Service Electric Cablevision is one of those monopolies that customers wish didn't exist. There are multiple different Service Electrics to cause confusion, but this is the company with locations in Birdsboro, Danville, Hazleton, Mahanoy City, and Sunbury.
First, the company does not have the resources (money) to compete with the larger cable companies such as Comcast or Time Warner. If you are looking for the latest and greatest, sign up to Direct TV or Dish. Customer complaints for basic channels such as The Comcast Network, that took years to get, often go unanswered. People missed many Phillies games over the years due to this lack of resources.
The company's greatest weakness is with the internet packages. Welcome to the world of high prices and low speeds compared to many of their competitors. As customers there is very little we can do about it, Verizon DSL is weak in the area and FIOS will never happen. As a surprise they also have bandwidth caps, meaning you can only download and use your internet so much per month. Cut the cable and only have Netflix? Better not watch more than 2 movies a day or you'll get a threatening letter! Previously, they only had metered bandwidth at certain hours (5 p.m. - 1 a.m.), but that has been changed. Be prepared to pay if you look into business accounts from PTD instead, they are expensive.
If you need any service or activations after normal hours (4:30-5:00 pm)...good luck. I've had a situation where they cannot activate a new modem after normal hours, so get ready to take time off of work to get any major changes done. Equipment rentals are also fun, Digital Transport Adapters are one of the greatest schemes I've seen I.E. "encryption." Prices also continue to rise, so I'm glad we now have Golf Channel and Lifetime Movie Network, about the two most useless channels imaginable.
Prior to 2007, Service Electric Cablevision would not install Cable to the area where I live due to the lack of customers. I am much happier with it, but many problems exist compared to 2007 when we first had it installed. Is it better than nothing? Sadly yes...sadly. I feel for the college students at Bloomsburg University or people new to the area, as Service Electrics low quality must be a great shock to them after coming from areas with Comcast or Time Warner. Three miles outside of town off a main road and you can't get cable or internet? Hell of a welcome to Northeast Pennsylvania. If another competitive provider ever came to the area such as Verizon FIOS, I would give Service Electric Cablevision six months at best as the exodus of customers leaving would be astounding. read more