Why Your Broadband Internet Is So Expensive
A tidbit from a Felix Salmon column at Reuters:
Farhad Manjoo has the explanation for why this should be. Internet service is very cheap for the cable companies to provide, and it's also price-sensitive: if you reduce the price, more people will sign up. As a result, the cable companies would make more money from their broadband offerings if they reduced the price. So why don't they? Because right now, 91% of Americans with broadband also have cable TV (I think, I can't find the link for that right now), and the cable companies make their real money from TV, not broadband. The cable companies therefore have every incentive to price broadband as high as possible, so as to make the marginal extra cost of getting TV as well as small as possible.In the US, cable TV rates are very high; as such, the best way to prevent cord-cutting is to ensure that broadband rates are also very high. That's bad for broadband adoption, but it's reasonably effective at keeping people paying very large sums for TV every month. In other words, high broadband rates are a bit like most newspaper paywalls: they're not so much a way of making lots of money themselves, as they are a way of persuading you to pay lots of money for something else. (Physical newspaper delivery, or cable TV.)
Not sure if it's expensive or not, but we pay $215 a month for landline phone (used for faxes only), broadband, cable TV (every channel offered), and a home security ststem including cameras.
BunnyGirl at February 18, 2014 12:41 AM
My contract with u-verse is up as of last month, and we're moving in a month or so. So, I have to decide whether or not to keep the service (if it's available where we're going, which is more rural than where we are now.) I'll absolutely reduce that amount of stuff we subscribe to (because we don't need DVR in 3 rooms, or Showtime), but I actually NEED internet access, and I WANT HBO. (Game of Thrones starts in April, right?) I hate Time Warner and I've heard even worse things about ComCast. Anywho, I'd say Majoo's right. If I have to pay $50 a month for internet, why not add cable for another $25? And the DVR service and and HBO for another $25? They know how to get you... If I could get HBO ala-carte, or online, I would not pay for cable. I'd only get internet and Netflix.
ahw at February 18, 2014 8:52 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/02/18/why_your_broadb.html#comment-4268089">comment from ahwGregg is going to help me get Ooma (as in, do all the tech stuff), so I can at least cut down my huge land line bill. (I need a land line to appear on radio shows for my book, etc.)
Amy Alkon at February 18, 2014 9:46 AM
Well I'm finally watching Breaking Bad at Couch Tuner. Apparently they also have Game of Thrones as well.
Jim P. at February 18, 2014 11:17 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/02/18/why_your_broadb.html#comment-4268245">comment from Jim P.I've had Time-Warner and I've had Comcast, and Comcast is worse.
Amy Alkon at February 18, 2014 11:35 AM
Posted by: Amy Alkon at February 18, 2014 9:46 AM
but I actually NEED internet access, and I WANT HBO. (Game of Thrones starts in April, right?) I hate Time Warner and I've heard even worse things about ComCast. -- ahw at February 18, 2014 8:52 AM
You can also get an Amazon account, and pay per episode to watch Game of Thrones there.
Isab at February 18, 2014 11:36 AM
...but can you get the new episodes? Or is it just the previous season?
I think Time-Warner and Comcast just merged.
ahw at February 18, 2014 12:59 PM
I don't know off hand, or really care. I've never been one of those who goes to work the next day and saying "Did you see the special effect on some show?"
I was disappointed when BSG went to Sci-Fi exclusively but was able to buy all the seasons for less than $100 later. As opposed to paying $40+ per month for satellite that I would be watching broadcast TV on.
I only recently got UVerse because I can now telecommute. The $80 in gas more than makes up for the cost. The $50 5GB aircard was good before that.
Jim P. at February 18, 2014 6:49 PM
You can get the new episodes on Amazon.
Isab at February 18, 2014 7:58 PM
I'm paying $46/month for AT&T Uverse, internet only. It gets enough bandwidth to watch videos, and has fewer outages than Comcast internet. But whether that will work for you depends on the length and the condition of the twisted pair to your house.
markm at February 19, 2014 7:17 PM
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