Comcast's plans to upgrade its Santa Rosa cable network, which will result in more digital features and eventually faster Internet, is requiring hundreds of customers to turn in their old cable boxes by mid-December.
However, customers do not have to pay more money for the new boxes or subscribe to digital cable, said Andrew Johnson, Comcast's Bay Area spokesman.
"Some of the boxes out there are several years old," Johnson said. "We would like people to swap out those boxes."
The new network will use a higher frequency that older boxes will not be able to process, according to Comcast. The Philadelphia-based cable provider sent postcards to affected customers in Santa Rosa, warning they could lose service without a new box when the company begins turning on sections of the new network Dec. 12.
People who do not use a cable box, and instead plug the cable directly into their television, will not be affected.
The company announced its plan to upgrade Santa Rosa's cable network last December. The city's current system is like a two-lane highway that can handle only a limited number of channels driving down it at once. The upgrade will double the traffic capacity, giving Comcast the ability to add features already available in most of Sonoma County.
People with digital cable will be able to receive additional high-definition channels, and also download free movies and shows that can be watched anytime on their TV -- known as video on demand. The new network will also allow the company to begin offering its digital phone service in Santa Rosa.
Eventually, customers in Santa Rosa will be offered Internet access at speeds up to 100 mbps, Johnson said. However, the higher speeds will not be available for at least a year, and probably longer.
"It opens up a whole bunch of opportunities for consumers," Johnson said.
That's good for Comcast, which suddenly finds itself in direct competition with AT&T's new TV service.
AT&T started offering its competing digital-only TV and Internet service in very limited parts of Santa Rosa this summer. The rollout has been slow.
The telephone company's service enters the home on traditional phone lines.
Santa Rosa-based Sonic.net also has announced plans to deliver faster Internet, up to 24 mbps. But that plan has been delayed as the company continues to jump through regulatory hurdles to get its equipment into AT&T's central office.
Comcast plans to discontinue its analog service at some point in the next few years, leaving digital cable as its only option, Johnson said. About 40 percent of customers in the Bay Area currently have analog service.
It switched its network in Chicago to an all-digital cable network this summer. Most residents were required to get a digital cable box, unless they had TVs already outfitted with a slot for digital cards issued by the cable company.
Discontinuing the traditional analog signal opens up space on the network to offer new digital features and TV stations. Comcast can replace one analog channel with two high-definition digital channels or six standard definition digital channels.
While the company has no immediate plans to eliminate its analog service in Sonoma County, it has already begun cutting channels from its traditional service to make room for more digital offerings. In September, it cut KFTY, Channel 10, from its analog service, and the Hallmark Channel is also moving to digital only.
"Eventually, everybody will be all-digital," Johnson said. "This obviously sets the stage for that."
To trade an old analog box for a new digital box, Comcast customers can either stop by their local Comcast office or call the company to arrange to exchange boxes in the mail, Johnson said.
More than 500 boxes in the Santa Rosa area need to be swapped, he added.
People who have been using an old box on a new TV will notice an improvement in the picture and audio quality when they hook up a new box, Johnson said.
"These boxes are like old 8-track tape decks that we are asking people to swap out for a new CD player," he said.
You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson@pressdemocrat.com.COMCAST UPGRADE
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