Quote:
Originally Posted by zip2play
In short, the major cable companies operate as monopolies or ologopolies in every market in the United States. The Bush administration's FCC has seen to it that they are effectively COMPLETELY unregulated...just like hedge funds.
Cable companies can give every rationale why they want every home to have a box because it prevents their being pirated BUT that does not justify CHARGING a monthly rental ad-infinitum to all their customers. If they want a piracy lock than let THEM provide it. One can even see a rationale for requiring a box for programming over and above BASIC ($39.25 +tax) without a box.
I am in the metro NYC area and have a nice HD with a good QAM tuner and an analog set. I can guarantee that NOBODY in my city can get a decent picture out of Comcast ...whether local, analog, digital or TV without a box (and rental fee) on EVERY TV set. The only way to do without a box is to use an antenna for OTA broadcasting.
It's an extra $10 a box to get a digital output those BASIC channels!
Involving a New Jersey City Council in the matter is beyond preposterous. Any action with the State Board of Public Uitilities and the courts will involve a 3 year+ fight and gargantuan legal fees (Yep we've gone that route before.)
The cable companies can do EXACTLY as they please...and DO!
Until real action is taken on a federal level, this gouging will continue.
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Um, you DO realize that the deal with the cable companies is negotiated by your LOCAL government, right? That includes things like pricing and the like. If you think this administration has been very pro-cable, just ask Comcast if they feel that way. The FCC has done quite a bit to push for consumers. The price of the cable box that you're decrying is one example. That FCC regulation (what?! that can't be right - the FCC actually ADDED a regulation! Yes, they added quite a few) dealing with requiring separable security is a step toward allowing you to buy a cable box off the shelf so you don't HAVE to lease it from the cable company. They did this with phones a couple decades ago too.
When I was a kid you had ONE choice if you wanted to get a new phone - you got it from the phone company. You leased each one, and you paid extra per line. Now that's not the case - you can go to your local electronics uber-store and pick up a phone with more features than you can imagine for a fraction of the price. They're trying to do the same with the cable box.
The FCC has also been pretty aggressive at enforcing sharing of channels by providers. CV tried to prevent Verizon from carrying MSG, and the FCC forced CV to comply (Verizon is taking CV back to the FCC over MSG HD). They're also pushing the cable companies to come up with a protocol that doesn't require the use of a cable box. You think the cable companies are creating Tru2Way out of the goodness of their own hearts? Um, no. The FCC has made it very clear 'either provide for this, or we'll do it for you.' The cable companies were very reluctant to move in that direction, but they realized that if they didn't the FCC would force the issue.
Finally, you've seen real moves toward closing the terrestrial loop-hole. I really wish they would have gone all the way with that, but the moves that they made took a real bite out of the big cable companies (including Comcast).
I'd love to see proof of this massive deregulation that you're griping about.
Edit - one final point - monopoly status by the cable companies is not something that's driven by the federal government. If you don't like it, then tell your LOCAL government to change it. To blame the administration because some local government maintains a monopoly over cable is silly. If you don't think there's been competition, then what the hell has FiOS and U-Verse been doing? Last I checked both are moving very steadily into traditional cable territory. I see LOTS of open cable competition - especially in NJ (NJ was one of the only states - hell I think they ARE the only state) to give Verizon a state-wide video franchise, to make competition much easier. That's why Verizon has been laying down fiber in NJ about as fast as it's being produced.