Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by johnf on June 4, 2010 at 2:40pm

Just to keep all the data on Lansdowne Living up to date. below is pasted additional information from John Whitbeck. In it, he provides new information and a correction of the error regarding whether the commission has made any decisions regarding recommendations.

**********************************************************************
Dear Residents,

The following is a further update on the issue of our relationship with OpenBand.

The Board continues to work on this issue, and we have begun communicating with the Southern Walk HOA in Broadlands on a Board-to-Board level. I met with the President of the Southern Walk HOA and had a very productive discussion about how the two HOA's can share information and work together on this issue. We will also be meeting with OpenBand in the near future based on a letter I sent to them inviting them to meet with us.

Also, shortly after my letter to the community regarding OpenBand was sent out on May 28, I heard from a Cable & OVS Commissioner who objected to the statement released by the Public Information Office and attributed to the Commission. Since then we have attempted to obtain a statement from the Cable & OVS Commission and to confirm what our attorney was told last week. The Board has received e-mails with opinions from one of the Commissioners and the Commission Chair, but no formal statement has been issued by the Commission regarding OpenBand's franchise agreement.

In the meantime, I spoke with Lorie Flading in the County Office of Public Information to inquire about the Commissioner's concerns and asked her to confirm her statement. Ms. Flading is the individual from the Office of Public Information with whom our attorney spoke last week. Ms. Flading indicated on behalf of the County that the County is agreeable to having OpenBand continue providing video services to its customers because it has acted in "good faith" in its efforts to renew its franchise. Ms. Flading also confirmed that the Commission has asked the County attorney to investigate if OpenBand's franchise lapse violates any ordinances. She promised to forward a copy of the legal opinion to the HOA as soon as it is available.

Additionally, the HOA asked the Board of Supervisors about the OVS franchise renewal process and received the following statement from Supervisor Waters' office: After confirming with the staff of the OVS commission, it is [our] understanding that the commission is waiting to conduct a technical audit of Open Band before voting on a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. After that recommendation, the Board [of Supervisors] will conduct a public hearing and then vote on the franchise agreement.

I am sharing this information with you as there continue to be several email chains in the community that make various assertions and promises. I endeavor to provide only information that I can confirm from a reputable source. At this point in time, nothing has changed concerning our or the County's relationship with OpenBand.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the residents for their patience at the pools this past holiday weekend as we introduced a new check-in policy and set records for opening weekend attendance. In addition, there wasn't a patch of empty grass at the amphitheatre during the Sunday night concert. I hope residents continue to enjoy all that Lansdowne has to offer this summer.
John Whitbeck
President, Lansdowne on the Potomac Homeowners Association

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ed Kummel on June 4, 2010 at 4:16pm

Am I the only one who does not have a problem with OpenBand?
I don't pay for premium channels, so I watch what is on the regular and HD channels. I pay extra for the DVR and HD programming, but that's it. I would like to have more of an al-la-carte programming choice, but oh well.
I don't use my home phone much, because I use a cellphone primarily. So, I don't have long distance on my home phone...
What I *DO* use is the internet service. I have purchased my own IP and therefor I bypass the OpenBand Firewall for extreme speed and connectivity to the internet. Every time I opened a ticket with OpenBand for Internet connectivity, they have been more than helpful, and on this last issue, my Fiber MUX failed on a saturday evening...after hours for them. They wouldn't be back in Lansdowne till Monday. I told them I couldn't wait that long and not 30 minutes later, an OpenBand van pulls up to my house and hands me the little 4 inch by 1 inch fiber converter box. I plugged it in and was back in business. I *NEVER* got this kind of service from any other provider...try this with COX or Verizon! HA! good luck! I've worked with Verizon support for a family member. Those jokers are less than stupid. If your issue isn't on their list, they don't have an answer!
I find it difficult to believe that I am the only one who has no problem with OpenBand.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jeff Brown on June 4, 2010 at 4:37pm

Thanks Ed. You are not alone.

I don't have a problem with OpenBand. I like the service.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by johnf on June 4, 2010 at 4:59pm

Ed,

You are definitely not alone. A number of Lansdowne residents are satisfied with their service. I have seen particularly good comments about customer service.

That being said, there is a very high number of residents who have actively expressed significant frustration, particularly with the video services. There are many that feel frustrated that they have to pay for replacement video services (Such as DirectTV or DISH) while being required to pay for services they do not use.

The video service is the issue that is before the commission, not the other services per-se.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by mitchy on June 4, 2010 at 5:16pm

my personal opinion, i don't think the service is what bothers most people. it's the fact that openband has a monopoly on media service in lansdowne (and also the fact that the contract was done with developers that pocketed the cost savings of not having to pay for running fiber lines, thereby, passing the cost on to the homeowners). people want to have a choice. when you have a monopoly, there's lack of incentive from the provider to improve its service. i can't say i would switch provider (since there's no reason right now to look at any other provider) if given the opportunity but i would love to be given the right to choose.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lauren Widoff Law on June 6, 2010 at 7:59am

The selection of videos is pitiful. Let's get rid of that portion of OB!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ed Kummel on June 7, 2010 at 11:38pm

The question we need to answer before we take this any further, is what is it we are expecting to get out of this activity?
Do we want more channels? Less cost for existing channels? A completely new cable provider?
And from what position of strength do we make these demands?
If we want a lower price, we have to see what it is we are currently getting. I counted 250 channels including HD channels and 50 music channels. A breakdown of what we pay for this from our HOA dues is $58.19 (I called Openband and they gave me a breakdown of what we pay them from our HOA dues)
Looking at Dish, which is the cheapest cable only service (note, the Verizon 99/month bundled service is not available because only the cable franchise is in question not internet or phone) we see that the Dish 250 plan is $64.99/month (plus taxes and fees) It should be noted that the $49/month price is only good for the first year, so that is not a valid comparison. Also, DVR and DVR programming is not included in either service. That's extra...for Openband, I pay an additional $20/month for DVR and HD. So, here we see that Openband is cheaper by almost $7/month for essentially the same service...and we don't have to have unsightly and wonky satellite dishes attached to our houses...if that's even possible (you have to have a direct sight of the southern sky...no trees or houses blocking your way)
And another thing to consider, Many residents have DVRs. I've expanded my DVR by adding a 750GB external drive in order to have over 270 programs recorded with over 30% free space available. If another cable provider is put in place of Openband, all recordings on all DVRs will be lost. This includes any recordings on external drives because the recordings on external drives are encrypted to work only with the DVR they were recorded with...and it is a guarantee that any new provider will *NOT* be using our existing equipment. Not only that, I have several dozen programs set up for recording...Is switching providers worth the hassle of setting all that back up again? And I really don't want to loose all those recordings I have saved.
I understand that there are some residents who are using an additional provider to give them the channels that they want...beyond the 250 programming channels already offered with the basic package. If this is the case, then this is a decision that these individual families are making themselves. It is unfortunate that some people have to pay double, but by everyone purchasing cable services from Openband, we have the power of getting a low set price. If people were able to choose a different provider, then our small community would not have the purchasing power to keep this price competitive. It is unfortunate, but like it or not, group buys gives everyone a fair price.
Now...while not a deal killer for me, if Openband came to me and asked me what it is I would like to see them offer, I would have to say, I want the ability to pick and choose what channels I want (a-la-carte). I'm not much of a sports fan, and 38 sports channels is too many for me, and the ability to use the Multi-room system that is part of the 8300HD-MR DVR that I am using. A recent ticket to Openband with this question I was told that the Multi Room feature has not been implemented and they don't have a time frame for when this will be available.
And one more thing...Customer service...back in the day when I had Adelphia, or with a family member who has Comcast, You don't know what headache is until you deal with the farmed out customer support people manning those phones.

So...back to my question...what is it we are hoping to achieve out of all of this? From what I can see, a lot of headache for no gain.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by johnf on June 8, 2010 at 8:13pm

I have been engaged in discussions with John Whitbeck and several OVS commissioners over the following statement from this email:

"Ms. Flading is the individual from the Office of Public Information with whom our attorney spoke last week. Ms. Flading indicated on behalf of the County that the County is agreeable to having OpenBand continue providing video services to its customers because it has acted in "good faith" in its efforts to renew its franchise. "

After much discussion, I wanted to clarify for the community the meaning of this statement so there is no confusion, and nobody will think that the County is already agreeable to renewing the franchise.

There has been NO finding yet on whether the Openband franchise should be renewed. No county body at any level has made any determinations about the franchise yet. John's statement was in reference to allowing them to operate WHILE the franchise renewal process is being followed even though the franchise has indeed lapsed.

Lansdowne residents should consider this to be a very open issue and should express their opinions to our HOA board and county bodies such as the OVS commission or the Board of Supervisors. Additional public hearings will be held including an OVS commission meeting in July.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by mitchy on June 8, 2010 at 11:25pm

it comes down to choice. what about homeowners whom have just recently have been laid off that would love to be able to CHOOSE to give up cable or broadband so they can make ends meet. or the parents who are too busy to watch TV and would CHOOSE to eliminate cable if they could. or those of us whom don't have a need for land-line phone service b/c they would rather CHOOSE to use their cell service.

i don't know about you but i hate being locked into a contract. talking to a lot of neighbors who've been trying to sell their homes, they've told me that the HOA is one of the major drawbacks potential buyers point to. in this tough economy, not a lot of people want to be locked into services that are considered luxury items.

again, it comes down to choice. plain and simple.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by robin on June 9, 2010 at 9:53pm

Mitchy:

Thank you for your comment regarding home value. According to information our Broadlands friends have received from local realtors, homes with Openband contracts there stay on the market 30% longer and sell for 27% less than comparable homes in adjacent communities. I am a mortgage professional and I can tell you that by having these expenses included in the HOA fees, it makes it harder for buyers to qualify for a home priced the same as in a community wherein the HOA dues do not include telecommunications, meaning buyers can get more house for their money elsewhere.
This country was founded on a principle of open-market competition for a reason. We are not a rural community that needs to grant these types of contracts in order to get service to residents. In fact, Adelphia (now Comcast)was vying to provide the option of their services when this community was built and Openband apparently blocked them according to a lawsuit filed by Adelphia years ago. How did our county leaders allow that to happen? These are questions that are before the County attorney as I type this response. Hopefully, soon we will have their answer. Meanwhile, please make your voice heard. It is as easy as signing the petition on moshmouth.com. If you would like to be more involved, let Nancy or I know. And also, let our Board know what you want them to do.
Thanks.
Robin

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by james on June 11, 2010 at 10:16am

John:
Good job getting with the other hoa. Since you are friends with Lori Waters then you should easily be able to get her to vote no on this franchise deal. Then we can have more leverage in getting better services for our homes. Keep the info coming. When's the town hall meeting?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by johnf on June 12, 2010 at 11:12pm

James,

I assume you are directing this to John Whitbeck. I am a different John that has just clarified what John Whitbeck has said and has posted information he wrote here.

I don't know Supervisor Waters, but I presume she will consider carefully the issues raised by her constituents and fellow neighbors and I hope she will consider voting "no" on the franchise in the best interests of the majority of Lansdowne residents who want access to choices and only to pay for the services they actually use.

A lack of franchise renewal on the part of video services would not result in the immediate termination of Openband's services as a transitional process is contemplated in the law and in the County's agreement with Openband. It certainly would provide significant benefit in negotiations with Openband on all services.

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page