jason mccabe

A friend has asked me to help him set up an MDU system for a new 80-unit
apartment complex that he owns. He wants to get bulk pricing from DirecTV
or Dish Network and then resell it to his tenants at a higher price. The
installation should be simple enough; we just need to install a triple-LNB
dish (for locals in that area) on each of the 17 buildings, and a few
multiswitches where required. Each of the 80 units would get its own
receiver.

It seems that everywhere I look, you have to pay some big company big bucks
to design and manage a system for you. But I am well aware that this is not
rocket science. To stay within budget, we just want to buy the hardware and
do the installation ourselves. Is this possible? If so, where can we buy
the hardware at a reasonable price? After we do the install, will DTV/Dish
let the owner activate without any hassle? Or will they not deal with him
since he didn't use one of their overpriced cohorts?

Thanks,
Jason

lenroc

[Followup To set to alt.dss]


Have you seen http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/buy/Business_Com.dsp ?

--
Lenroc

thesatguy

The smart move is to install the standard distribution system and let each
unit buy and subscribe.
You cannot markup the service and the tenants can simply put their own
system in and bypass your system so it makes no sense to waste your time and
money hoping nobody will catch on that they don't need your system.

jason mccabe

Yes, but when I called the number they give, there was a recording that
referred me to one of three companies that want lots of money. So then I
tried calling one of DTV's main numbers and asking them about MDU plans, and
they gave me some other number that plays a similar recording. This was
after I specifically said that I didn't want to deal with a third party.
ARGH!

jason mccabe

He doesn't want to mark it up past what the residents would pay themselves.
In fact, he would offer it a little cheaper. The bulk pricing for Total
Choice Plus is something like $16/month, so he could charge something like
$30.

ed nielsen

Call PDI at 1-800-242-1606. Ask for Eddie. Their Website is
<http://www.pdi-sat.com/>


CIAO!

Ed Nielsen
CENCOM
http://www.cencom94.com

frederick barstow

You don't understand the industry. MDU installers have been trained
and certified by the satellite company for their specialized skills, and the
satellite companies have a vested interest in seeing that MDU installations
are done right (to protect the industry's reputation). MDU installation is
certainly not rocket science, but neither is it in the realm of a DIYer's
skills,
either. There is a lot of what is called "signal budgeting" involved -
calculation of the amount of signal that is dissipated along each run and
at each component and connection - and it all must be accounted for in
the overall system design. This is all to guarantee that the signal gets to
each unit within the proper range of strength, regardless of how short or
how long the run is. To do this, a whole bunch of cost/benefit tradeoffs
are factored in, and that takes both training and experience to get a good
system that is reasonably priced. Throw in the fact that a stacked system
would probably be best for your intended use, and you're already out
of the realm of DIYer common experience and information access.

To assure that MDU installations are done right, satellite companies
won't even sell an account to an individual who is hooked into an MDU
system - MDU customers have to go through the MDU installation
company. And for bulk accounts, you must also go through an MDU
installer. And bulk accounts are priced on the assumption that *all*
units in the complex will be suscribers - whether they are or not. That
would already wreck the economics of your friend's scheme. And
then by adding the probable illegality of what he wants to do - and the
billing problems - and your friend would have a major (and monthly)
headache. It would make much more sense to just hire an MDU installer
and let them handle the installation, subscriber hand-holding and system
maintenance and let the satellite company do the billing, and your friend
can handle all the other myriad headaches of property management.

=[ Fred ]=

thesatguy

not worth the hassle.
too many problems that subs will come to management with - much better just
to install the wiring to main dishes and let each unit go direct.

kryppy

Your buddy should go with cable if he knows what is good for him and
his tenants.

jason mccabe

Thanks for the explanation. I understand their vested interest in making
sure the installations are done right. And I understand the signal
budgeting issues. But I still don't think it warrants the exorbitant fees
these companies want to charge. Particularly in this case, where each
building is small and has just four or eight low-rent units. None of the
cable runs would be more than 150'. If they were, we would add the
appropriate amplifiers. Big deal. I can work a signal level meter.

It looks like there are companies out there that will sell us the hardware
and not charge us design fees, such as http://www.eyeinthesky.net. I was just
wondering if they had any competition, or if we are stuck with whatever
prices they quote.

I don't understand your comment about the "probable illegality of what he
wants to do". Just for the record, no one is looking to do anything illegal
here. The guy wants to legitimately make money from his tenants subscribing
to satellite TV, the same way other property owners do. He just doesn't
want to get screwed with a bunch of BS fees. 80% of his tenants are already
willing to sign up, so the economics will work out just fine, even if he
does have to pay for service for 100% of the units.