Comcast’s “Digital Migration” a Migraine for Basic Cable Customers

We’ve recently been getting some calls from Comcast basic cable customers complaining about how their signal has either become scrambled or has greatly lowered in quality. This is occurring because Comcast has begun to encrypt the high definition (HD) signals of their basic cable channel lineup, just as they have done with the rest of their channels for some time.

Basic cable channels are cable broadcasts of channels that are typically available for free over the air (OTA). For some people, getting OTA broadcasts is difficult, and so it is easier or even necessary to pay a small monthly rate to have these channels provided by Comcast. Beginning the week of November 4th, basic cable subscribers are now required to pay an additional fee to upgrade their cable, and may need to rent additional equipment from Comcast. This is partly due to a ruling made by the FCC last year that allowed cable companies to encrypt their basic cable service.

If you’re experiencing this issue, one alternative is to see if you can receive the channels you want over the air by attaching an antenna to the back of your TV. While the traditional “rabbit ears” style of antenna may pull in a signal, there are also newer amplified antennas designed for HD that may do a better job pulling in all of the channels you want. Keep in mind that this will only give you access to channels that broadcast over the air (such as NBC or OPB) and not to channels that broadcast exclusively over cable. This option will not work for everyone, and it’s advised that you purchase your antenna from a store that offers a good return policy in case you find that you’re unable to get the channels you want.

Comcast customers in Fairview, Gresham, Portland, Troutdale, Wood Village and Multnomah County can contact the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission (MHCRC) to file a complaint about this situation. Outside of the MHCRC, Oregon customers can file a complaint directly with the FCC. We would also like to hear from you as well if you’ve been having issues with Comcast recently. You can contact us by using our contact form. Please put “Comcast” in the subject line.

We also encourage consumers to visit CUBConnects.org to see if there are other options that might work for you. While we primarily include television service under the bundles telecom companies offer, consumers should be able to determine what other companies provide service to their home. If you have questions, please give our hotline a call at 1-855-892-4314. Thanks to all the consumers who’ve called in to alert us to this concern.

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