Are you a Suddenlink customer and having trouble with your cable on your old television set? Well, there’s a reason for that.
On Tuesday, Suddenlink announced its completion of an all-digital TV upgrade in Kinston. Customers will have access to more than 30 new high-definition channels such as ESPNews, HBO2, NFL Red Zone, Disney and Turner Classic Movies. The HD channels a customer receives will depend on which package has been purchased through the company.
“If you bought a package with some of the channels we’ll have in HD, you can get those free of charge,” Senior Vice President of NC Operations Phil Ahlschlager said.
For those who have televisions who lost signal because of the conversion, a DTA (Digital Terminal Adapter) DigitaLink box can be picked up for free.
“The DTA converts digital signals from analog so older televisions can receive a signal,” Ahlschlager said. “They can be found on our website at suddenlink.com, picked up at our office in Kinston or we can install one at a residence if needed.”
Each box given comes with instructions, but there will be no charge for installation.
“It’s relatively easy for the customer to install the box, but if someone needed us to come, we could without any problem,” Ahlschlager said.
Suddenlink had been planning the move from analog to digital for several months and customers were informed about the transition in February. The company was set on giving people a clearer picture, better sound quality and additional channels.
“We needed some additional bandwidth for our network in Kinston-Lenoir County and the best way to do it is all digital,” Ahlschlager said. “Analog takes up a lot of bandwidth, while digital takes up less and gives us the ability to add more channels and give a better quality. We’ve wanted to do this for a while and now we can give people access to more variety and set the network up for more TV channels in the future.”
Suddenlink will be targeting New Bern next, transferring the town’s service in the same manner of Kinston. The projected time for change is the second week of July.
For those who still need DTAs, the office hours will be extended to 6 p.m. today at the Suddenlink location, 1200 W. New Bern Road in Kinston. On Saturday, there will be a truck at the Vernon Park Mall with the boxes between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“We’re prepared for those individuals who come at the last minute,” Ahlschlager said. “Even if they miss us this week, we will continue to keep DTA boxes at our disposal.”
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.
Not getting reception?
For anyone who is trying to place an order for a DTA box, call Suddenlink’s customer service at 252-523-7511.