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Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

arstechnica.com

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Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#81

Post by doctorshady »

javiramos wrote: post #8
kodt wrote: post #4

This does not surprise me, in fact a Comcast technician told me they do this (on a much smaller scale) by disconnecting or cutting competitors' cable runs to buildings they are working on (and also sometimes their own). I lived in a multi-unit apartment building and one day noticed my internet was down (I was a Comcast subscriber). I was suspicious because a Comcast technician was just out earlier in the day installi…

Exactly this happened to me about a month ago. I switched from Provider_A to Provider_B. Provider_A totally sabotaged the connection hardware when it disconnected the service. Provider_B's technician had a very hard time redoing the connection hardware. It's amazing to me that all these connections are still physicial (as opposed to some software-defined switching between providers). Something akin to software-define…

Back when I lived in the northwest, something similar happened; I had Comcast for a year for phone and internet, didn't like it, and decided to switch back to Centurylink.

During the Comcast install, I watched the guy physically break a part of the telephone network interface box. I just sorta assumed he was incompetent and fat fingered it, but the Centurylink guy who fixed it put some sort of weird plastic mold in place of the part that the Comcast guy broke. Ever since that happened, I've sorta half wondered whether that happens more often than not.

Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#82

Post by doctorshady »

dangjc wrote: post #54

The regulators need to crack down on this. If Comcast controls the regulators, they need to be broken up. No one company should have that much political power.

Have you not been paying attention to what the FCC has been up to recently?

Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#83

Post by tolien »

Similar things have happened in the UK, with BT contractors plugging phones in and calling the speaking clock [1] to work out if a copper pair is free for them to use for a new customer, or just unplugging them and hoping for the best.

[1] http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2015/11/phantom-calls-t...

Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#84

Post by walls »

kw71 wrote: post #26
pwerner2 wrote: post #7

Former Comcast cable technician here. I was an in-house tech, and corporate has ludicrous quality standards and nitpicky, white-glove QC's after an in-house tech leaves a job. However, the company obviously employs a TON of _independent contractors_. Some of these contractors are excellent at their jobs, but a lot of them aren't, and as they're not subject to any real oversight by the corporation, you really don't kn…

I previously worked inside Comcast systems for 10 years, I am always amazed by the competence and dedication to quality and service on the part of their engineering and technical operations staff. It makes me a bit sad that these guys do really great work and then the press are able to have all these terrible things to write about customer service reps, megacorp lobbying and conspiracies, and some hotspots of technic…

It's not a 'conspiracy', Comcast really is just awful for the average person.

Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#85

Post by wand3r »

noonespecial wrote: post #14

Even if this was accidental and overblown (as lawsuits often are: one side of the story etc...), Comcast has a steep hill to climb because of their terrible reputation. I think they're going to get completely hosed in court over this. Being assholes to everyone you deal with can have surprising hidden costs.

> being assholes to everyone you deal with can have surprising [effects]

Becoming a US president.

Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#86

Post by SwellJoe »

r00fus wrote: post #37
jamroom wrote: post #2

Wow - if true I really hope Comcast gets taken to the cleaners over this. We REALLY need more ISP competition in the US- this is just ridiculous.

Competition will not exist due to natural monopolies for the last-mile wiring issues. What is required is effective regulation. Which the new FCC head just gutted.

"Which the new FCC head just gutted."

This implies the previous FCC head was effectively regulating the telco and cable companies before, which is not accurate. It's gotten worse, but it's never been good. The telco/cable industry is basically a crime syndicate that operates in their own world of murky legality. Somehow, they keep getting away with atrocious behavior that hurts consumers and keeps competitors out.

So many things they do as standard practice ought to be illegal, but they're really good at lobbying. They may not be good at providing customer service or competent at providing internet but they're very good at manipulating the law to suit their interests. And, even given the incredibly favorable legal climate they exist in, they push past the law and do shit like this.

And, that's why the US is so far down the list in terms of internet speed and quality. The operators aren't in the business of providing good service, they're in the business of making it impossible for anyone to effectively compete with them via any means available (regardless of legality or ethicality).

Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#87

Post by rayiner »

CaptSpify wrote: post #55
pwerner2 wrote: post #7

Former Comcast cable technician here. I was an in-house tech, and corporate has ludicrous quality standards and nitpicky, white-glove QC's after an in-house tech leaves a job. However, the company obviously employs a TON of _independent contractors_. Some of these contractors are excellent at their jobs, but a lot of them aren't, and as they're not subject to any real oversight by the corporation, you really don't kn…

It doesn't matter. If they are contractors working for Comcast, then Comcast should be held 100% liable. Outsourcing has no bearing on who is responsible for the problem.

If a contractor did it, the company isn't liable. It's precisely why Uber fights so hard to keep drivers classified as contractors rather than employees.

Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#88

Post by [deleted] »

CaptSpify wrote: post #55
pwerner2 wrote: post #7

Former Comcast cable technician here. I was an in-house tech, and corporate has ludicrous quality standards and nitpicky, white-glove QC's after an in-house tech leaves a job. However, the company obviously employs a TON of _independent contractors_. Some of these contractors are excellent at their jobs, but a lot of them aren't, and as they're not subject to any real oversight by the corporation, you really don't kn…

It doesn't matter. If they are contractors working for Comcast, then Comcast should be held 100% liable. Outsourcing has no bearing on who is responsible for the problem.

[deleted]

Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#89

Post by djrogers »

doctorshady wrote: post #82
dangjc wrote: post #54

The regulators need to crack down on this. If Comcast controls the regulators, they need to be broken up. No one company should have that much political power.

Have you not been paying attention to what the FCC has been up to recently?

Recently? How about the last 20+ years?

Re: Comcast accused of cutting competitor’s wires to put it out of business

#90

Post by CaptSpify »

rayiner wrote: post #87
CaptSpify wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't matter. If they are contractors working for Comcast, then Comcast should be held 100% liable. Outsourcing has no bearing on who is responsible for the problem.

If a contractor did it, the company isn't liable. It's precisely why Uber fights so hard to keep drivers classified as contractors rather than employees.

Legally speaking, you are likely correct. I'm saying that they should be.
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