bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Here
| reply to S_engineer
Re: No Wonder We're Not Tops
'Cable companies pay local municipal franchise taxes'
And AT&T pays federal taxes. The gov't has decided to let cable not be a "telephone service" while claiming that U-Verse is a cable service.
'ATT moves forward not through technological advancements, but through legislative briberys.'
So how many legislators did they bribe to create wireless ethernet, radio astronomy, transistors, and Unix? |
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Neyland
join:2003-02-04
USA
| reply to matrix3D
said by matrix3D  :I think even lines that companies like Comcast put down more than 20 years ago should be opened up to competition. After all, such cable companies have OBVIOUSLY made back their cost to build out the lines by now anyway. So, if we're finally going to do away with our antiquated, state-granted cable monopolies, then I say all the cable lines in the country should be opened up to every single cable provider. Right now, Comcast is my only choice where I live. You want some real competition? Let's see Comcast continously raise their rates when I have a choice of Time Warner, Optimum Online or anybody else. And again, I have no problem with that as long as those lines were funded in some way by the local/state/or federal governement. If they weren't then they shouldn't be required to open them up. |
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matrix3D
join:2006-09-27
Deep River, CT
| reply to Neyland
I think even lines that companies like Comcast put down more than 20 years ago should be opened up to competition. After all, such cable companies have OBVIOUSLY made back their cost to build out the lines by now anyway. So, if we're finally going to do away with our antiquated, state-granted cable monopolies, then I say all the cable lines in the country should be opened up to every single cable provider. Right now, Comcast is my only choice where I live. You want some real competition? Let's see Comcast continously raise their rates when I have a choice of Time Warner, Optimum Online or anybody else. |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
| reply to S_engineer
said by S_engineer :Its not about negotiating a better deal. The Death star is trying to either circumvent or change law. But why is it wrong for AT&T to lobby to change laws that it finds disagreeable?
said by S_engineer :What incentive does a cableco have to lower their prices when ATT is delivering the same product without paying a franchise tax....none! There is nothing stopping them from lobbying to have the law changed on their behalf either.
said by S_engineer :The Death Star would be better off in the long run to invest in their infrastructure rather than lobbiests.... How can they when the government won't let them do that?
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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S_engineer
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL
·Comcast
| reply to bogey780
Cable companies pay local municipal franchise taxes, ATT knew this going into the game so they changed the way the game was being played (via lobbiests). Voip, is a relatively new technology that at first, people thought its applications would be limited, and then were proved wrong. Don't worry about voip...the taxman cometh!
Now I hate cablecos like the next guy, but at least they attempt to move forward. ATT moves forward not through technological advancements, but through legislative briberys.
--
Burn a tire, but make sure you buy that carbon offset! |
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Neyland
join:2003-02-04
USA
1 edit | reply to skrupowies
said by skrupowies :I agree, a level playing field for all parties. Kind of like the way the Telcos were forced to open up their lines to competition but the cable companies weren't. I have no problem opening up cable pipes wherever that pipe was paid for by government funds either directly or indirectly by tax breaks.
Ok, with this crowd 'pipe' may not be the best word.. but /shrug have fun with it... |
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bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Here
| reply to S_engineer
'What incentive does a cableco have to lower their prices when ATT is delivering the same product without paying a franchise tax....none!'
Do cable companies pay federal telecom taxes? What about VOIP? Kinda hard to complain when there's been nearly a decade of skirting regulations by the cable companies. |
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S_engineer
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL
·Comcast
| reply to pnh102
Its not about negotiating a better deal. The Death star is trying to either circumvent or change law. Here in Illinois they lobbied so hard that the legislature passed a different set of tax rules for ATT.
What incentive does a cableco have to lower their prices when ATT is delivering the same product without paying a franchise tax....none!
The Death Star would be better off in the long run to invest in their infrastructure rather than lobbiests....
--
Burn a tire, but make sure you buy that carbon offset! |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| reply to Rob
said by Rob :True, but either the government removes cable licenses all together, or they force tv providers all alike to obtain it. I don't see why any company shouldn't be free to negotiate the best deal it can. Just because other companies agreed to less favorable terms doesn't mean newer providers should have to be bound by said terms if they can avoid it.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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skrupowies
join:2002-08-22
Wallingford, CT
clubs:
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| reply to Rob
said by Rob :True, but either the government removes cable licenses all together, or they force tv providers all alike to obtain it. It's no secret that the government has been favoring the telcos for many years, and now that they aren't, the telcos can't handle it.
I agree, a level playing field for all parties. Kind of like the way the Telcos were forced to open up their lines to competition but the cable companies weren't.  Cable argued that their service was different from the Telcos so they shouldn't have to follow the same rules. And that's true. It is different - technically. But to an end user it's exactly the same, they pick up a handset and hear a buzz. And this, by the way, is how they favored the Telcos for many years -- force the Telcos to open up their lines for POTS and DSL while the cable companies sat back and thumbed their noses at the state and the Telcos while raising prices whenever they felt like it.
To an end user Uverse is the same, they turn on their TV and see a picture. But technically it's a VERY different process from cable TV. So the argument that works for cable should also work for Telco. |
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Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
·Comcast
| reply to pnh102
said by pnh102 :Once again, government holds back progress. True, but either the government removes cable licenses all together, or they force tv providers all alike to obtain it. It's no secret that the government has been favoring the telcos for many years, and now that they aren't, the telcos can't handle it. |
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