Technical Difficulties Affect Some Comcast Customers

Comcast customers in some of its northeastern territory have been experiencing technical difficulties this week as the cableco works to normalize its DVR feature, while tackling an unspecified video-on-demand (VoD) problem.

The cableco cited the process of adding customers from Adelphia Communications for a disruption of its DVR service in several New England states, forcing customers to use an on-screen menu, rather than the normal My DVR button on the remote, for at least a few more weeks.

Customers in eastern Massachusetts calling to report the problem on Thursday were greeted with a recording informing them that Comcast was experiencing technical difficulties with its VoD service and was working on the unspecified problem.

The series of customer disruptions come at a difficult time for Comcast, which is facing increasing competition from Verizon’s FiOS IPTV-driven triple-play bundle in states such as Massachusetts, where the cableco just raised rates.

“We’re trying to provide consistency” explained a Comcast customer care staffer, of the DVR problem, noting that new customers from Adelphia will be able to use the on-screen menu to control the feature until all are brought back to the remote-control approach. The cableco says that should happen by March 17.

A call the cableco’s customer care center Thursday yielded no details on the VoD technical difficulties its recorded message told customers of on Wednesday.

In the meantime, Comcast is aggressively moving to attract new customers to its triple-play service, offering digital cable, VoIP and high-speed Internet access for $99 a month for the first year of subscription.

The cableco is also moving to add functionality to its services, having recently signed a deal with popular social networking site Facebook to air select videos. Rival Verizon announced a similar deal yesterday with online video site Revver.

Adelphia Communications www.adelphia.com

Comcast Corp. www.comcast.com

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