jmargel
join:2001-03-07
Northumberland, PA | It's a monopoly that's why Here in Central PA, my cable provider is Service Electric, their daughter company Prolog is the only ISP in central PA that offers broadband (Cable). No DSL is in the area. It is a 'requirment' that we purchase the basic cable package from Service Electric (at $35.00 a month) just so that we could get internet access at another $40.00 a month (512/128).
First off, this is AGAINST anti-trust laws. You can't force a person to purchase something in order for them to have the opportunity to purchase a completely seperate product.
Second, our cable rates have risen every freakin' year! I hope someone from Prolog reads this. I asked both companies if I could just purchase a 5 or 10 channel package, but they said I was forced to buy 40 channels of crap.
And blaming it on the sports industry? What a line of BS! I can't believe they can actually look themselves in the mirror in the morning without feelings guilty. |
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| said by jmargel:
First off, this is AGAINST anti-trust laws. You can't force a person to purchase something in order for them to have the opportunity to purchase a completely seperate product.
How would this differ from needing an active telephone line in order to get ADSL? |
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 tsu9
join:2001-08-17
Wheeling, IL | Primarily because while you need the cable line, you do not technically need the CATV service in order to receive Cable internet. |
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 pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | said by tsu9:
Primarily because while you need the cable line, you do not technically need the CATV service in order to receive Cable internet.
You don't need the phone service to get DSL either. A friend of mine had his phone disconnected for failure to pay, his DSL continued to run for 4 more months till that was cut off as well.
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Saying that Microsoft has a monopoly in Operating Systems because one is too lazy to learn a different OS is like saying that Ford has a monopoly in cars because one is too lazy to find a Honda dealership. |
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 Aggie DanStop... Reverse That.Premium
join:2001-01-30
Frisco, TX | reply to J D McDorce
said by J D McDorce:
said by jmargel:
First off, this is AGAINST anti-trust laws. You can't force a person to purchase something in order for them to have the opportunity to purchase a completely seperate product.
How would this differ from needing an active telephone line in order to get ADSL?
And actually, it is possible to get SDSL which runs over a dry pair.
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Note : The statements made by myself are my own and not the opinions of my employer or of my coworkers. 7.467 GHz Crunching Power | The Ryan Foundation for MPS Children |
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 phxmarkWhat Country Are We Living In?
join:2000-12-27
Glendale, AZ
| quote:
And actually, it is possible to get SDSL which runs over a dry pair.
ADSL will run over a dry pair also. When I moved, I cancelled my phone 2 weeks before I moved. My ADSL connection was still working for that last week, even though I had no sidetone or line voltage from the phone company.
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Still living on Dial-Up.
[text was edited by author 2003-05-07 11:55:44] |
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lesopp
join:2001-06-27
Land O Lakes, FL | reply to pnh102
I believe your point is pivotal to a consumer lawsuit filed against Bell South. |
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| reply to jmargel
They don't feel guilty in the morning, they feel good about raping you for all the money they can. |
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 KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| reply to J D McDorce
You don't need active phone service to get DSL, for any technical reason. However, most phone companies have set it up in a way so that they *have* to have local service in order to give you DSL, to force you to take both.
For example, SBC's excuse is that the billing system is geared completely towards phone numbers, ie, they need an active "phone number" or else they can't bill you for DSL.
If that's the case, then it's a matter of deliberately not fixing billing. I have an idea for you: How about you don't bill me until you fix the system? If that was the case, wanna bet it would get fixed but quick?
DSL technology does not require active POTS service to work, but the Telco sure isn't going to spread that news around. In the same vein, you SHOULD be able to get Cable Internet *without* subscribing to Cable TV of any kind, and it should *NOT* cost more because you don't. However, of course, they do force you to take Cable TV (or penalize you by charging you tons more for Internet) as a way to encourage you to avoid Dish systems. More anti-competitive crap.
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"When the day comes that anyone can bend our country’s laws and lawmakers to serve selfish, competitive ends, that day democratic government dies" -- Preston Tucker, 1948 (Yep, it's dead.) |
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