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elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72

Member

TWC vs FIOS

In my area I happen to have FIOS but recently Verizon has priced themselves out of the market. FIOS now goes from 15/5 to 50/25, which is a huge gap. Even said the lowest internet only for 15/5 is an amazing $70/month. Now that is gouging.

I can get lite (DSL grade 3Mbs) for $20/month for a year ($40 regular price). Standard (10Mbps) is only $30/yr through TWC.

Maybe pricing is better than in other areas but I would hardly call that gouging.

In fact VZ already tried to jack my rates $30/month if I wanted to go from 25/25 to 50/25 which I told them no thanks. When my price lock is up in Jan I may very well pop over to TWC. Their cust service can't touch VZ but their price is like half, so maybe it's a deal.

The question is if 5 GB is there like Comcast poor intercity plan (which they are now in trouble for) is there to appease. It is. It's no deal. It's a honey pot. Look it up.

Bottom line, transit costs, Docsis 3 is LOWERING costs to all time lows but these guys are not satisfied and want to raise rates, add caps (which raises rates). In a normal competitive environment that would mean lower costs. So if the government can't figure out that raising rates (in some cases dramatically) in a situation where costs are going down (DRAMATICALLY), that is a perfect natural monopoly.

The FCC is useless because it's just a corporate front, and doesn't have regulative power.

I'm on the fence because regulation always leads to higher price and less choice, so it's bad too.

If the US was smart, treat the last mile like a utility, connect everyone to fibre, coax, or whitespace wifi and let the providers compete on transit, and publicly regulate the last mile. Problem solved.

It works. I can already choose my own provider of power or gas (I do) which costs less than the regulated supply and I also save in taxes.
Wilsdom
join:2009-08-06

Wilsdom

Member

That $30/month for TWC is a promotional price. Compared to the normal rate of $60 for 10/1, $70 for 15/5 looks fine, though it's not cheap
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72

Member

Thx. Who pays other than the promotional rate??? 10/1 retail is $54 in UNY, which is the same price I was paying in 1995 when I was living in Rochester... I don't remember the speed though, but it was way faster than dialup

I would have kept TWC but I called them one time about a letter I received on a new promo, and the rep said I wasn't paying enough and they wanted to raise my rate over $60 (I think I had turbo). That was that, and I went to FIOS. Now Verizon is jacking rates, so I go back to TWC.

At least I have choice, and you see how it benefits the consumer. In areas without such, I'm afraid they are at the mercy of ma hell.

You can have a can on string for $100 from Verizon tho..

LightS
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
Greenville, TX

LightS to Wilsdom

Premium Member

to Wilsdom
Normal rate of $60 for 10/1? Not sure about you, but in my area I have 30/5 and I'm paying $62/mo after all fees & taxes. Maybe I got lucky, haha.