Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Digital cable box
not needed for someQuestion: I got a call from someone from Oceanic Cable one night, saying Oceanic is converting to digital and needed to exchange our cable box. She said there would be no charge for the exchange, our monthly bill would not increase (I asked her that twice) and they'd call back to arrange a date. A week later, my husband got a call from an Oceanic representative to set up a date. When he asked about the bill, the representative said our bill will increase and if we didn't do the box exchange soon, we'd be charged for installation. Why don't we have a choice to stay with analog or get digital? We haven't received any written information from Oceanic. What's going on?
Answer: Oceanic plans to phase out its premium channels and pay-per-view offerings on its analog boxes "way before the end of the year" and is in the midst of a telemarketing promotional campaign to have subscribers switch to digital boxes.
Without knowing exactly what you now subscribe to, Sandy Davis, Oceanic's director of customer care, said she couldn't speculate on what information you were or were not given. However, she said, you were called probably because you subscribe to Oceanic's premium channels (such as HBO and Cinemax) or are a "big user" of pay-per-view offerings.
If you are a customer who doesn't subscribe to anything above standard service, "you're fine," she said.
Customers do have a choice to stay with the analog box, but if so, they will not be able to receive any premium or pay-per-view channels, she said. They will be able to receive only standard cable channels.
During the current promotion, switching the analog box for a digital one is free, and there will be no additional charge for the digital service for at least a year, Davis said. Depending on what services you subscribe to, you may be charged an additional $4 after one year.
"Moving up into the digital world" means customers will have more channels to select from, Davis added.
There is no exact date on when the switch to digital will occur.
"We are trying to get as many people as possible converted (to digital) in a timely fashion and make it as easy for them as possible," Davis said.
While information is being disseminated via phone calls now, customers who don't switch by a certain time will receive a letter "advising them what the actual (switch-over) date would be," she said.
"If they haven't gotten a call, they will be getting one advising them of the change-out," Davis said.
Call 625-8100 for more information.
Mahalo
To the city's abandoned vehicle section for assisting me, without failure, in taking back our street. I find it ironic that on the same day ("Kokua Line," Feb. 9) that you printed that "auwe" about abandoned vehicles, another vehicle was being removed off our street. The people who handle abandoned vehicles are well organized, hard-working and very polite. Just call 733-2530 and provide them with the make, model, license plate (if available) and a precise location, and they do the rest. -- Alex Matthews, Pearl City
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Useful phone numbers
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com