Comcast Fights - For Its Right - To Get Bigger > I say let 'em grow.

reply to hottboiinnc

Re: I say let 'em grow.

Buckeye cable carries today, and has over built TWC areas as well, TWC is here, Cox cable is in Ohio, WOW is in Ohio, Comcast is in Ohio, CinciBell offers cable tv services, Insight is here, ATT's u-shit product is here. the list goes on.

And the cable companies DID NOT receive any money. They were given the right to build out in those areas. If it wasnt for those rights at the time they would not have had cable then. Those deals are now gone and anyone can build out. The phone company though was actually given FEDERAL and STATE TAX BREAKS to build out. Electric was too.

Your location is quite a rarity throughout the country and you know it. MOST people have 1 true choice.

I never said the cable companies directly received money. As a matter of fact my post was pretty clear on that. However, they were given pretty much exclusive access and a guarantee monopoly where they were building out and thus guaranteed profits. How many places waived fees for them or gave tax credits to "encourage" them to build? Would you seriously argue that is much different then giving them the cash to begin with?

It doesn't matter if "now" anyone can get the same agreements and build. The damage is already done, the barriers of entry have been multiplied, and the lack of guaranteed customers, thus return, are gone. Therefore the network they built, are rebuilding, build in the future will ALWAYS be a product of the help they received to begin with.

it may be a rarity but all the companies we have here in Ohio are only due to small companies selling out only because they refuse to upgrade to digital services. My old cable company was one of them. they wanted to keep analog services and didnt think they needed digital cable or HSI. Well the city said they would not renew any contracts with them unless they did. they later on sold everything the owned- the family sold the local cable company, both AM and FM radio stations, and closed their local office supply store (which couldn't complete with Staples anyway). TWC then was sold the entire network they left rotting away saying it was upgrade in 1990 and found out it wasnt and was the original lines they laid in the 80s in the city. TWC rebuilt the entire city from the ground up.

Toledo- the Block's have been here forever! but it wasn't until the Ohio VSA act went into affect they started to really expand. The were overbuilding well before then though but never really turned the lines on for resell only used them as back haul for their Business telephone services (which they're a CLEC in Ohio- but without all the fees ATT has).

Pretty much everyone moved into take over other small providers and Ohio is what it is with them.

But yes i do argue that cable did not get cash like the telcos did and still get millions of dollars a year for their falling landline business from the USF fees.

cable should not have the cap they do and Comcast is doing the right thing for suing the FCC. If the FCC wants to cap cable they need to cap VZ and ATT and all of the other phone companies--including the Co-Ops and the mom-and pop too that want to be TV providers too.

reply to Skippy25

Respect property rights