When Will Cable Be Forced To Lower Broadband Prices? - Soon, insists research firm, citing largely non-existent market pressure...

When Will Cable Be Forced To Lower Broadband Prices? - Soon, insists research firm, citing largely non-existent market pressure...
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When Will Cable Be Forced To Lower Broadband Prices?
Soon, insists research firm, citing largely non-existent market pressure...
(old news - 10:09AM Thursday Oct 18 2007)
tags: prices · competition · business · bandwidth · cable

The cable industry has long believed that their product's faster speeds meant that they didn't need to lower cable broadband prices in order to compete with DSL. Given they're still doing quite well, obviously they're right.

When AT&T and Verizon released slower, cheaper DSL tiers, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts responded by suggesting that cable broadband service was a BMW, and DSL service was a Hyundai. When AT&T started offering a 1.5Mbps DSL/Wireless phone bundle for $60, Comcast stayed pat, insisting that $58 for 4Mbps standalone cable broadband was "competitive."

A new report from Pike and Fisher suggests that cable's ability to dodge cable broadband price reductions isn't going to last much longer. However, much of their optimism comes from FiOS, which is still only available in a fraction of Comcast's footprint. They also cite Qwest's 7Mbps service, though they omit the fact Qwest hasn't formally announced a next-gen network upgrade plan. Still, the firm insists a change on the wind:

"As broadband growth comes to rely increasingly on penetrating price-conscious market segments -- and especially if the nation enters a serious and prolonged housing slowdown and/or a recession -- the market could begin to see more significant downward pressure on prices," Shapiro says.

How long can the cable industry engage in non-price competition? Probably as long as the majority of telcos are only offering speeds as fast as 6-7Mbps. Though, if the market is truly a duopoly, will faster telco speeds really drive cable broadband prices downward?

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DSL Takes A Beating

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pnh102 @ 18th Oct 10:15AM:
No

Why would any cable company have to lower prices when they are not losing customers at the current price?

Even Verizon is raising rates for FIOS and isn't losing customers.

All of these companies will charge the highest price the market will bear for their services. If that's $100 a month, then they will charge that.
--
Only SHATNER is Kirk.
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jammmin @ 18th Oct 10:17AM:
They never will

All they will do is just offer promotions and teezers just like the telephone companies.

Now they are all trying to lock people into 2 year contracts because they are both afraid of each other poaching off their customers.

Those $99 triple play packages are great because you will save money. Its hell though if you are stuck in a contract and you don’t like the service.
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MrMoody @ 18th Oct 10:22AM:
DSL cheap?

Most DSL isn't as cheap as it looks by the time you add the mandatory POTS service and bogus fees. Prices are pretty much at parity IMO. In fact the minimum cable internet is cheaper bottom line than the minimum DSL here. At most you might see cablecos offering discount lower-speed tiers; many do already.
--
"It is a future in which globalization really does work ... and everybody winds up getting to be part of the third world." - William Gibson
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telcolackey @ 18th Oct 10:25AM:
Re: No

Where do people see prices dropping in other services, utilities, goods, etc? What makes this happen and what are the expectations?
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tmc8080 @ 18th Oct 10:35AM:
lower prices, no... raise speeds, yes.

DSL will not remain a slower speed service forever. Eventually those speed improvements will come at a cheaper price, THEN cable will have to be concerned with their "STAND ALONE PRODUCT PRICING". The old DSL from 10 years ago properly provisioned can do 7.1mbits down, 1.5mits up. Which cable will have to answer by 10 down 2 up. After that, the gloves come off with FIBER hubs / vdsl & FTTH. The only thing this means is the telcos are coming to reclaim customer base back from cable-cos. As to just how competitive it can get, you only have to look to the northeast market. This is years in the future for our west coast and southern states in not too many years into the future now.. before it was a decade or more away.. now, not so far away.
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pnh102 @ 18th Oct 10:41AM:
Re: No

said by telcolackey :

Where do people see prices dropping in other services, utilities, goods, etc? What makes this happen and what are the expectations?

I don't see product or service I use getting cheaper. Even in a competitive market, if people have more money to spend on things, prices will still go up.
--
Only SHATNER is Kirk.
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Packeteers @ 18th Oct 10:47AM:
price will fall

competition always brings pricing pressure.
I live where Time Warner has a monopoly on
access to apartment buildings, so the rates
are highest in NYC for that reason alone.
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hopeflicker @ 18th Oct 10:50AM:
Re: No

said by telcolackey :

Where do people see prices dropping in other services, utilities, goods, etc? What makes this happen and what are the expectations?

Let's reword that:

Where do people see other services (i.e. water, electric, trash, gas) price increases twice or more a year?

When was the last time your electric bill or water/trash bill went up more than twice a year?
--
People pray to God because they're told to.
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A P CC @ 18th Oct 10:53AM:
so how fast does a home consumer need,

good morning all,I HAVE tried (20060 cabel R.R. vs SBC/ATT dsl pro, (now i have elite) and what this so called CEO is bragging about it very little,but cable price will sure cost you more
as i explained it when side by side speed testing was done on here,running dsl pro at the time,

say the speed are in your car ok ?
dsl pro, your running a corvette ok ? 150 mph.

R.R (at the time) you were running same corvette with
100% alcohol in it,

but NOW Att has come out with the Elite package DSL

and to this CEO/castrate-i mean comcast- i say eat your heart out
your cable (RR) is the same corvette running withalcohol,
but NOW
I'am in my corvette & i've poured half a bottle of that alcohol in the corvette,and i have taken 1/2 of it in me,

you can see some of their HIGH prices compared to others companies,here »Comcast switches some cable positions

and someone is wrong,Castrate,(i mean comcast) is loosing more & more disgusted customers every time they change their programing or prices.
jazzy
--
Some people do not like nice & courteous people on the internet,simply because THEY ARE NOT ONE THEMSELVES

hamburglar_ @ 18th Oct 10:55AM:
Re: No

said by hopeflicker :

When was the last time your electric bill or water/trash bill went up more than twice a year?

Wow. Twice or more a year? You must be getting the shaft. My cable/phone/internet bill has been the same for 3 years. All I have to do is call a month before my 12 month discounts expire and request them again.
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jammmin @ 18th Oct 10:56AM:
rollout

The only reason why the Northeast is so competitive is that Cablevision(unlike Timewarner and Comcast) decided a long time ago to be competitive and offer comparable speeds with FIOS.

In my part of the county(Comcrap land), Comcast only offers 6 and 8 megabit service. FIOS instead offers 5, 15, 30 megabit service. So only if Comcrap decides to offer more speed to its offering, FIOS will be king in the future if it can speed up its fiber rollout.
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A P CC @ 18th Oct 10:57AM:
Re: No

said by telcolackey :

Where do people see prices dropping in other services, utilities, goods, etc?

many of us see prices dropping every day,

we see our paychecks dropping,we see our pension checks dropping,we see our Social Security cks dropping,we see our bonus cks dropping,we see our allowance's dropping. want more?
--
Some people do not like nice & courteous people on the internet,simply because THEY ARE NOT ONE THEMSELVES

A P CC @ 18th Oct 11:01AM:
Re: rollout

thats te good thing about a contract EVERY YEAR or 2 yrs.,is that you can negotiate it,
jazzy
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N3OGH @ 18th Oct 11:05AM:
Re: DSL cheap?

I'm doing pretty well with my DSL service.

I was paying Comcast $10 more a month for their 6 MB down service best I could get on their overloaded node was 1.5 down, and Sunday mornings? Fughettaboutit. Dead hault

I'm getting DSL and a basic POTS line from Verizon for about the same price I would pay Comcast for HSI. The phone line is just a bonus in my eyes.

Now, I didn't leave Comcast to save money, I left Comcast due to the fact that despite having great modem stats and proper internal wiring, my speeds sucked azz. I'm getting a rock sold 3 MB down from Verizon, and getting it cheaper.

Fios is coming through, and I'll be rolling with the 15 down package.

I'm willing to pay, but I just expect to get what I pay for.

If Comcast wants to call themselves the BMW, and DSL the Huyandi that's fine. It kinda fits, since the 2006 BMW 7 series was listed by Consumer Reports as one of the "least reliable" Luxury cars.

»money.cnn.com/popups/2006/autos/···e/4.html

And, Hyundai is cited as having quality "on par" with Honda..

»www.usatoday.com/money/autos/200···ks_x.htm
--
Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power…
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garmst @ 18th Oct 11:06AM:
Re: No

I see my paychecks going up!

Soc Security has to rise by law. Faster than inflation to boot!

I wish I got the allowances kids are getting these days.

The prices I paid for my LCD TV and laptops went WAY down!

The prices in taxes are going up relentlessly, other than Bush's tax cuts.
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removed @ 18th Oct 11:09AM:
Re: so how fast does a home consumer need,

said by A P CC :

but NOW Att has come out with the Elite package DSL

The package has been around for many years, Jazzy. I had it back in 2003 with a client's business and got it myself around 2004 when the price was dropped significantly.

The 6mbps "Elite" package has been around for a really long time -- it's nowhere near new. :)
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KrK @ 18th Oct 11:10AM:
Nope

There's evidence that the Telcos are going to offer good prices on their TV packages to get customers away from Cable... But, if the Telcos offer the higher internet speed packages, it's looking like they'll bring their prices UP to match those in line with cable.

Basically, expect some cheaper "Bundled" type pricing for several years as IPTV and so on is rolled out... however once those services are mature, I'll expect you'll see a lot of price non-competition in broadband.
--
"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!)
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KrK @ 18th Oct 11:14AM:
Re: so how fast does a home consumer need,

Speed is life.

Time is money.

You can never have "too much" speed. You can have "Too much price for the speed" which makes you accept lesser speed.
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N3OGH @ 18th Oct 11:17AM:
Re: No

Shit, nowadays, just sitting still your pay drops. I got a 1% raise this year. And I'm not a shitty employee, that's the same raise EVERYONE got. The cost of everything has gone up more than 5% in the past year. Heat, gas, electric. Shit, Wawa wants $1.50 for a damn 16 once Pepsi anymore.

Get ready for some belt tightening kiddies, things have been too good for too long...
--
Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power…
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Rick @ 18th Oct 11:19AM:
I for one think that Comcasts

and other cable operators HSI prices are right where they should be.

The bottom line is that I and others are paying somewhat higher prices because we're getting better speeds.
A 6000/384k tier with powerboost that gives me 20,000/1600k speeds now is well worth 42.95/month compared to anything the telco industry can throw at it.

Telco's dsl offerings are no bargain. They're lower speed offerings that..when tied to a phone line requirement..are REALLY on the expensive side compared to what you're getting.

The closest comparison really to cable that telco dsl has is the 6Mb tier that's really 5.5Mb in disguise. And, at 35.00 month + a phone line..It's more than cable HSI is pricewise..and you get a lot less in terms of speed.

How is that a bargain..or anything that Comcast and others should fear?

Some around this website are too fixated on PRICE..while not considering that you are getting what you pay for.

And, IMHO..when you get down into the 1.5Mb to 3Mb dsl offerings..you are REALLY getting ripped off for the most part.
How in the world is those speeds, which amount to maybe 1/5th to one TENTH the speeds of what I see on comcast..
worth 24/month + a phone line?
that combination is MORE than I pay each month..
And your cost per MB is outrageously expensive compared to what I and others pay.

Has it ever occurred to those who like to debate this point that MAYBE people stick with cable and pay the higher price because they UNDERSTAND this math?
And they understand that the real value is in Cable HSI overall when you consider everything that should be considered?

I fully understand all the variables to this...those who get poor service from whatever provider..and those who have a phone line anyway and maybe just want 768k service to surf around the net and check email with.
And, more power to them. I hope it serves you well.
But your service is not the value package. It's not the speed package that people like most cable customers want and expect these days.

And the argument that cable is somehow more expensive really should end right here with the realization that we are getting what we pay for.
--
The Coyote captured the RR! Roadrunner Rick is now Comcastic!
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hopeflicker @ 18th Oct 11:19AM:
Re: No

said by hamburglar_ :

said by hopeflicker :

When was the last time your electric bill or water/trash bill went up more than twice a year?

Well, i just go my first one this year, but read here:
»It's Comcast TV Rate Hike Season, Again

Shows people are getting 2 increases a year.
--
People pray to God because they're told to.
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HotRodFoto @ 18th Oct 11:20AM:
If forced to compete they will

If they are forced to compete with an inferior product they will, case in point, Qwest and Comcast both having to do battle with Utopia.
--
Capturing the images of Colorado
»jdebordphoto.com
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woody7 @ 18th Oct 11:21AM:
hmmm.....

For web stuff, my 1500/350 from covad is ok, but for downloads and other stuff I would like more....I live in a pretty affluent city, but the city is divided between Att/verizon, with RR as the only cable co.I happen to live in the ATT part, so no FIOS. RR is only offering 5mb here. I have dish Network for TV, as I was tired of always paying more.What choices do I have? :huh: :huh: :huh:
--
BlooMe
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telcolackey @ 18th Oct 11:22AM:
Re: No

I think we are talking about HSD in this thread, not TV (which as many other financial issues around it)
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telcolackey @ 18th Oct 11:24AM:
Re: No

Your talking about income, not services or goods that you are paying for. Income is a reflection of many things including your employer and your performance.
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jammmin @ 18th Oct 11:27AM:
comcrap

Comcast overcharges customers who don't subscribe to their cable tV service. I currently pay $59 a month because I don't subscribe to their TV service.
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ChicagoCPA @ 18th Oct 11:32AM:
Comcast has price itself out of my market

ATT is offering 34.99 6 meg up with a modem, and Comcast is charging me $47.99 with a modem for the same service. On Monday I ordered 1.5 meg service from ATT at 19.99 per month with a net savings of $28 per month.

The Dish network is next my monthly cable cost is $95 and my monthly Dish Network cost with more channels (but no On Demand, which I do not use) is going to be $80 and $60 for the first six months.

Comcast has lost me, my monthly cost is going down $63 immediately and $43 long term and I will not be subject to Comcast routine rate increases on cable.
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pfsmith @ 18th Oct 11:34AM:
They can't lower prices...

... because their business model is all wrong.

Until the ISPs figure out how to bill according to usage they must keep their prices artifically high in order to avoid an economic collapse of their "oversubscription" business model.

And, the real problem here is that we, the consumers, put up with it.

Once the ISPs bill according to usage, they can focus their resources on providing the bandwidth that is actually demanded at a given price point, and then begin to experience sustainable (and predictable) profits. As it stands right now, they must plow most of their profits into infrastructure because they cannot tell what the bandwidth demand will actually be for their customers - because they are "free" to grab as much as they want whenever they want without economic consequences. The ISPs aren't sending the economic signal to the user that this costs money, and the user has no economic incentive to use the resource in any kind of ecnomically rational manner.

This means the profits are fleeting and completely unsustainable over the long term. Lowering prices isn't even a pipe dream for the ISP. They can only hope to stay one step ahead of the ever increasing (artificially high) demand.

BTW: I can't wait until our Health Care system is revamped to use this business model (it's gonna happen "real soon now") The equivilent of "not enough bandwidth" in this arena means government rationing of medical services. That will be LOADS OF FUN, WON'T IT?!
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Nightfall @ 18th Oct 11:36AM:
Re: DSL cheap?

The price you get and the service you get is all area dependent. In your area, it might be cheaper for DSL. In others, it might be more expensive. Same with the service/speeds you get. Let your wallet do the talking.
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ChicagoCPA @ 18th Oct 11:38AM:
Re: I for one think that Comcasts

Your price calculation really depends on whether or not you are going to have a POTS line or have cable television.

To add the price of the POTS line when you subscribe to DSL does not apply for most of us, just like we do not estimate High Speed internet at the non-subscriber rate.
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BF69 @ 18th Oct 11:42AM:
Re: DSL cheap?

said by MrMoody :

Most DSL isn't as cheap as it looks by the time you add the mandatory POTS service and bogus fees. Prices are pretty much at parity IMO. In fact the minimum cable internet is cheaper bottom line than the minimum DSL here. At most you might see cablecos offering discount lower-speed tiers; many do already.

First of all cable charges more if you don't have thier TV service. In my area if you have DirectTV and want Charter internet, Charter will charge you $10 a month more than they do cable customers.

Also in many areas you can get naked DSL for $5 more. Also most people still use POTS line so having the have a POTS line to get DSL is not an extra fee to most people.

In my area somene without POTS can get naked DSL for $48 a month for 6 meg. Someone without Charter cable who wants Charter 5 Meg pays $60 a month. No contest.
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Rick @ 18th Oct 11:55AM:
Re: Comcast has price itself out of my market

said by ChicagoCPA :

ATT is offering 34.99 6 meg up with a modem, and Comcast is charging me $47.99 with a modem for the same service. On Monday I ordered 1.5 meg service from ATT at 19.99 per month with a net savings of $28 per month.

The Dish network is next my monthly cable cost is $95 and my monthly Dish Network cost with more channels (but no On Demand, which I do not use) is going to be $80 and $60 for the first six months.

Comcast has lost me, my monthly cost is going down $63 immediately and $43 long term and I will not be subject to Comcast routine rate increases on cable.

What you're doing though in order to get your lower price is to cut your service.
1.5Mb that WILL be 1.2Mb dsl service is NOT up to 20Mb and more powerboosted Comcast Cable HSI.

And, your dish service will not offer the convenience of cable..nor the on demand features as you say.

We all have to make choices everyday about what we want..can get..and can afford.
And, if this is it for you..then I'm happy for you.

But it's not fair to comcast nor it's customers to present their service as being expensive. Because it's not.
What folks are getting is more for their money. Because that's what we want. And can afford.

I also can't help but to wonder whether you've fully considered your options to stay with Comcast?
Here in this area..they are offering current customers digital tv..on demand..2 premiums..digital telephone..and hsi for 129.00.

How would that compare with your choice of satellite..phone service (which obviously is a landline to get the 1.5Mb dsl)..and DSL?

Let's do some rough math.
Take your 80.00 figure for satellite.
Add in the 20.00 for that VERY slow Dsl line.
And add in JUST your local landline phone cost.

Guess what? I bet you come VERY close to that same figure.
Except with comcast..on a triple play package..you'd be getting on demand..MUCH faster internet...premium channels..
and unlimited local and long distance.

Comcast is not the expensive option.

Not at all.

Anyone that thinks that 42.95/month for this..which is my last speedtest I ran..is too much..just isn't thinking right IMHO!

Last Result:
Download Speed: 30820 kbps (3852.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 1937 kbps (242.1 KB/sec transfer rate)

Jeesh folks. Don't deprive yourself of the great things in life. Get Comcastic if you can! :)
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eljay001 @ 18th Oct 12:07PM:
Re: No

A one percent raise? I'd be insulted if my employer gave me that. I worked for a bank and even those tightwads went for 3% annual raises.
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raye @ 18th Oct 12:09PM:
Improve customer service

If the price increases improve customer service than I am all for it. Low prices are fine but saving $5-20/month does not motivate me to switch. Sleeping techs on couches do.
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SilverSurfer @ 18th Oct 12:12PM:
Re: No

said by pnh102 :

All of these companies will charge the highest price the market will bear for their services. If that's $100 a month, then they will charge that.

Particularly since an appeals court just ensured that U.S. broadband will essentially remain a duopoly with consumer choice far below what is available outside the U.S.
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bmfan @ 18th Oct 12:19PM:
Re: Comcast has price itself out of my market

lol do you work for comcast or something ?
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N3OGH @ 18th Oct 12:24PM:
Re: No

Any raise I receive is set by the legislature. Everyone in the state system receives the same raise regardless.

Performance has nothing to do with it. I haven't had a performance eval in 4 years. Why? They don't mean anything. Everyone gets the same raise, period.

I believe I did mention goods and services. Electricity, gasoline, fuel oil and a Pepsi all qualify as goods and or services, last time I checked...
--
Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power…
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SilverSurfer @ 18th Oct 12:24PM:
Re: price will fall

said by Packeteers :

competition always brings pricing pressure.
I live where Time Warner has a monopoly on
access to apartment buildings, so the rates
are highest in NYC for that reason alone.

And in a country where the equivalent to the FCC does not ensure mono/duopolies in any given market, that maxim is true. In the U.S., not so much. Consumer choice where broadband is involved is dismal and behind what the rest of the developed world has available. We pay the highest prices for the slowest service.
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hopeflicker @ 18th Oct 12:39PM:
Re: Comcast has price itself out of my market

said by bmfan :

lol do you work for comcast or something ?

Sure sounds like it. Ohhh, and what were the profits again for Comcast this year? and last year?

My philosophy is, charge high price for service = HUGE profits :huh:
--
People pray to God because they're told to.
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A P CC @ 18th Oct 12:44PM:
Re: rollout

said by jammmin :

The only reason why the Northeast is so competitive is that Cablevision(unlike Timewarner and Comcast) decided a long time ago to be competitive and offer comparable speeds with FIOS.

In my part of the county(Comcrap land), Comcast only offers 6 and 8 megabit service. FIOS instead offers 5, 15, 30 megabit service. So only if Comcrap decides to offer more speed to its offering, FIOS will be king in the future if it can speed up its fiber rollout.

then IF YOU want to gobble up all the speed,then don't complain because your going to have to pay for it if your using more then average,to play your games, or watch & download movies from a computer, then you should pay more then someone using the computer just for Informational use.
--
Some people do not like nice & courteous people on the internet,simply because THEY ARE NOT ONE THEMSELVES

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itguy05 @ 18th Oct 12:49PM:
Re: Comcast has price itself out of my market

quote:
Here in this area..they are offering current customers digital tv..on demand..2 premiums..digital telephone..and hsi for 129.00.

In this area they are not - I just went through this with them 2 weeks ago about our high (and increasing) bill.

$99 for the basic triple play, phone, dig cable, internet. Add $16 for HD-DVR

$149 + $16 for HD-DVR for 2 premiums on the triple play.

So I just canned HBO and am still @ $129/mo for Digital + Internet + HD-DVR.

I was also flipping through On Demand last night - I realized why I don't go there - nothing I want to watch. And they are lacking in HD with DTV's new additions. I have a big screen and HDTV is what I'm interested in.

The net is about the best thing about Comcast - however I never speedtest at my 6 meg I'm supposed to get. Close - 5-5.9, but have not seen 6.

Going back to DirecTV + DSL is looking more and more attractive, both financially and visually.
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nasadude @ 18th Oct 12:51PM:
Re: No

said by telcolackey :

Where do people see prices dropping in other services, utilities, goods, etc? What makes this happen and what are the expectations?

consumer electronics prices not only go down, you get more capability for cheaper - because it's a very competitive market.

prices won't come down for any telecom/cable service until there is real competition. the U.S. is years away (if ever) from a competitive market.
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attrep417 @ 18th Oct 12:59PM:
Is the premise even correct on this?

I'm not sure why people still think cable broadband is faster than high speed by telco's--fact is I've had 3 different cable co for internet--boosting speeds up to 8mbps, and to the end user there is no noticable difference between them and my current dsl--and I only have the 3mpbs pro for $24.99--if you're paying twice as much just to say "up to 8mbps". Yes, I work for at&t so people are gonna respond by saying that is why I feel that way, but for those have had both will probably agree with me.
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SKYWARP @ 18th Oct 01:25PM:
Prices

Generally, competition does not lower prices in any industry. It does however tend to keep prices from going up where there is good competition.

In this market, Pacific NW, Comcast has decent competition from both Verizon and Qwest. As a result, the price of their internet service has remained the same for the last 5 years. No price increases on internet service.
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Richard B @ 18th Oct 01:25PM:
I do not get it

What the argument is saying the cable and telecoms will soon hit a wall because shifting market due to price-consciousness. The brodband provides ether need to reduce prices or lose customers. I am part of that market. I dropped digital cable because of the price. If it was not for the cable discount I would have drop Comcast HSI because I refuse to pay more than $48 for internet.

It has nothing to do with the Monopoly bogeyman
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anon @ 18th Oct 01:34PM:
Spending BIG Money Too - Subscribers Money!

Comcast is advertising So........much thes days, TV - Radio - Newspaper - Direct Mail, etc. Every week I get 1 to 2 direct mail pieces saying to sign up. I do not have cable - too expensive... I sure would like to know how much they spend out of every dollar for the advertising.

ATT wis not that far behind either. They just got to get there name and message in front of everyone.
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telcolackey @ 18th Oct 01:43PM:
Re: No

my reply was to garmst, not yours
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Tsume @ 18th Oct 02:16PM:
Re: No

Relative to inflation, my paycheck drops every year.

Relative to inflation, everything else gets more expensive. This is especially true in San Diego, where we have one of the highest costs of living in the United States.

My rent is almost 1200 a month for a 2br apt in the ghetto. I'm talking grocery truck ghetto, where the immigrants who don't belong here shop for their groceries in a truck who's back is full of food stuffs. And this is not even San Diego city, it's far North County in Vista.
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wolves01 @ 18th Oct 02:23PM:
Without competition, why would they?

I live in a town of 40,000 and the vast majority of it is unserved by DSL. Comcast is the only game in town for many of us. Still waiting for Project Pronto, um I mean Lightspeed, or whatever name they are going to call their failed attempt to bring competition to my area.
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LeftOfSanity @ 18th Oct 02:30PM:
Re: No

said by hopeflicker :

said by telcolackey :

Where do people see prices dropping in other services, utilities, goods, etc? What makes this happen and what are the expectations?

My electric bill went up 59%. There was a freeze for a few years before that, but as soon as that was gone they made up for it, and then some. And you all wanna bitch about a monopoly and 5% increases?

My electric bill was more than my rent.
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roc5955 @ 18th Oct 02:37PM:
RE:When Will Cable Be Forced To Lower Broadband Prices?

When Hades freezes.
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waldoooo @ 18th Oct 03:02PM:
Already did in my area

Time Warner lowered prices within the past year, the stand alone cable internet I once paid $49.95 a month for is now $34.95 and its 6mb/512 compared to 5mb/512 when it was $50.

Then again I doubt they did it just because Time Warner wanted to do something for their customers, Verizon offers FIOS in the area so they have some competition.
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majortom1029 @ 18th Oct 03:27PM:
hmm

cablevisions pirces are good where they are. I get 16.5/2 at $50 dollars more. For about $10-15 more I can get 38/5 . How can cablevision possibly make that better?
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itguy05 @ 18th Oct 03:43PM:
Re: No

quote:
prices won't come down for any telecom/cable service until there is real competition. the U.S. is years away (if ever) from a competitive market.

No they won't. Look at gasoline prices, the price of groceries, etc. Most are very very close in price at all locations.

Competition only makes you feel good about paying the price. Doesn't make them cheaper.
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dnoyeB @ 18th Oct 04:40PM:
Re: DSL cheap?

DSL adds their hidden cost, so does cable. With DSL its typically the price of POTS, with cable its the TV bundling discount. Has the same effect.

I am leaving Comcast. They have been rock solid for over 10 years and my BW has done nothing but gone up up up. But i dont need all that BW. And I am paying more more more for stuff that I do not need.

I am going to DSL because their prices are significantly lower than they were 3-4 years ago. Its Dry DSL to boot. Ill save $20 per month, and its a first step. After this move it will be much easier to dump the cable TV...
--
dnoyeB
"Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not heard. " Ecclesiastes 9:16

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DHRacer @ 18th Oct 04:45PM:
Re: Comcast has price itself out of my market

Comcast Rick: Then explain to me this:

I was paying about $120 a month for Satellite TV with HD package, the fastest DSL I could get (3/768) and basic phone with limited long distance. Does all I needed. Satellite was not through the phone company, only the DSL was, so you could say I was bundling two services. I was also on a full year contract for the DSL to knock about $10 off the monthly bill for phone+dsl.

Moved to a Cable served area with no DSL service avaialble. I reconstituted the services I had above as close as I could get them, and pay about $180 by bundling cable TV (with HD), HSI, and Cable Telephone. It would be more still without the "bundling".

I do not use "added features" that you think is more value (more for the money). So whether they are there or not, I don't use them. So why should I pay for those services I don't use (and don't want) to be there? More Value? My ass.

So hotshot, cable is not the expensive option? You're getting the employee discount aren't you? The Pirates called, they want their parrot back.

ETA: Clarification on who this reply is meant for...
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Quiglag @ 18th Oct 04:51PM:
Re: Without competition, why would they?

Even with competition they don't lower the prices.

I live in an area where both fios Internet and TV are in competition with Time Warner, and TW still raises their prices. I have had fios Internet form a while now, and plan on switching over to fios TV very soon. More channels at a lower price seems better to me. They will eventually learn their lesson.
--
\o/ My Website | Check Out My Gallery
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insomniac @ 18th Oct 04:56PM:
Re: I for one think that Comcasts

But it's starting to apply more.

I know many people in their 20s who are just starting out in their first apartments, not making much money, do not have a POTS line or cable TV, but want Internet access at home. A lot of them are non-techies who don't care about the speed.

Until now, their best option was Comcast at $57.95/month ($60.95/month with a rented modem). Now that AT&T has started offering 1.5Mbps naked DSL in Chicagoland for $19.99/month or $23.99 if you're not a wireless customer, I think there will be a lot of young people defecting from Comcast when the word gets out a little more.
--
If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something.
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PeeWee @ 18th Oct 04:58PM:
Re: Already did in my area

said by waldoooo :

Time Warner lowered prices within the past year, the stand alone cable internet I once paid $49.95 a month for is now $34.95 and its 6mb/512 compared to 5mb/512 when it was $50.

Then again I doubt they did it just because Time Warner wanted to do something for their customers, Verizon offers FIOS in the area so they have some competition.

Big dittos!!
I just switched. Comcast 8mb (actual is more like 16mb) and voice (telephone) $66.00 the new less advertized 2fer. You have to look for it, they want you to get the $99.00 3fer. This used to cost me $90.00 with ATT at much slower speeds.
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My grandkids REALLY ARE cuter than yours!
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en102 @ 18th Oct 04:59PM:
Re: They never will

I agree... only way cable companies will be offering any 'deals' will be for contract term or 'new' customers. Typically, installation fees eat up any benefit of jumping ship.
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Canada = Hollywood North
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N3OGH @ 18th Oct 05:19PM:
Re: No

The please, accept my humble apology
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ltjordan @ 18th Oct 06:57PM:
Re: Pike and Fisher report.

This report must have been based on our old friend, "Wishful Thinking." There next report is going to say that there will be Universal Healthcare for Americans by next year and our troops will be home by Christmas. Ahhh "Wishful Thinking," I know thee well.
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fonzbear2000 @ 18th Oct 07:05PM:
yay for comcast!!!

they've given 3 or 4 speed increases and NEVER increased prices!
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i wish qwest would die! i want FIOS!
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Rob A @ 18th Oct 09:56PM:
Never

They will continue to overcharge for the rest of eternity.
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ifarrell @ 18th Oct 10:10PM:
When Will Cable Be Forced To Lower Broadband Prices?

Simple answer -
When Hell freezes over :D
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anon @ 19th Oct 01:37AM:
Prices here in Kansas City

I get 8/512 here in Kansas City Missouri, and my price has remained the same since I first got the service 8 years ago. I know that Time Warner has made a fortune off of me over the years but I don't really care.

When I first got the service it was 5/128 and I was happy. My now ex-wife and I got great connection speeds on both our computers. We had satellite for TV. Not for long as the weather made it cut out a lot.

We then added the FULL package of delights on our cable TV. All the premium channels and HD since we had 2 HDTV's (we each got one in the divorce, LOL) and that brought our bill to a whopping $150 per month. This was with HD receivers when they came out, given to us free of charge.

Now we are divorced and we both still have RR and both got speed increases not once but TWICE this year. At the beginning of the year they bumped it to 6MB and then told us they were going to do it, then in the middle of the year, got bumped again to 8/512 that I am at now. Just this past Monday I get called by the local office of Time Warner and told that since I have been a loyal customer for so long they are going to GIVE me the basic channels FREE for one year. Right now I don't have any cable TV, due to life getting in the way. I read all these "horror" stories of how much Time Warner screws people over in the Northeast and wonder if they are just to overcrowded for them to handle that market the same way they do here.

Sounds to me like you guys are overloading the node or whatever with downloads of music and movies. In my apartment complex of 110 apartments that covers probably 1- 2 square blocks, the installer told me there is only about 25 people using RR. Most are on cable television through RR though. But not using the internet.

So again, like one member stated already, its what you feel comfortable paying and what you feel comfortable getting out of your money.
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cork1958 @ 19th Oct 08:52AM:
In my area

I have a choice between Charter cable and Verizon DSL. Verizon can't get me above 1.5/384. Charter has me at 5/512.
Verizon must have some filters or something in the way, as I'm only 6600ft from anything. The local village agreement is probably written so that Verizon has to do it like that! Otherwise, if you could get advertised speeds from Verizon, I bet it would drive Charters prices down some. In my area anyway.
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Dareius @ 19th Oct 09:29AM:
There is no such thing as competition....

Regardless if NYC for example has TWC, Cablevision, RCN, and a fully wired city with fiber for Verizon, none of the main companies will need to lower their prices.

Why?

Welcome to the world of under the table handshake deals. Where all of these companies have meetings and work to keep the cost for services at a certain level. Want to know why they never go down, this is why.

It does not matter if a city has 7 ISP's offering nice broadband packages. The end result is that all of them will set a limit and shake on it and fool the public with sales pitches as if the company cares for the consumer.
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rebus9 @ 19th Oct 12:00PM:
Re: No

said by telcolackey :

Your talking about income, not services or goods that you are paying for. Income is a reflection of many things including your employer and your performance.

Take a look at the 10's of thousands of jobs being lost in mergers and downsizing-- and I'm not talking about Bob's ISP Service, I'm talking about AT&T and other major national and global companies. The tech job market may be good in places like NYC, but in other areas of the country it's just plain frightening. And forget about pay raises.

My wife just finished her annual review with a glowing evaluation of her performance, and was therefore awarded the highest of 2 possible merit increases-- 1/2 of one percent. The other options were 0% and 1/4%. Add in the 2.5% cost of living adjustment, and her paycheck went up by all of 3%.

In my own job, no employees got a raise because (allegedly) costs (power, commercial office space, datacenter/colo fees, insurance) are going up faster than revenue. Our colo costs alone nearly doubled from 2006 to 2007, not because we added more racks, but because the colo raised its prices substantially.

At home, our power bill has gone up more than 100% in the past 6 years.

Our homeowners insurance jumped 623% in 2 years, from $520 in 2005 to a shocking $3,241 this year because our previous insurer (of 20+ years) is abandoning the state. (Nationwide IS NOT "on your side".)

Health insurance, up more than 30% in 1 year, or a total of 53% over 2 years.

Oil prices (affecting gas, home heating oil, ...) hitting new record highs every day, and up more than TRIPLE in the past couple years.

Grocery prices... up significantly, for numerous factors, none the least of which is transportation costs. For example, last year a gallon of milk was $2.79 and today it is $4.19.

Folks, I'm taking this information right out of my checkbook register. These are actual cost increases my wife and I have had to deal with, in real dollars, by a real family.

Home prices... trending down slightly, but in this area up more than DOUBLE in the past 4 years.

So I don't give a crap how good your performance is-- very few people have seen their paychecks go up enough to offset the costs of the stuff we buy everyday.

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anon @ 19th Oct 05:04PM:
Re: so how fast does a home consumer need,

Comcast is still faster with speedboost. right now i'm on the 6mbps down package and get at least 15mbps minimum 25mbps max. your comparison is right your running a corvette with half alcohol which means your damaging your engine and since you drank half your too drunk to notice. but with comcast you get quality thats why the speeds are much faster. something to think about o.-
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MadMANN @ 19th Oct 05:27PM:
Re: so how fast does a home consumer need,

said by A P CC :

I'am in my corvette & i've poured half a bottle of that alcohol in the corvette,and i have taken 1/2 of it in me,

Yeah, we can tell. :uhh:

Are you real or is this just some spam bot programmed by an angry drunken DirecTv employee?

BTW, it is CABLE not "CABEL".
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anon @ 20th Oct 02:20AM:
Re: Is the premise even correct on this?

Lets be clear here When I hit one of my dedicated boxes at colo from the crappy T1 for a download its 1.5Mbps when I use the DSL the average is like maybe 2Mbps downstream on ATT's best in my area. On comcast I sustain 400Kb/s+ from start to finish. Not including the jump up to 1Mbps for like 10 sec's at the start. I hate comcrap but in this area there is nothing faster unless I shell out the 3K or so a month for a DS3. Which Duhh I'm not doing. Now not all Cable Broadband is equal as some of the cable companies don't have the backbone to handle what they oversell. With comcrap deploying 10GE to most of its uplink points It will only get faster. But shhh yall didn't need to know that.
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s bassaw @ 22nd Oct 09:20PM:
Re: so how fast does a home consumer need,

Everyone's setup and needs are different. To you, someone's speeds may seem useless, while to others who do more demanding task, there is never enough speed. I get 30 Megabits down/ 5 Megabits up on my connection and I am comfortable with it. I can pull huge files from various places at good speeds and I can send out files at good speeds. YMMV...

The topic of this post was quite misleading...
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anon @ 25th Oct 04:44PM:
msg deleted

deleted by a moderator
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anon @ 28th Oct 09:22PM:
Re: No

Nuclear power makes prices drop as far as electricity is concerned. Typically it is a major advance that makes prices drop, such as nuclear power for electricity and fiber for broadband.
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batterup @ 3rd Nov 12:07PM:
Re: There is no such thing as competition....

said by Dareius :

Regardless if NYC for example has TWC, Cablevision, RCN, and a fully wired city with fiber for Verizon, none of the main companies will need to lower their prices.

Why?

Welcome to the world of under the table handshake deals. Where all of these companies have meetings and work to keep the cost for services at a certain level. Want to know why they never go down, this is why.

It does not matter if a city has 7 ISP's offering nice broadband packages. The end result is that all of them will set a limit and shake on it and fool the public with sales pitches as if the company cares for the consumer.

If you have proof of this go the attorney general, price fixing is illegal; except for OPEC.

With full frame dancing kitty video now the norm people are all bandwidth hogs. How can prices drop?
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