Whoa whoa whoa, have you been playing too many online games recently? Because you’re views are sounding a little bit extreme there…
Comment on FCC bans cable TV industry’s favorite trick for hiding full cost of service
conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Cable lobby group NCTA-The Internet & Television Association claimed that the commission’s “micromanagement of advertising in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace will force operators to either clutter their ads with confusing disclosures or leave pricing information out entirely.”
Or, you know, you could just tell the truth.
ogmios@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 6 months ago
What competition?
Isnt there like…only two cities in the whole country where cable companies actually have to compete with each other? (and consequently the customers see the lowest prices in the country… weird how that works?)
BombOmOm@lemmy.world 6 months ago
The proliferation of home cell internet and Starlink internet has had a nice downward pressure in many markets. Both are often surprisingly good, even for heavy internet users. They are something worth checking out in your area.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Starlink is the disposable plastic of internet though. they are constantly losing satalites due to that low earth orbit, which are constantly being replaced.
also being owned by a raging right wing fucktard that turns them off and on to suit his political whims does nothing to endear me to the service
FunkPhenomenon@lemmy.zip 6 months ago
starlink internet is pretty amazing if your only other option is 3mpbs “broadband” (on a good day). most people dont really care about the political ideology of the person who leads the company, they just want to stream media.
BombOmOm@lemmy.world 6 months ago
The former is more of a technical one. LEO has (some) air drag, so anything there is temporary; and you need them in LEO to not have pings measured in seconds. But, as you stated, the CEO is…fucktarded. I’ll fully agree there!
But, more importantly, hat’s why I also mentioned cell networks. In the US, TMobile and Verizon home cell internet is competitive in quite a good percent of the country.
BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 6 months ago
leave pricing out entirely.
So I have to actually do research instead of being baited in? That’s fine too.
conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Nothing better than Verizon advertising $65 a month, which is already too much, then when you actually try to sign up it’s not just more; they straight up refuse to tell you what it will be (yes, I tried asking).
I know that’s not cable but they both play the same games. No, it’s not impossible for you to just tell a customer what you’re going to charge them.
billiam0202@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Ah yes, when I think of “hyper competitive” I think of the one and only one cable provider who services my neighborhood.
NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Comcast calls me all the time trying to sell me on their
Trojan horsestreaming box or their cell service. I’m polite to the caller cause I know it’s just a gig for them but I always calmly tell them I only have Comcast as I have no other choice and I’d rather peel off my finger nails than give them any other business. It speaks to how bad things are that I’m dying for Verizon of all companies to come “save” me. Hyper-competitive, fucking lol.linearchaos@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Verizon FIOS is like a unicorn. Service is stable, price hasn’t moved, support is available, clear and friendly. Install and repair dates are quick.
one day the shoe will drop, been waiting for it for years, but in my little corridor they just keep kicking comcast’s ass.
Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world 6 months ago
The shoe dropped on most of Verizon’s former territory. Basically anywhere they had DSL but didn’t want to lay fiber they sold off instead of even trying.
NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I had them when I rented and I was also surprised by how few complaints I had
FunkPhenomenon@lemmy.zip 6 months ago
wow. I’ve never received any spam calls from an ISP & have been using comcast internet since 2006. they’re a lot more reliable in my area than their competition (tried it, the DSL service was terribad, and wave broadband can suck a dick).
mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 6 months ago
PNW? how the fuck is it that comcast is the best we can get. goddamn google or someone else please fucking save me from comcast
Confused_Emus@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I was so happy when I was able to tell Comcast/Xfinity to suck toads after moving to an area with Google Fiber. Google may be a shit company, but I gotta admit I really love symmetrical gigabit service for $70/month.
elephantium@lemmy.world 6 months ago
There’s a local company in my city that offers fiber to the home. I’m so happy not to be stuck with Comcast!
Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I would hope this would also apply to the live TV streaming services like Hulu+live tv, Fubo, YouTube TV, etc. I looked into some of them, and the added fees took the monthly bill from like $83 a month to over $100 a month, but you don’t know that unless you read the disclaimers since they advertised it at $83 a month.
AA5B@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Seems like it certainly needs to. I haven’t noticed any such added fees for the services I subscribe to. If true, that’s a good indication someone is seeking a competitive advantage by misleading potential customers, and good reason to act
Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world 6 months ago
This isn’t the worst offender I’ve seen, but it’s still bullshit. They should never be able to advertise it at $84.99 when there are $30.99 in required fees
atx_aquarian@lemmy.world 6 months ago
And the thing about regulation like this is that it just resets the bar height for everyone. It’s not like this doesn’t apply to all competitors.
Unless we mean non-cable competition, i.e. streaming. Maybe that’s not under the jurisdiction of FCC? If not, though, then I have to wonder why this has to be an FCC thing in the first place. This is about truth in advertising, in general.