Update June 22, 2013: Weston Cable provider still behind the times and can’t keep up with emerging technologies. Advanced Cable subscribers still provided limited OnDemand services, and no access to premium online tie-ins such as HBO Go, WatchESPN, Showtime Anytime, etc.
I am creating this post to start a discussion regarding the woefully outdated and limited programming, and slow internet service provided by Weston’s Advanced Cable Communication. Currently, most Weston residents are forced to pay basic cable fees through their water bill (roughly $50) and also pay top dollar for non-basic (but still inadequate) features by direct bill.
Moreover, there is no other choice as to hard line cable providers in most of Weston.
Although, the compelled basic-cable-through-water bill contract is set to expire at the end 2013 there is no guarantee that Comcast or another competent carrier will make their services available to the Weston residents currently served by Advanced.
Has the City of Weston failed by imposing Advanced Cable upon its residents but not requiring Advanced to provide services commensurate with local competition? Please share your thoughts.
Advanced Cable is officially less than 10% the speed of Comcast.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/04/14/comcast.internet/
been putting up with this gauging since 2000, and it’s unconscionable. I’m counting the days until Jan 1, 2013. I never thought I’d say “I can’t wait for Comcast”
Can’t stand the monopoly they’ve created. Even AT&T can’t come in with higher than 3MB speed. I guess they’ve been restricted to increase services. Even U-verse had a cap on its highest speed. I ordered U-verse and cancelled right away due to the lack of speed. ATT and Comcast should go into the City of Weston with hidden cameras and record all conversations with the City. Let’s see who’s lying to who. City of Weston says they tried all they could to get Advanced Cable to dissolve their contract, but I highly doubt that. City of Weston is getting a huge “rebate” from Advanced Cable. I wrote the FCC several times and all they said was to contact my Florida Department of Consumer Affairs. GREAT!!! what are FCC laws in place for??? So many laws are being broken here and even common business Ethics…can we say PRICE GAUGING!!!… Come Advanced Cable. At least work with your residents and MAYBE just MAYBE you have a 1% chance of Weston Residents selecting Advanced Cable after 2013 as their provider, but NO!!!!! you decide to over charge and not even be competitive with your prices..why..easy..because we HAVE NO CHOICE!!!
I even noticed that my water bill increase by 10 dollars…and it wasn’t my water, it was the taxes for the cable!!!! WWHAT!!!..yes…So City of weston is charging higher taxes to its residents knowing they are required to pay for it…lol..hahaha.. Recall the whole government of Weston. I’m sure if I research it further, there has to be some conflict of interest somewhere between Advanced Cable and the GOV of Weston.
Water Bill about $58 for cable with taxes…
Then I have the extended basic and the converter….ANCIENT converter huge takes up so much space which you have to lease…total bill $29..
Thats over $80 for CRAP!!!!!!
COMCAST – BASIC
$21.95
COMCAST with over 200 channels and HBO, STARZ, Cinemax, Showtime…and much more.
$84.99
GRRR!!! NEED I SAY MORE!!!! I say every one needs to write the FCC, Florida Consumer Affairs division, City of Weston, Broward County Consumer Affairs every month..and just flood their in boxes…mailboxes…post boxes…everything with all these complaints…
Ways to resolve it the problem without getting out of contract..City of Weston to compensate it’s residents every month with a credit of at least $25.00
Advanced Cable to offer its clients —everyone in Weston–
Free DVR and HD service with all packages…NOT EVERYONE HAS HD so its a WIN for Advanced Cable.
Advanced Cable to not charge for Extended Cable or cable box leases.
PROVIDE MORE FREE ON DEMAND CHOICES!!!!
Provide a special for people that upgrade from basic to the Premier pack..I would upgrade in an instant if it was the same price as comcast….With Advanced cable it would cost me a total of $100 or more for the same package comcast charges $84.99 for…..
OK IM TIRED..Good NIGHT!
I just moved here to Weston from New York 6 months ago. Had I known this little detail about this “like it or not” $50 CABLE fee…I would’ve been turned off about it. If it wasn’t for a beautiful Weston City, I’d say this was equivalent to racketeering. Why should I be forced to pay for something I don’t want or is outdated and not in-line with competing companies in the same industry. I’m used to paying $125 for Verizon Fios which gave me High-Speed 30MbpsDown/30Mbps/Up (or better) and all HD programming with a responsive box and not this garbage pixelating cable service they actuall call “CABLE” down here in Weston. It makes such a beautiful new city look like a rinky-dink down that is oppressing it’s citizens with beaurocratic red tap. It’s un-american.
Do you exactly when the contract ends?. I really hate advance cable and the fact with have no other choices! Is this constitutional??
In two years and 5 months the current monopoly that Advanced Cable (AC) hold is set to expire. The communities that have been under AC’s thumb should start organizing to demand modern service
I’m frustrated with the internet options here in Weston. I started with broadband through Advanced and it was constantly down. I’ve had service come out and the issue was never solved. I’ve cancelled Advanced and went to att DSL, which has good uptime, however is extremely slow, I have to wait minutes to load a YouTube or a news video in order to watch it. This is completely unacceptable.
I lived in In Port st Lucie (Tradition) for 2 years and all homes had Fiber for data, telephone and alarm. The internet was amazing.
“you can call me cheap” ..sersiously!!! everything with Advanced cable is expensive other than that cheap commercial. Cant wait for 2013. Dishtv is offering free NFL ticket this year..unfortunately cant afford both :-(.
I am sitting here looking at a frozen TV while the football game goes on. This has gone on all day. Advanced cable is a joke, they are way behind in the industry. Nothing should be forced on anyway. The City of Weston needs to get into the current century and end this monoply. Remember free enterprise.
This is totally unacceptable… Really bad service, over inflated prices and forcing it down on the residents. My parents pay $80 for comcast ixfinity phone, 15mb internet and over 200 channels with HD box and they wanted 140 something for something less then that on PROMOTION…. This is getting crazy and I really can’t wait until I can get out of this not so advanced cable.
I do need to admit, despite my previous gripes of this article, Advanced Cable does have quick and responsive customer service and service calls. Comcast – even with faster internet and more channel options -will drive you insane when you call their customer service.
I’m also a hater of AC, and disagree with the monopoly. But do not blame the City of Weston for it, this is the result of decisions made by the developer, prior to municipality, and a lawsuit filed by AC to keep the monopoly. The bad news is that the contract is set to expire only by the end of 2013, until then we are slaved into a mediocre, outdated and ridiculously expensive service.
“The outcome of the lawsuit and Settlement Agreement was a win for the city and its residents:
The Service Agreement will permanently terminate on December 31, 2013. After this date, residents will NOT be required to maintain cable television service with Advanced Cable.”
Read the details here:
http://www.westonfl.org/Departments/Finance/RequirementForCableTv.aspx
Mosart Sebben
mosart@sebben.com
I moved down to Weston from the DC area a couple months ago and can echo the same comments of previous posters here. ACC’s cable service is simply bad. So bad, in fact, that I can’t even connect to ESPN3 online to watch sports! ONLINE?! REALLY, ACC?! Furthermore, the fact that I have no choice in the matter is just plain wrong.
If ACC was smart – they would see the writing on the wall and start providing a better channel line-up and maybe go fiber optic instead of this silly cable nonsense!
How can someone allow a monopoly like this to happen in this day and age anyway?!
Still waiting for the “whole house” DVR, that Advanced Cable announced early in 2011, and then disappeared from the website.
What ever happen to free enterprise. How can a city make such a deal with A.C. I feel there is some type if racial bias here. How is it that I thought is America,to find there are over 30 Spanish stations,but only 1 black station,BET,are you kidding me. Not even any stations with black shows,are you kidding me????. I have nothing against Spanish,because I am part Spanish,but I want to see black shows,tv,commercials. I had Comcast they had a variety of stations What is wrong here,I feel I have no freedom of choices. I could not get Directory-Tv,because of all of these trees,where and how the dish can be placed,Comcast is not availed,neither is ATT.How the government of Weston let AC become a monopoly??? I will try my best to get this looked into,I cannot be a prisoner to this crap. It is my money,my right to freedom of speech,that I feel violated. Is this company prejudice to blacks,by not providing service to blacks????? Where is my rights of an American black,born here,but have no rights to service to blacks,only whites,and Hispanics. I will bring this to the attention of tv media,black organizations. My rights as a consumer is beginning violated to be ignored. I am not going to wait for 2013. This is violation to my Constitution rights for freedom of speech. How dare the City of Weston and A.C violate these rights. Forced to pay for service that does not include my race.
Ok, no need to repeat the sentiments already voiced by others about ACC’s horrific technology/price ratio. Most Weston residents would like to see this improve. But I want to ask questions here about options beyond Dec. 31, 2013. Here is a worrisome note from the City’s website:
“HOWEVER – if you are an owner within a Homeowner’s Association, your board has the ability to enter into a contract with a cable company on behalf of the entire HOA.”
This leaves the door open for ACC to continue their strangle-hold on us (most of Weston is HOA territory) by executing back-door negotiations with our HOA’s…
Does anyone here have a good understanding of our options here?
We need fiber to the curb in Weston, and competition from various providers. I am afraid that Bell South (the actual owners of the “last mile” to most Weston homes) will sell exclusivity transmission rights to ACC, thereby extending their life.
My next step is to open a Twitter account and FB page to begin gathering momentum from technology-savvy Weston residents.
So when does this nightmare end??? with the January 2013 Water bill. I’ve not heard anything from the Water Company or from Advanced Cable…as if it’s in their interest to notify the public that they will not be collecting $60 any more.
Sorry to say but you folks are seriously mis-informed about the facts. Acc did not sue the City to keep the monopoly, but ACC did purchase the cable system form Arvida and after performing several million dollars in upgrades to provide HSD and Digital cable then the city attempted to break its contract with ACC. Acc went to court to protect its investment just like any one of us would. For example the Attorney who hosts this site goes to school and perhaps racks up debt to complete the many degrees he has, in turn he charges an arm and leg for the services he renders.. where do you think the money goes? And im sure for many of you who live in the nice homes you do; you either have a good job that charges high prices/fees to afford your pay check or you own a business that charges expensive fee’s to keep your life style going.
As a side note, as of today many upgrades have been accomplished and they are now providing 30 mg speeds (Faster then U-Verse) and now added over 90 channels in HD, they have multi room dvr… (listed ont heir website) Is it more/same then U-verse or Comcast no, but a good start! Remember ACC is not publicly traded company with deep pockets thinbgs take a little longer. But they do give back tot he community and sponser many things that ATT and Dish just dont care about. So just think about that when you raise your pich forks for the witches head.
This is the real story how we got sruwed up with this cable company but january 2014 we will be free
Advanced Cable TV requirement for residents in the
Indian Trace Development District area of Weston
The (somewhat complicated) story behind
WHY cable TV
is currently required of certain property
owners
History of the Town Foundation:
The Town
Foundation was established by Arvida (“the Developer”), as the master homeowners
association for its Weston development. It was initially responsible for the
maintenance of the main roadways and common areas, architectural control, rules
and regulations, and the provision of cable television service to the
communities built by the Developer. The Town Foundation was originally governed
by a Board of Directors consisting of three employees of Arvida, and two
residents of the community.
In 1987, the Town Foundation entered into a
service agreement with Arvida (“the Developer”) and Gulf and Pacific (“the Cable
Company”) that required each home governed by the Town Foundation to pay for
cable television service. The agreement provided for successive ten-year terms,
in perpetuity.
In 1996, the City of Weston was incorporated as a
municipality and for the first time, had its own city government.
In 1998, Gulf and Pacific Cable was sold
to Advanced Cable Communications along with the service agreement. In the same
year, the Town Foundation’s maintenance responsibilities were transferred
to the City and architectural control was transferred to each community
association. Finally in March 2003, the Town Foundation was assigned to the City
with responsibility for the provision and billing of cable television.
Until 2003, the City had yet to be assigned the rights of Arvida and the
Town Foundation, and therefore had no legal standing in the matter. Since that
time:
The City met numerous times with Advanced Cable with the objective of
amending the 1987 Service Agreement but to no avail.
In 2004, the City adopted several resolutions including filing a
Certification with the Federal Communications Commission and initiating a
termination of the service agreement.
On October 27, 2004 Advanced Cable subsequently filed a lawsuit in the
United States District Court against the Town Foundation and the City of Weston.
The results of the lawsuit are posted under Cable TV Settlement.
The outcome of the lawsuit and Settlement Agreement was a win for
the city and its residents:
The Service Agreement will permanently
terminate on December 31, 2013. After this date, residents will NOT be required
to maintain cable television service with Advanced Cable.
RE: **Capitalist**
Sorry, but it is you who is misinformed. Cable companies across the nation consistently spend money to upgrade their services. You act like ACC is the only company who has spent several million dollars in upgrades. Do you actually think that AT&T, Comcast and Verizon don’t spend millions in order to provide and upgrade their services? In NY, Verizon recently spend tens of millions in order to compete with Cablevision. Does that give them the right to “protect its investment”? There is no rational nexus between ACC’s business decisions and their monopoly on cable in the City of Weston.
One thing I am unsure of is if this means that after this date and immediate alternative would be feasible or if a new provider would have to first dig and drop new cable to offer their services.
I have seen the ACC trucks messing with the cable boxes here in Weston all over the place lately. What are they up to ? I hope it is the sign of Freedom!, Freedom for Weston Cable subscribers when 2013 is over hopefully.