Cutting the cord and going over the top

With Lincoln Telephone Company ending cable TV service to the community Dec. 31, cable subscribers only have two months left to settle on their future entertainment options.

The company's decision to drop cable comes amid a growing nationwide "cord cutting" trend that has seen users move away from cable services and toward online streaming options.

Lincoln Telephone is one of the last communication companies in the state to abandon cable service. 3 Rivers Communication in Fairfield also chose to discontinue cable this year and will shut off their service tomorrow, Oct. 31.

Both Lincoln Telephone and 3 Rivers were among the last members of the Montana Cable Telecommunications Association, which has advocated for the cable industry in the state since 1959. The MCTA announced in July that it will fold at the end of 2019.

Ultimately, the increasing cost of cable programming and the pending completion of Lincoln Telephones fiber optic installation, which allows them to offer high speed internet and streaming video, prompted the company to make the break from cable television, a service they've provided since about 1990.

Lincoln Telephone General Manager Aaron Daniel said the company has completed fiber optic connections to everyone east of town and are currently scheduling installation to homes in Lincoln. He said the plan is to ensure all their cable customers have their fiber optic lines hooked up before the end of the year.

Daniel said news of the decision shouldn't come as a surprise to cable customers at this point. During the past several months the company has advertised the upcoming change in service and detailed it in letters to customers, the latest going out about two weeks ago

"It just doesn't make sense to keep cable TV going at this point," Daniel said, explaining that the company has been losing $6 per subscriber per month on cable programming costs alone.

"That's not adding the (cost of ) power, the cost of maintenance, the cost of trouble tickets or the cost of bringing our head end up to where we could do hi definition. The whole head end would have to be changed out to do hi definition."

In addition to the infrastructure and support costs involved in improving and maintaining cable TV, programming costs have continued to rise as well.

"If we were to keep it, we'd have to charge close to $100 a month to make any money. All the programming costs...everything's going up, up to six percent and as high as 12 percent," Daniel said.

With the end of cable service on the horizon, Daniel said Lincoln Telephone has made continuous effort to inform its customers about the change and they are working to educate them on the media options available over the network, referred to as "over the top" or OTT services.

"They can make the decision on whether they want to go over the top or with Dish or Direct (satellite services)" he said. "We're trying to keep our customers with the best options."

Since internet is an essential service these days, Daniels said the company is urging customers to make the switch to an OTT option, rather than through a competing satellite service.

"We don't feel Dish and Direct are the best options," he said. "We feel for some people, they would save money by going over the top with Hulu, or Netflix, the hi speed Internet options."

The service they are recommending is Hulu, which he said is priced right and provides access to three local channels, apart from CBS, through its Live Now service.

Daniel said another benefit of going the OTT route is its portability, which he believes is a nice feature for Lincoln seasonal residents or cabins owners. Rather than paying an additional bill for local cable or satellite service, they can simply bring their OTT device with them.

People or businesses who have multiple screens may face additional challenges, since OTT devices don't typically support more than one TV.

"With cable TV, you just hook it up and it works. Over the top is a little different, takes a little more knowledge," he said. "Some have Dish or Direct and use multiple streaming devices, but you can get everything off the internet if you want it."

The need to switch to a streaming or satellite service isn't a popular move with everyone, and there is concern that elderly residents who are used to simply turning on their TV and finding their programs may struggle with the new technology.

Sherri Wood, who recently retired, has four TVs in her house and is concerned about making the jump. She and Becca O'Leary , who were working at the thrift store on Oct. 18, said they don't like the idea of losing cable, but agreed that the concerns generally fall along generational lines.

Wood admitted she is familiar with computers and the internet, and is adept at using her smartphone, but she said the whole concept of the online services seems very foreign at the moment.

"Once we make the change and we're in there and doing stuff, I think we're going to be really happy with it," she said. "It's just that at a certain age, change is not easy. We want our stuff just the way we want it and don't make us change.

She and her husband Bob plan to go to the telephone company and look at their options, and she said they're lucky to have two smart kids who can help them out.

Concern about the older generation isn't new to Daniel and he said that concern, held by Lincoln Telephone President Bob Orr, is one of the reasons they held on with cable for as long as they did.

Daniel said the decline in internet and cable trouble tickets will free up technicians for more one-on-one consultations with people frustrated with the new technology

"In the future, we're even going to have it where a technician can actually go and sit down with them at their house and help them out with some over-the-top options," he said.

Although the company plans stick to its core business by always offering telephone service for Lincoln, communication technology is evolving, and Lincoln telephone has to evolve with it.

"We're slowly going from a phone company to a broadband company," Daniel said. To that end, they are introducing a new internet-only package for customers that doesn't require a landline telephone.

"We've been required up to this point where everybody has to (have a phone) but things have change to where now we don't have to," he said.

For more information in the end of cable service or on the options for Internet and online steaming services, contact Lincoln Telephone at 362-4216 or stop in at the office on Stemple Pass Road.