how-to block ads
|
|
Uniqs:
102 |
Share Topic
 |
 |
|
|
 FiLPremium
join:2005-08-16
Silver Spring, MD
4 edits | oh "Second, Montgomery County is acting this way not to limit growth but because of Comcast's prior dealings. Do a search and you will see how Comcast provided, in many cases, sub-standard service and refused to even acknowledge the problem, much less fix it. The broadband bill of rights »Broadband Bill of Rights was in response to the way Comcast treated the county. "Make your bed, now sleep in it." Now Verizon is going to get the same treatment because of the level of trust that exists."
EXACTLY. The county, and by the county I also mean "I", dont wanna have to go through the same problems Comcast was dealing out during those pre-get tough days. Why cant Verizon deal with a "you provide services to our residents, you better make sure your actually PROVIDING HELP ALSO."
ya damn right we got deep pockets over. (definatly not me, but the countys RICH) DAmn near Top 3 in the nation, an if not mistaking its top 2. That translates into new and renovated schools; i went to Montgomery Blair High School, where when I went, was 65-70 percent MINORITY. Right smack in the middle of Silver Spring. Basically what Im trying to say is we do draw the attention of big business. Love the Discovery Channel building; everyday from work I walk past a huge ass T-Rex skeleton proudly displayed in its windows. Its a great county to be a part of, and Im definatly proud to see that its not gonna let a company do whatever the hell it wants with its residents.
btw, Verizon FiOS is ALL OVER my lil area, Woodmoor, Silver Spring. Right down the street, where its all lower income housing, apartments and such, THEY GOT IT TOO. So if they dont wanna give us tv, OKIE DOKE.
teachers pet off.  | |
| I'm a Montgomery resident too, and I back the county 1000% on this.
For starters, on the "principles" front, it's our damn county, and we get to parcel out the public resources to the benefit of residents. Corporations don't get to take what they want and whine when they are restricted. Ah, OK, they can whine, but at least in our county our government still works in the public interest. Sometimes.
Second, and on the "pragmatics" front, tastes vary. I definitely need internet access, for example, but have no use whatever for what passes for commercial cable or television. I have great use for those "60 whatever" digital channels which seem to work out to be 4-6 analog channels. Is there a little spin here?
Public access isn't just for droning public meetings and wonkery, as is implied. Some of us, admittedly not among the cool kids, like independent film, off-the-corporate map reporting and community television. People actually watch the stuff you know.
Third ... somebody needs to remind Verizon that they're not a branch of the government yet. At least at the local level. Oh yeah, that was the first point (grin). | |
ronmax8
join:2001-02-07
Clarksburg, MD | Anyway it might be to late for verizon anywhy, A lot of the new comunities in Montgomery county have cable included in the homeowners, For the $120 i pay my HOA we get basic and pereferd cable + internet + all the normal HOA stuff, snow removal, trash removal, pool, and etc..., As much has i hate the idea of being forced into cable there is no way i'm going to pay someone else for something i'm already paying for and can't get rid off.
we also get %30 off all other comcast services. My none HOA bill for 2 hd dvr box, 2 hd none dvr boxes and 1 reg box with all the channeles and $10 more the the higher speed is about $90 per month. | | |
|
| reply to piltdownman
I'm a resident and wish the county would negotiate with Verizon in good faith. Here are a few reasons:
Quality -- I have had their internet service for 7 months. Not one hiccup and twice the speed of comcast. I had comcast for the three year prior and I am so happy I switched to FIOS. Most online forum report that the quality of FIOS TV is head and shoulders above cable and satellite. As far as relying on franchise agreements for assuring quality -- I have comcast cable and a franchise agreement and the quality leaves something to be desired. I think competition would be a greater incentive to improving quality. They fear losing customers more than than the county cable office.
Price -- With FIOS internet I get more than 2x speed for same price as comcast (and no outages or loss of bandwidth). FIOS TV is about $300 less annually than Comcast. So how does the franchise agreement protect us -- Comcast has been able to raise its rate pretty much at will. Where FIOS TV is offered, cable companies have lowered their rates to compete.
Reliability -- After we lost power recently, FIOS internet was restored at the same time the power came on. Comcast followed six hours later. During my time with comcast internet, I suffered through significant loss of bandwidth and complete outages. FIOS internet has been 100% bulletproof.
ROW protection -- Currently Verizon is laying fiber across the county without a franchise agreement because the county doesn't regulate telephone and internet service. Somehow the county exercises some level of control. If the county would negotiate an agreement if good faith, it might have even greater control.
Verizon has raised many issues in it's lawsuit but I think their bottom line is that they don't want their phone service and internet service to be a part of the franchise agreement because it is currently not regulated. I think that is fair. If they county would agree to that requirement, I think we could have a deal quickly.
P.S. I vote democratic and want the county to raise taxes to fully fund our public schools. But when it comes to the marketplace, consumers will always win if there is more than one supplier. | |
|
