yup, dropped T/W in 1999 and never looked back... everything, and i mean EVERYTHING i want to see is online for free if you wait awhile
Posted on 01/02/2018 7:40:32 AM PST by george76
from the we-don't-have-to-compete,-we're-the-cable-and-broadband-industry dept.
What do you do when you're faced by an existential, evolutionary shift that threatens your entire, overly-comfortable industry? Why you raise rates, of course! Comcast is one of six cable providers who have informed customers that they've raised the rates for the new year, despite the record-setting shift toward cord cutting during 2017. Everything Comcast offers is seeing price hikes .., ranging from increases in the company's traditional channel bundles, a price increase for Comcast's standalone streaming platform, and even the fee charged for renting a modem (which is now $11 per month).
Comcast's even jacking up the obnoxious fees it's currently facing several lawsuits over. That includes the "Broadcast TV fee," which is simply a part of the cost of doing business (paying for content) buried below the line, letting Comcast advertise one rate -- then sock consumers with another price entirely once the bill comes due. That fee, which Comcast has insisted is just its way of "being transparent," was just $1.50 when introduced in 2013 -- and will be bumped to $8 per month in the new year:
...
With cord cutting setting records, why doesn't Comcast feel the need to actually adapt to changing markets? It doesn't have to. The company is securing a bigger monopoly over broadband in a growing number of markets thanks to telcos that no longer think it's worth it to upgrade aging DSL lines.
That means there are more markets than ever where if you want a decent broadband connection that meets the FCC's 25 Mbps definition of broadband, Comcast is your only option. As a result, Comcast knows that it can simply jack up the cost of broadband as well to counter any TV revenue losses without being punished by the pesky nuisance of competition.
(Excerpt) Read more at techdirt.com ...
I seem to be missing the part of the Constitution that says you get free cable.
I’d like to know more, too. Cable and internet is $140/mo. Way too expensive.
We’re too far out to get anything on antenna. The internet here stinks bigly. We have Netflix and no one watches it because 1) crappy shows and 2) won’t load half the time or cuts off in the middle of what you’re watching 3) we want to watch local programs. I don’t want dish. Guessing we’d have to buy all new smart tvs.
BOTTOM LINE: !
***********************
Folks IS Sheep!
We keep repeating everything knowing surely we is gonna get lucky and things will change...but..............
THEY Is got our #!
;)
@ Planet WTF!
RF
My community has only Comcast and Centurylink as Internet providers thanks to the nitwits on the City Council handing out exclusive franchises. A locally owned ISP is literally at the city limits and offering an all fiber optic system with gigabyte speeds, but is stymied from entering the city by the franchise. Local govern franchises simply create monopoly or near monopoly conditions that assure higher prices, less selection and poorer service. Internet service needs competition.
yup, dropped T/W in 1999 and never looked back... everything, and i mean EVERYTHING i want to see is online for free if you wait awhile
"There is nothing that the mind of man can devise that the mind of man can't circumvent.
Having said that, there is no physical way that inadequate old copper cable areas can be made to adequately deliver high speed internet service.
So some of us are screwed.
The only alternative is to campaign for a municipal replacement for city-wide high speed Wirelesss internet access. Unfortunately, as of now, No fiber optic internet service exists within a mile of our sub-neighborhood; result: increased doubled cost for substandard outdated internet access. To add insult to injury, There is no assurance that our local elected criminals will not abuse the customers any less than the greedy, Comcast and other grubby private cable companies do. Specially, in California, the situation may end up being worse!
I have a tivo with a cablecard and get the Silver teir from Spectrum, which includes a broad lineup of basic channels and HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime, and 100Mbps internet.
I have my own tivo and cable modem, so only pay for the cablecard (about $3 a month) and the service.
Everything including taxes is $114.99.
It’s still too expensive but the teir lower is notably inferior, and not that much cheaper.
I live in the sticks now and have no cable or DSL option. I use a third cell phone line with an old phone (LG G3) as a permanent hot spot for my desktop and our television. Works great.
We live in the sticks now and can’t even get cable or DSL. We use our cell phone for all of it. See my post above this one.
What's to prevent ALL high speed internet access providers from doubling or tripling the cost of that service? And in many cases also cable telephone service?
If you think the cable monopoly they’ve gifted you with is bad, wait til they try to save on your electricity bill by signing up everyone in the locale with an ESCO...Which might save you pennies to a few dollars while your cable rates go up far more.
True, but no $8 rebroadcast fee or basic/enhanced cable TV costs.
Right.
The only thing that will prevent it is the one thing pols will do their damndest to ensure we never see: competition.
BOL!
We cut our Comcast tv monthly outgo cable last June. we are saving over $100 per month in spite of about $25 specific channel add on’s of our choice.
Several relatives and friends in the past week woke up and started asking me how to get away from Comcast. The latest price increase has awakened them, finally.
The nice thing when going “Internet only” is that all frequencies are cleanly available for Internet digital and not shared with TV digital. It should be more solid.
At least with AT&T 50 Mb DSL, they said going non-television allowed the full bandwidth.
Nothing, as we are finding out in this thread.
And that is also true of elected criminals' municipal wireless WIFi access.
"If the right hand hand don't get you then the left one will..."
With a good digital antenna, you find DOZENS of free Over The Air local channels. We found over 40 SOLID HD channels.
The single network channels we used to have are subdivided with their new digital signals to give 4 HD channels. You will likely have a 24 hour weather channel, too.
Do not pay for cable TV!
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