I must talk to all my libertarian friends now. I need to get explanation what free market means when right now my only options for network would be one ISP.
Free markets only work for spherical chickens.
Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
201–210 of 332 posts
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#202Cable and Internet suck in American The Land of Free. I have TV Box from comcast which I have not switched on for year because it is absolute shit. It plays may be 10-15 channels and for any good channel I need to shell in so much money. I am 100% sure that someone like Google will shark behind these people and drive them out of business.
You're free to pay a lot for little service.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
To play devil's advocate, what it means is that Comcast has the better business model. After all, that's why Apple and Samsung dominate the cellular industry. iApps running on iOS running on an iPhone using an Apple A7 offers the ability to optimize the user experience and integrate the layers that vendors doing things piecemeal can't match. If Netflix et al want to survive, they have to evolve from being mere middle…
Why precisely does Netflix need to "evolve"? I like Netflix just fine as it is, thank you very much. The totality of current online businesses are using "someone else's pipes", so framing that as a criticism strikes me as distinctly hollow.
I would say it needs to "adapt" to harsher market conditions created by these mergers, net neutrality gone, etc.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is called duopoly, and is less bad than a monopoly.
A duopoly might help in America but for the rest of us (at least where I'm from) competition is working fine. I can choose between around 5 different providers for internet and/or TV with prices starting at as little as $35 per month for unlimited internet at around 20mbps download speed. I can also choose online between Netflix, Amazon/LoveFilm, free demand services such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD, and paid on…
If you're in the UK, Zen Internet now offer £25/month truly unlimited fibre broadband. ~80mbps down, ~20mbps up, no traffic shaping / AUP or anything. I am so happy with my internet right now.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#205Earlier quoted context omitted.
3) Municipal fiber-optic lines that ISPs can lease access to in order to provide service to customers. Boom, no more monopolies.
You'll be wanting WSPs (waste service providers) to lease access to sewage pipes next. Where will it all end?
That would also be a great idea.
Leasing infrastructure works great in lots of cases.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#206Does it strike anyone else as curious that the two largest cable/internet providers merge, and it doesn't matter because they already don't compete? It might be a sign that something's odd if the premise is that there's no competition between identical products to harm in the first place.
No. I believe in the concept of a natural monopoly for most utilities though - Building outside plant is horrendously expensive - it to me makes as much sense to have multiple cable providers as it does multiple sets of power/telephone/water/sewer infrastructure. I'd even like to see a fewer wireless carriers (consider that each for carrier are spending billions of dollars to roll out what amount to essentially ident…
If think if there is a natural monopoly on a resource used as a lifeline or by more that half of the citizen, the infra should be under the government's oversight and the service privatized and open to competition.
Your wireless carrier example would be a single wireless network with as many as wished service providers.
This would slow down new technology deployments, but the market might be mature enough to get it's evolution slowed down two or three times without major inconvenience I think (for instance, we'd be stuck with LTE for a while if we go this way now ?)
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
Netflix partnering with, or potentially acquired by, Amazon to take on other platforms makes sense. There needs to be consolidation and I think Bezos could do a better job bringing in bigger licensing deals.
Amazon already have a film-on-demand service called LOVEFiLM.com.
That's U.K.; for America at least, we have Prime instant video.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#208Does it strike anyone else as curious that the two largest cable/internet providers merge, and it doesn't matter because they already don't compete? It might be a sign that something's odd if the premise is that there's no competition between identical products to harm in the first place.
No. I believe in the concept of a natural monopoly for most utilities though - Building outside plant is horrendously expensive - it to me makes as much sense to have multiple cable providers as it does multiple sets of power/telephone/water/sewer infrastructure. I'd even like to see a fewer wireless carriers (consider that each for carrier are spending billions of dollars to roll out what amount to essentially ident…
> it to me makes as much sense to have multiple cable providers as it does multiple sets of power/telephone/water/sewer infrastructure.
That's how things work here in Brazil, some cities have 2 DSL providers or 2 cable providers. Big capitals may have both, and fiber. Also, there are a bunch o local radio providers.
It is way better for the consumer, as all of them suck and at least you can choose the least sucking one.
Telecom infrastructure is very different from electricity/gas/water/sewer infrastructure.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 2) NetFlix, Amazon Prime et al will become really popular as a result of all the customers saying "FU ComcastWarner" I agree with your first point, but your second point doesn't follow. If anything, Comcast will price gouge Netflix out of business, and we'll be back to being stuck watching their awful "On Demand" instead. They can do this, because Comcast owns the content (NBC), the delivery mechanism for said cont…
To play devil's advocate, what it means is that Comcast has the better business model. After all, that's why Apple and Samsung dominate the cellular industry. iApps running on iOS running on an iPhone using an Apple A7 offers the ability to optimize the user experience and integrate the layers that vendors doing things piecemeal can't match. If Netflix et al want to survive, they have to evolve from being mere middle…
This, I believe, is why Netflix is producing original content. Outside the US they license it to traditional networks as well (I've seen adverts for House of Cards recently through Sky here in Germany).
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
A duopoly might help in America but for the rest of us (at least where I'm from) competition is working fine. I can choose between around 5 different providers for internet and/or TV with prices starting at as little as $35 per month for unlimited internet at around 20mbps download speed. I can also choose online between Netflix, Amazon/LoveFilm, free demand services such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD, and paid on…
If you're in the UK, Zen Internet now offer £25/month truly unlimited fibre broadband. ~80mbps down, ~20mbps up, no traffic shaping / AUP or anything. I am so happy with my internet right now.
Thanks for the tip - looks like fibre isn't available in my area yet though.