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Those are expenses. The ISPs choose the price they want based on their expenses. Complaining about local regulations is no more or less legitimate than complain

Those are expenses. The ISPs choose the price they want based on their expenses. Complaining about local regulations is no more or less legitimate than complaining about the price of copper.

tptacek 3y ago
No, they're not. Comcast's price doesn't float municipality to municipality. These are simply taxes that local governments are charging and forcing Comcast to collect.
- frumper 3y ago
  Prices do change in different municipalities. I've paid different sticker prices in different towns that are within an hour of each other for the same service.
- viraptor 3y ago
  This is the real price though. The customer doesn't care normally - the price is what they pay, not the weird partial amount that the ISP itself gets in the end.
  - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    > customer doesn't care normally - the price is what they pay A savvy customer should. If 90% of the bill is Comcast, I'm going to negotiate with Comcast. If 90% is municipal fees, I'm going to call my city council.
    - supertimor 3y ago
      Ok, sure. And this is exactly why this rule is being put into place. So customers can see a list of fees instead of some nebulous “fee” added on that tells the consumer nothing about what they are actually paying for.
macinjosh 3y ago
The US has a long tradition of separating taxes from sale prices. Every fast food joint lists a price w/o sales tax. You don't pay sales tax to the state individually. The state is taxing the businesses' sales, but the cost is passed on to you. Why should ISPs not be able to do the same thing Del Taco does? In my area we have small shopping districts that have their infrastructure funded through a 1.7% sales tax on every retail business. Best Buy doesn't change the price of the iPhone 14 to reflect this. Should they? I don't know. Instead taped to the surface of every checkout is a typed note informing the customer of the improvement fund. I think a good compromise would be to allow advertising to remain how it is, but require a full detailed bill at the point of sale.

Those are expenses. The ISPs choose the price they want based on their expenses. Complaining about local regulations is no more or less legitimate than complaining about the price of copper.

tptacek 3y ago

No, they're not. Comcast's price doesn't float municipality to municipality. These are simply taxes that local governments are charging and forcing Comcast to collect.

frumper 3y ago
Prices do change in different municipalities. I've paid different sticker prices in different towns that are within an hour of each other for the same service.
viraptor 3y ago
This is the real price though. The customer doesn't care normally - the price is what they pay, not the weird partial amount that the ISP itself gets in the end.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > customer doesn't care normally - the price is what they pay A savvy customer should. If 90% of the bill is Comcast, I'm going to negotiate with Comcast. If 90% is municipal fees, I'm going to call my city council.
  - supertimor 3y ago
    Ok, sure. And this is exactly why this rule is being put into place. So customers can see a list of fees instead of some nebulous “fee” added on that tells the consumer nothing about what they are actually paying for.

macinjosh 3y ago

The US has a long tradition of separating taxes from sale prices. Every fast food joint lists a price w/o sales tax. You don't pay sales tax to the state individually. The state is taxing the businesses' sales, but the cost is passed on to you. Why should ISPs not be able to do the same thing Del Taco does? In my area we have small shopping districts that have their infrastructure funded through a 1.7% sales tax on every retail business. Best Buy doesn't change the price of the iPhone 14 to reflect this. Should they? I don't know. Instead taped to the surface of every checkout is a typed note informing the customer of the improvement fund. I think a good compromise would be to allow advertising to remain how it is, but require a full detailed bill at the point of sale.