inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK | if they are screaming for reform then the FCC is working.
obviously.... |
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Eric Martin
join:2005-06-19
66308 | Get rid of the fcc
Fcc does nothing important. They sure don't help consumers. Just servants of industry & bribe lobbied politicians. |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| "Leave the market alone...." ??
The Cable folks should be careful of what they ask for. The Telcos have about a decade of experience of using size and influence to beat the snot out of competitors, while cable has only seen serious competition more recently. (No, I'm not counting the days when satellite was priced to maximize revenue from folks outside cable service areas as "serious competition.")
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |
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ender7074
join:2006-11-21
Saint Louis, MO | Funny
I love the little line below the title. Thats just funny and sadly true.  |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA | reply to Eric Martin
Re: Get rid of the fcc
According to Brian Roberts, evidentally not. |
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Rockpea
join:2001-11-19
New City, NY | Cable has been taking advantage of America for to long.
Internet access has become a basic necessity.
The Price should be regulated or, perhaps it should be free to individuals. |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
3 edits | Brian is so full of crap his eyes are brown
Sorry Brian, you'll have to live with the massive profits you're already getting and the 2x inflation yearly price increases.
I am in favor of a la carte and think ownership limits are a good thing. I don't see real action in terms of CATV indecency by the FCC. Meanwhile Comcast and other operators are making a mint and competing just fine under current rules.
In one breath cable CEOs tout their superiority and greatness, to their customers and investors; that FiOS and the like is nothing. In the next they cry like whining schoolgirls that they won't be able to compete unless they are permitted to run roughshot over the marketplace.
So which is it?
Perhaps we should "deregulate" cable and force cable incumbants to permit other content delivery folks like DSL Extreme to use their lines and deliver video like the telcos were forced to. Sounds good to me Brian. |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
 ·Comcast
| reply to Rockpea
Re: Cable has been taking advantage of America for to long.
said by Rockpea  :Internet access has become a basic necessity. The Price should be regulated or, perhaps it should be free to individuals. Going by that rationalization, shouldn't electricity, gas, and phone service already be free?  |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA | It is free when you live with your parents. |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| said by ColorBASIC :It is free when you live with your parents.  |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| reply to calvoiper
Re: "Leave the market alone...." ??
said by calvoiper :The Cable folks should be careful of what they ask for. The Telcos have about a decade of experience of using size and influence to beat the snot out of competitors, while cable has only seen serious competition more recently. (No, I'm not counting the days when satellite was priced to maximize revenue from folks outside cable service areas as "serious competition.") calvoiper Um, can you cite examples?
Last time I checked, telcos are losing customers by the bushel many to cable Voip providers.
Also, don't forget, the major Telcos inherited their size and influence from their true monopoly years ago when Ma Bell was the only game in the entire country. |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ | The answer is simple...
If they want to be treated as well as the FCC has treated the phone companies they need to pony up the lobbying dollars. |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
1 edit | reply to MadMANN
Re: "Leave the market alone...." ??
said by Brian Roberts :
Whaaaahhhhh, I want to inherit size and influence from a monopoly too, waaaaahhhhhhhh. It's not fair, waaaahhhhhhhhh.
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Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | Lack of "a la carte" distorts market
The cable industry's refusal to have "a la carte" pricing shows that they are not really interested in a competitive market. |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| said by Sammer :The cable industry's refusal to have "a la carte" pricing shows that they are not really interested in a competitive market. And satellite and FiOS are embracing a la carte? News to me.
A la carte programming is another "Be careful what you wish for" topic. |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| reply to MadMANN
Re: "Leave the market alone...." ??
said by MadMANN :...Um, can you cite examples? ... Examples? Sure. How about refusal to interconnect until required to do so with CLECs by the Telecom Act of 1996? How about refusal to interconnect with VoIP providers until forced to do so by the FCC? How about reversing the original Reed Hundt driven competition rules on "unbundled network elements", "pick and choose", and the "statement of generally available terms"?
Or should I go back a few years further and mention when they tried to prohibit phone book covers (which covered their own ads with someone else's) as "illegal attachments to the network"? Or the days when they referred to unbundled switching as "penetrating the network"?
Or maybe I should go back a few decades to when they refused to interconnect with the original independents and some towns had two, unconnected, telephone networks?
Additionally, you may refer to both the Western Electric anti-trust settlement of 1956 or the ATT Divestiture Decree of 1982 (a/k/a the "MFJ" for "Modification of Final Judgment" as it modified the '56 result) for an additional litany of acts of unfair competition.
In comparison, the various efforts of the cable companies to forestall competition (including both attempts to keep channels off satellites and to force telco video to negotiate local franchises) make the cable guys look like pathetic pikers in the competition squashing game.
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |
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Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | reply to MadMANN
Re: Lack of "a la carte" distorts market
So why is the cable industry so against multicast must carry if they think bundling is such a great benefit to consumers? |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs: | reply to calvoiper
Re: "Leave the market alone...." ??
wow. you beat the snot out of MadMANN ! |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs:
·Charter Pipeline
 ·AT&T Southwest
| reply to MadMANN
Re: Lack of "a la carte" distorts market
said by MadMANN :said by Sammer :The cable industry's refusal to have "a la carte" pricing shows that they are not really interested in a competitive market. And satellite and FiOS are embracing a la carte? News to me. A la carte programming is another "Be careful what you wish for" topic. how so? i will happily pay less if i can cut out the crap channels. but cableco can't price it like douchebag SBC did with dry dsl lines: something like $1 less than their "combo" deal of POTS and dsl. that's when i say TIME TO REGULATE! |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| reply to morbo
Re: "Leave the market alone...." ??
said by morbo :wow. you beat the snot out of MadMANN ! Said like someone who couldn't think of anything intelligent to say himself.
I digress.
calvoiper I think that you forget that there are some very powerful cable entities that can bring it just as easily as some of the telcos.
And many of the examples you cite happened under the most anti-competetive eras.
BTW, I agree with your assessment that the cable industry should tread lightly when saying "leave the market alone". I think you would have to agree that both telco and cable companies alike have been bruised by the FCC. However, I also notice that the article noted that the cable companies asked them to back off and step in only under the most extreme circumstances. I think your examples above fall under that very category.
Bottom line is, is that the playing field needs to be level for anyone to benefit. |
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