5 ms·

> I don’t think there are many places that aren’t Comcast only. Really? There are entire states (and countries) without a Comcast presence.

happytiger 3y ago
I’m sorry I was only speaking of the US, as this is a US company. > You already knew that home broadband competition is sorely lacking through much of the US, but a new report released today helps shed more light on Americans who have just one choice for high-speed Internet. > Comcast is the only choice for 30 million Americans when it comes to broadband speeds of at least 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream, the report says. Charter Communications is the only choice for 38 million Americans. Combined, Comcast and Charter offer service in the majority of the US, with almost no overlap. > Yet many Americans are even worse off, living in areas where DSL is the best option. AT&T, Verizon, and other telcos still provide only sub-broadband speeds over copper wires throughout huge parts of their territories. The telcos have mostly avoided upgrading their copper networks to fiber—except in areas where they face competition from cable companies. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/07/comcast-or-charter-is-the-only-25mbps-choice-for-68-million-americans/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/07/comca... Also, “broadband” being 25 mbit is their lobby’s choice and definitely should not be a legitimate threshold in the modern world. Then add that even though others operate in different regions, they generally do not compete for high speed service or are very poor at delivering it, thereby not actually presenting an alternative even though they “officially” do. Also, be clear that these two companies, that dominate areas of the US, collude. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/comcast-and-charter-agree-not-to-compete-against-each-other-in-wireless/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/comca... https://corporate.charter.com/newsroom/comcast-charter-announce-mobile-operating-platform-partnership https://corporate.charter.com/newsroom/comcast-charter-annou... https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-charter-flex-nationwide-streaming-xclass-tv https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-charter...
- epcoa 3y ago
  While 30 million is too much, that’s less than 10% of the population. In the most populated areas it’s most common to have a duopoly. Sucks but “I don’t think there are many places that aren’t Comcast only” is not close to being accurate. They’re not even the dominant provider in Texas and New York. If anything it makes it easier for them to survive, antitrust below the national scale is much harder to apply.
  - happytiger 3y ago
    It’s not a real number. > At least 49.7 million Americans only have access to broadband from one of the seven largest cable and telephone companies. In total, at least 83.3 million Americans can only access broadband through a single provider. > Over the past two years, federal stats suggest that Charter and Comcast have an absolute monopoly over fewer households, but we think this is mostly a mirage resulting from how the FCC reports data. A significant number of the census blocks showing new competition are likely only partially served. https://ilsr.org/report-most-americans-have-no-real-choice-in-internet-providers/ https://ilsr.org/report-most-americans-have-no-real-choice-i... That’s more accurate but much of the “good data” comes from the providers themselves. Don’t know why you’ve got such a pro-Comcast / Charter bent, but I assure you they aren’t worth defending.
    - epcoa 3y ago
      The fiber broadband association themselves reports over 70 million household availability for fiber. That just doesn’t square with your original statement. > Don’t know why you’ve got such a pro-Comcast / Charter bent Kindly go fuck yourself. Stick to facts without baseless accusations.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    DSL / wireless does not count. Very, very few homes have access to fiber. Most homes only have coaxial broadband, and most of those are only served by Comcast.
    - epcoa 3y ago

happytiger 3y ago

I’m sorry I was only speaking of the US, as this is a US company. > You already knew that home broadband competition is sorely lacking through much of the US, but a new report released today helps shed more light on Americans who have just one choice for high-speed Internet. > Comcast is the only choice for 30 million Americans when it comes to broadband speeds of at least 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream, the report says. Charter Communications is the only choice for 38 million Americans. Combined, Comcast and Charter offer service in the majority of the US, with almost no overlap. > Yet many Americans are even worse off, living in areas where DSL is the best option. AT&T, Verizon, and other telcos still provide only sub-broadband speeds over copper wires throughout huge parts of their territories. The telcos have mostly avoided upgrading their copper networks to fiber—except in areas where they face competition from cable companies. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/07/comcast-or-charter-is-the-only-25mbps-choice-for-68-million-americans/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/07/comca... Also, “broadband” being 25 mbit is their lobby’s choice and definitely should not be a legitimate threshold in the modern world. Then add that even though others operate in different regions, they generally do not compete for high speed service or are very poor at delivering it, thereby not actually presenting an alternative even though they “officially” do. Also, be clear that these two companies, that dominate areas of the US, collude. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/comcast-and-charter-agree-not-to-compete-against-each-other-in-wireless/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/comca... https://corporate.charter.com/newsroom/comcast-charter-announce-mobile-operating-platform-partnership https://corporate.charter.com/newsroom/comcast-charter-annou... https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-charter-flex-nationwide-streaming-xclass-tv https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-charter...

epcoa 3y ago
While 30 million is too much, that’s less than 10% of the population. In the most populated areas it’s most common to have a duopoly. Sucks but “I don’t think there are many places that aren’t Comcast only” is not close to being accurate. They’re not even the dominant provider in Texas and New York. If anything it makes it easier for them to survive, antitrust below the national scale is much harder to apply.
- happytiger 3y ago
  It’s not a real number. > At least 49.7 million Americans only have access to broadband from one of the seven largest cable and telephone companies. In total, at least 83.3 million Americans can only access broadband through a single provider. > Over the past two years, federal stats suggest that Charter and Comcast have an absolute monopoly over fewer households, but we think this is mostly a mirage resulting from how the FCC reports data. A significant number of the census blocks showing new competition are likely only partially served. https://ilsr.org/report-most-americans-have-no-real-choice-in-internet-providers/ https://ilsr.org/report-most-americans-have-no-real-choice-i... That’s more accurate but much of the “good data” comes from the providers themselves. Don’t know why you’ve got such a pro-Comcast / Charter bent, but I assure you they aren’t worth defending.
  - epcoa 3y ago
    The fiber broadband association themselves reports over 70 million household availability for fiber. That just doesn’t square with your original statement. > Don’t know why you’ve got such a pro-Comcast / Charter bent Kindly go fuck yourself. Stick to facts without baseless accusations.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  DSL / wireless does not count. Very, very few homes have access to fiber. Most homes only have coaxial broadband, and most of those are only served by Comcast.
  - epcoa 3y ago