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fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine to Mr Matt

Member

to Mr Matt

Re: Are we talking about 768K Down?

They are going to provide the economy tier for $10 for 36 months if there is a qualifying child in the household who is attending school. This makes perfect sense. I fully support broadband subsidies for educational use, not simply for low income people.

Low income is defined as having one child in the household who qualifies for a free lunch under the NSLP.

60k in Manhattan is hardly low income. Manhattan isn't just Times Square and the Upper East Side you know...

Besides, Comcast doesn't serve Manhattan. Time Warner, RCN and Verizon (FiOS and DSL) do. I believe Cablevision may serve a very small portion that is technically Manhattan.
BlueC
join:2009-11-26
Minneapolis, MN

BlueC

Member

I'll be curious to see if Comcast ends up revising their "economy tier" to meet the minimum standards set forth by the FCC.

4mbps/1mbps. Which I think right now, Comcast has their economy tier @ 1.5mbps/768kbps.

If they end up bringing that tier up to the 4mbps/1mbps minimum standard AND price it @ $10/mo for qualifying households, I will be pleased. Otherwise, I don't see any positive progression.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine

Member

said by BlueC:

I'll be curious to see if Comcast ends up revising their "economy tier" to meet the minimum standards set forth by the FCC.

4mbps/1mbps. Which I think right now, Comcast has their economy tier @ 1.5mbps/768kbps.

If they end up bringing that tier up to the 4mbps/1mbps minimum standard AND price it @ $10/mo for qualifying households, I will be pleased. Otherwise, I don't see any positive progression.

Or they may just not call it broadband.

This is really a bare bones program. It's available for 3 years and you are eligible if you have a student receiving a free lunch from NSLP.
jupiter837
join:2010-11-26
Golden, MS

jupiter837 to fifty nine

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to fifty nine
768k is not good for streaming HD video, but people seem to forget sometimes there is more to net than Netflix. I find sites all the time I wish could have found when I was a kid. There wasn't any broadband then, I'm talking early 80's.
If a child can read a book, or study music, or research something they want to learn it only makes them better which only makes the country better. 768k is prefect for that. I can support this.
BlueC
join:2009-11-26
Minneapolis, MN

BlueC to fifty nine

Member

to fifty nine
Well, they're calling it "$10 broadband". I consider it unethical to label a service that does not meet the definition of the said service.

skuv
@rr.com

skuv

Anon

The FCC's definition of broadband is not a law that was passed by Congress or signed by the President, so Comcast or anyone else can still call anything "broadband" that they want.

The FCC has no power to enforce it unless it is a law.
BlueC
join:2009-11-26
Minneapolis, MN

BlueC

Member

I never said it'd be illegal, I simply said it'd be unethical. Of course the FCC can't enforce it. That wasn't my point.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine to BlueC

Member

to BlueC
said by BlueC:

Well, they're calling it "$10 broadband". I consider it unethical to label a service that does not meet the definition of the said service.

Whatever they call it, it's good that they are offering high speed internet to low income people for educational purposes.
BlueC
join:2009-11-26
Minneapolis, MN

BlueC

Member

I guess I (as well as others) have a different definition of "high speed". $10/mo to offer such slow speeds isn't all that heroic in my mind. DOCSIS 3.0 gives them the ability to easily bump up the economy tier to something more reasonable.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt

Member

I am in an area that has not yet been upgraded to DOCSIS 3.0 so the speed for the retention price of $24.95 per month is 768K Down. I can get 3Mbps down from Centurylink for $24.99 per month if bundled with voice service.

SimbaSeven
I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT
·StarLink

SimbaSeven to BlueC

Member

to BlueC
said by BlueC:

Well, they're calling it "$10 broadband". I consider it unethical to label a service that does not meet the definition of the said service.

Hey.. 1.5mbps isn't bad compared to what my parents are paying for. They were getting 256kbps up and down for $35/mo. I was like "You're paying WHAT!??!"

They're now getting 768kbps, but it's still a ripoff. Of course, there's only 2 providers in that town (Qwest and MidRivers). I think Qwest has a better deal, though.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine to BlueC

Member

to BlueC
said by BlueC:

I guess I (as well as others) have a different definition of "high speed". $10/mo to offer such slow speeds isn't all that heroic in my mind. DOCSIS 3.0 gives them the ability to easily bump up the economy tier to something more reasonable.

Those who want faster speeds via DOCSIS3 can pay full price for it. This is basically welfare for those who would normally be on dialup. It doesn't have to be "reasonable" just good enough. 1.5Mbps is good enough for school work, assignments and research.

It's like the free subsidized cellphones that provide 200 minutes every month. You won't be yakking away every day but you will be able to call for help in an emergency or maybe talk a few minutes per day with family so that they are in touch.

That's the whole point. Assistance for those who need it. Not something "heroic" or "reasonable" but simply the bare basics that someone can make minimal use of.
fifty nine

fifty nine to Mr Matt

Member

to Mr Matt
People are actually complaining about $10 per month broadband service? This reminds me of the whole bird feeder analogy. Beggars can't be choosers.
BlueC
join:2009-11-26
Minneapolis, MN

BlueC

Member

I'm not complaining about $10/mo broadband service.

I'm criticizing Comcast for acting all heroic by claiming they're delivering "$10/mo broadband" services to low income families. When clearly, 1.5mbps does not meet the broadband definition published by the FCC.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine

Member

I don't think Comcast wants to be heroic. They are doing this primarily as a goodwill gesture to satisfy legislators. Comcast is a business and I'm sure their shareholders wouldn't be happy if they were giving away decent speeds at a steal of a price.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to fifty nine

Premium Member

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said by fifty nine:

said by BlueC:

I guess I (as well as others) have a different definition of "high speed". $10/mo to offer such slow speeds isn't all that heroic in my mind. DOCSIS 3.0 gives them the ability to easily bump up the economy tier to something more reasonable.

Those who want faster speeds via DOCSIS3 can pay full price for it. This is basically welfare for those who would normally be on dialup. It doesn't have to be "reasonable" just good enough. 1.5Mbps is good enough for school work, assignments and research.

How quickly we forget...
1.5mbps is a T1[for downloads anyway]

Eagles1221
join:2009-04-29
Vincentown, NJ

Eagles1221 to jupiter837

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768K gets 2 dots on a Roku - fine for Neflix on 22 inch LCD

zoom314
join:2005-11-21
Yermo, CA

zoom314 to fifty nine

Member

to fifty nine
said by fifty nine:

said by BlueC:

Well, they're calling it "$10 broadband". I consider it unethical to label a service that does not meet the definition of the said service.

Whatever they call it, it's good that they are offering high speed internet to low income people for educational purposes.

But only if one has Children and only for 3 years, I have No Children, I'm just very low income, Thankfully I'm not in range of Comcastic service.