Comments on Wanted: A National Broadband Plan that Works tag:www.comcastvoices.com,2009://6.440 2009-06-10T21:52:08Z Movable Type 4.23-en Comment by gabe tag:www.comcastvoices.com,2009://6.440.31298 2009-06-06T00:55:33Z 2009-06-06T00:55:33Z im American but i can guarantee you the waste of government spending on broadband will be huge if 8 percent of the population has no... gabe im American but i can guarantee you the waste of government spending on broadband will be huge


if 8 percent of the population has no broadband let them keep no broadband we need to get smaller government

i hope the government does not spend another penny on broadband we've done spent 7 billion to much

]]> Comment by Matthew tag:www.comcastvoices.com,2009://6.440.31300 2009-06-09T13:26:36Z 2009-06-09T13:26:36Z Maybe Comcast should focus on the 1% of their footprint not served by thier "state-of-the-art fiber-coax network." There are areas where Comcast provides low quality... Matthew Maybe Comcast should focus on the 1% of their footprint not served by thier "state-of-the-art fiber-coax network." There are areas where Comcast provides low quality cable service but no access to broadband and no other provider in the area.

]]> Comment by M McKenna tag:www.comcastvoices.com,2009://6.440.31304 2009-06-10T03:07:20Z 2009-06-10T03:07:20Z After serving on my town's cable advisory committee for 5 years I see things very differently from you Mr. Cohen. One provider is not competition... M McKenna After serving on my town's cable advisory committee for 5 years I see things very differently from you Mr. Cohen. One provider is not competition and I have seen my rates increase 500% over 10yrs I've been living in this community. When I moved to this community broadband wasn't available and my monthly bill was $23 and I had to wait 5yrs until the next renewal before Comcast/Adelphia would upgrade the system. However, each month I ask myself the same question, “how can addition of broadband and 20 HD channels possibly be worth a 500% increase?”

The industry model is to only do upgrades at franchise renewal time. The cable provider does the upgrade at the end of the contract to look like the hero to the local municipality in the hopes that they’ll forget they’ve been waiting 10yrs for an upgrade. As you well know broadband discussions are off the table when franchises are renewed and it's the franchise you are referring to in your blog.

In 10+yrs the FCC hasn't allowed a municipality to block a renewal so in effect towns are held hostage and can't negotiate broadband upgrades or even insert broadband QOS penalties into the franchise renewal. Additionally, as IP TV gets more viewers cable subscribers will drop their programming option. The Comcast pricing model raises the broadband cost significantly when it's not bundled with video. And yet again the consumer will be left paying even high prices for broadband without any local voice because broadband can't be negotiated during franchise renewals.

Unless the FCC regulates broadband like Telco, cable companies will be free to do what they want when they want and most probably with my taxpayer money from the stimulus.

So there we are, back to the monopolistic business model of broadband cable. I hear all these supposed experts regurgitate misinformation but these are the real facts that no one discusses.

]]> Comment by Leonard Grace tag:www.comcastvoices.com,2009://6.440.31308 2009-06-10T21:52:08Z 2009-06-10T21:52:08Z David, I agree that the best scenario is a partnership with the “Private Business Sector”, without government intervention and regulation to get the job... Leonard Grace David, I agree that the best scenario is a partnership with the “Private Business Sector”, without government intervention and regulation to get the job done. This approach has worked well in the past and continues to be the best model for consumers.

Comcast Alumni

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