3 ms·

>In our household we get a big cable TV package because we couldn't opt out of it to get the highest tier internet service. That kind of practice should be ban

by tw04 9y ago

>In our household we get a big cable TV package because we couldn't opt out of it to get the highest tier internet service. That kind of practice should be banned, and is generally a clear indicator of monopoly status. If they had true competition they would be absolutely slaughtered forcing customers to buy TV packages to get the internet package they want. It's one thing to offer a discount for bundling, it's another thing entirely to force bundling to get certain types of service.

gregmac 9y ago
Even for lower tiers it is sometimes cheaper to bundle -- I suspect one reason is because it allows their "cable TV subscriber" count to be higher. This has implications for the overall outlook of both the industry and cable company, fees for channels the cable company is paid to carry, and cost of advertisements, especially on channels the cable company owns.
j-c-hewitt 9y ago
In the rural area that I live in, the local/regional companies provide awful service at an average price. The national company I subscribe to offers excellent internet / good cable / great, friendly, & knowledgeable technicians at a relatively high price. While I would love to be able to order channels a la carte and get the best internet available, I don't have good options for switching -- the other internet providers suffer from typical rural ISP issues. From personal experience with the same company in a major US city, the rural service ranks among the best ISPs I've ever used whereas in the big city it was the absolute worst. There are actually options where I live, but there's only one good choice -- the newcomer national behemoth. I think in general telecom competition should be allowed to happen more often, but in this particular case I'm not sure it's a competition issue. I would have to investigate more about the local/regional/state situation to really decide.

by tw04 9y ago

gregmac 9y ago

Even for lower tiers it is sometimes cheaper to bundle -- I suspect one reason is because it allows their "cable TV subscriber" count to be higher. This has implications for the overall outlook of both the industry and cable company, fees for channels the cable company is paid to carry, and cost of advertisements, especially on channels the cable company owns.

j-c-hewitt 9y ago

In the rural area that I live in, the local/regional companies provide awful service at an average price. The national company I subscribe to offers excellent internet / good cable / great, friendly, & knowledgeable technicians at a relatively high price. While I would love to be able to order channels a la carte and get the best internet available, I don't have good options for switching -- the other internet providers suffer from typical rural ISP issues. From personal experience with the same company in a major US city, the rural service ranks among the best ISPs I've ever used whereas in the big city it was the absolute worst. There are actually options where I live, but there's only one good choice -- the newcomer national behemoth. I think in general telecom competition should be allowed to happen more often, but in this particular case I'm not sure it's a competition issue. I would have to investigate more about the local/regional/state situation to really decide.