Comments on: Attention North Carolina: They’re Baaack… Telecom Special Interests Pushing HB1252 (Again) – In Committee on Monday!

By: Jay Ovittore

Jay Ovittore — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:04:05 +0000

Thanks KC! I have spoken with the chair of the committee’s office and I will get the chance to speak on Monday. For those attending the room has been changed to room 544.

By: waiting and watching

waiting and watching — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:09:10 +0000

I had better not be paying more for more damn sports crap I don’t watch. I don’t pay for my neighbor’s groceries, I am not going to pay for their entertainment either! Already 13 MLB/NHL channels and crap I have to pay for.

By: Fish

Fish — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:39:35 +0000

Speaking of TWC, there’s a bunch of people statewide who were seriously pissed at the fact that rates are rising and one of the reasons listed is “sports related packages” when in fact TWC is the last major holdout for NFL Network. It’s hilarious that TWC said that they would have to raise rates to be able to carry this network, and so when they do and use the reasons given, and still no network so fans across the state could watch their local professional football team, people are finally seeing the sham that’s being put forth.

We’re being played for fools, and because the state government is getting paid to be morons, we all suffer.

By: KC

KC — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:44:15 +0000

I’ve written them all now. I wish you luck in getting in there, Jay.

By: KC

KC — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:48:58 +0000

Not only are TWC & friends annoying for their endless greed and their wasting of my money on paying off public officials, but on top of that, I have to go out of my way to email every one of these representatives to make sure they don’t do something stupid.

Dear TWC,
I’d rather be playing games right now but now I have to write reps cause of you. I hate you and your filthy management. Maybe if you didn’t spend so much money on lobbying you wouldn’t need to worry about a couple little municipal broadband communities, cause then your profit would be astronomical.

By: Ian L

Ian L — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:24:34 +0000

I find it interesting how TWC and Comcast react to competition of various types. When a non-muni (mostly FiOS) pulls in fiber TWC and Comcast implement DOCSIS 3 speeds in the area, possibly increasing tiers at the same price.

In contrast, when a muni comes in TWC bumps speeds a bit, but mostly lowers prices for the first six months of a customer’s service with them, hoping that the muni will go out of business or something by then. TWC’s pricing in Wilson is as follows:

768/128 – $20
3/384 – $30
10/768 (fastest TWC standard service in the country to my knowledge) – $30 for first six months
15/2 (best non-DOCSIS-3 package from TWC) – $40 for first six months

In contrast, Greenlight’s 10 Mbps symmetric service is $35 and their 20 Mbps service is $55 if you bundle in TV or phone (or both). 20 Mbps service is available for $60 standalone. It’s a nice deal for customers with a need for speed (I would grab 20 Mbps service with no second thoughts) but it doesn’t capture the low end of the market, which TWC hopes it will snag.

For comparison’s sake, here are TWC’s speed tiers in central TX (another rather competitive area, but one that doesn’t have a muni competing):

768/128 – $20
3/384 – $35
7/512 – $40 (some promos available)
15/2 – $50 (some promos available)

And here’s TWC’s portfolio a bit west of Wilson, where their competition is CenturyLink (maximum speeds of 10/896 over ADSL2+)

768/128 – $20 for 12 months ($25 thereafter?)
1.5/256 – $38
7/384 – $30 for 6 months ($50 thereafter? No PowerBoost, though standard tiers elsewhere have it)
10/512 – $40 for 6 months ($60 thereafter?)

What’s even odder is that CenturyLink hasn’t changed pricing one bit in Wilson. 10/896 ADSL2+ is still $55 per month, with tiers going down from there to a $30-per-month 768/384 tier, with a $15 per month discount when bundling a non-basic phone line. For the record, I’d take CenLink DSL over TWC if 10 Mbps service was offered from both at my address.