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tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt to newview

Premium Member

to newview

Re: bad link Karl

then drop the HSI too.
cable is finally getting the pay back for the years of investment in building an almost ubiquitous plant using private money, something that required billions in subsidies for the Telco to do.

No one forces you too WATCH their crappy TV channels.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

newview

Premium Member

said by tshirt:

then drop the HSI too.

When the Comcast broadband monopoly in my area is finally broken that is EXACTLY what I intend to do.
said by tshirt:

cable is finally getting the pay back for the years of investment in building an almost ubiquitous plant using private money, something that required billions in subsidies for the Telco to do.

In MY area Comcast was given local tax incentives 35-40 years ago to build out ... and then when those were removed the price increases began ... now my area is one of the HIGHEST in the nation for basic cable service. When do I get "pay back" for tax moneys I paid for Comcast to expand in my area?
said by tshirt:

No one forces you too WATCH their crappy TV channels.

... and I'm not going to spend $20 a month for basic cable to save a $15 a month "so-called-discount" either.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

1 edit

tshirt

Premium Member

said by newview:

said by tshirt:

then drop the HSI too.

When the Comcast broadband monopoly in my area is finally broken that is EXACTLY what I intend to do.
said by tshirt:

cable is finally getting the pay back for the years of investment in building an almost ubiquitous plant using private money, something that required billions in subsidies for the Telco to do.

In MY area Comcast was given local tax incentives 35-40 years ago to build out ... and then when those were removed the price increases began ... now my area is one of the HIGHEST in the nation for basic cable service. When do I get "pay back" for tax moneys I paid for Comcast to expand in my area?
said by tshirt:

No one forces you too WATCH their crappy TV channels.

... and I'm not going to spend $20 a month for basic cable to save a $15 a month "so-called-discount" either.

I doubt there is a monopoly, just no other company has chosen to serve your area.

Can you prove they got tax incentives? (really, I'm curious I have NEVER seen a case where a CATV provider was paid to build out, in most cases the cableco made huge payments of fees, and franchise benefits to the city/area in order to be allowed to build out.) IF they were paid I would guess some citizens DEMANDED it of the local Gov't and probably had to fight the other "don't need it" voters to get it passed. I don't think you ever get a refund for any unwanted gov't programs or I'd be a rich man.

Yes showing as a discount on the HSI has caused the misunderstanding that it is to penalize HSI only users.
If you look at as a $15 single service cost (i.e. doesn't get re-added for a second or more service) it shows how little they charge for the limited basic content.

NormanS
I gave her time to steal my mind away
MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
TP-Link TD-8616
Asus RT-AC66U B1
Netgear FR114P

1 recommendation

NormanS

MVM

said by tshirt:

I doubt there is a monopoly, just no other company has chosen to serve your area.

If by, "monopoly" we mean a company using predatory pricing to drive the competition out of business, AT&T and Comcast are not monopolies.

But wireline services tend to be "natural" monopolies, in that once an incumbent has built out an area, any competitor faces the same cost to overbuild, but has to try to convince the incumbent's customers to change. The Pacific Telesis Group tried to overbuild TCI, here. Wound up in dire financial straits, such that SBC, nee Southwestern Bell Telephone, bought them and sold off the cable infrastructure to AT&T Broadband Internet. Neither Pacific Bell, nor AT&T actually signed up cable customers. In the end, AT&T spun off ATTBI, and both TCI and ATTBI were bought by Comcast. So we have a duopoly (SBC, dba AT&T and Comcast); except for some rare cases where true competition exists.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

1 recommendation

tshirt

Premium Member

said by NormanS:

said by tshirt:

I doubt there is a monopoly, just no other company has chosen to serve your area.

But wireline services tend to be "natural" monopolies, in that once an incumbent has built out an area, any competitor faces the same cost to overbuild, ...

Ahh so you get it.
The cost of a single plant is incredible and takes many years to pay off.
building/overbuilding a second plant means splitting the customers and so the provider needs to charge twice as much (assuming a 50/50 split) to yield the same return on that same huge sunk cost. and being smaller hurts the negationing power with content producers increasing that expense too.

So customers don't necessarily benefit from multiple plants.
and the dumb pipe model people here promote of forcing a single plant to carry multiple competing services without rewarding the investor who paid for the original build, assures that new funding for upgrades will not happen meaning users will get stuck with old school technology and little reduction in price.

NormanS
I gave her time to steal my mind away
MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
TP-Link TD-8616
Asus RT-AC66U B1
Netgear FR114P

NormanS

MVM

said by tshirt:

Ahh so you get it.

Maybe. If cable were regulated by the state PUCs, it would be closer to the "natural monopoly" envisioned by the telco regulators. But cable goes beyond providing TCP/IP connectivity, and is a content delivery conduit for the entertainment industry. I don't want Hollywood crap; a decent TCP/IP connection will suffice. It can't possibly cost Comcast so much to distribute TCP/IP over the Last Mile as to justify the $44.99 price tag for "Performance"; my DSL provider throws in telephone with Internet for that price!

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

1 recommendation

tshirt

Premium Member

Sure it's a bit more expensive than the Telco, the plant is relatively new, and was built without the gov't subsidy.
It is however far more capable (bandwidth wise) in return.
that makes it not always affordable to everyone, and yes as the CATV broadcast side phases out the HSI side has and will become more expensive as well as maybe the phone (even though it seem expensive compared to straight/third party VoIP, it still can undercut POTS with NEAR similar qualities and reliability.)
for the Hollywood/entertainment side, the model is changing but will move slowly until there is a proven replacement capable of replacing at least as much revenue as they currently get/forecast.

The idea that you will get the same product MUCH cheaper just because it's delivered IP rather than broadcast is wrong (it's actually much more expensive to deliver.
in true ala carte really popular stuff but expensive to make stuff (lobster) will be VERY expensive, and cheap to produce products (floor sweepings and mystery "meats") will be less plus the delivery cost. The very expensive maybe a better value to those that can pay for it, as a lower % of the total is delivery.
Unfortunately nothing will be really cheap.