AntAltMike
01-30-08, 01:28 PM
I do business with a condo that has 24" square junction boxes that are shared by Comcast and their privately owned DirecTV Sat A system that I installed for them several years ago. This condo had installed these boxes at its own expense during its original construction back in the mid-1980s.
A couple of years ago, Comcast apparently "negotiated" the upgrading of its analog system in that building to a digital one. And apparently, the customer did not realize how strong a position it was in and signed something purporting to give some kind of rights to Comcast that they didn't previously have.
I have not seen this agreement, but I would guess that it probably included buildingwide exclusivity for Cable TV, as well as some guaranties for space within the boxes. I remember at the time the manager asking me if the DirecTV system was going to need any more space than it was already using, so that is why I am guessing that Comcast was using the pretense of being "crowded out" inside that box to slip in some contract language that was really there for another reason.
Anyway, what I am wondering, irrespective of this agreement, is whether the new FCC regulation that Verizon is using to force its way into MDUs that have entered into exclusivity agreements also applies to community satellite TV services. Does anyone know?
And second, as far as this property is concerned, I will concede that a bunch of SWMs will take up more space in the box than do the 3x4 multiswitches that are there now (only one of the 14 junction boxes ever even had 2). If Comcast had been guaranteed a certain amount of space in the cabinets, can they still plausibly defend it? FWIW, this is not the same as using cove molding that Comcast had paid for (and there are rules explicitly governing that, anyway). If Comcast really needed more space to operate a digital system than an analog one, then they might have something to cry about, but the whole notion that they needed more space was simply pretense, and they didn't really give the property anything of value to "upgrade" the property, other than replacing the 550 MHz line extenders with 860 MHz extenders.
A couple of years ago, Comcast apparently "negotiated" the upgrading of its analog system in that building to a digital one. And apparently, the customer did not realize how strong a position it was in and signed something purporting to give some kind of rights to Comcast that they didn't previously have.
I have not seen this agreement, but I would guess that it probably included buildingwide exclusivity for Cable TV, as well as some guaranties for space within the boxes. I remember at the time the manager asking me if the DirecTV system was going to need any more space than it was already using, so that is why I am guessing that Comcast was using the pretense of being "crowded out" inside that box to slip in some contract language that was really there for another reason.
Anyway, what I am wondering, irrespective of this agreement, is whether the new FCC regulation that Verizon is using to force its way into MDUs that have entered into exclusivity agreements also applies to community satellite TV services. Does anyone know?
And second, as far as this property is concerned, I will concede that a bunch of SWMs will take up more space in the box than do the 3x4 multiswitches that are there now (only one of the 14 junction boxes ever even had 2). If Comcast had been guaranteed a certain amount of space in the cabinets, can they still plausibly defend it? FWIW, this is not the same as using cove molding that Comcast had paid for (and there are rules explicitly governing that, anyway). If Comcast really needed more space to operate a digital system than an analog one, then they might have something to cry about, but the whole notion that they needed more space was simply pretense, and they didn't really give the property anything of value to "upgrade" the property, other than replacing the 550 MHz line extenders with 860 MHz extenders.