4 ms·

There needs to be regulation here, and not just on cable. If you're going to charge it to me, you shouldn't be able to wait until checkout (or even worse, the f

There needs to be regulation here, and not just on cable. If you're going to charge it to me, you shouldn't be able to wait until checkout (or even worse, the first month's bill) to tell me what the price actually is. Comparison is the mechanism by which competition drives a healthy economy. There's less value in competition the harder comparing them is. It's really hard to compare when you have to dig all the way to checkout to find what you'd pay. Imagine you're at the supermarket and different brands of milk were listed at one price, but each had different fees when you get to the cash register. No one but the cashier can tell you what each option actually costs. How many people are going to get out of the line and go back and try another brand of mystery milk when they find out they chose one with a $1 "cattle fee?" It makes competition weak and needs to be illegal.

danaris 7y ago
> Comparison is the mechanism by which competition drives a healthy economy. I agree, and regulation of this type would most likely be quite beneficial. But for many if not most of us, it won't actually make a difference to cable/internet "hidden fees," because there is no competition.
- labawi 7y ago
  > it won't actually make a difference to .. "hidden fees" While, it might not change the final price, the proposed regulation should reduce hidden fees, in the sense could not lawfully be hidden anymore.
sys_64738 7y ago
It's not regulation that's needed but competition. A good start would be to separate the infrastructure from the data delivery portion of the service like is done for Electricity and Gas. Introducing competition for the delivery portion will drive down rates.
- zbentley 7y ago
  > separate the infrastructure from the data delivery portion How is that achievable without regulatory action?
rconti 7y ago
Comcast is the absolute worst at this. * You have to login and tell you who you are before they'll even deign to tell you which services are available to you and at what cost. * They WILL NOT tell you what the actual cost of a package is. They'll only tell you the 'sticker' price during the promo period. It's virtually impossible to find out the price after the promo expires. * They WILL NOT show you the price on their website until you tell them where you live, and the price (and services available!!) change depending on whether you're a current customer, previous customer, etc. Basically, there is not a 'menu' or price schedule. There's absolutely no way to know. Even if you call in, it's basically a negotiation. It's like the worst of used car dealerships "what do you want your monthly payment to be" dealing. I paid for Comcast television service for years, when I wasn't even using it -- I just used my over-the-air antenna. Why? Because they charge you less money for the same internet service if you also agree to 'accept' a TV package to artificially inflate their subscriber numbers. I think that discount goes away when your promo expires, which is part of what they're banking on -- even if you're paying them "only" $20 a month more for TV on top of your internet, at least it's something. And then, of course, they get to charge you all these bogus TV fees. The more services you agree to, the more they can hit you for fees. Thankfully, AT&T and Sonic are moving in with gigabit offerings. I finally got symmetric FTTH in April from ATT, resold by Sonic, and Sonic is hoping to roll fiber by the end of the year so I can pay them directly, $50/mo instead of $90 for ATT. It's still an incredibly complicated, and I'm not sure how much of it will go away when I'm getting Sonic-provided service instead of resold ATT (maybe ATT itemizes more fees?), but at least all of the fees/taxes are, I believe, legitimate. I do have to pay modem+ATA rental fees regardless of which provider I use, but I'm happy to do so because it's still better and cheaper than any service I've ever gotten (1 gig down is $150 from comcast, with like 25mbit up, all capped at 1TB xfer, where my FTTH is unmetered symmetric gigabit) Description Unit Price Total Voice Federal Universal Service Fund Fee - 0.73 0.73 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Lifeline Telephone Service 0.39 0.39 Surcharge - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Deaf and Disabled Telecom 0.04 0.04 Program Surcharge - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California High Cost Fund-A Surcharge 0.03 0.03 - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Teleconnect Fund Surcharge 0.06 0.06 - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Advanced Services Fund 0.05 0.05 Surcharge - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California 911 Emergency Surcharge - 0.06 0.06 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice Redwood City Utility Users Tax - 0.49 0.49 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Public Utility Commission 0.03 0.03 User Fee - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice FCC Interstate Telecom Service 0.01 0.01 Provider Fee - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Property Tax Allotment Surcharge - 0.36 0.36 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice Regulatory Recovery Surcharge - 0.77 0.77 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Fusion IP Broadband Phone Service - 0.00 0.00 6507164737 - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Fusion IP Broadband Residential FX3, 90.00 90.00 STI-0324805-1 - SIID 1398754-1 $10 Fusion FTTN Discount for 12 months - 10.00cr 10.00cr 1398754-1 (expires: 2020-04-25) Fusion IP Broadband Information - 0.00 0.00 STI-0324805-1 - Data $80.00 Voice $10.00 Fusion IP Broadband Modem Rental - SIID 9.50 9.50 1398754-1, Device ID 276586 ATA Rental - STI-0324805-1, Order ID 275814 6.50 6.50 Fusion Fiber Pre-Order 0.00 0.00
MrMorden 7y ago
The US needs to just file the serial numbers off of Australia's relevant law. https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/advertising-selling/advertising-and-selling-guide/pricing/component-pricing https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/advertising-selling/adv...

danaris 7y ago

> Comparison is the mechanism by which competition drives a healthy economy. I agree, and regulation of this type would most likely be quite beneficial. But for many if not most of us, it won't actually make a difference to cable/internet "hidden fees," because there is no competition.

labawi 7y ago
> it won't actually make a difference to .. "hidden fees" While, it might not change the final price, the proposed regulation should reduce hidden fees, in the sense could not lawfully be hidden anymore.

sys_64738 7y ago

It's not regulation that's needed but competition. A good start would be to separate the infrastructure from the data delivery portion of the service like is done for Electricity and Gas. Introducing competition for the delivery portion will drive down rates.

zbentley 7y ago
> separate the infrastructure from the data delivery portion How is that achievable without regulatory action?

rconti 7y ago

Comcast is the absolute worst at this. * You have to login and tell you who you are before they'll even deign to tell you which services are available to you and at what cost. * They WILL NOT tell you what the actual cost of a package is. They'll only tell you the 'sticker' price during the promo period. It's virtually impossible to find out the price after the promo expires. * They WILL NOT show you the price on their website until you tell them where you live, and the price (and services available!!) change depending on whether you're a current customer, previous customer, etc. Basically, there is not a 'menu' or price schedule. There's absolutely no way to know. Even if you call in, it's basically a negotiation. It's like the worst of used car dealerships "what do you want your monthly payment to be" dealing. I paid for Comcast television service for years, when I wasn't even using it -- I just used my over-the-air antenna. Why? Because they charge you less money for the same internet service if you also agree to 'accept' a TV package to artificially inflate their subscriber numbers. I think that discount goes away when your promo expires, which is part of what they're banking on -- even if you're paying them "only" $20 a month more for TV on top of your internet, at least it's something. And then, of course, they get to charge you all these bogus TV fees. The more services you agree to, the more they can hit you for fees. Thankfully, AT&T and Sonic are moving in with gigabit offerings. I finally got symmetric FTTH in April from ATT, resold by Sonic, and Sonic is hoping to roll fiber by the end of the year so I can pay them directly, $50/mo instead of $90 for ATT. It's still an incredibly complicated, and I'm not sure how much of it will go away when I'm getting Sonic-provided service instead of resold ATT (maybe ATT itemizes more fees?), but at least all of the fees/taxes are, I believe, legitimate. I do have to pay modem+ATA rental fees regardless of which provider I use, but I'm happy to do so because it's still better and cheaper than any service I've ever gotten (1 gig down is $150 from comcast, with like 25mbit up, all capped at 1TB xfer, where my FTTH is unmetered symmetric gigabit) Description Unit Price Total Voice Federal Universal Service Fund Fee - 0.73 0.73 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Lifeline Telephone Service 0.39 0.39 Surcharge - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Deaf and Disabled Telecom 0.04 0.04 Program Surcharge - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California High Cost Fund-A Surcharge 0.03 0.03 - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Teleconnect Fund Surcharge 0.06 0.06 - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Advanced Services Fund 0.05 0.05 Surcharge - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California 911 Emergency Surcharge - 0.06 0.06 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice Redwood City Utility Users Tax - 0.49 0.49 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice California Public Utility Commission 0.03 0.03 User Fee - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice FCC Interstate Telecom Service 0.01 0.01 Provider Fee - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Property Tax Allotment Surcharge - 0.36 0.36 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Voice Regulatory Recovery Surcharge - 0.77 0.77 STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Fusion IP Broadband Phone Service - 0.00 0.00 6507164737 - STI-0324805-1/PAIR41431 Fusion IP Broadband Residential FX3, 90.00 90.00 STI-0324805-1 - SIID 1398754-1 $10 Fusion FTTN Discount for 12 months - 10.00cr 10.00cr 1398754-1 (expires: 2020-04-25) Fusion IP Broadband Information - 0.00 0.00 STI-0324805-1 - Data $80.00 Voice $10.00 Fusion IP Broadband Modem Rental - SIID 9.50 9.50 1398754-1, Device ID 276586 ATA Rental - STI-0324805-1, Order ID 275814 6.50 6.50 Fusion Fiber Pre-Order 0.00 0.00

MrMorden 7y ago

The US needs to just file the serial numbers off of Australia's relevant law. https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/advertising-selling/advertising-and-selling-guide/pricing/component-pricing https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/advertising-selling/adv...