I think is is overstepping what I need the FCC with my life. But you know what I want them to do? Increase the number choices I have. Breakup local monopolies on cable/fiber and make tax deals with local municipalities illegal or fair to competitors so we can avoid "I get one choice in internet provider".
FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
11–20 of 29 posts
Re: FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
#12> “So, today we kick out a rulemaking[...]”
Is it too much to ask that those who run the government use just slightly more formal language when making statements in their official capacity?
Re: FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
#13> “So, today we kick out a rulemaking[...]” Is it too much to ask that those who run the government use just slightly more formal language when making statements in their official capacity?
I think as long as what is meant to be conveyed is clear and concise, it's served its purpose.
Re: FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
#14I think is is overstepping what I need the FCC with my life. But you know what I want them to do? Increase the number choices I have. Breakup local monopolies on cable/fiber and make tax deals with local municipalities illegal or fair to competitors so we can avoid "I get one choice in internet provider".
This is something the FCC definitely has power to do and if you think this is overstepping then they certainly would not be able to do anything about anti-competitive behavior in your idealized version of them.
Re: FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
#15I think is is overstepping what I need the FCC with my life. But you know what I want them to do? Increase the number choices I have. Breakup local monopolies on cable/fiber and make tax deals with local municipalities illegal or fair to competitors so we can avoid "I get one choice in internet provider".
If you own an ISP would you invest in an area where another ISP monopoly exists and all users in an area will have to pay sum to pay contract to move to your service.
This also about competition just not customer service though yeah I agree internet infrastructure should be financed and run by the local governments just like roads etc are and let ISP compete on services
Re: FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
#16Unfortunately, they will probably respond by raising rates to cover lost revenue from early termination fees and the loss of lock-in. This is arguably better though, since there is up-front pricing. EDIT: Perhaps the only situation where it isn’t is where they are the only game in town and you intend to ride out the whole contract.
Some ISPs make it really hard to know what the 'up-front' price is after all the bs fees and taxes that get added
The FTC (note: not FCC) is working on that one, along with other forms of "junk fees":
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/09/2023-24...
Re: FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
#17I think is is overstepping what I need the FCC with my life. But you know what I want them to do? Increase the number choices I have. Breakup local monopolies on cable/fiber and make tax deals with local municipalities illegal or fair to competitors so we can avoid "I get one choice in internet provider".
We really need Congress to act, to try to restore the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to it's written purpose. The courts gutted access to Unbundled Network Elements, meaning that anyone trying to provide high speed internet basically has to DIY the infrastructure themselves.
Congress should pass another law. The courts basically sided with arguments that high speed internet would only be deployed if a monopoly was provided. And that hasn't been true in many other places, which do have competitive Internet by way of unbundled local loops.
Re: FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
#18Unfortunately, they will probably respond by raising rates to cover lost revenue from early termination fees and the loss of lock-in. This is arguably better though, since there is up-front pricing. EDIT: Perhaps the only situation where it isn’t is where they are the only game in town and you intend to ride out the whole contract.
Not really no, ISPs charge as much as they can and already charge what the consumer base will pay, they aren't a company that's on the edge of profitability that needs to raise rates.
They might try to use it as a PR smokescreen but except for consumers that do not understand reality, this will not work.
Re: FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
#19Termination fees are utter garbage because say you happen to get locked into a 3 year fiber internet contract[1] (we are), and the price of fiber internet suddenly decreases by 3/4 then you end up paying like $200 more per month than anyone else getting the same fiber internet from the same company.
The minute you eliminate termination fees, it’s a free market again and the company is obliged to give you the best price at any given time.
[1] you really have no choice here because if there is any kind of infra upgrade involved then every telco wants 36 months despite the build only costing ~$500.
Re: FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services
#20Termination fees are utter garbage because say you happen to get locked into a 3 year fiber internet contract[1] (we are), and the price of fiber internet suddenly decreases by 3/4 then you end up paying like $200 more per month than anyone else getting the same fiber internet from the same company. The minute you eliminate termination fees, it’s a free market again and the company is obliged to give you the best pri…
> Termination fees are utter garbage because say you happen to get locked into a 3 year fiber internet contract (we are), and the price of fiber internet suddenly decreases by 3/4 then you end up paying like $200 more per month than anyone else getting the same fiber internet from the same company
How often does that happen?
All I've ever seen in ~35 years of using online services (dialup service, cable, DSL, satellite...no fiber though) is prices going up.
BTW, the contract you describe is quite different from the contracts I've had with Comcast. It seems that there are two very different approaches among ISPs, and your ISP is using the most restrictive one.
The Comcast contracts only charge a termination fee if you leave Comcast completely, unless you are moving out of the service area in which case there is no termination fee. If you just change which Comcast services you subscribe to that's not cancelling the contract.
I.e., the contract is not that you will subscribe to specific Comcast services for N years...it is that for the next N years you will have at least once Comcast service, and that if you stick with the specific services you started the contract with their prices will not increase for you for those N years.
For example a year into a two year "triple play" contract I dropped TV and voice and I changed to a different internet plan and that was fine. Since the new internet plan was still with Comcast it did not count as breaking the contract.