 espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2
 ·Clear Wireless
| Inflation? As usual the question remains: if the industry is half as competitive as the industry says it is, why are carriers allowed to continually jack up prices in unison without competitive repercussions? Grocery stores are an example of a highly competitive industry. I still pay more for a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread than I did 3 years ago, despite having at least 10 grocery stores within a 5 mile radius all competing on price.
I think it's interesting that you gloss over the fact that this is the first HSI price increase Comcast has implemented in at least 8 years -- over the same time the cost of a gallon of gasoline has increased over 300%. | |
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 Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA
1 edit | Re: Inflation? It's not about inflation, it's about Comcast paying for their unnecessary acquisition of NBC Universal. Content distributors being content providers is bad for consumers. | |
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AVonGaussPremium
join:2007-11-01
Boynton Beach, FL | Is gasoline, or indirectly oil, really a good indicator for comparison? I'm not familiar with all the nuances of that price market, but my understanding is there is a fair amount of artificial influence in that market. | |
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 | espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Clear Wireless
| Re: Inflation? said by AVonGauss:Is gasoline, or indirectly oil, really a good indicator for comparison? It directly relates to your cost of living, so yeah, I think it's a valid reference.
Again, the bigger point here is that this is the first price increase in nearly a decade for HSI. | |
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| | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Re: Inflation? I'd lump in the modem rental increase as a price increase for internet, so this is the second increase in less than six months. | |
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| | | espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Clear Wireless
| Re: Inflation? said by iansltx:I'd lump in the modem rental increase as a price increase for internet The modem rental fee is optional - if it were mandatory I'd be inclined to agree.
The only instance that the modem rental fee is *not* optional is if you have an eMTA, but I would levy that increase against the VoIP product and not the HSI product. | |
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| | | |  Morac
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
kudos:1
 ·Comcast
| Re: Inflation? said by espaeth:said by iansltx:I'd lump in the modem rental increase as a price increase for internet The modem rental fee is optional - if it were mandatory I'd be inclined to agree. The only instance that the modem rental fee is *not* optional is if you have an eMTA, but I would levy that increase against the VoIP product and not the HSI product. In which case it's two increases for the VoIP product in 6 months since VoIP prices are also going up.
--
The Comcast Disney Avatar has been retired. | |
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| | | | | espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Clear Wireless
| Re: Inflation? said by Morac:In which case it's two increases for the VoIP product in 6 months since VoIP prices are also going up. Which is fine because that's an easy product to vote with your wallet on if you're unhappy with the price increase. You can go back to a deal with the local exchange carrier, go cell phone only, or use 3rd party VoIP like Vonage, VOIPo, or PhonePower.
You have all the choice in the world when it comes to phone service. | |
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cghh
join:2001-01-15
Milpitas, CA | said by espaeth:I still pay more for a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread than I did 3 years ago, despite having at least 10 grocery stores within a 5 mile radius all competing on price.
I don't know about your state, but in mine (California), the price of milk is regulated by the state. There are price floors, to guarantee returns to the milk producers. Something about the best laws money can buy.  | |
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| | First in 8-years? You must be joking. They just upped the modem rental fee from $3 to $5 last fall.
But your inflation point is wide of the mark. The underlying cost to provide HSI has declined for Comcast. The underlying cost to produce the milk and gasoline commodities has increased. Declining costs in a competitive market should lead to market expansion and lower prices. They are not in this case. | |
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| espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Clear Wireless
| Re: Inflation? said by Bill Dollar:First in 8-years? You must be joking. They just upped the modem rental fee from $3 to $5 last fall. Which only applies to those renting modems -- anyone with an owned modem still saw no price increase. Still, even if you include that change, the pricing for HSI was fixed before that since at least 2002.
said by Bill Dollar:The underlying cost to provide HSI has declined for Comcast. The unit cost has gone down, but you have to factor that they're supplying more capacity today as well. What was 1.5/256k service for $42.95 in 2002 is now 12/2 service for what will now be $44.95. That's an 800% increase in delivered capacity compared to a 4.7% increase in price.
said by Bill Dollar: Declining costs in a competitive market should lead to market expansion and lower prices. Only if consumption remains relatively flat and vendors need to compete on price to earn business. When demand is still nearly exponential the dynamic is completely different. | |
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| | Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | Re: Inflation? said by espaeth:said by Bill Dollar:First in 8-years? You must be joking. They just upped the modem rental fee from $3 to $5 last fall. Which only applies to those renting modems -- anyone with an owned modem still saw no price increase. Still, even if you include that change, the pricing for HSI was fixed before that since at least 2002. If you have Comcast Triple Play or Digital Voice there's no choice but to rent the modem. Since it's a standard piece of equipment, Comcast should allow customers to use their own eMTA but they don't. It's another area where the FCC is in bed with the huge corporations but has failed consumers. | |
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Reviews:
 ·Callcentric
| I paid $1.79 for a gallon of milk today I think you should refer to another Item. The milk industry has been a monopoly for years and now certain stores are going straight to the farms for the milk and selling them at a loss to attract cutomers. I hope to do the same for myself one day for my home entertainment,hsi phone and provide the last mile for myself and skip feeding the pigs(Comcast,At&t...) . | |
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Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL | You do realize grocery stores sell commodities that are priced on a futures market.
It's the fact that grocery stores are so competitive that keeps them from being able to mark up the prices much higher.
If you only had one grocery store within 50 miles the owner would have a much easier time charging higher markups. | |
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