zabes63
join:2003-04-05
Batavia, IL
| The Incumbents Lied!?
When citizens in the Illinois cities of St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia voted on whether or not to start a municipal network, local incumbents ran advertisements warning about the financial pitfalls of such projects. One of their examples of such fiscal trouble spots was the Click! network in Tacoma, despite the fact the network quickly found itself running in the black, and did not result in higher taxes. You can find responses to the incumbent claims from Click! representatives at the Tri-cities broadband website.
I for one am SHOCKED!!
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Click here to visit Tri-City Broadband |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
|  said by zabes63  :
I for one am SHOCKED!!
No no no! You got it all wrong... the way you say it is: "I for one am shocked, SHOCKED!"
It's all in the delivery LOL.
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Jewel got Britney-fied! There is hope for the world yet!
[text was edited by author 2003-09-09 14:03:43] |
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redstepchild
Premium
join:2002-01-04
Birmingham, AL
|  reply to zabes63
Here's What Click Doesn't Have
Not to sound like a comercial.. but:
1. Click has No Highdefinition tv
Comcast does. What does this tell me? Click network cannot afford to stay with the techno pack.
2.Click cannot afford to have special interest packages
Better hope you don't want any channels in another language.
Be prepared for that Sports package to be canceled if enough people don't order it. Click can't afford to offer anything up and coming.
Comcast does offer International channels and Sports packages. Comcast has enough subscribers to meet those special interests.
3. Click does not offer local phone service
Comcast does. Infact, Comcast offers highly competitively priced local phone services over it's cable lines.
4. Click does not offer competitvely priced highspeed plans.(3MB or more)
Comcast offers Pro. 3MB is right smack around the corner. Your only hopes of 3MB w/ Click is if you are a business.
{b} When will people realize that these municipalities do not have the $$$ for cutting edge cable upgrades?[/b]
So in 5 - 10 years.. when the small cable systems can't keep up with the BROADBAND PUSH, where are you then?
Cause we all know how up tight the cities are when they couldn't get the latest adn greatest soon enough...
Now I look at Tacoms's Click and I do not see any push for them to improve their cable system becasue after all, Cable TV, Internet, and Phone are all secondaries of the network. The Primary reason is for the electrical company. And the primary needs far outweigh the secondary needs.
Wait about 15 years and see wat the residents signed up for.
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I'm a Cable girl.. In a Cable World.....RedStepChild@dslr.net |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by redstepchild :
Now I look at Tacoms's Click and I do not see any push for them to improve their cable system becasue after all, Cable TV, Internet, and Phone are all secondaries of the network.
Click will just raise electrical rates by another 50% to cover the costs of these improvements. It won't cost taxpayers a penny! 
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Jewel got Britney-fied! There is hope for the world yet! |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs:
 ·LINGO
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·surpasshosting
 ·Verizon FIOS
| pnh102 , enough with the propaganda!
redstepchild presented us with some facts. Although I didn't verify each and every detail, I'm willing to bet she did, so I'll take her at her word.
even though she did sort of sound like a commercial
It's true, the Click! Network doesn't offer the latest video technology. But I'm going to take you to task on the 3mb offerings. In the here-and-now, Comcast's 3MB package costs $95. We know Comcast has plans to increase speeds. We do not yet know if the speed increases will be accompanied by price increases.
That's the thing that's so great about competition. Everyone can have their niche. If you want a modest service (1/.128) at an affordable price, the Click! Network offers many choices, all from local companies:
• HarborNet: $30/mo (taxes + modem included)
• NETVenture $30/mo
• AdvancedStream: $29.70/mo
In contrast, Comcast's lowest priced cable modem service (1.5/.256) is $57. If you like all the latest-n-greatest, and don't mind paying premium prices, go with Comcast. |
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TACSPEED
Premium
join:2001-04-14
Tacoma, WA
·Advanced Stream
| reply to redstepchild
quote:
4. Click does not offer competitvely priced highspeed plans.(3MB or more)
Comcast offers Pro. 3MB is right smack around the corner. Your only hopes of 3MB w/ Click is if you are a business.
Not true! I can pick up the phone and get 3Meg/512 to my home with in 24 hours.
As far as it being competitively priced, things become a bit more complicated. Click! is prohibited from selling Internet service at the retail level by Washington state law. This law is a big beef with me! So Click! sells a 3M/512k package with two permanent DHCP addresses for 80 bucks a month to independent ISPs. The independent ISPs set the retail price for their service. The current price is $129.75 per month at the local ISP, Advanced Stream.
I can also pick up the phone and get a DS1 line or better to my home, not with in 24 hours though. Can you get that with Comcast?
quote:
{b} When will people realize that these municipalities do not have the $$$ for cutting edge cable upgrades?[/b]
So in 5 - 10 years.. when the small cable systems can't keep up with the BROADBAND PUSH, where are you then?
Stick with the facts, Red. Stop guessing!
quote:
1. Click has No Highdefinition tv
Comcast does. What does this tell me? Click network cannot afford to stay with the techno pack.
Still early in the game here. How many channels of HDTV does Comcast offer? Does Comcast offer HDTV in all their serviceable areas right now? Does Comcast offer high speed Internet in all their areas right now? How about it folks in Marysville, do you have Comcast HDTV and high speed Internet right now?
quote:
3. Click does not offer local phone service
Comcast does. Infact, Comcast offers highly competitively priced local phone services over it's cable lines.
How about it folks in Marysville, do you have local phone service through Comcast right now?
quote:
Now I look at Tacoms's Click and I do not see any push for them to improve their cable system becasue after all, Cable TV, Internet, and Phone are all secondaries of the network.
Come on Red! Click! is spending a pile of money wiring the cities of University Place and soon Fircrest with Click! right now.
quote:
The Primary reason is for the electrical company. And the primary needs far outweigh the secondary needs.
More guesses, right Red?
quote:
2.Click cannot afford to have special interest packages
Better hope you don't want any channels in another language.
Be prepared for that Sports package to be canceled if enough people don't order it. Click can't afford to offer anything up and coming.
Comcast does offer International channels and Sports packages. Comcast has enough subscribers to meet those special interests.
I don't know about the sports package being canceled, but the international channel part is true. However, Click! does have enough people interested in the Korean channel to offer it now.
I might add that the folks in Tacoma have competition. We pay about 12 to 15 bucks less a month for cable tv then the folks in Puyallup, about 10 miles outside of our city; that's as much as 34% less then the folks in Puyallup pay for cable tv. Think about it! That's a substantial savings! I pay less than 30 bucks a month for 1M/128k cable Internet service, with which I am very pleased with. My actual speeds are about 1.4M/146k.
I can call Click! and order fiber, complete with Internet connection, to my house. Can Comcast do that?
Finally, if Comcast treats me poorly, I can go with Click!. If Comcast has a better package, I can go with them. I like having choices; wouldn't you?
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Fiber Optics is the future of high-speed internet access. Stop by the BBR Fiber Optic Forum.
[text was edited by author 2003-09-10 15:02:44] |
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TheyCallMeGod
@comcast.n
| Simply put, competition is very good for the end user, but as RED put it... overbuilds are very, very, very, very expensive and usually don't make any money for 3-5 years (and that is a FACT)... only the fat survive in that kinda market, Click! may survive though since they have a business backup... but will have to up their package load to equal that of everybody else in the area.... Most overbuilds bring in new and improved service over the existing companies; but have to sell it at extremly low rates to get customers to switch... all results in a very high negitive number on the books for a long time, until they get the customer base and trust... then come the rate hikes!!! IT WILL happen, just a matter of time... but hey if 4 overbuilds come to a city and force current rates down, but they die in the process, all the better for my monthly bill!!! |
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Octopussy2
Premium
join:2003-03-30
Batavia, IL
| You have to remember muni builds just have to break even on their business model. They don't have to pay share holders etc...or for golden parachutes to CEOs who leave.
Overbuilds may be expensive for the private sector but munis can do it cheaper because of their business model, and even cheaper if they already own their own electric utility.
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It's muni-licious! »www.tricitybroadband.com |
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Nevster
Premium
join:2002-04-06
Dalhousie, NB
| reply to redstepchild
said by redstepchild :
Not to sound like a comercial.. but:
1. Click has No Highdefinition tv
Comcast does. What does this tell me? Click network cannot afford to stay with the techno pack.
Agreed; your statement is correct. To expand on the idea, I think Click cannot afford to invest money on emerging technologies in a manner that might prove to be a fad, especially when cost of deploying those technologies are at their highest. Their conservative wait-and-see approach results in a more mature service at lower costs, which usually serve an established demand. If you feel that this conservative approach doesn't meet your technology needs, don't mind the extra costs associated with first-to-market technologies, but don't have a more leading-edge competitor to turn to, I would expect that you'd be frustrated. But, you'd have more stable, affordable technologies to look forward to down the road.
quote:
2.Click cannot afford to have special interest packages
Better hope you don't want any channels in another language.
Be prepared for that Sports package to be canceled if enough people don't order it. Click can't afford to offer anything up and coming.
Comcast does offer International channels and Sports packages. Comcast has enough subscribers to meet those special interests.
You're also correct here. Fortunately, broadcasters are recognizing that there are changing trends in the industry, and are working with smaller cable companies to affordably provide big-guy services at small-guy rates. Municipal systems that operate as non-profits get even better discounts. Check out our channel line-up at »www.sanbrunocable.com/cabletv.htm along with our prices. |
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