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Eunectesboy
join:2012-05-24
L7M0K1

Eunectesboy

Member

Cogeco buying Atlantic Broadband

»www.cbc.ca/news/business ··· and.html

So many questions...

Do they realize there is no CRTC down there?

Do they realize there is regional competition?

How many of the existing 250,000+ customers does Louis anticipate will be 'undesirable'?

Celery
join:2004-01-19
St Catharines, ON

Celery

Member

As their last expansion worked out so well for them, with their understanding of their freshly acquired market...
quote:
Audet said the American market that Cogeco is entering is similar to the Canadian market and should provide future growth in the United States.
Sure, Audet. You keep telling yourself that.
Warez_Zealot
join:2006-04-19
Vancouver

Warez_Zealot to Eunectesboy

Member

to Eunectesboy
Considering the company as a whole has gone down the crapper since 2005, I bet they are just going to neglect this acquisition in COGECO fashion in order to milk the subs for as much money as they can.

I hope COGECO has some awesome plan to upgrade the network there and actually compete for the customers in the region. Alas I know they won't.

I_H8_Spam
join:2004-03-10
St Catharines, ON

I_H8_Spam

Member

The regions served by Atlantic Broadband are also in the shadow of some future Fios buildouts, especially Maryland, Delaware, Florida.

True Fiber with TV/Phone/Inet, vs. Legacy Cable.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by I_H8_Spam:

The regions served by Atlantic Broadband are also in the shadow of some future Fios buildouts, especially Maryland, Delaware, Florida.
True Fiber with TV/Phone/Inet, vs. Legacy Cable.

Portugal all over again.
Os
join:2011-01-26
US

Os to I_H8_Spam

Member

to I_H8_Spam
Hi guys. You might have seen me post on the front page stories. I'm an Atlantic Broadband customer, and I'm sure you'll tell me all you know.

The fact is, there's no competition to speak of in these areas.

Verizon has not built FiOS in any ABB territories in MD. They are milking 3 Mbps DSL here for all it's worth. The only place that has FiOS and ABB is Middletown, DE. FL and SC are AT&T markets, and U-Verse is garbage, it is available in South FL areas with ABB.

Verizon is the landline phone company for all of MD and the affected areas of PA, but they have no interest in laying fiber here, unfortunately.

These are areas that can be milked and neglected, and they have under ABB. We have very few channels compared to other operators.

This is just proof that no company in the US wanted to deal with us. In 1998, we were owned by TCI here in Western MD (the eventual largest base of Comcast's current customers), then we were sold that year, being considered non-strategic to a company who was bought out in a few months by Charter. Then in 2004, Charter decided they didn't want us and the other areas anymore, and Atlantic Broadband was a start-up at that time. The South Carolina market was an acquisition around 2007-2008 for them.

I_H8_Spam
join:2004-03-10
St Catharines, ON

I_H8_Spam to Gone

Member

to Gone
said by Gone:

Portugal all over again.

Exactly........ and like Portugal there is no CRTC'ish regulatory monopoly protections to run back to.

Having experienced FIOS first hand, there is no comparison to the offerings of a legacy cable provider. The FIOS intake rate is something like 20% when they move into a market.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by I_H8_Spam:

Exactly........ and like Portugal there is no CRTC'ish regulatory monopoly protections to run back to.

True, though it should be pointed out that American consumers will go after a company like a swarm of bees and drag them into court at even the slight appearance that they are being taken advantage of.

I_H8_Spam
join:2004-03-10
St Catharines, ON

I_H8_Spam

Member

Not to mention the FCC, State Attorney Generals, Consumer Groups, Special Interest Litigators.

Dones
join:2008-02-14
Toronto, ON

Dones to Eunectesboy

Member

to Eunectesboy
Atlantic already has caps right? So what's the worst Cogeco can do???

...

Never mind, don't answer that.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by Dones:

Never mind, don't answer that.

Good call!
Os
join:2011-01-26
US

Os to Dones

Member

to Dones
Nope, no caps at ABB. Explicitly in the TOS and AUP.

And we just got D3 speeds. We have 40/3 as a max here for $69.99 with no caps right now.

South Florida has 75/5 for the same price, and a 110/5 tier.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

Well if Cogeco's operations in Ontario are any indication, expect that all to turn to shit.
robman50
join:2010-12-14

robman50

Member

What would this mean for us up in Ontario? Higher bills or lower bills? Or more stuff for us or less stuff? Or not a darn thing?

I_H8_Spam
join:2004-03-10
St Catharines, ON

I_H8_Spam to Os

Member

to Os
said by Os:

Nope, no caps at ABB. Explicitly in the TOS and AUP.

Both can be adjusted at will, and I'm betting Cogeco is salivating at the chance to bring UBB to the market.
Os
join:2011-01-26
US

Os

Member

Oh, I'm sure. I'm just stating how it is now, and how it seems we're going to pay for it dearly now in having it far better than many did in the last couple years.

The question I'm asking isn't "what?" or "why?", but "when?" and "how bad?"
HeadSpinning
MNSi Internet
join:2005-05-29
Windsor, ON

HeadSpinning to Eunectesboy

Member

to Eunectesboy
I think this is a great move on Cogeco's part. They'll have to jack up their rates in Canada even more to pay for this blunder - the higher they go, the more customers I can take.

March on GOUGECO!

lockejcole
join:2010-06-11
Hamilton, ON

lockejcole

Member

Seems kind of dodgy to have another company in here saying things like that. You should consider updating your website, Adobe Reader is up to version 10 now, (not version 7 that you list on your menu)

n3k0
@teksavvy.com

n3k0 to Eunectesboy

Anon

to Eunectesboy
As an existing Atlantic Broadband customer; I for one welcome our new GouGeco overlords.

EdmundGerber
join:2010-01-04

EdmundGerber to Os

Member

to Os
said by Os:

The fact is, there's no competition to speak of in these areas.

unfortunately.

These are areas that can be milked and neglected, and they have under ABB. We have very few channels compared to other operators.

No competition? Sounds like it's right up cogeco's alley then. I'm sorry to say that you will likely see whatever service you have get more expensive for less value. They are likely the worst ISP in North America when it comes to bang for your buck.

And sure - why not jack the rates up in Canada to pay for screwups in the US - cogeco customers seem to love the abuse, based on their actions (or lack of).

urbanriot
Premium Member
join:2004-10-18
Canada

urbanriot to n3k0

Premium Member

to n3k0
said by n3k0 :

As an existing Atlantic Broadband customer; I for one welcome our new GouGeco overlords.

You have teksavvy AND Atlantic Broadband? Do you also have verizon and comcast too?
HeadSpinning
MNSi Internet
join:2005-05-29
Windsor, ON

HeadSpinning to lockejcole

Member

to lockejcole
You're the first to complain. I guess the version of Adobe Reader is far more important than raising rates every 6 months, and blowing 600 million in shareholder value on Portuguese cable systems.

lockejcole
join:2010-06-11
Hamilton, ON

lockejcole

Member

No, just seemed distasteful. Not fair to compare you two anyways, seeing how you don't offer anything I could use nor speeds over 6mbps for home lines. Cogeco has its issues, but my connection has been top notch. Not everyone is unhappy. Getting off topic now, so I'll leave it at that.
HeadSpinning
MNSi Internet
join:2005-05-29
Windsor, ON

HeadSpinning to Eunectesboy

Member

to Eunectesboy
Ultimately the topic is about Cogeco buying a US network for $1.3bn. The pressure to provide return to shareholders will be even greater now that they have to service that level of debt. It can't bode well for consumers - no matter which side of the deal they're on.
cog_biz_user
i ruin threads apparently
join:2011-04-19

cog_biz_user to robman50

Member

to robman50
said by Gone:

Portugal all over again.

Yeah, I can totally see that. I should really look into teksavvy again.
said by robman50:

What would this mean for us up in Ontario? Higher bills or lower bills? Or more stuff for us or less stuff? Or not a darn thing?

They raise their rates twice a year, and give us less service to go with it... so not really anything new... we're still getting screwed, and we'll continue to be screwed.

n3k0
@teksavvy.com

n3k0 to urbanriot

Anon

to urbanriot
Ah, it appears I forgot to include the obligatory smiley face when I posted; my apologies. My comment was satirical, although I think you knew that
diskdocx
join:2005-09-26
Burlington, ON

diskdocx to Os

Member

to Os
said by Os:

Nope, no caps at ABB. Explicitly in the TOS and AUP.

And we just got D3 speeds. We have 40/3 as a max here for $69.99 with no caps right now.

South Florida has 75/5 for the same price, and a 110/5 tier.

TOS and AUP can be changed at any time with appropriate notice (typically 30 days, give or take). I am sure Cogeco would not have bought the network if they couldn't impose the necessary measures to ensure you get the most out of you cable experience....

Considering that Comcast gets flak for 250 gig caps, I wonder how well Cogeco's caps will go over?

The closest equivalent in Cogeco's current offerings would be 30/1.5 with a 175 gig cap for just over $70/mo (no counting any bundle discounts, if available)

Bottom line, you will not have unlimited for much longer. The highest transfer Cogeco allows is 250 gigs, but that will cost upwards of $100 per month.

Course, we will probably subsidize your pricing if there is any competition.

fibretexx
@cgocable.net

fibretexx to Eunectesboy

Anon

to Eunectesboy
Funny reading these posts.
I wouldn't expect to see any of the silly changes as some people would lead to to believe.
Hang tight

elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
Premium Member
join:2006-08-30
Somewhere in

elwoodblues to robman50

Premium Member

to robman50
said by robman50:

What would this mean for us up in Ontario? Higher bills or lower bills? Or more stuff for us or less stuff? Or not a darn thing?

When it all goes south, you'll be paying a "We screwed up in buying Atlantic Broadband and lost our shirts recovery fee".
diskdocx
join:2005-09-26
Burlington, ON

diskdocx

Member

said by elwoodblues:

said by robman50:

What would this mean for us up in Ontario? Higher bills or lower bills? Or more stuff for us or less stuff? Or not a darn thing?

When it all goes south, you'll be paying a "We screwed up in buying Atlantic Broadband and lost our shirts recovery fee".

They already lost their shirts in Portugal last year. Perhaps pants this time...