 
inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK | if they are screaming for reform then the FCC is working. obviously.... | |
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jslik
That just happened
Premium
join:2006-03-17
clubs: | Re: if they are screaming for reform then the FCC is working. Does that mean that the push for cable franchise 'reform' by the telcos on the state level mean local franchising must be working, too? | |
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| ashworth
join:2001-10-06
Pittsburgh, PA | Bravo..... you can't have your cake and eat it too !! | |
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Eric Martin
join:2005-06-19
66308 | Get rid of the fcc Fcc does nothing important. They sure don't help consumers. Just servants of industry & bribe lobbied politicians. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA | Re: Get rid of the fcc According to Brian Roberts, evidentally not. | |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| said by Eric Martin  :Fcc does nothing important. They sure don't help consumers. Just servants of industry & bribe lobbied politicians. And this is different from any other government program how? That being said, the FCC does do useful things. Imagine how the unlicensed 2.4GHz spectrum looks now, only across the entire spectrum.
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Go Colts | |
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| Time4aNAP
Premium
join:2007-04-09
Des Plaines, IL
| said by Eric Martin :Fcc does nothing important... Be careful what you wish for. Even as a sell-out, the FCC does some mighty important stuff.
Do you really want to go back to having to rent your phone from the phone company? And your cellphone? Do you want the Clarke Belt to turn into a junkyard, and go back to three or four TV channels? And have to buy a separate TV for each one? Would you really want to find yourself paying a penny a packet for Internet traffic? On top of what you're paying now?
I could go on and on...
There's no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The FCC used to be a fine institution. It can be one again. It's just a matter of getting rid of the old management, and replacing it with...just about anything would be better at this point... | |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| "Leave the market alone...." ?? The Cable folks should be careful of what they ask for. The Telcos have about a decade of experience of using size and influence to beat the snot out of competitors, while cable has only seen serious competition more recently. (No, I'm not counting the days when satellite was priced to maximize revenue from folks outside cable service areas as "serious competition.")
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! | |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
 ·Comcast
| Re: "Leave the market alone...." ?? said by calvoiper :The Cable folks should be careful of what they ask for. The Telcos have about a decade of experience of using size and influence to beat the snot out of competitors, while cable has only seen serious competition more recently. (No, I'm not counting the days when satellite was priced to maximize revenue from folks outside cable service areas as "serious competition.") calvoiper Um, can you cite examples?
Last time I checked, telcos are losing customers by the bushel many to cable Voip providers.
Also, don't forget, the major Telcos inherited their size and influence from their true monopoly years ago when Ma Bell was the only game in the entire country. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
1 edit | Re: "Leave the market alone...." ?? said by Brian Roberts :
Whaaaahhhhh, I want to inherit size and influence from a monopoly too, waaaaahhhhhhhh. It's not fair, waaaahhhhhhhhh.
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| said by MadMANN :...Um, can you cite examples? ... Examples? Sure. How about refusal to interconnect until required to do so with CLECs by the Telecom Act of 1996? How about refusal to interconnect with VoIP providers until forced to do so by the FCC? How about reversing the original Reed Hundt driven competition rules on "unbundled network elements", "pick and choose", and the "statement of generally available terms"?
Or should I go back a few years further and mention when they tried to prohibit phone book covers (which covered their own ads with someone else's) as "illegal attachments to the network"? Or the days when they referred to unbundled switching as "penetrating the network"?
Or maybe I should go back a few decades to when they refused to interconnect with the original independents and some towns had two, unconnected, telephone networks?
Additionally, you may refer to both the Western Electric anti-trust settlement of 1956 or the ATT Divestiture Decree of 1982 (a/k/a the "MFJ" for "Modification of Final Judgment" as it modified the '56 result) for an additional litany of acts of unfair competition.
In comparison, the various efforts of the cable companies to forestall competition (including both attempts to keep channels off satellites and to force telco video to negotiate local franchises) make the cable guys look like pathetic pikers in the competition squashing game.
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! | |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs: | Re: "Leave the market alone...." ?? wow. you beat the snot out of MadMANN ! | |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| Re: "Leave the market alone...." ?? said by morbo :wow. you beat the snot out of MadMANN ! Said like someone who couldn't think of anything intelligent to say himself. 
I digress.
calvoiper I think that you forget that there are some very powerful cable entities that can bring it just as easily as some of the telcos.
And many of the examples you cite happened under the most anti-competetive eras.
BTW, I agree with your assessment that the cable industry should tread lightly when saying "leave the market alone". I think you would have to agree that both telco and cable companies alike have been bruised by the FCC. However, I also notice that the article noted that the cable companies asked them to back off and step in only under the most extreme circumstances. I think your examples above fall under that very category.
Bottom line is, is that the playing field needs to be level for anyone to benefit. | |
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| | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| said by calvoiper :said by MadMANN :...Um, can you cite examples? ... In comparison, the various efforts of the cable companies to forestall competition (including both attempts to keep channels off satellites and to force telco video to negotiate local franchises) make the cable guys look like pathetic pikers in the competition squashing game. I hate to correct you, because I usually agree with everything you say, BUT, Satellite isn't innocent either. The NFL Direct Ticket.. Nascar now (which is funny to watch DirecTV talk about how THEY are bringing this new service to the consumer called the 'in-car' service) ...
...and how does making telco play by the rules of negotiating franchise agreements make cable bad? Fair is fair and I'm all for them both playing by the same rules.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-reitchous and lazy..." | |
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Titus Pullo
I came, I saw, I slept
join:2004-06-26
 ·Embarq
| Re: "Leave the market alone...." ?? And there's nothing that garners a more hardy chuckle from this reader than watching folks line up with reasoned arguments in support of one entity or another that, when all is said and done, are doing nothing more than picking their pocket and making a mockery of the precious and holy free market concept that they'll fervently argue is the saviour of mankind in another thread
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The road to purgatory is paved with good citations | |
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| | | | | bi0tech
join:2003-06-19 | Re: "Leave the market alone...." ?? Yeah a free market where the essential resource involved is infrastructure which is nearly impossible to acquire and exhorbitently expensive largely due to the very entities which thrive off it.
Free market my arse. | |
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| | | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| There's also nothing more funnier than to see those line up who think that federal laws only pertain to their own small world as it exists for them.
Unlike some people, I look at the whole picture, not just parts of things. It's a reason why so many people don't get the law and why things happen the way they do around them. Everything ultimately relates to something else... so everything must be taken into consideration.
The laws reach far beyond the small areas where business doesn't find you profitable.
I also have to laugh at those that think life is always going to be fair across the board...
.. and I'm not religious.. I don't subscribe to organized comedy, thank you.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-reitchous and lazy..." | |
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Titus Pullo
I came, I saw, I slept
join:2004-06-26
·Embarq
| Re: "Leave the market alone...." ?? said by fiberguy :There's also nothing more funnier [...] Agreed.
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This feels like deja vu all over again | |
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ender7074
join:2006-11-21
Saint Louis, MO | Funny I love the little line below the title. Thats just funny and sadly true.  | |
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Rockpea
join:2001-11-19
New City, NY | Cable has been taking advantage of America for to long. Internet access has become a basic necessity.
The Price should be regulated or, perhaps it should be free to individuals. | |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| Re: Cable has been taking advantage of America for to long. said by Rockpea :Internet access has become a basic necessity. The Price should be regulated or, perhaps it should be free to individuals. Going by that rationalization, shouldn't electricity, gas, and phone service already be free? | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA | Re: Cable has been taking advantage of America for to long. It is free when you live with your parents. | |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| Re: Cable has been taking advantage of America for to long. said by ColorBASIC :It is free when you live with your parents.  | |
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| APG
Premium
join:2007-01-13
2 edits | How did the internet get to be a basic necessity?
Because the cable companies wired up almost all the country with reasonably priced, high-speed, always on connections. As important, cable techs came out to the house, did the installation, and set up the computer -- almost always for free. And then they answered the phone 24 hours a day for technical questions.
Before cable, using the internet required at least some technical knowledge. For the large majority of the public, cable made it into a commodity service that, to the subscriber, "somebody plugs it in and it just works."
That created the critical mass of subscribers that led business and government to move towards the internet model...and that made the internet the necessity it is today.
Now that the heavy work's been done, Verizon complains that they need help because the playing field isn't level. | |
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| MeKuN
join:2004-07-21
Eugene, OR | It is? Or is it because you feel you cant live with out it. Its a luxury that most people could live with out. What would we do with out cellphones!!!!!!!!! o the fear of it all. | |
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| fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| you are kidding, aren't you?
Cable raping consumers on price for too long?? How long is too long?
Just about 6 years ago, MANY people were still on dial up at $24 a month. how is $15 more per month for a fast connection and the ability to share that line with multiple computers, not to mention many people had a second phone line at a cost of about $20 to $30 more a month (making cable internet cheaper than dial-up) "taking advantage of America for too long?"
That's some pretty harsh thinking.. and I agree with the others.. gasoline, gas/electric.. Hell, we pay for water.. of ALL necessities, water is still a pay-for necessity.
Broadband free, huh?? "In Soviet Russia, Broadband surf you!"
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-reitchous and lazy..." | |
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| Rockpea
join:2001-11-19
New City, NY | All communications should be free. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
3 edits | Brian is so full of crap his eyes are brown Sorry Brian, you'll have to live with the massive profits you're already getting and the 2x inflation yearly price increases.
I am in favor of a la carte and think ownership limits are a good thing. I don't see real action in terms of CATV indecency by the FCC. Meanwhile Comcast and other operators are making a mint and competing just fine under current rules.
In one breath cable CEOs tout their superiority and greatness, to their customers and investors; that FiOS and the like is nothing. In the next they cry like whining schoolgirls that they won't be able to compete unless they are permitted to run roughshot over the marketplace.
So which is it?
Perhaps we should "deregulate" cable and force cable incumbants to permit other content delivery folks like DSL Extreme to use their lines and deliver video like the telcos were forced to. Sounds good to me Brian. | |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ | The answer is simple... If they want to be treated as well as the FCC has treated the phone companies they need to pony up the lobbying dollars. | |
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Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | Lack of "a la carte" distorts market The cable industry's refusal to have "a la carte" pricing shows that they are not really interested in a competitive market. | |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| Re: Lack of "a la carte" distorts market said by Sammer :The cable industry's refusal to have "a la carte" pricing shows that they are not really interested in a competitive market. And satellite and FiOS are embracing a la carte? News to me.
A la carte programming is another "Be careful what you wish for" topic. | |
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See 29 replies to this post |
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Anonyname
@rr.com
| a la carte / SDV How about restructuring the cable package to reflect the channels people actually watch.
If the cable companies can save a good portion of their bandwidth by using switched digital video, doesn't it stand to reason that most people are watching the same channels?
-or-
How about a la carte with a twist. You have your basic local channels package, standard package (basic + 40 credits), etc. Each channel beyond the basic lineup is worth one, two or three credits and then you pick and choose your channels up to your credit limit. | |
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| hottboiinnc
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH
·Time Warner Cable
·buckeye cable
| Re: a la carte / SDV Why not just do that with a digital box. stream only what is needed period. If you want the channel order it on your TV as PPC (pay per channel) you get access for X amount of time for X amount of dollars. Would be the same as using your plan but use a digital box instead that way you have a way of monitoring the credits and to which customer the channel is going to. | |
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APG
Premium
join:2007-01-13
| Before talking about ala carte pricing... Before talking about ala carte pricing, I would suggest that people actually read the FCC report:
»hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a···40A1.pdf
What I got from it: if there's ala carte pricing, you'll be able to get exactly the 12 or so satellite-delivered channels you want for the same price you pay for the 50 channels the cable company now forces on you with full basic. If you cut the channels (and your choice)way down, you may (note the word "may") save a whopping 14%.
If there's a victory in there for the consumer, I've missed it. | |
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idjk
@sprintlink.net
| Re: Before talking about ala carte pricing... Some years ago in this area they did some ala carte pricing "to save the sub some money via choice"-- trouble is all the good channels (most popular) ended up ala carte and all the crap (shopping,religious,ethnic,public access)were in the basic bundles to get the channel count up, so you ended up paying more.
Then they deregulated the ca. co's and every year we have 2-3 price increases-- also more advertisements on "ad free pay tv". | |
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chuckkk
join:2001-11-10
Warner Robins, GA
·Cox HSI
| Cable TV and internet The cable company (Cox) has a virtual monopoly in my area.
As a result, prioces are high,customer service stinks, and network preformance in general is not very good. Cox recently (yesterday) had a add concerning one customer sending a video to another. In my area, the network, according to customer service, does not support this, and it may even be locked out. The Upload speed is limited to 512k typically, thus sending a video to another is quite painful. | |
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Cable Demands FCC 'Reform'