Lets clear some stuff up!

Hello everyone! I lurk here all the time and I have noticed that a little miss information gets passed around from time to time. So, I am going to clear a few things up in regards to Charter, your Charter bill, and the future of Charters services! First off let me get this out of the way. Yes, I do work for Charter Communications. No, I am not a not an executive and no I will not tell you what department I work in nor the location in which I work. My job is more important than your curiosity. Second off all the information I am going to give you is free and open to the public! While it may be hard to find, do know that I will not be giving you any super secret stuff. Everything has been published in the public domain. 1) The Services Charters service costs are almost universal. There is not region by region pricing accept for a few minor exceptions such a remote rural areas where we are not able to provide a full range of channels. In these areas you may get a lower standard rate but this is RARE. 1.1) TV Charter is legally required to provided you with a basic TV package that provides you with local affiliate channels and local government and education access channels. That said, Charter will not proactively offer this basic TV package unless it is requested and even than you may get some resistance. Some terms you will need to know. Select - This is the new base TV package. It contains the same channels as Basic + Expanded Basic of the past. This is where you will find ABC, NBC, FOX, Comedy Central, USA, A&E, MTV, et cetera. Silver - This is the next step up. In order to have this package you must have Select. This package gives you HBO, Max, Showtime, and Digi Tier 1 (will get to this soon). Gold - This package requires both Select, and Silver. It must be packaged on top of Silver. This pack adds Starz, Encore, TMC, Epix, and Digi Tier 2 (will get to this soon). You can get the individual premium channels also. You are not required to get Gold and Silver. Purchasing the premium channels alone does cost quite a bit more so the Gold and Silver package does provide the most value. Digi Tier 1 - This package will contain between 35 and 45 channels depending on the region. While I will not provide a full list of possible channels, here is a short list; Science Channel, Sundance, NFL Network, ESPN U, Fox Sports 2, Life Time Movies, Sprout, Teen Nick, Nick 2, Investigation Discovery, History Channel 2, BBC America, et cetera. Digi Tier 2 - This package contains mostly sports related content. This is where you will find the NHL network, Fox College Sports, Sportsman, Fishing network, ESPN Classic, NFL RedZone, et cetera. This package may also include non-sports channels like Smithsonian HD, AXES TV, et cetera. Video On Demand (VOD) Extras - Charter also offers several specialty video on-demand products. Disney VOD, WWE VOD, To Hot for TV VOD, et cetera. Adult - In most areas you can add playboy, in some area there may be additional adult channels. 1.2) Internet Charter offers two speeds of internet for residential customers. You have the option between Plus (30 Mbps) and Ultra (100 Mbps). Modems are free. Wifi Routers have a lease fee. If you have internet access with Charter you get access to EpixHD.com for no extra cost. Go check it out! They have between 1,500 and 3,000 titles. 1.3) Phone It is a phone. Unlimited calling anywhere in the US and Canada. You get 1000 411 calls per 30 day billing cycle. All the fun features like caller ID, 3-way calling, et cetera. There is also an online phone manager. This allows you to modify all the settings and turn features on and off. You can also check your voice mail through it and even save your messages as .wav files on your computer. 1.4) But I have something different! So, about a year ago we had a big change in our packaging. Anyone remember Digital Home? Internet Express? These packages are still floating around. You may have one still! We no longer offer them but if you have them we did not force you to change. It is hard to call 5 Million customers simply because they fail to read the Charter News section on their bill which lets them know stuff. So lets discuss some common legacy packages that you might have, and I will discuss the costs later. Internet Lite - This was originally a 3 Mbps package. It was discontinued. When we switched our packaging. If you had Internet Lite you were upgraded from 3 Mbps to 15 Mbps. We do have a way to provide this package anymore so don't even bother asking. It literally cannot be applied to an account. Internet Express - This is also a 15 Mbps package. It was also discontinued. Again, we have NO way of applying it to an account and even if we could you would not want it. When we phased it out we lowered to cost of the Internet Plus to be about the same as we were charging for this package. Digital Home - This was an old package that included Basic, Exp Basic, and one standard def set top box. If you see this package on your bill call us. The new packaging might offer you a lot more value for your money. For example, with the new package TV select you do not pay extra for high def. So if you have three HD STBs with the old package and move to the new package you could save $15 a month. 2) Costs! 2.1) TV Select = 59.99 Silver = 20.00 (79.99) Gold = 20.00 (99.99) Any Premiums = 15.00 each (You can see where you can save quite a bit with the silver and gold package) Digi Tier 1 = 10.00 Digi Tier 2 = 10.00 SD STB = 6.99 HD STB = 6.99 DVR = 6.99 Single DVR Service Fee = 11.99 DVRs 2-4 = 19.99 DVRs 5+ = Additional 19.99 Special Video On Demand (As in things like Disney or Anime VOD) = This can vary! Call and ask. ;) So, lets do an example. You are a customer and want Basic, Expanded Basic, HBO, and Showtime. You have 4 TVs and want DVRS. So we would build the package as: 59.99 - TV Select 20.00 - Silver 19.99 - DVR Service Fee 27.96 - DVR STBs (6.99 x 4) ------- 127.94 Note that if we had just done HBO and Showtime instead of silver you would end up paying 10.00 more and get less channels. No MAX, no digi tier 1. So it is a nice deal. Legacy pricing is a bit different. But just to give a bit of a comparison if you have legacy pricing and wanted a package like above it would look like this: 65.99 - Digital Home (Includes one STB) 20.00 - HBO/Max (Came together, no option to take one without the other) 15.00 - Showtime/TMC (Read above) 15.00 - First DVR (part of the cost is included in the Digitial Home package) 21.99 - 2nd DVR (6.99 DCT + 15.00 DVR Service) 21.99 - 3rd DVR 21.99 - 4th DVR ------- 181.96 So, as you can see the new packaging reduced the cost of the service by a dramatic amount. 2.2) Internet Plus = 54.99 Ultra = 60.00 + 54.99 Exception... When Plus is bundled with one or more other services (TV or Phone) the price is reduced to 49.99 and since the 60.00 ultra price is applied on top of the Plus price the cost for Ultra becomes 60.00 + 49.99 Modem Lease - free Wifi Router Lease - 5.00 Now, some of you have mentioned you are paying 49.99 and only have internet. Let me explain this one without causing a problem... I hope... In the billing system if you applied the internet only codes the wrong way when upgrading from the legacy package it will for some reason beyond me only charge 49.99 instead of the standard 54.99. This is a bug in the system! Live it up while you have it, but know if they ever get around to correcting it you may see the 5.00 increase. Just a heads up. =) 2.3) Phone We now only offer one phone package. It is 19.99 with all taxes and fees included. If you are paying more for your phone via charter call us and we can move you to the new package. Before you get all upset that you were not already moved to the new package due understand that we cannot legally change your package without your knowledge and permission. When the new package for the phone was released you were notified via advertising mailed to your home, commercials on your TV, and several times it was mentioned in your Charter News on the bill. We service 5 million plus customers. Calling each and every one of you to let you know about the change is just not possible and lets admit that if you saw a call from Charter you may ignore it anyway. tl;dr Read the damned Charter news on your bill! It is a small amount of words and could often save you $$$. We did not lie, cheat, steal rip you off, single you out, et cetera. YOU did not read your bill. YOU did not read your mail. YOU fast forward past the commercials. =) 2.4) Legacy! Here are some packages we do not offer anymore but you may have on your account. I already covered the TV above with the example. No point in going over board on it because you cannot opt for the old pricing and it would cost you more anyway! Local Phone - 14.99 + Tax (about 12.00) State Wide Phone - 29.99 + Tax (about 12.00) Unlimited Long Distance Legacy - 39.99 + tax (about 12.00) If you have any of these phone packages call in now and request the 19.99 phone package. If you don't your just stupid. No offense. Modem Lease - 7.00 Homenet Wifi - 9.99 (14.99 if used with Internet Lite) Internet Lite - 29.99 Internet Express - 52.99 (47.99 when bundled with another line of service) Legacy Ultra = 55.00 (This is applied on top of the Express package, so 52.99 + 55.00) Here is my advice. If you have Internet lite, keep it. You are grandfathered into this package. If you remove it you CANNOT get it back. If you have Internet Express upgrade to Internet Plus. It is 2.00 more but moves you from 15 Mbps to 30 Mbps. That 2.00 doubles your speed! Also, with the new Internet Plus package there is no modem lease. With the upgrade to the new Internet Plus package you also get access to Epix, which you do not get in Express or Lite. If you have Ultra 100 in legacy do not change it unless you feel the 30 Mbps of Internet Plus will be fine for you. Adding Ultra in legacy or in the new packaging will land you a 199.99 install fee. No joke. Also, the legacy price for Ultra is lower by 7.00. 3) Promotional Pricing! (Your favorite) and Price Increase of 2014 Every company has introductory pricing. Every company has save offers for customers considering a new provider. I'm not going to go into details about this part and I know that pisses you off. Like I said above I don't plan on releasing information that is not open to the public. Just note that if you have a promotional offer it will be broken down on the second page of your bill as a subtraction to the normal cost. The pricing I provided above is all standard rate. I also included the increases coming in 2014. Note, that not much is really changing. The biggest impact will be the extra 1.00 per box. We do not do contracts of any kind. There is no early term fee. There is an exception... Some customers still have 24 month price guarantees. These were two year contracts where you got a discount for promising to keep the package for two years. The pricing for these packages is actually quite close to the new pricing so if you are falling off of a 24 month price guarantee call in and ask for the new packages. Instead of seeing a 40.00 to 60.00 increase you may only see a 5.00 to 10.00 dollar increase. We do offer introductory pricing for customers just signing up for the services. These offers are all listed at http://www.charter.com. As a current customer you technically do not qualify and are expected to pay standard rate. Again, as I said above, all companies have save offers but I will not go into those. Do know that the intro pricing does NOT included equipment. So, for example if you were to get the Triple Select package for 89.98 (29.99 per base line of service) and wanted a DVR and an HD STB it could cost 115.95 (29.99 + 29.99 + 29.99 + 11.99 + 6.99 + 6.99). 4) Taxes Sorry, nothing we can do about taxes. We have no control. Talk to your local, state, and federal officials. We have to follow the rules, you get to pay the price. Taxes also can be quite different depending on the state! For example in Wisconsin or Texas you will pay between 10.00 and 15.00 in taxes on TV. In Michigan you will pay between 2.00 and 4.00! And we cover taxes for phone and internet, that means in Michigan you are only going to see that extra 2.00 to 4.00 on the bill. So, if you are complaining about your taxes, move to Michigan. ;) 5) Installation Costs We charge 49.99 for installation. This is currently discounted to 29.99 and has been for sometime. It does not change if you are installing 1, 2, or 3 lines of business. It is simply the one install charge. Wifi Activation fee is 39.99. You pay this if you are a new customer, or a current customer adding a charter leased wifi router and want a tech to install it. This fee is added to the 29.99 install fee. So the total is 69.98. Note; Customers with older homenet modem/wifi combo units that are Docsis 2.0 or Docsis 3.0 and upgrading to the new equipment you will not have to pay the 39.99 activation fee, but will have to pay the 29.99 install fee if you want a tech to install it. We do not charge anything for self install! But understand that self install is only possible in limited ways. If you are a new customer you cannot do a self install. The first installation always requires a professional installation. Adding TV to your internet or phone package always requires a professional installation, and adding phone to your TV or Internet always requires a professional installation. So, what can you self install? Equipment and Internet (If you have TV Select or Digital Home) Here is a short list... DVR SD STB HD STB Modem Wifi Router (this is new) The equipment above can even be shipped to your house if you cannot make it to a local office. Note that there are some areas that we still cannot ship STB and DVR. This will change as they keep adding more areas each month as the protocols get updated around the country to allow for it. 6) The Future! Charter is currently in the process, and almost complete, with transitioning all of the networks to all digital and phasing out analog. This means we can provide more HD, faster internet, more VOD, and make enhancements like IPTV options. NOTE: The change to all digital was Charter's choice. We were not forced to do so by the FCC. If any agent on the phone tells you otherwise is misinformed. The FCC all digital transition requirement was only for Over the Air TV. Charter opted to go all digital so we could move our planet into the future and upgrade the way we bring you the content you enjoy! About a month ago we released the Charter TV app for iOS (apple) and Kindle Fire (Amazon) tablets. Soon, this will be released for Android (sometime in Dec). This app allows you to access 100+ tv channels via your tablets or smart phones. It also allows you to use these devices as remote controls for your current STBs. Eventually this app will be expanded to other devices like smart TVs/Blue-ray players, game systems like xbox and playstation, and entertainment devices like the Roku Box. The interface for the current STBs will eventually match the new interface found on the app as the app is being designed to work on current STBs! Yes, sometime in the next year you may see the ugly on screen guide get a major upgrade with many more features. Also, with the increase in more devices that the app works on there will be less need for you to lease a set top box! The Charter TV app currently has some limitations such as you can only access it on your home internet connection and not every channel is available. There is also currently no access to video on demand through the app. This will all change eventually. The app is being updated little by little so we can ensure it is done correctly and works great. We don't want to have an ACA website like roll out. =) The new interfaces and cloud based systems are being developed in part with Active Video. 7) Lets see some links! New UI and Charter App! http://www.fiercecable.com/story/charter-deploy-activevideo-cloudtv-platform-power-new-program-guide/2013-06-05 http://www.activevideo.com/activevideo-accelerates-cloudbased-UIs http://www.lightreading.com/cable-video/multi-screen-video/charter-rolls-out-tv-everywhere/d/d-id/706472 Pricing and Packaging Info! http://www.charter.com/browse/content/products-offers-disclaimers 8) Change We have a joke that the C in charter stands for change. While it is easy not to see the changes from the outside looking in, do know that Charter is always making changes. We really do care about the experience you have and a lot of time and money is put into training employees. Charter actually has high standards for employee performance and behavior. Because of these high standards and the stress of the job employee turn over can be quite high. This means that you are often talking to someone on the phone that might not know everything. Be nice, but be firm, and we will do our best to help you! Without you, there is no us. 9) This Post Please do not report this post. I am sure there are other Charter employees that lurk here that will see it. I really enjoy my job and would hate to lose it. I am not an official charters spokesman. This is not an official message from Charter. If you want to confirm the things mentioned in the post do some google searches. Everything here is available online per the links I posted above plus others. Also do know that I did a sub-par job of proof reading this post. It is quite long and I am quite tired. Please forgive minor spelling and grammar mistakes. If you question anything I put here ask about it! I will try to answer or clarify anything in which I am able. And finally, do know that I did skip over some TV add-ons like cultural packages. This was a choice I made for simplicity.