As you know I don't like long posts, but I'm in rant mode over this one, so please bare with me.
If you've ever lived in an apartment or condo complex, you might have run into the situation of the association only giving you the option of one cable company to go with. I've always though that is was a little unfair, and didn't give people the chance to choose which cable company they would like to go with. Well the FCC finally thought the same thing, and overturned the "exclusive contracts" that cable companies have enjoyed for decades.
FCC Chairman Kevin J Martin said “Exclusive contracts have been one of the most significant barriers to competition,” he also stated that cable rates have risen over 93% in the last decade. I'm not even sure if gas prices have risen that much in the last decade. So how does Comcast respond to the ruling? By stating that they may have to raise rates because it'll cost money to compete with other companies, and it will cost more to fight this ruling in court.
What?!
So they're going to raise rates because they can't continue to get over on people by locking them into using their company. They're going to raise rates because they will have to ADVERTISE more? That is the one of the dumbest things I've ever heard!!! Check this out from Techdirt:
“The following statement may be attributed to Sena Fitzmaurice, [Comcast] Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Government Relations: ‘Consumers in apartment buildings and condos across the nation received a blow today from the action taken by the FCC. The result of this decision is likely to be higher prices for services and years of litigation and uncertainty for consumers. The significant concessions building owners have been able to bargain for on behalf of their residents will be lost.’”
Hey Moron, for once the FCC did something that actually benefited the customer. Stop trying to make it sound like you're on our side. Oh and the FCC didn't deal us a blow, they freed us from having to deal with your continuous price raises. And if there is "likely to be higher prices for services and years of litigation" guess what, people finally have the choice to go to your competitor. Ya see, that's how it's supposed to work in this country.
Raise all the prices you want, people have a choice now!!!
Corporate Doublespeak: By Forcing Competition On The Market, We Will Need To Raise Prices [Techdirt via Crunchgear]
