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What I would like to know is, when we have all that white space, do I still ^have^ to go with Comcast, or Quest for fast Internet?

I think it is unfair that we can't choose more reasonably priced providers at present.

I don't know if so much wireless connectivity would be good for everybody. I mean, when do you take a break from the Internet?

Is there any place left on this Planet where you can just be at peace... just with yourself, nature, a higher power....?

Interesting article. I agree with Becky in that the only real way to get cost down is through choice. We were pretty much saddled with Comcast, until Verizon brought out the FiOS. Comcast is continueing with moving channels into the higher priced tiers AND increasing the rates.Verizon has had one small rate increase. So there really is a choice. It will certainly open things up, but will the consumer benefit ? coastie65

Coastie, are you saying you have Verizon as an option now because of Fios? They have told us that we

aren't eligible because we are in the Comcast 'area' . Kind of difficult to understand why our "Free Market"

gushing Government can insist I pay twice as much for an IP that is at the very bottom of the scale in

Customer Satisfaction, than neighbors in my city who aren't in the Comcast area.



I can still remember when Monopolies were against the law??? I still remember the break up of Bell Telephone.

What in the world is the difference? A monopoly is still a monopoly.

Hi Becky, I find that interesting. Comcast went to the wall trying to keep FiOS out and remain the sole Franchise for Cable and High speed Internet services. As it was, they did force Verizon to jump through a lot of hoops, but yes, Verizon AND Comcast both have franchises in the County where I am located and the City of Richmond as well. I left Comcast and went to DirecTV. Sometime afterwards there was a tax that cable subscribers were paying, that satellite subscribers were not. Comcast went screaming to the State Legislature, with campaign money in hand to get it extended to Satellite subscribers as well. I saw no more than a $1 per month increase in my bill, although it was considerably more for Comcast Customers. When FiOS came in, I got my internet right away, but had to wait three months for the TV. This was because of moves by Comcast. Verizon had everything in place for the TV, but couldn't bring it online, because of actions of Comcast at the State Regulatory Agency, that delayed the license to Verizon. Comcast is predatory in their practices and will stop at nothing to remain the only game in town. It sounds to me like Comcast blocked Verizon in your area from serving an area already covered by Comcast. In my opinion, this is wrong and anticompetitive. It sounds to me like the powers that be, gave in to the Comcast Lobby and have blocked anyone from serving an area already served by Comcast. Here in Virginia, it is partially State Legislature, and then after approval, then it is up to the State Corporation Commission to implement things and to regulate it. The biggest hurdle was to allow multiple Franchises in an area, and it was deemed in the best interest of the consumer to do this, although Comcast, tried to say otherwise and that they could provide all that was needed. It didn't fly, as it was determiined that having access to more than one provider, would be in the best interests of the people. coastie

Have you heard any more about the idea of giving everyone free broadband access?

We also have DirectTV. Odd that we are allowed to choose which Sattelite provider we want for TV reception? It really looks like the members of regional Government have an monetary incentive to choose which Internet provider we MUST use. If that is true, then why should they give a hang about making sure their constituents are getting the best deal? Did those guys just miss the boat on getting a piece of the TV Broadcasting pie, and is there any chance they can still find a way they can screw that up too? After all, Radio used to be free to all, for many years, until Sirius.

By the way, how do I make a regular paragraph on here without typing to the end of their box? Problem is, if I do that, you must scroll back and forth to read it.

Hi Becky, Sounds to me like Comcast wrote the legislation. If FiOS is available then you should have that choice. I have been talking to my neighbor about switching to FiOs from Comcast as he works out of his house and it is International in nature. He has had problems with his Comcast service. To be honest, this is the first time I have heard of, if you have availability to a service, then you can not switch to another service. This sounds like a manuever by Comcast to protect themselves from competition and is anti consumer for sure. I think there is little they can do about satellite service, but they can use legislative moves to block access to other cable providers. Hopefully, someday, Comcast can be brought down. As for the paragraph thing, I don't have the foggiest. There are some members that wished I would format my posts in the manner that you have, as I tend to get a bit long winded and they are hard to read. :D coastie

As may be apparent by what coastie has been saying, the only way for a monopoly to occur is for the government to protect one company over another. If you want healthy competition you need to get the government out of the way.

It seems as though Comcast is not even trying to compete in the marketplace, instead they are using legislative means to block competition. Fortunately, our State Legislature has been very responsive to the needs of the Commonwealth, will putting the best interests of it's residents at the front for the most part. That was one reason the law was changed dealing with the franchises. Now if a Company wants to provide cable and internet services to an area, and it is approved by the local Government ( County Board of Supervisors in my case), then they will be granted a franchise. To be honest, I don't look for anymore entries in this area. What I do find laughable is that Comcast still lists their customer base as 260,000, but I know that is inflated, as a lot of people have jumped to FiOS. I have had several new neighbors move in and they were unaware of the availability of FiOS until I told them. They were already locked into a Comcast contract for up to two years with stiff penalties for early termination. coastie

Right, costie, the State should mind it's own business and stop regulating, subsidizing, bailing out, etc. Let the free market reign and everybody will be better off.

I'm still on the idea of everyone having Broadband access. Right now in my area, you must purchase a bundle (Telephone, TV, and Internet) from Comcast if you want to pay $20.00 a month for 6 months of their slowest Internet access. Otherwise, that same service is $69.00 per month. Actually, even then, they usually tell us that Broadband isn't even available in our area, because I have a long distance provider, All2easy, which costs me an averge of $3.00 per month, and Quest at $14.00 per month for local and don't think it would be very bright on my part, to trade it for Comcast for a great deal more in the long run.

For 6 month of Digital Voice they charge $29.00 per month, for 6 months. My present cost, $17.00. A loss of $72.00 for the 6 months and who knows how much after that? Their Website won't even give me the 6 month rate for Cable. Depends on my area, then tells me I must call Comcast to get the rate for my area??? For HS Internet w/o Cable it is $59.95 a month for 6 months. With Cable it is $19.95 for 6 months. I already know that after the 6 months we would pay close to $100.00 a month for the same programming we get from DirectTV for $49.95. BTW, I pay $4.95 a month for Dialup at present, with All2easy. A very dependable service, but my son wants me to start selling on E-bay and you need unlimited service to do so, so you can reply to customer questions.

Comcast's regular monthly rate for HS Internet is $42.00 per month, after the 6 months. IF, you also have Cable. Digital Voice is regularly $44.95 per month. I just don't have an income that enables me to be taken to the cleaners like that. Not to mention that even their most expensive Cable Plan does not include ALL of the programs I currently get from DTV. Why even a rich person would pay for their garbage is beyond me.

If prices are higher than they ought to be then someone will go into the business to undercut prices. That is, unless the government is protecting Comcast's hold on the market. If you think everyone should have free access to internet someone has to pay for it and I don't see anyone volunteering.

Hi Becky, I have it bundled with Verizon, I have Freedom Phone, which there is no long distance charges anywhere within the Continetal US, High speed internet ( 15 Mbps down & 2 mbps up), plus TV that has everthing but the Premium channels. It is $109 per month plus the taxes. I'm not sure, but I think I read somewhere that Qwest was getting into the Fiber Optics as well. Comcast is playing Micro$oft and trying trying to rule the communications world ( not very sucessfully these days). Unfortunately, as long as Comcast is the only provider in town for cable, that is what you'll get from them. I started to get internet through DirecTV, but seeing as how the weather played havoc with the signal at times I never did. coastie

number6 said:

Hey number, Comcast isn't being protected at the Federal level, but very well could be at the State and local level. They tried at both the State and County level here, but Verizon played just as tough, as they what the people wanted. They were also able to convince them of the advantage of Fiber over Cable. As for FREE access, the ads you see, partially offset the cost to the consumer. Without the ads, you would be paying a much higher cost for the internet. coastie

Ads are fine with me. I don't want the government at any level to be running it, though. If there's no interference in the market than the price must be reasonable or else someone would come and undercut Comcast. If people are still buying their service they must be doing something right.

As far as pricing, that is done at the State level. Here in Virginia, it is the State Corporation Commission. Unfortunately, cable is still unregulated as far as pricing and such. The people have been screaming for regulating them, but I guess Comcast's lobbiests do a good job, but then there are other Cable companies in the state as well, such as Adelphia and Cox, although Comcast rules in the higher populated areas for the most part. Most ,if not all of the other utilities, are regulated in Virginia. They have to go before the SCC to request a rate increase and hearings are held. Comcast just had the second rate increase this year. coastie

Price fixing--that's exactly what I mean by government interference. Price fixing causes shortages. Big companies are the only ones who can afford to compete so the little guys all go out of business. Then you have a monopoly. If the States would leave the market alone Comcast wouldn't have as tight control.

You misunderstand. The Power Company has a monopoly more or less, and if it wasn't for the Regulation by the SCC, and them controlling the rates charged by the Power Company, we would be paying a lot more than we do. This extends to all the utilities. It does not apply to the cable companies and they are free to increase their rates when ever the feel like it, and apparently, Comcast feels like it quite often. It is not about price fixing, but about controlling what the various utilities charge the customer. They have to apply to the SCC for any rate increase and it has to be approved by the SCC after hearings are held before they can take affect. This is to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth from predatory practices, such as practiced by an unregulated Comcast. coastie

The SCC is causing shortages.