Telecable - Internet Fun and Games

[bajandy]

I first tried Telecable 3 years ago but grew annoyed at the periodic dropouts and went with Telmex.

About 18 mos. ago I saw new cable being pulled through the neighborhood and decided to try again. I got the 8Mb option and was told I would have to also subscribe to the TV which I did not want. I understand the TV is optional now, I don't know if that was true then.

I also wanted wireless but was told that would be 50P/month extra. When the equipment was delivered the cable modem looked as if Thomas Jefferson was the last user. I doubt if you could still find a cable modem without built in wireless.

The wireless portion was an additional router obviously used since it contained passwords and info from some anonymous previous user. I could have bought my own router for the wireless but shrugged it off.

I installed a splitter on the incoming coax and ran a cable to the TV and another to the computer modem. During the past 18 mos. the service was good and stable on both and the 8 mb speed was pretty well maintained.

Starting last week the internet got more and more erratic until it quit altogether. Telecable said a tech would visit in the next couple of days but could give no idea when. The usual run around.

After several days of waiting the tech arrived. I was told I could no longer run both the TV and the modem (both subscribed and paid) using a splitter since Telecable had reduced the distribution signal levels so that the modem could no longer sync because the TV would load down my circuit.

He told me I would have to go to the office and pay 150P one time charge to be able to use both computer and TV. I don't know if the 150P is for the whole house or for each additional TV. As a matter of principle I am tempted to go to Walmart and buy a signal booster for the street cable.

There is something sleazy about all this. I am not happy. I live in lower Chula Vista.

[ComputerGuy]

Definitely sleazy. Have a customer who just two weeks ago was praising them for finally giving her the requested 10Mbps. She paid no extra to maintain her TV signal, coming right out of the cable box, and her Internet, again same box. I mean, that's the service, isn't it? You are right to be suspicous: sounds like a load of technical malarkey to me. And a one-time charge? Not likely. I forget the "head" installer's name... someone here will know it. He needs to be grilled.

(And yes, now is the time to get an inexpensive wireless router, say over at Steren, and drop that 50p/mo. albatross...)

[ibbocat]

I had similar problems and solution but no charge for the splitter!!

[John Shrall]

Something changed many months ago with the frequency and/or power of the TV signal. You can split once for Internet and TV. That split cable can either be connected to HD or SD digital receiver or to a coax connection for non-digital TV. If you want to split again, the SD analog signal is too weak to work.

I used to be able to split a second time with one leg going to the digital receiver and the other leg directly to the TV. No more.

After trying many splitters I have 2 TV's connected to digital receivers and one that picks up only the low analog channels. All of them use the same 4x splitter with one leg going to the cable modem.

[johanson]

I checked with Comcast when I was up north and purchased a combination splitter line amplifier and brought it back with me to Mexico and installed same. It works great for both digital and analog TV I also brought a two way line amplifier should I need same for a two way internet connection.