Today, Comcast announced that it was opening access to their DOCSIS 3.0 pipeline to the Twin Cities, allowing for faster Internet connections at a much higher price tag. Consumers who want the increased bandwidth of up to 50Mps download and 5Mps upload, will have to shell out quite a penny to subscribe, as prices start at an alarming $149.95 a month.
Now, some of you might not think that this is a high price to pay. But what you don’t already know, is that in 2004, the FCC passed a measure, enabling our cable and telephone providers to upgrade our systems with fiber optics to within 500 feet of consumers’ homes, without jeopardizing existing lines. On top of the measure, the Federal government has provided a plan and millions of tax dollars in grants and loans to assist independent and large providers in upgrading their networks.
Well, instead of upgrading the systems, the companies have stalled their installation plans and slowly changed the “trusty old copper” to fiber. Moreover, now that only certain markets have fiber lines, like the DOCSIS 3.0 connection, they will charge you enormous rates to access what they were mandated to provide!
I understand the thought that you have to charge by bandwidth allocations in old infrastructure networks. I understand that I get raped when I want a faster connection. But instead of pilfering my wallet for another buck, shouldn’t you be upgrading our existing services, or do you just want to stymie the US’s broadband access?
