New technology offers cable or satellite choice for condos, apartments

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WILL DICKEY/The Times-Union
DirecTV system operator Dave Hoffmeyer shows a satellite dish that has been camouflaged to match the surrounding greenery at Sandpiper at Sweetwater condominiums. DirecTV now offers services for multi-dwelling units.




When Steve Sepe moved into his new home at the Sandpiper at Sweetwater condominium complex on Jacksonville's Southside, he found one drawback: he couldn't get satellite television service.
"I had always had DirecTV before I moved here," he said. "The only way I could do it here was to put it [a satellite dish] on my lanai, which I didn't want to do because it wouldn't look so good."
But after checking into the problem, Sepe discovered that DirecTV has a solution. The satellite television company has developed technology in the last couple of years that allows residents of multifamily buildings - that is apartments and condominiums - to receive service using just one dish for the entire building. That means that Sandpiper residents now have a choice of television providers: They can receive cable service from Comcast Corp. or satellite service from DirecTV. Most multifamily buildings only offer one type of service.
David Hoffmeyer, a local system operator for DirecTV, said he has been offering the technology for six to eight months and has installed it at about a half-dozen multifamily properties. But he expects that number to grow rapidly as more people become aware of it.
"What property owner is not going to want to provide choice?" he said
Mike Olson, vice president of multi-dwelling units for DirecTV, said the company has deployed the technology in about 6,000 developments nationwide.
"We've got everything from 80-unit apartment complexes to 3,000-unit housing developments," he said.
The advantage of the technology is that it allows DirecTV to provide its complete service to a large number of homes using just one satellite dish.
"Everyone assumes they need the ugly dish on the balcony," Olson said. But this system keeps the dish out of view.
"It actually improves the value of the property," he said.
At Sandpiper, Hoffmeyer planted a dish camouflaged to blend in with the surrounding greenery. An underground wire connects the dish to an electrical closet in the building, so nothing is visible. A multiwire box in the closet connects to each unit in the building, just as an adjacent Comcast box can connect to every unit.
Jacksonville area residents have been getting more choices for television service in the last couple of years. AT&T Inc. began rolling out its U-verse television service in Northeast Florida in August 2008. AT&T spokeswoman Gretchen Schultz said in an e-mail that the company will work with multifamily dwelling owners on the wiring requirements to get U-verse service in those buildings. But U-verse is not yet available in all areas of Jacksonville, as the company continues to build its infrastructure for the service.
In addition to new competitors, multifamily dwellers are also benefiting from a two-year-old Federal Communications Commission ruling that banned the use of exclusivity clauses between building owners and television providers.
Comcast provides service to about 300,000 households in the Jacksonville area. DirecTV and U-verse won't provide figures for local subscribers.
Bill Ferry, vice president of government affairs for Comcast, said the cable company is not doing anything to prevent new competitors from entering buildings that are already wired for Comcast.
"There is a whole host of FCC rules and regulations with inside wiring and access and we comply with all of those," he said.
But he said competitors need to make sure the installation of new wiring doesn't disrupt service for Comcast customers. "There does need to be some dialogue between providers," he said.
Ferry also said there may be some issues with wiring in individual buildings that could affect the ability for new providers to come in. "That has to be looked at on a case-by-case basis," he said.
Hoffmeyer said condominium dwellers that are interested in getting their buildings wired for DirecTV need to talk to their neighbors and work with their homeowners association to decide if they want the service. Apartment dwellers should contact their property owners.