# What does Comcast do with old Dish equipment?



## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

I got the usual "please leave Dish/DirecTV and join us" mailing from Comcast this week, and I was bored enough to read the fine print. With the deal it was offering, Comcast would take not only my Dish antenna but also my receiver!

And that made me wonder: What the heck does Comcast do when the installer truck comes back with a dozen Dish/DirecTV setups? Sell them on eBay? Strip out components that work with digital cable? Throw them in a landfill?


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## Cyclone (Jul 1, 2002)

Landfill.

A sexy landfill.


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## ramcm7 (Aug 1, 2002)

They send it to their marketing department. They look to see what pay-per-views you purchased on your old equipment and target market you for similar fare. Depending on the type of shows you purchased, perhaps they would threaten to tell your neighbors and co-workers of your viewing habits if you don't buy more Comcast pay-per-views and premium services. An interesting marketing strategy!  :contract:


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## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

They take it home and install it for their own personal use so they can save money and have a better quality signal. 

(Let the battle begin...)


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## Shappyss (Jun 26, 2004)

They want to keep you from going back to dish after you see how bad cable is


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## redfishhunter (Aug 5, 2004)

durl said:


> They take it home and install it for their own personal use so they can save money and have a better quality signal.
> 
> (Let the battle begin...)


This has a lot of truth...Not many receivers go back to the cable comp. I would say 1/10 goes back. No kidding.... :eek2:


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## cyberized (Mar 7, 2003)

That's what I was thinking when I gave up my 508 to them in June - BUT, can't be, because the Comcast Tech pulled the DISH Card of the 508 and gave it to me before he took it. So it would not be useable. (I don't think) They took my Dish too - I heard that they sometimes leave the Dish.


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

A few years ago our local cable company had a "buy-back" program for satellite subscribers. They took the dishes and "stored" them on their lot (a fenced in area where their big rolls of cable were kept). The dishes were there for a long time but when another company bought the cable company they got rid of the dishes. I was told that they sold them (and the receivers too) on eBay.


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## Mike Richardson (Jun 12, 2003)

It would be foolish to discard the receivers. Because they are offering the buy back program they almost certainly sell them in order to recover the costs of offering the buy back.


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## waydwolf (Feb 2, 2003)

From direct experience, as an installer for Comcast among other operators, I can tell you the receivers are trashed when they build up too much at the warehouse, as are dishes. Installers may feel free to trash the dishes almost immediately as well as any diplexors or switches.

They are not installed at our homes as in-house techs get free or discounted cable depending on their service chosen while contractors usually make more than enough to afford good service. Sadly, DNSC doesn't give free Dish to its own installers while Halstead does give DirecTV to its installers making them the only dish outfit to come close to giving the same kind of perk that cable has given for years.


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## midnight75 (Jun 25, 2004)

durl said:


> They take it home and install it for their own personal use so they can save money and have a better quality signal.


I know of cable company employees who have either DirecTV or Dish. I always laugh when I hear of one who does. :lol:


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

What's to prevent me from giving the cable company an old dish and receiver? They certainly can't come into the house to verify that they got all of the equipment. Wouldn't happen with me anyway.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

Thats the way to go a nice 1000 with broken remote

Or ny box with a big balance owed..


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## Jacob S (Apr 14, 2002)

I talked to a Charter cable installer that has Dish Network at his home. I thought that was funny.


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## Guest (Nov 12, 2004)

Dish Network employees get no free Dish Network. Most of them have Cable. How about that for a change?


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## Guest (Nov 12, 2004)

When the cable company wanted to take my dish away, I did not let them. I put up a huge fight. I almost ended up losing the fight. I hit the cable guy with the remote but he retaliated by hitting me with the dish box. It kind of knocked me down for a sec but than I got up and hit the guy with the switch 64 and he fell hard. When he came to, he realized who he was messin with and ran. I chased him down by throwing the dish 500 at him and that was that.


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## jpurkey (May 15, 2003)

Maybe they use the dishes in their commercials, you know the one where the dish blows off the house. Or was that an Energizer Bunny commercial?


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## Cheyenne (Apr 23, 2002)

waydwolf said:


> From direct experience, as an installer for Comcast among other operators, I can tell you the receivers are trashed when they build up too much at the warehouse, as are dishes. Installers may feel free to trash the dishes almost immediately as well as any diplexors or switches.
> 
> They are not installed at our homes as in-house techs get free or discounted cable depending on their service chosen while contractors usually make more than enough to afford good service. Sadly, DNSC doesn't give free Dish to its own installers while Halstead does give DirecTV to its installers making them the only dish outfit to come close to giving the same kind of perk that cable has given for years.


And where do the Smart Cards go?


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2004)

Maybe they save them until they want to buy out some small cable company cheap. They could give them to the folks in the area so they would drop their cable and lower the value of the prospective buyout. Once they acquire it at the cheaper price, they offer a trade in and begin a new cycle of acquisition.


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