Getting cable internet

[Chiropteran]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: Chiropteran

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
My comprehension is fine. Your's is the one in question.

hint: he is stealing analog cable tv.*

You just don't get it. It doesn't matter what he was stealing. He could have been stealing gold from Fort Knox, the actual crime is irrelevant to the logic.

If he has been doing *insert any crime here* for months, and no action has been taken, chances are the person or business he is committing the crime against is UNAWARE.

I hope you can understand this post, I can't really break it down any simpler.

yup, I was correct it was 2.

see ya.

So, you are just an idiot.


I apologize for anyone who had to waste time reading your posts, I should have just ignored you from the start.

 

[imported_Baloo]

Originally posted by: smack Down

Originally posted by: Mike
Depends on the cable company. In my area, you'd get shut down, refused service (even if willing to pay), sent a bill for the cable usage (they can see exaclty when and how long you've used the connection), and then prosecuted (misdemeanor).

Complete BS.

Not complete BS. The part about getting billed and charged is true. They can, and if they catch you, they will. They do periodic checks for such theft of service.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: larciel
guess I'm stuck with DSL until at least Feb. 2009 then.

I would rather be water-boarded than use DSL.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: larciel
guess I'm stuck with DSL until at least Feb. 2009 then.

I would rather be water-boarded than use DSL.

"Fuck with us pal and we'll wave the magic wand and convert you back to dial-up for life."

Odds are, the cable company isn't aware the OP is stealing cable or they'd have disconnected him by now They don't usually ignore such things. However, if he signs up for internet services, then they WILL find out that he's connected, and can at that time,
(1) press charges for theft of services,
(2) disconnect him and offer to let him reconnect, (sometimes for a fee)
(3) Suspend his service for a period of time, then allow him to reconnect for a fee.

While, depending on the type of system they have, they may not know how long he's been stealing, they will know that he IS stealing, and deal with the theft at that time.

 

[Linflas]

In regards to the OP:

1. If the TV's in the house are not connected to the cable when the installer arrives then you have little problem with that piece of it, just don't leave the cables hanging disconnected from the back of your sets. If you want to be really safe and you have a standard cable interface box mounted outside to the side of your house go out there and disconnect the cable from your house wiring(not talking about the cable distro pedestal here, just a DMARC type box on the side of your house). Make sure you have your TV's working with OTA if you want to be really safe.

2. While I have little sympathy with cable companies that leave the cable enabled when a previous subscriber turns it off the laws are currently on their side if they catch you using it and they can make life miserable by demanding lots of back payments.

3. If the previous owner actually went further than just wiring the house for cable by actually tapping into the cable system on his own then I would definitely make sure I do everything I mentioned in #1 to make clear that it was not you that broke into their system.

 

[xboxist]

A lot of misinformed people in this thread. I was an in-house cable technician (not a contractor) for 3 years.

OP, there is no such thing as having a house "wired for free cable." There is nothing wrong/illegal about wiring your house for cable. This is done all the time when new houses are built. Cable gets wired to any and all rooms in the house that an owner could possibly need someday for their TV/modem locations. All of these feeds meet up at some junction in the house, which is almost always in the basement near where the power/phone interfaces are.

An outside line enters the house at this junction in the basement. This is the feed from the cable system main line that actually gives you the cable signal in your home. The "interface" for turning this line on/off (which consists of simply screwing the end of the line into a port, or disconnecting it) is either above the street or above your backyard as part of the "telephone pole lines", or in a (locked) box in your yard somewhere (if you live in an area with an underground cable system).

When someone cancels their service for whatever reason (moving, don't want it anymore, etc.), the cable company is SUPPOSED to come out and disconnect your feed at the interface for your house. Sometimes this just doesn't happen. Either because of an oversight, or the technician responsible for the job didn't feel like climbing into that pine tree to reach the tap (interface) above your backyard, and just marked the job as done. So if a new owner moves in one day, and just randomly tried to hook their TV up to that port on their living room wall, it will still work for them as it did for the previous owner because it wasn't actually disconnected.

So in the OP's situation, both parties are essentially at fault. The OP is knowingly using the active cable for free, and the cable company didn't properly disconnect cable service from that house in the past. Since the OP is just using basic, analog cable, there is no hardware system or means of tracking this by the cable company... unless the entire cable system had a complete makeover in the 3 years since I last did that job. It's very basic stuff.

To further explain what happens in a situation like this (a customer that wants cable modem, but no TV service) -- if you order cable internet, a technician will come out and install the modem. Then they have to go turn your service "on" at the interface outside somewhere that I mentioned earlier. It is here that they will become aware that the cable feed to the house is already "on." Now, there's a good chance they just might not care at all or assume that you are paying for cable TV already. But a more thorough technician will look into the situation and just find out that the service wasn't disconnected properly in the past. They might ask you if you're using their cable TV, or they might just turn on one of your TVs in the house and claim they're just "checking something." Just disconnect your TVs from the cable line before the tech comes out and they can't prove anything about you using the service without paying.

BUT, what will likely happen is that the technician will do what they're supposed to do which is apply a filter to the line to your house that allows the cable modem signal to pass, but blocks all of the television signals. So if you order cable internet, you're 99% safe from being charged/prosecuted/some other crap... but you will in all likelihood lose your free TV access.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: xboxist
A lot of misinformed people in this thread. I was an in-house cable technician (not a contractor) for 3 years.

OP, there is no such thing as having a house "wired for free cable." There is nothing wrong/illegal about wiring your house for cable. This is done all the time when new houses are built. Cable gets wired to any and all rooms in the house that an owner could possibly need someday for their TV/modem locations. All of these feeds meet up at some junction in the house, which is almost always in the basement near where the power/phone interfaces are.

An outside line enters the house at this junction in the basement. This is the feed from the cable system main line that actually gives you the cable signal in your home. The "interface" for turning this line on/off (which consists of simply screwing the end of the line into a port, or disconnecting it) is either above the street or above your backyard as part of the "telephone pole lines", or in a (locked) box in your yard somewhere (if you live in an area with an underground cable system).

When someone cancels their service for whatever reason (moving, don't want it anymore, etc.), the cable company is SUPPOSED to come out and disconnect your feed at the interface for your house. Sometimes this just doesn't happen. Either because of an oversight, or the technician responsible for the job didn't feel like climbing into that pine tree to reach the tap (interface) above your backyard, and just marked the job as done. So if a new owner moves in one day, and just randomly tried to hook their TV up to that port on their living room wall, it will still work for them as it did for the previous owner because it wasn't actually disconnected.

So in the OP's situation, both parties are essentially at fault. The OP is knowingly using the active cable for free, and the cable company didn't properly disconnect cable service from that house in the past. Since the OP is just using basic, analog cable, there is no hardware system or means of tracking this by the cable company... unless the entire cable system had a complete makeover in the 3 years since I last did that job. It's very basic stuff.

To further explain what happens in a situation like this (a customer that wants cable modem, but no TV service) -- if you order cable internet, a technician will come out and install the modem. Then they have to go turn your service "on" at the interface outside somewhere that I mentioned earlier. It is here that they will become aware that the cable feed to the house is already "on." Now, there's a good chance they just might not care at all or assume that you are paying for cable TV already. But a more thorough technician will look into the situation and just find out that the service wasn't disconnected properly in the past. They might ask you if you're using their cable TV, or they might just turn on one of your TVs in the house and claim they're just "checking something." Just disconnect your TVs from the cable line before the tech comes out and they can't prove anything about you using the service without paying.

BUT, what will likely happen is that the technician will do what they're supposed to do which is apply a filter to the line to your house that allows the cable modem signal to pass, but blocks all of the television signals. So if you order cable internet, you're 99% safe from being charged/prosecuted/some other crap... but you will in all likelihood lose your free TV access.

Is what mike said true?

(they can see exaclty when and how long you've used the connection)

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: smack Down

Originally posted by: Mike
Depends on the cable company. In my area, you'd get shut down, refused service (even if willing to pay), sent a bill for the cable usage (they can see exaclty when and how long you've used the connection), and then prosecuted (misdemeanor).

Complete BS.

agreed. OP, get a self install kit.