Isn't cable getting off too easy?I'm happy that the FCC is finally exerting pressure on the ILEC telcos, but it seems that the cablecos are getting off virtually scott free. Sure, telecos are bound by an implicit (or explicit?) regulatory compact, by virtue of having been granted guaranteed monopolies, regulated cross-subsidies, and direct subsidies. But cablecos also benefitted from guaranteed monopolies, and, because their regulators (local government) were not very sophisticated, cablecos probably got the better end of the deal over the years. And here we now find ourselves with twisted pair (telco) and coax (cableco) just being two different ways of delivering the last mile for triple-play services, and the historic distinctions in the marketplace being gone ....except for the facts that (1) cableco/coax has a huge technological advantage over twisted pair, and (2) telco/twisted pair is subject to the burden of a regulatory compact. Should't the FCC and broadband advocacy groups be pushing harder to break up what is, in many parts of the country, an effective cableco monopoloy on true high speed broadband?
Price GougingIf they're serious about competition, they'd break Comcast up.
When a service provider like Comcast who sells air, has a gangbuster quarter, and announces that it's going to spend that money on building a theme park in China, and also a new HQ office building in the same quarter, you have to assume tht there's price gouging going on...!
FCC's Sohn: We're Still Fighting for Competition
When a service provider like Comcast who sells air, has a gangbuster quarter, and announces that it's going to spend that money on building a theme park in China, and also a new HQ office building in the same quarter, you have to assume tht there's price gouging going on...!