> The cable franchise agreements are exclusive. That's why you don't see two companies offering cable service. You and others keep writing that when it is demo

> The cable franchise agreements are exclusive. That's why you don't see two companies offering cable service. You and others keep writing that when it is demonstrably false. Witnesseth: Wide Open West - A cable overbuilder that serves Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland, and portions of Chicago right alongside the "incumbent" cable company. Wave Broadband - Its coverage area overlaps with Comcast in some (high net worth) areas of Seattle. RCN - An overbuilder--the first one, actually--that serves New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. You don't see many overbuilders because building a physical plant network is VERY EXPENSIVE. Verizon's former CEO lost his job to a board that saw how expensive the FiOS buildout was--even though it will return its costs 10 times through not having to maintain the old fiber--and how it dragged on quarterly earnings reports. Instead of spending all of this money, companies retreat to where they don't have to compete so they can soak as much cash as possible out of their existing assets.