AdamsWells getting out of the cable TV business, will help customers transition to the internet
By MARK MILLER
AdamsWells Internet Telecom TV will be changing its name some time in 2023. “TV” will no longer be a part of their services.
“We’ve seen it coming,” said Lee VonGunten, general manager.
What brought the matter to a final head is the decision by AdamsWells’ video service provider, the Indiana Video Network, to “shut down its video service in January 2023” according to the email sent to the company’s video subscribers Wednesday. That message announced that TV service will no longer be provided by AdamsWells after Dec. 31, 2022.
“We don’t want to take that part of our name away immediately,” he explained, “because we will probably be continuing to get our current customers fully through the transition. But yes, it will definitely go away some time next year.”
Indiana Video Network is a collaboration of eight independent telecom and internet providers around the state — much like AdamsWells — to offer cable television services to their customers. All but one of those companies will discontinue video services at the end of this year.
“And that one company has some different circumstances that gives them options the rest of us don’t have,” he said but he would also be surprised to see them still in the business in two or three years.
“The cable television industry has been bleeding (customers) for years,” he said. It’s at the point that there are now more people getting their TV “over the top or ‘OTT’ which means over the internet,” he explained. “More people do that now than through the traditional ‘cable’ model. And that will only continue.”
At its peak, AdamsWells had about 800 TV customers, but that’s down to about 630 now.
The letter to customers also noted the “increasingly higher rates” charged by the channels in the package and that the equipment for providing the service was becoming obsolete and would be difficult to replace.
The message he would share with customers, as noted in the letter is “but we will be here to help,” VonGunten continued.
“Actually, I don’t really want to go through this myself at home,” he said. “But,” he quickly continued, “it’s all very doable. It’s just a matter of getting through the transition and getting accustomed to it.”
He notes that “most people under 40 or even 50 are already doing this and have been doing this.”
Options noted in the letter to subscribers include setting up an antenna for local channels and several options for streaming.
“We will still be providing the internet service of course,” he said. AdamsWells is Bluffton’s largest internet service provider, helping the city obtain “gigabit” status several years ago.
Adams Wells has purchased a number of Roku boxes they will offer to current customers at cost, and the company’s technicians will help people make the changes.
“Our No. 1 goal is to make sure every customer is comfortable,” said Lenny Stringer. He figures his title is something like head technician or head of customer service. “Whatever needs done,” he said.
“These Roku things are really much more user friendly than people anticipate,” he said. “We understand many of our customers will need some assistance, and that’s what we’re here for.”
miller@news-banner.com
