BendBroadband plans to speed up its cable Internet service later this year and offer a number of unspecified “feature enhancements” to its Internet service, according to Vice President John Farwell.

But some customers will be left in the dust if they don’t buy new modems capable of handling the upgrade. Without the new modems, customers won’t be able to get online once the new service begins, according to a letter from BendBroadband announcing the need for the switch.

Since September, BendBroadband has been advising customers with the older modems of the pending change. It sent a direct mail letter and followed it with a phone message. It’s also sending reminders via Internet pop-up messages to customers who have yet to buy the recommended equipment.

The company’s Web site doesn’t announce the modem replacement program because the “affected customers (are) a small enough subset to not warrant broad communication via the Web site,” Farwell said in an e-mail to The Bulletin.

The company has offered a discount on the new modems and a promotional tie-in with its Internet-based phone service to get customers to swap out their old modems, an “unplanned equipment change (that) may be inconvenient,” BendBroadband acknowledges in its letter to affected customers.

Redmond resident Ted Sanford said he’s happy with his Internet service from BendBroadband and is upset he has to replace his modem. Sanford acknowledged his modem is old, but he feels that if he’s “forced to get a new modem just to keep service, seems like they should swap them out (for free).”

“It seems like every time BendBroadband comes out with an upgrade, even if you don’t want it, you have to pay more for it,” Sanford said.

Sanford said he plans to switch to DSL service through Qwest, even though he’ll have to buy a DSL modem. DSL is a competing high-speed Internet service offered by Qwest through its existing phone network.

Bend resident Robert Agli said he recently purchased a new modem at the behest of BendBroadband. Agli lamented that it’s the third cable modem he’s bought in six years for BendBroadband’s cable Internet service, but he chalked it up to the pace of technology.

“The first modem cost a little over $100, so the fact that I could turn it in and get another for ($39.50) was fair to me,” Agli said.

BendBroadband is offering three options for replacement. The first option is to purchase a new modem for $39.50, offered at a 50 percent discount from BendBroadband, or rent it for $10 per month.

The second option is to sign up for a promotional phone service offer with BendBroadband and receive a modem for free. Three promotional phone service plans are available, costing between $17 and $33 per month, with some per-minute charges in the two lower-tiered plans. After 12 months, the customer must either purchase the modem for $42.50, at a 50 percent discount, or rent it for $5 per month. During the 13th month, the phone service is free, offsetting most of the cost of modem, Farwell said.

The third option is to purchase an approved modem from any third-party dealer. A list of approved modems is at www.bend broadband.com/modems.cfm.

Technically speaking, modems that are compliant with the DOCSIS 1.0 and 1.1 protocols are being phased out, Farwell said. The technology underlying both is relatively old, having been introduced in 1997 and 1999, respectively.

DOCSIS is an Internet protocol that enables cable companies to deliver Internet service over cable networks. It was developed by CableLabs, a research and development consortium created in 1988 by the nation’s cable companies.

The new service BendBroadband plans to launch later this year — Farwell wouldn’t say when — requires modems that are compliant with DOCSIS 2.0 technology. DOCSIS 2.0 increases data transmission capability to 30 megabits per second (Mbps), according to CableLabs.

By contrast, the company’s current deluxe cable Internet service offers a download speed of 6 Mbps and an upload speed of 1.5 Mbps.

Farwell wouldn’t say how many customers are affected by the modem change, but he said in an e-mail that “most of the impacted subset of customers have already obtained their new modems and the project has gone very smoothly.”

Customers that have not received notification from BendBroadband about the upgrade have modems that comply with the planned service upgrade and do not need to take action. Farwell asked that anyone with questions regarding the need to purchase a new modem call the company’s customer service center at 382-5551.