Say goodbye to analog, and hello to a new digital age.
Charter Communications will soon do away with its analog cable channels in Turlock, creating an all-digital network. The company says the transition will more than double the number of High Definition channels, improve picture quality, and result in a surge in internet speeds. Many businesses and local residents are very pleased with the technological advancements. “I’m very happy with the internet available in my area now,” said many residents.
“By removing outdated analog signals, we regain bandwidth in our network enabling us to provide more HD channels and open the door to faster Internet speeds and future innovation,” said Charter President and CEO Tom Rutledge. “This upgrade speaks to the fact that Charter is providing our customers with the very best products at the very best value, and we’ve invested more than $2 billion in our fiber-rich network to make that happen.” It’s no surprise such a big investment was made, as the outcome will be much bigger. In this day and age, TV has a huge range of viewers. According to cable tv statistics, more and more people are watching TV every year, meaning the demand for improved TV is high.
The number of available HD channels will increase from roughly 100 to more than 200, Charter said. Residential internet speeds will be doubled from 30 Mbps to 60 Mbps at no cost, Charter said, once the upgrade is completed.
The upgrade is expected to coincide with a rebranding effort, which will start to refer to Charter’s video, telephone, and broadband services as “Spectrum.”
Charter’s work in California is set to start this month, according to a press release. Charter spokesperson Jack Hardy said that Turlock’s analog-to-digital transition is currently scheduled for August.
The transition won’t be entirely seamless for Charter customers. Each television must use a Charter-issued digital set-top box following the transition; cable will no longer work when plugged directly into a television.
Charter says the required set-top boxes will be available at no cost for one, two, or five years depending on a customer’s package of channels and “other qualifying factors.” They can be obtained at a Charter store, or installed in-home.
Though the set-top boxes may come with some cost and hassle, Charter notes that more than 90 percent of customers’ households already have digital set-top boxes attached to at least one television. Additionally, the transition will grant expanded Video On Demand service to every television, offering more than 10,000 “options.”
Customers will be informed about the digital transition via direct mail, bill messages, phone calls, and on-TV messages in the coming months, Charter said.
For more information, visit www.charter.com/digitalnow or call 1-888-GET-CHARTER.
