09062020

Mediacom Update Report – 09.01.2020

Gmail – South Bethany Verizon Update 9-10-20

August 13, 2020, Mediacom Focus Group Questions – Click or Tap Here to Open

2020 Mediacom Survey Final Results

SB Survey 2020 – Mediacom Comments Categorized

2020 Mediacom Survey Summary


Follow-up Report to the 2020 South Bethany Mediacom Survey
July 10, 2020 – Update 1
August 14, 2020 – Update 2
Prepared by Sue Callaway

  • Update 1 – July 10, 2020
    The 2020 South Bethany Mediacom Survey results were posted on the South Bethany website – both graphic data and categorized narrative responses were posted in June 2020.
  • On June 19, 2020, Mayor Saxton, Mayor Pro-Tem Callaway, Councilman Oliver and Town Manager Hartman held a virtual meeting with Christopher Lord, Mediacom Communications, Government Relations Manager, Coastal Region to discuss the survey results. The purpose of the meeting was to clearly present the views and opinions of the South Bethany property owners. At the meeting, the group reviewed the data and comments thoroughly as well as the recommendations for follow-up prepared by Sue Callaway and approved by the Town Council at its June meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mediacom agreed to develop an action plan to address the concerns of South Bethany citizens and demonstrate their intent to resolve existing problems prior to agreeing to a new local franchise agreement.
  • On June 23, 2020, the group received a letter from Christopher Lord, describing Mediacom’s five-point plan to better serve the South Bethany community. At a virtual meeting held on July 9, 2020, Christopher Lord provided an update on each of the five points.
  • 1) Area Drive Out – Mediacom technicians are reviewing all cable attachments, cable lines in the ground, pedestals, lockboxes and other Mediacom equipment to ensure everything is in-line with industry standards. In addition, they are prioritizing repairs.
    Update: They have completed a full drive out and inventory of their entire plant in the town limits of South Bethany. They continue to fix infractions. The town will receive a full list within 30-60 days of the issues and repairs.
  • 2) Equipment Review – They will review all the high-speed Internet modems and digital boxes in the South Bethany area to ensure all equipment is up-to-date. They will contact customers to upgrade their modems if any do not meet the DOCSIS 3.0 compliant or greater.
    Update: They have reviewed all customers’ equipment and have replaced any out of date Mediacom modems. An audit of video equipment will also be conducted.
  • 3) Seasonal Rates: – They are currently preparing a flyer for seasonal rates as soon as the rates are official. This will be sent out with the monthly billing statement. They will ensure that all customer service representatives are well-versed on the seasonal plan to eliminate confusing communication. The flyer will be made available to the town and will be posted on the South Bethany website. We were assured that the seasonal flyer will provide clear information regarding the equipment process.
  • 4) Network Analysis: – Mediacom will conduct a complete network analysis of the South Bethany plant to make sure all equipment and signals meet Mediacom’s stringent and industry standards.
    Update: – Mediacom is in the process of conducting this analysis and will provide an update within 30-60 days. Results of the analysis will be provided to the town.
  • 5) Survey Follow-Up Calls: – Mediacom will increase its number of follow-up calls to customers for installation and trouble calls completed in the area. This allows customers to provide feedback on the appointment as well as any existing concerns.
    Update: Follow-up calls have been made and will continue to be made.

In summary, we have developed an action-oriented, open and honest line of communication with Christopher Lord and his team – including Pat Hynes, the local area manager. We will schedule another meeting with Christopher Lord in one month to continue our assessment of progress being made that clearly demonstrates that the quality of Mediacom service delivery and associated costs has improved.

In addition, the Town Manager, Maureen Hartman, has agreed to accept emails from property owners who have attempted to resolve Mediacom issues and problems multiple times with unsatisfactory results. The Town Manager will in turn reach out to Jusituation.

Update 2 – August 14, 2020
(Mediacom Sub-Committee includes Mayor Tim Saxton, Councilmember Sue Callaway, Councilmember Dick Oliver and Town Manager Maureen Hartman)

  • July 13, 2020 – Due to the town-wide Mediacom outage on Friday, July 10, 2020 (storm related) the Mediacom sub-committee held a conference call with Christopher Lord to discuss the overwhelming negative comments regarding the outage and to gain an understanding of what happened. Lord prepared a letter of explanation and the letter was posted on the town website and distributed via an Email News Update.
  • July 13, 2020 – The Mediacom sub-committee held a conference call with Sea Colony to discuss the details of their transition from Mediacom to Comcast services.
  • July 14, 2020 – The Mediacom sub-committee held a second conference call with Sea Colony to further discuss the details of their transition from Mediacom to Comcast services. Following the Sea Colony calls, Mayor Saxton reached out to Comcast and continues to have on-going communication with Comcast.
  • July 15, 2020 – Maureen Hartman, Tim Saxton and Sue Callaway met to organize and schedule the Mediacom Focus Group. Following the meeting, letters of invitation were sent to SB property owners outlining the details of the focus group scheduled for August 13, 2020.
  • July 20, 2020 – The Mediacom sub-committee held a conference call with Dan Cohen (legal advisor to the local consortium that included SB, BB, Ocean View and Millville) to discuss the Mediacom franchise agreement and possible strategies moving forward. The sub-committee is awaiting a revised proposal from Mr. Cohen.
  • July 22, 2020 – Sue Callaway met with Salt Pond HOA President to discuss the spontaneous installation of Verizon Fios within the Salt Pond community. The installation was not initiated or requested by Salt Pond, but Verizon “just showed up!” according to the HOA President. Homeowners will now have a choice between their existing Mediacom provider and Verizon. The installation was performed by Shore Utility. Salt Pond has had no direct contact with any Verizon representatives.
  • July 30, 2020 – Sue Callaway reached out to Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson to learn more about the Verizon installation in Salt Pond. Todd has seen an increase in Verizon and Comcast’s “willingness and ability to engage in discussions” in expanding their presence within Sussex County residential areas. Todd referred me to Dwayne Kilgo – IT Director for Sussex County for further information.
  • August 5, 2020 – Sue Callaway met with Dwayne Kilgo to gather information about the Verizon installation in Salt Pond. Unfortunately little information was provided and am awaiting Verizon contact information from Dwayne. Dwayne does see wireless ISP growth and the future (and current) presence of Verizon, Comcast, Crown Council (provides internet service to the County library and elsewhere), New Vision, and Blue Surf within the County. Return on Investment (ROI) is the determining factor for these Internet Service Providers (ISP).
  • August 10, 2020 The Mediacom sub-committee met to finalize logistics for the August 13, 2020 Mediacom Focus Group discussion. Questions forwarded to Christopher Lord on August 12th to ensure thorough response to participants’ questions.
  • August 10, 2020The Mediacom sub-committee met with Christopher Lord to hold its monthly update discussion. The following highlights the updates on the five-point improvement plan: (Update 2 is as of August 10)
  • 1) Area Drive Out – Mediacom technicians are reviewing all cable attachments, cable lines in the ground, pedestals, lockboxes and other Mediacom equipment to ensure everything is in-line with industry standards. In addition, they are prioritizing repairs.
    Update 1: They have completed a full drive out and inventory of their entire plant in the town limits of South Bethany. They continue to fix infractions. The town will receive a full list within 30-60 days of the issues and repairs.
    Update 2: Mediacom has completed the initial area drive out of the South Bethany plant but is re-doing it post hurricane to ensure inventory of repairs is up-to-date. They will provide a complete list of repairs by the end of August.
  • 2) Equipment Review – They will review all the high-speed Internet modems and digital boxes in the South Bethany area to ensure all equipment is up-to-date. They will contact customers to upgrade their modems if any do not meet the DOCSIS 3.0 compliant or greater.
    Update 1: They have reviewed all customers’ equipment and have replaced any out of date Mediacom modems. An audit of video equipment will also be conducted.
    Update 2: All customers who have Mediacom boxes that need to be updated have been contacted and the swaps have been made. Any customers that wish to swap DVR boxes or cable boxes are encouraged to request shipped replacements to ensure that customers receive the very best quality equipment rather than conducting the exchange in Dagsboro. Customers are to note that all DVR history will be deleted when making the exchange.
  • 3) Seasonal Rates: – They are currently preparing a flyer for seasonal rates as soon as the rates are official. This will be sent out with the monthly billing statement. They will ensure that all customer service representatives are well-versed on the seasonal plan to eliminate confusing communication. The flyer will be made available to the town and will be posted on the South Bethany website. We were assured that the seasonal flyer will provide clear information regarding the equipment process.
    Update 2: Mediacom is currently working on the seasonal flyer as the official seasonal rates just came out on Friday, August 7. Chris explained that there are 3 seasonal plan options. Per the sub-committee’s request, the seasonal flyer will clearly explain each seasonal plan option so that customers can choose the one that works best for their circumstances. Customers are to note that 2 of the seasonal plans include NO return of equipment.
  • 4) Network Analysis: – Mediacom will conduct a complete network analysis of the South Bethany plant to make sure all equipment and signals meet Mediacom’s stringent and industry standards.
    Update 1: – Mediacom is in the process of conducting this analysis and will provide an update within 30-60 days. Results of the analysis will be provided to the town.
    Update 2: The node sweep is done and the clean-up analysis is completed. However, Mediacom is repeating some of the network analysis due to the hurricane. The sub-committee asked for analysis of utilization? peak times of usage? usage? quality of cable? quality of service? error rates? increased usage? A report is expected from Mediacom at the end of August.
  • 5) Survey Follow-Up Calls: – Mediacom will increase its number of follow-up calls to customers for installation and trouble calls completed in the area. This allows customers to provide feedback on the appointment as well as any existing concerns.
    Update 1: Follow-up calls have been made and will continue to be made.
    Update 2: A report regarding follow-up calls will be issued the end of August.

In addition, the sub-committee asked Chris the following questions:

Question: What can Mediacom do to improve the number of times technicians come out to an individual’s home? What is causing that problem?

Response: Repeat calls are flagged as “trouble calls” when they go from 1-2-3 calls that a tech comes within a 14-30 day period. Mediacom flags these and a special review is conducted. If they are exceptional trouble calls, maintenance is on standby and the data is analyzed.

Question: Do you firmly believe that Mediacom’s infrastructure in South Bethany is built out to accommodate peak usage?

Response: The South Bethany plant was built to accommodate peak usage and the data continues to show that the South Bethany plant can accommodate peak usage. They have the ability to increase the nodes but the current data does not support additional nodes. However that could change in the future.

The Mediacom sub-committee will schedule its next monthly update in September. It is expected that the sub-committee will recommend another 3-month extension to the Mediacom agreement at that time.

August 13, 2020 – The Mediacom sub-committee hosted a Mediacom Focus Group on August 13, 2020 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Along with the sub-committee, 11 South Bethany property owners and several Mediacom representatives, including Christopher Lord, participated in the focus group. Each participant submitted 2 questions which were answered by Christopher or others. Participants also had an opportunity to ask follow-up and additional questions. The link to the recording of the focus group discussion is posted at the top of this page. A list of their questions will also be made available.