Getting to come home from class, flip on the TV and scan through dozens of clear channels would be almost priceless for some Boston University students.
“I would pay as much as it takes,” said College of Communication sophomore Sarah Upton. “It’s kind of embarrassing when you are an ad major and can’t even watch the Super Bowl. And I would give anything to watch Cartoon Network when I want to.”
But the price students may actually pay if cable comes to campus is difficult to predict, since local colleges offer students varying programming and billing options.
At Boston College and Emerson College, students’ rooms automatically come with cable access, and the price is included in their housing fee.
Other schools, such as Northeastern University, require students to contact cable companies and pay directly. Many schools also allow students to pay extra for special features such as digital cable and additional channels like HBO.
INSTALLATION
Most schools buy basic cable in bulk and pass on the costs to all residents, said Jerry Barnes, president of Falls Earth Station Inc., a cable company that provides service to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and about 30 other colleges. But he cautioned that programming is not the only cost.
When calculating the price to charge, universities must also include the cost of equipment, the money initially invested in installing a cable plant and maintenance fees.
Before schools offer cable, Barnes said they must build a physical plant – a cable nerve center that serves as the backbone of the school’s cable network.
Barnes said he couldn’t estimate how much it would cost to install a cable plant at BU because he isn’t familiar with the campus.
When Yale began preparing to offer cable in 1996, a Yale Daily News story reported that it would cost between $1.5 million and $2 million. MIT spent $300,000 to install their initial cable plant in 1975, said Randy Winchester, webmaster of the school’s cable information website.
Around 1994, a local cable company installed cable for free at Hamilton House and Danielsen Hall – the only BU dorms that currently offer cable – said Director of Housing Marc Robillard.
“The cable company agreed to wire the buildings with phone, internet and cable wiring for free in exchange for being able to offer cable services to our students,” he wrote in an email.
But after the two buildings were wired, Robillard said BU decided not to have the company wire other buildings.
While the Dean of Students Office and the Student Union is forming a committee to discuss bringing cable to campus, Robillard said the housing staff is researching how much cable in residences would cost. Once the proper information is gathered, he said the staff will share its findings with the committee.
Comcast did not respond to inquiries about how much cable service or installation would cost at BU.
MONTHLY SERVICE
Barnes said once schools build the physical plant they have a lot of freedom to choose what kind of programming they want and how much to spend.
“It is a philosophical thing that the university and the student body have to decide,” he said.
Because schools can buy service in bulk, Barnes said the monthly charge for each room generally ranges from $4 to $12.
MIT and Tufts provide students with basic cable service, including channels such as FOX News and the Cartoon Network, free with the cost of their room and board. MIT students can tune in to two campus television stations and five more school-run channels that broadcast lectures, school announcements, films and community events.
At both schools, students have additional options. For $13.99 per month, students can subscribe to a digital service.
Students can also pay to gain access to pay-per-view movies and sporting events, as well as channels such as HBO and Showtime. If students choose to subscribe to the digital service, Barnes’ company requires students to pay their bills online.
Current Hamilton House and Danielson residents can purchase cable through Comcast but must contact the company themselves. Students at Northeastern and the few lucky BU students who are able to subscribe to Comcast cable pay regular subscription fees.
According to Comcast’s website, standard cable costs $47.25 per month, and a “digital silver package” includes 30 to 40 channels for $76.70.
Student Union President Carl Woog said the committee, which should be formed by Spring Break, will study student preferences to determine what types of payment and programming options would best suit students. While he said it’s too early to know how students might be charged, he suggested students might pay for cable individually, as they pay their long distance phone service through Verizon.
“My goal is that with whatever system we would have, it would be very easy for students to just check a box and say, ‘Yes, I want cable,'” Woog said.
But Barnes warned that including cable for all residents is the best way to ensure the university doesn’t lose money through students cheating the system by illegal splicing.
“The proper way to do this would be to build up a system and give everyone basic bulk service and offer digital for the subscribers,” Barnes said, also noting that bulk service is cheaper.
Now that fuzzy rabbit-ear reception could come into focus at BU, some students are starting to worry about prices.
“You shouldn’t be forced to pay for it, but there should definitely be options,” said College of General Studies freshman Arielle Dworkin.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Michael Courtney said optional cable should be available — but he wouldn’t pay more than $25 per month.
Other students would prefer if cable came with the dorm room.
“It would be easier if the cost was included in the housing fees, but they’d probably screw us on the price,” said CAS sophomore Jenny Haes.