Charter Communications announced this week that it will switch to an all-digital network by the end of October.
The news reached Harvard in a press release dated Sept. 30. According to Charter spokeswoman Heidi Vandenbrouck, the changeover will be completed by Oct. 28 and will affect its subscribers in the towns of Harvard, Dunstable, Groton, and Pepperell.
Although “more than 90 percent” of Charter subscribers in this area have already converted at least one TV for digital reception, says Charter, those who have not must do so before the October deadline. “Without the digital set-top box,” said Vandenbrouck, “ their televisions will go dark…”
Charter is promising that an all-digital network will deliver “more than 200 high definition (HD) channels, better picture quality, and significantly faster Internet speeds.” Once the change is complete, Charter says, the company will “double residential Internet speeds from 30 megabits per second to 60 Mbps at no additional cost.”
Other changes coming
This change comes as the town of Harvard completes its negotiations for a new 10-year license with the cable provider. Charter is also in the midst of negotiations to transfer its Harvard license—and those of other towns in New England—to Comcast as part of a much larger deal under review by the Federal Communications Commission in which Comcast proposes to purchase Time-Warner Cable. That proposal has come under increasing pressure from other media players in recent weeks. In the meantime, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the license transfer from Charter to Comcast at their Tuesday, Sept. 23, meeting. If Comcast and Charter agree on the exchange of licenses, Comcast would become the town’s cable and Internet provider beginning Jan.1, 2015.
Charter says customers without an appropriate cable box must take action by acquiring Charter-issued digital set-top boxes for each of their televisions. The company will provide one or more digital boxes “at no cost for one, two, or five years, depending on the customer’s programming package and other qualifying factors.” Customers can obtain these digital boxes through direct shipment to their homes by calling 1-888-438-2427 to request a self-installation kit, or pick up equipment at a nearby Charter store. The nearest store for Harvard residents is located in Pepperell at 7 Lomar Park. The store is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Charter says it will expand the stores hours for the week preceding the changeover.
