TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·Comcast
|  Comcast/SBC will start price war if voters approve
After looking at the rate charts the Tricities have released, their rates are about 10-20% below Comcast and SBC's for equivalent services.
My guess would be that if the voters approve this, Comcast and SBC will drop their rates sufficient to make the municipal services about equal in price. Hoping that users won't go to the trouble to switch if the price is the same.
You can see why Comcast and SBC are fighting this - they don't want to see a competitor that will force them to lower prices.
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I found out that all the important lessons of life are contained in the three rules for achieving a perfect golf swing: 1.Keep your head down - 2. Follow through - 3. Be born with money |
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dnoyeB
Ferrous Phallus
join:2000-10-09
Southfield, MI | Re: Comcast/SBC will start price war if voters app
Yes they will do that. But I think that is illegal and anti-competitive. |
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JPuppy
Java Heathen
Premium
join:2002-11-24
Honesdale, PA
clubs:
|  reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Comcast/SBC will start price war if voters approve
said by TKJunkMail  :
Hoping that users won't go to the trouble to switch if the price is the same.
I'm one of those people who would pay 10-20% more for municipal service just out of spite for the larger incumbants.
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-Jaded doesn't begin to describe it |
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TACSPEED
Premium
join:2001-04-14
Tacoma, WA
·Advanced Stream
| reply to TKJunkMail
quote:
After looking at the rate charts the Tricities have released, their rates are about 10-20% below Comcast and SBC's for equivalent services
That's exactly what will happen. Comcast price for Bronze service in Tacoma is $34.95, outside of Tacoma $39.95.
The real fight will be how well each of two providers treat their customers. If Comcast rises to the challenge, the municipal cable company will have a tough time of it.
The nice thing is that you will be paying about 10 to 20 percent less no matter who you cable provider is, and you will have a choice.:) What a novel concept!
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Fiber Optics is the future of high-speed internet access. Stop by the BBR Fiber Optic Forum. |
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boogie74
join:2001-06-19
Neenah, WI
clubs:
| reply to dnoyeB
Re: Comcast/SBC will start price war if voters app
said by dnoyeB :
Yes they will do that. But I think that is illegal and anti-competitive.
Am I correct to conclude that you think that lowering prices to match or beat the price of a competitor is illegal and anti-competitive?
Boogie |
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Go Chargers7
Fa Shizzle Ma Nizzle
Premium
join:2002-09-24
Huntington Beach, CA
| Re: it's called illegal predation
Yeah, when a company uses it's market power (profit subsidizing...using other franchise's profits to support losses in the market in question) to eliminate an "upstart" in that single market in question, it's called illegal predation. If they had nationwide pricing that followed it, then the price drop would be defensible, but if they are doing it only in 1 market in response to a new competitor they can be subject to an antitrust action by the USDOJ.
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2/502 Strike Force -- Renegades: We Will Never Forget We Will Prevail »www.politicsandprotest.org
[text was edited by author 2003-03-15 14:52:45] |
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boogie74
join:2001-06-19
Neenah, WI
clubs:
| said by Go Chargers7 :
Yeah, when a company uses it's market power (profit subsidizing...using other franchise's profits to support losses in the market in question) to eliminate an "upstart" in that single market in question, it's called illegal predation. If they had nationwide pricing that followed it, then the price drop would be defensible, but if they are doing it only in 1 market in response to a new competitor they can be subject to an antitrust action by the USDOJ.
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2/502 Strike Force -- Renegades: We Will Never Forget We Will Prevail »www.politicsandprotest.org
[text was edited by author 2003-03-15 14:52:45]
There are several factors involved here though. One of them is the fact that the Bells are regulated and forced to subsidize losses in residential service with over-profits in business services.
Secondly, pricing for most features and bundles of features for the Bells are subject to state specific regulation. They aren't holding high prices in some states to gouge customers while lowering prices in others to push away competition. The Bells are required to file tariffs to change pricing both upward and downward in each state. If one state doesn't act on the filing as fast as another state, this isn't the choice of the Bells.
Boogie |
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ravital
Just Another Pesky Independent Nh Voter
Premium
join:2001-07-19
Merrimack, NH
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Comcast/SBC will start price war if voters app
Forgive me all for asking a silly question, but did anyone notice that the complaint that drives all this seems to be about quality and not price? I don't know what kind of broadband they are planning, but if it's fiber... why would anyone want cable, even at a lower price?
The principle that holds true with telco incumbents everywhere else seems to hold true here: Figure out what they want, then advocate and support the opposite. |
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boogie74
join:2001-06-19
Neenah, WI
clubs:
| said by Go Chargers7 :
Forced to take losses in residential? Yeah right. They aren't forced to offer the service in the first place. You just can't stop your shilling for 5 minutes and see what's happening in these markets.
So you're saying that the Bells aren't required to offer non-discriminatory, universal service to anyone who wants it? WOW!
quote:
How about some evidence to support your claim that they're FORCED to lose money on residential DSL service? How about some evidence to support your claim that they are required by tariff in that state not to lower their prices for residential DSL service?
Who is talking about DSL service? I'm talking about POTS. SBC isn't required to offer DSL. It isn't a constitutional right. The pricing for DSL is dependent on market because different markets have different charactaristics. ALL products have different prices in different regions, independent of what company offers them and independent of what type of product and service it is. Companies will ALWAYS charge the most that they can get away with for EVERYTHING. If lower prices are required to get more marketshare, then prices fall. If demand is higher, prices rise. This isn't gouging- it's business.
boogie |
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