In April of 2008, Comcast sued the Chattanooga Electric Power Board (EPB) to prevent it from building a fiber optic network to provide locals with an alternative to the sluggish speeds being offered by the cable giant. EPB survived the court challenge and ultimately began offering locals symmetrical gigabit connections for $70 per month. It was only just earlier this year that Comcast was able to keep pace, launching its own gigabit broadband service in parts of Chattanooga, but only matching EPB's pricing -- and lifting usage caps -- if users sign a three-year contract.
To advertise this speedy service's arrival, the company
posted to Facebook, proclaiming that the company was "introducing" gigabit service to the city.
Except locals in the city all remember that Comcast had spent the better part of the last decade actually trying to prevent them from getting ultra-fast broadband, and descended upon the post to heap criticism on the cable giant. Some of the backlash appears driven by Congress' recent decision to kill consumer broadband privacy rules, partially at Comcast lobbyist behest.
"Hate to break it to you, Comcast, but EPB beat you to the finish line there bud," said one local. "You should word your advertising more carefully, this is a deceptive ad. You aren't introducing anything to Chattanooga, you're stepping up to the plate and meeting the existing market demand."
Comcast, for its part, tells the Chattanooga Times Free Press that the backlash (also documented by other local news outlets) is simply a "misunderstanding."
"Comcast's recent advertisement on Facebook was intended to remind customers in Chattanooga that our 1-gigabit internet service is now available in their area," said Alex Horwitz, vice president for public relations at Comcast. "The service is offered via cable modem technology, which makes Chattanooga one of the first markets in the nation to enjoy this new service."
Of course there's no misunderstanding; locals just understand that large incumbent ISPs like Comcast have spent millions of dollars over the past fifteen years trying to keep broadband competition at bay -- via any means necessary.