MMcD

...the slings and arrows and outrageous, constant rate increases for those of us limited to TWC....will be exacerbated, not only for cable TV service - but far more consequential....cable internet.
Yes, there are ways round the cable TV issue - but hi-speed broadband is another matter.......

http://www.latimes.com/business/hilt...#axzz2tEQhy0WC

Giantaxe

I'm a Comcast customer and I feel the same way... I would love to dump them but as you say high speed internet (I sometimes work at home and need the bandwidth) is the stumbling block.

Bob

Comcast and TW?

Yeah, two massive, shit companies joining forces. Epic.

Sally Redux

Incredible that these monopolies are allowed to carve it up.

Giantaxe

I love the way the sack of shit that is the CEO of Comcast is claiming this is "good for consumers" because Comcast and TW don't compete in any zip codes. What a crock: what would be good for the consumer is if there were more choices for consumers in every darned zip code, not having a single overwhelmingly dominant supplier in more.

lansbury

What I don't understand is how TW can turn down a $60bn did from Charter http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...m-Charter.html as it was a “grossly inadequate proposal”. But accept a lower bid from Comcast. Sounds a bit like screwing your shareholders as well as customers.

Uncle_Bob

Competition is coming. Other companies are building out fiber optic networks and delivering triple play services.

AT&T has its uverse service and phone companies like century link like century link have prism.

I like the sound of prism with wireless set top boxes. TV outside or by the pool

Steve_

In case you hadn't already realized it, they sued over the net neutrality law so they can charge Netflix (and other similar companies) for sending traffic over their networks. So if they also become a bigger monopoly, expect either your internet charges to go up (unlikely) or various popular internet services to dramatically raise prices (more likely).

Steve_

Triple play is dead as a doornail. It's just going to be internet from now on. STB are frankly a con as well. That's just a way of nailing you down to their service.

Steve_

All I can say is, look at the Canadian cellphone market. If it wasn't for the CRTC we'd still be on three-year contracts at insane prices. Just look at the office buildings TELUS is building all over the place, they're like palaces.

Uncle_Bob

Don't expect the cable companies to just sit back and let people cancel TV and phone with the expectation of just paying a lot less for a big fat unlimited internet pipe. We will end up paying for a tiered service with usage limits.

A court ruling passed last month that allows them to block netflix, youtube and basically any video streaming service if they wish. Internet neutrality (having your provider treat all data equally) is a pipe dream.

On January 14, 2014, the DC Circuit Court determined that the FCC has no authority to enforce Network Neutrality rules, as service providers are not identified as "common carriers".

Since the January 14th ruling, AT&T has submitted several patents that account for specific ways to take advantage of the FCC's limited authority.

jibsymalone

Sad thing is I am fighting to actually have comcast service my house (long story!), I have Uverse atm and am not happy with it whatsoever!! there is no way in hell i am going to start using Hughsnet though!!

Giantaxe

What makes you unhappy with UVerse?

jibsymalone

They installed in my neighborhood in lieu of DSL (we had no HSI until then except for satellite) they refused to upgrade the ancient copper lines on the streets, we have multiple issues with bandwidth and dropped connections, plus if you have all 3 shows you are able to record at once going it slows your bandwidth dramatically!!! Best they can provide is 18Mbps compared with Comcast 105Mbps for the same package. Their customer service sucks too (I know Comcast takes the award for worst customer service!!) The only thing that kept me pursuing this earlier was the stupid STB's they used, now they have the X1 platform it makes them a lot more appealing!
Not the best system they could have come up with. Why not install FTTP and have done with it?? They are now trying vectoring to squeeze a little more bandwidth, which I am a little pessimistic about to say the least. There is only so much they can squeeze through those copper lines. Sometimes upgrading the infrastructure pays off in the long run.

MMcD

So here it is - the gritty nitty:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...b84_story.html

Why am I not feeling reassured?
Are you?

ps (Update): Perhaps this is why....

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/c...hinal/5454055/