Maine needs more oversight of cable and broadband providers | Letter
Spectrum’s shift to Xumo raises concerns among older Maine subscribers
A letter to the editor in the Press Herald highlighted growing frustration among long‑time Spectrum cable customers in Wells, Maine, over the company’s recent changes to its equipment and pricing. The writer, Stan Goldberg, a Wells resident in his mid‑80s, said the company’s move away from traditional cable boxes has made his service “complicated, unreliable and expensive.”
Goldberg has had cable TV since the early 1980s, when the service first became available in his town. He now pays $305.67 a month for a package that includes many channels he does not watch. He described the choice as “take it or leave it” – and pay. “It is hard not to feel taken advantage of,” he wrote.
The letter recounts an attempt to switch to Spectrum’s new Xumo system, which the company claims is a way to reduce costs. A Spectrum representative at the company’s office in Biddeford offered Goldberg a savings of about $30 a month if he switched. Goldberg tried the new service, but after months of frustration he decided to return to the old cable boxes. It was then he learned the equipment rental fee had risen to $18 per box, or $54 a month.
“We’re seeing the price rise to $18 per box — $54 every month just to rent equipment,” Goldberg wrote. He added that Spectrum has admitted it is moving away from traditional cable boxes, but that raising prices to push customers toward Xumo is “not right.”
The letter notes that there is little competition in the area and no meaningful state oversight of cable and broadband providers. “With little competition in the area and no meaningful state oversight, Spectrum can keep increasing prices while customers have few practical alternatives,” Goldberg said.
He concluded that the company’s push toward the Xumo streaming platform feels like “progress” to some, but to many older customers it feels like they’re being backed into a corner. “Maine needs real oversight of cable and broadband providers,” he wrote. “Consumers should not be forced to pay more for worse service, confusing equipment and fewer choices.”
The letter has prompted discussion among local residents and consumer advocates about the need for clearer regulation and more transparent pricing from cable and broadband providers. It also highlights a broader trend of traditional cable services moving toward streaming and subscription models, a shift that has left some long‑time subscribers feeling uncertain about the future of their service.
