Tim pays Time Warner Cable around $45 a month for 10/1Mbps service.  Jake pays Comcast $35 a month for 12/2Mbps service.  Neither reader of Stop the Cap! actually receives those speeds once the sun goes down, however.

Jake, who lives in a neighborhood near Philadelphia populated by loads of college students watches his download speed plummet to 4Mbps in the evening, even lower on weekends.  Tim, a reader in the North Ponds Park region of Webster, N.Y., does even worse — 1.2Mbps evenings and weekends.

Neither reader is alone.  The disparity in marketed speeds vs. actual speeds reveals the truth about cable modem technology — if not properly managed, congestion can bring the broadband party to a sudden halt (or at least rebuffering.)

Both are examples of “overselling,” the practice of piling too many customers onto too small a broadband pipe.  If nobody is using the connection in the neighborhood, speeds are great.  But as students get out of class and mom and dad get home from work, everyone wants to be online.  Soon enough, the pipeline gets filled and speeds drop as the network tries to accommodate everyone.

Most cable companies use fiber optics to bring a limited amount of bandwidth into individual areas of their network.  Some might cover the better part of a town, others only a few city blocks.  Every customer in the area shares that bandwidth.  Cable companies monitor these connections looking for signs they are becoming overcongested during peak usage times.  When those alarms start sounding consistently, companies are supposed to upgrade the area (or divide it up) to keep broadband service working close to advertised speeds.

But some companies are waiting until broadband service becomes practically unusable before spending the money to upgrade their networks.

“I knew they were overselling this area when I noticed downloads speeds fell off the cliff, but the upload speed was near normal,” Jake writes. “The time of day also tells the story.  Starting after 4pm, speeds begin to drop and become downright terrible after dinner and on weekends.  Sunday night is always the worst.”

It’s a similar story in west Webster, near Lake Ontario, where neighborhoods several miles apart all watch their Road Runner speeds slow to a crawl.

“Browsing is slow, downloads are painfully slow, latency is very high and streaming any sort of video online is impossible,” Robert, another Webster resident, told Time Warner Cable (and us).  “I have been a customer since 1998 and for me to not even be able to download at a 1 Megabit speed when this service is supposed to be 10 megs (and more with PowerBoost) is inexcusable.”

The problem of overselling is also common in larger cities like New York and Philadelphia, where some neighborhoods endure “broadband” speeds that resemble “dial-up” when customers pile on the network.

“Comcast says they never see a problem and have repeated that to me over and over, even when they send a truck out,” Jake tells Stop the Cap! “Of course, their truck rolls in the daytime when there isn’t a problem.”

Time Warner customers in eastern Monroe County have been told the cable company is well aware of the congestion problems, and technicians dispatched to area homes candidly admit the company has not kept up with the growth of new housing developments.  Several customers have asked for, and won, several months of service credits for broadband they simply cannot use.

Tim says the entire affair has left him with doubts about Time Warner’s reputation to provide quality broadband service.

“At one time, I considered myself a candidate to upgrade to Time Warner wideband when it became available,” he tells us. “My thinking on that has changed and I am looking into viable alternatives to Time Warner. Money has become of less importance to me than principle, and I may end up with a higher cost solution than staying with Time Warner.”

With our encouragement, these customers (among others) have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and have tried to get attention focused on their neighborhoods.

A representative of Time Warner today told Robert the company has confirmed Webster has a problem and it is being worked on, but no specific date has been offered when things will return to normal.  He received a credit for one month of service.

Jake wants answers about how a company the size of Comcast can ignore a problem of this magnitude.

“Is it really about the money,” he asks.  “This company just bought NBC and doesn’t have the resources to sell Internet service that at least comes close to the speeds they advertise?”

Stop the Cap! advises customers with speed problems to make your feelings known.  The squeaky wheel gets the upgrade.  Start with customer service and work your way up.  Demand service credits, an in-person repair visit to check your lines, and then escalate complaints to supervisors and social media networks like Twitter and Facebook.  Also consider contacting local media “consumer reporters,” and file complaints with the Better Business Bureau.  Sooner or later, a manager will escalate your case to a department that is empowered to authorize upgrades without red tape.

Considering the enormous amount of revenue earned from selling broadband service, it is only fair to expect you will have access to something close to the speeds offered when you signed up.

[flv width=”480″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WFMZ Allentown Comcast NBC Universal Merger May Impact Comcast Customers 1-19-11.flv[/flv]

Now that the FCC has given the green light to Comcast’s merger with NBC-Universal, the headquarters of Comcast is moving to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

While Comcast is moving on up, customers’ bills may soon follow.

Critics warn Comcast’s standing as the leading Internet Service Provider combined with its unprecedented power over programming could change the face of broadband Internet, particularly where online video is involved.

Comcast’s efforts to protect its cable business could lead to additional fees for broadband customers who seek to use the Internet to watch programming they used to get on cable-TV.

WFMZ-TV in Allentown, not too far from Comcast’s old headquarters in Philadelphia, reports.  (2 minutes)

The wedding of Comcast and NBC-Universal was given the blessings of two federal agencies today that all but seals the multi-billion dollar deal.

In a 4-1 decision, the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger.  It’s chairman, Julius Genachowski, claimed it would ultimately be good for consumers as the company promised to add at least 1,000 hours of news and information programming and a new ultra-budget “lifeline” broadband tier priced at $9.95 per month for low-income families.

The lone dissenter, Democratic commissioner Michael Copps, rejected notions that a combined company the size of Comcast, which controls more than a quarter of all cable subscribers, and NBC-Universal, a major media company, would deliver anything to consumers.

“It’s too big. It’s too powerful. It’s too lacking in benefits for American consumers,” Copps said after the FCC vote to approve the merger. “And it continues us down a road of consolidation we’ve been on for a couple of decades now.  And the most threatening part about it is that this is not just traditional media, but it’s new media, too. It touches just about every aspect of our media environment.”

National Public Radio’s ‘All Things Considered’ gave measured coverage to today’s Comcast-NBC merger developments, and how it will impact consumers. (3 minutes)
You must remain on this page to hear the clip, or you can download the clip and listen later.

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Indeed the combined Comcast-NBC will own or control one of every seven television channels and networks seen by Americans.  Copps worries that kind of media concentration is sure to reduce diversity in programming and on-air voices.

Even worse, some analysts predict the merger could trigger a new wave of media consolidation as other players try to maintain their positions in the media marketplace.  Second-place Time Warner Cable could begin looking for merger opportunities with smaller cable companies, such as Cox, for example.

Just about an hour after the FCC gave approval, the Justice Department and five states’ Attorney General announced a tentative settlement that could resolve concerns that the transaction was anti-competitive.

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WNYW New York Comcast FCC Approval 1-18-11.flv[/flv]

WNYW-TV in New York reported on today’s merger decision and explained how Comcast customers, and online video fans, could be impacted.  (3 minutes)

The Terms & Conditions

Two different federal agencies insisted on Comcast’s agreement to several terms and conditions before agreeing to the deal.  Many of them presented no problem for Comcast, who had voluntarily agreed to several of them early on in negotiations.  But the Justice Department delivered one of the strongest conditions, and a first for online video protection — it insisted the new combined entity of Comcast-NBC bow out of its voting rights in Hulu, the online video service.

√ No Playing Favorites: Comcast has to agree that if it carries its own news and business channels, it has to include competitors on the same tier.

Since Comcast-NBC has ownership interests in so many news, sports, and weather channels, making space for the competition was considered crucial by federal regulators.  The cable company can’t bury its competitors in Channel Siberia, or stick them on “digital tiers” that are priced higher than standard cable service.  Who wins?  Bloomberg News, rarely found even by cable viewers who go looking, and the very low-rated Fox Business Channel, which can’t attract 30,000 viewers on a good day.  Both will find prominent positions on Comcast Cable going forward, even if nobody watches.

√ Cheap Internet Access for Qualified Families: Comcast has agreed to provide a “lifeline” broadband service, but only for families pre-qualified by federal eligibility for free school lunches.

No word on what speeds these customers will receive, and Comcast estimates the program will barely make a dent in its bottom line.  It is expected to reach only around 400,000 homes nationwide, and only as long as those subscribers remain eligible under federal guidelines.  No free lunch for broadband.

√ Standalone Internet Service Must Be Provided: Comcast must sell at least a 6Mbps broadband plan without cable or telephone service for $49.99 a month for three years.

Since Comcast already routinely sells standalone broadband service to customers at around this price, this was hardly a concession.  Comcast can still pile on extra fees, such as their overpriced cable modem rental, and any other charges that could be mandated by federal, state, or local government in the future.  They can also keep their usage caps.

√ Comcast must agree to the FCC’s Homeopathic Net Neutrality Rules:  Comcast has to agree to the FCC’s heavily-watered down definition of Net Neutrality… the ones Comcast itself suggested.

Since the FCC largely caved-in to Big Telecom’s lobbying against Net Neutrality, Comcast’s agreement to adhere to what the FCC calls Net Neutrality won’t present any problems, because those terms were similar to what Comcast had asked for all along.  Their “digital phone” service is exempted, which means Comcast can “manage” competing Voice Over IP services at its pleasure.

√ Evidence That PBS Has A Lobbyist, Too — Special Favors for Public Broadcasting: Public television stations win carriage protection from Comcast “for several years.”

In an effort to free spectrum, PBS stations could be pressured to give back some channels or reduce their transmitter power to free up UHF frequencies for more wireless broadband.  Should this happen, Comcast has agreed to keep those stations on their cable systems as if nothing changed at all.  It assures stations that even if their broadcast coverage areas are reduced, their cable carriage will stay the same.

√ Binding Arbitration Comes to Buyers of Comcast-owned Networks:  If a cable system or other provider runs into trouble getting an agreement with Comcast, the FCC offers help.

To protect other cable systems, telco-TV, and satellite companies from uncompetitive pricing or access blockades to Comcast-controlled networks, the cable company agrees to come to the table and submit to binding arbitration over carriage disputes.  Unfortunately for Comcast subscribers, the cable giant can’t force broadcasters or other cable networks to the same table to settle their own carriage wars.

√ Online Access to Programming Comes to Existing Players, Unless Something Big Changes: Everyone loves the status-quo, and this agreement assures it.

The Department of Justice provisions protecting access to online video programming were carefully crafted by lawyers with one eye on Washington and the other on Wall Street.  It effectively provides “stability” in the marketplace and avoids the kinds of competitive surprises Wall Street hates.  Effectively, the agreement grants access to Comcast-owned programming to ventures that existed prior to the agreement reached today.  Existing players have the government’s assurance carriage contracts are secure.  Those with a pre-existing relationship to Comcast can also purchase the entire bouquet of Comcast-controlled programming (no a-la-carte) at prices similar to those charged to other cable and satellite customers.

But brand new players that threaten to turn existing business models on their heads?  Forget it.  The agreement says nothing that would require access to Comcast programming for upstart services like ivi, or even Google TV for that matter.  The only potential, real-world competitive scenario comes if an existing player (say Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS, or AT&T U-verse) decided to start a national virtual online cable company open to any American, anywhere.  What are the chances of that happening?  How many of you can choose Time Warner -or- Comcast? Verizon FiOS -or- AT&T U-verse?  Would AT&T risk its U-verse revenue selling Time Warner Cable customers the same channel lineup, knowing it can’t also easily bundle broadband and phone packages with it?

√ No Voting Rights for Hulu: Comcast agrees to limit its role in one of the biggest potential reasons some consumers are prepared to cut cable’s cord.

The Justice Department’s requirement that Comcast effectively butt-out of the day to day decisions affecting Hulu may protect consumers, but Hulu’s partners don’t want to devalue their programming by giving it away for free forever, either.  Nothing prohibits the birds-of-a-feather-partners in Hulu to put the service under a full ad load or behind a pay wall, reducing its value and interest to consumers.  Or, the whole project could be terminated at the behest of News Corp. and Disney.

Whatever consumer protections the FCC and Justice have included, they won’t last forever.  Virtually all expire within three to seven years, at which point Comcast might be humbled by the culmination of a bad business decision the likes of AOL-Time Warner, or become Comzilla, ready to trample its competition (and consumers) into the dirt.

Was This a Commission Cave-In or a Foregone Conclusion?

Although Commissioner Copps calls today’s decision a “dangerous” deal, some ex-regulators suggest the package presented to federal regulators was effectively a foregone conclusion.

Bruce Gottlieb was formerly Chief Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, and offered his take on today’s developments for The Atlantic:

How mergers at the FCC will play out is notoriously hard to predict, but the ultimate result is not. The historical truth is that, in virtually every instance, the commission will approve any major proposed transaction. The only time in recent memory that the commission declined to do so was the proposed merger of the two leading satellite-TV providers (Echostar and DirecTV) — and that marriage was running into problems with other agencies long before the FCC put the final nail in the coffin.

(Yes, then-Chairman Reed Hundt also famously ended rumors of an AT&T and Southwestern Bell merger in 1997 by preemptively declaring it “unthinkable.” But those companies simply had to wait until 2005, when a different FCC chairman let it go through.)

The real action at the FCC involves what “conditions” the agency will put on a merger. These are supposed to be narrowly tailored to address specific harms raised by the merger at issue. But, regardless of who is in charge at the agency, it’s all relative.

Often, the conditions applied to a particular merger have more to do with what the chairman and commissioners at the time want to achieve on an industrywide basis. It’s just easier to get these things done when you have the extraordinary leverage of controlling the timing of a multibillion-dollar transaction that the parties are desperate to consummate.

[…]  The FCC’s rules, as described in the press release announcing the merger, appear to be aimed at ensuring that “over the top” providers have fair access to programming (which the NBCU part of Comcast-NBCU will provide), as well as to consumers (which the Comcast part of Comcast-NBCU will provide).

This is, by far, the strongest statement yet from the commission about the importance of over the top video competition. But the business and regulatory stakes in this fight are only going to increase over time. Indeed, the two Republican commissioners (Robert McDowell and Meredith Attwell Baker) issued separate statements saying they have concerns over whether the FCC should be writing rules to encourage over the top video. So this is likely to be the first skirmish in what will surely be a long and bloody war.

In the weeks ahead, the lawyers will be able to parse the specific provisions to see where the loopholes are and how it will all play out in practice. The details surely matter. But years from now, the specifics of what was decided in this merger may mean a lot less than the fact that the FCC is now deeply involved in the multifront war to decide who will win online video.

[flv width=”512″ height=”308″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/PBS Newshour Comcast Merger Announced 12-3-09.mp4[/flv]

More than a year ago, PBS’ ‘The Newshour’ explored the reasons why Comcast and NBC-Universal would want to join forces.  Now, after millions of dollars of Comcast subscribers’ money has been spent lobbying for approval, will consumers ultimately pay an even higher price later on?  (12/3/2009 — 11 minutes)

Some of America’s largest media companies are starting to get nervous over reported stipulations Comcast and NBC-Universal must meet in order to win FCC approval of their merger deal.

The Wall Street Journal reports ‘all-lobbyists-on-deck’ as companies fear collateral damage to their own nascent online video businesses.

At issue is the FCC-proposed condition that would require Comcast to offer NBC programming to any online video service that has reached a similar deal for content from at least one of NBC’s competitors, such as Walt Disney Co. or News Corp.

That could create a highly competitive online video marketplace, with open access to video programming — content many companies want to tightly control.

Last week, lobbyists from Disney, News Corp., and Time Warner pelted the FCC with filings fearing Comcast-NBC deal stipulations could also impact their businesses, potentially risking exclusivity deals with firms like Netflix or Apple.  At the worst, such rules could permit the development of virtual ‘online cable systems,’ delivering hundreds of hours of programming daily — more than enough to potentially invite customers to turn away from traditional cable-TV or satellite packages.

Perish the thought, suggest some Wall Street analysts who are prepared to downgrade companies that cannot maximize revenue from a controlled online video marketplace.

The three companies, among others, have suggested language that limits any stipulations exclusively to the Comcast-NBC deal, or changing the terms to impact their own operations less.

Public interest groups continue to press their views that the proposed deal delivers nothing to consumers but higher bills and fewer programming choices.

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, joined with more than two dozen public interest groups urging a more careful review of the deal:

“We believe that a merger of this size and scope will have a devastating effect on the media marketplace,” a letter to President Barack Obama and Congress says. “It will result in less competition, higher consumer costs and fewer content choices. It also will give one company unprecedented control over innovative new media that offer news, information, entertainment and cultural programming through emerging technologies.”

Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union, said this proposed merger could have major consequences for consumers: “This merger would combine a major television network and film studio with the nation’s largest cable company and residential broadband provider, which could be a recipe for disaster. This merged giant has great potential to lead to higher cable and broadband rates for consumers, less competition in online video, and less diversity among the programming choices for viewers. There are no clear benefits to consumers from this merger.”

Comcast has agreed to several stipulations that are supposed to protect consumers.  Among them, a three-year requirement Comcast provide standalone Internet service to consumers for $49.95 a month.  But the deal says nothing about Comcast’s Internet Overcharging scheme — an arbitrary usage cap on their broadband service.

Comcast would also agree to adhere to Net Neutrality rules (as defined by the FCC) for up to seven years.  Since those rules are closely aligned to what Comcast volunteered to follow earlier, there was little reservation agreeing to them going forward.

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Bloomberg Comcast Deal May Hang on Showing Rivals Online Video 12-23-10.flv[/flv]

Bloomberg News’ Todd Shields explains the proposed conditions the FCC seeks to impose on the Comcast-NBC merger deal.  (12/23/2010 — 4 minutes)

A message from Senator Al Franken:

[flv width=”540″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/A Message from Senator Franken on Comcast-NBC Merger 1-12-11.flv[/flv]

As you know, the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC Universal is an important moment in our effort to stop big corporations from controlling our media.

But the FCC and Department of Justice may be about to approve this deal. This would have serious consequences for Minnesotans and consumers across America.

Once you’ve watched the video, please sign our open letter asking that this merger be stopped.  Forward this video to all of your friends–we don’t have much time to act. And stay tuned for more information.