DISQUS

Eric Crampton · 3 years ago

There aren't many things that make me homesick for Fairfax. Your post today did. Am in NZ. Speculation over potential local loop unbundling has prevented any investment in new capacity for the last few years; they've now mandated unbundling, so I'm not expecting any of the kind of investment outlays you're describing. The top of the line broadband package here has 3.5MB downstream, 512K upstream; costs $80/month for 10GB traffic (can upgrade the amount of traffic but not the speed). Sigh.

Lewis Baumstark · 3 years ago

Adam, can you comment on the "package bundle" options (including price) for the two companies? You went for the triple-play, but others out here often want less (at the least, no voice service -- $30-$40 a month for "emergency" service seems like a huge waste of money to me!)

Steve R. · 3 years ago

Competition is good. However, I must take issue issue with the statement "Verzion had to fight for the right to offer consumers video programming services in competition with cable.". These companies are very disingenuous. If they want to break into a new market, they are all in favor of free market competition. If they are already serving a market; its monopoly time. They use the local government franchise boards to prevent competition and they even refuse to rent capacity to competitors. According to Silcon Money )http://news.com.com/Chart+Federal+lobbying+expenditures/2009-1028_3-6050997.html?tag=nl) over the span of six years (1998-2004) Verizon spent over $58M on lobbying efforts.

Adam Thierer · 3 years ago

Lewis... Thanks for your question. Dicounted bundles continue to be used by many operators to encourage customers to sign up for the entire triple play. Increasingly, however, it appears that carriers are experimenting with alternative approaches and allowing consumers to just get one or two components of the package at a flat, standard rate.

Check out what Time Warner Cable is doing in the New York / New Jersey area in terms of mix-and-match bundles:

http://www.timewarnercable.com/nyandnj/products...

While they contiune to offer discounted triple play packages, they also offer a nice matrix of "double play" options to suit your needs. I think more broadband operators will go this route because they know that many customers will not need digital phone service since many people are going wireless and cutting the cord entirely. Alternatively, a lot of people just want digital cable and phone, but not broadband. Or the opposite.

Who knows what the future holds. It's important that we keep in mind that, in a sense, this industry ("triple play broadband" that is) is still quite young and that new business models are developing. And now carriers are looking to offer "quadruple play" bundles that integrate cell phone service for a slight discount. With rising competition and the threat of wireless broadband lurking, I think operators will be forced to offer more mix-and-match plans at a fairly standardized rate.

Luis Villa · 3 years ago

When did the plural of anecdote become analysis? C'mon, guys, I expect better than this of tlf.

Adam Thierer · 3 years ago

Luis... Perhaps you'd like to elaborate regarding what more it is that you expect of TLF (or me) in this case? What, exactly, is it that you disagree with here? Don't worry, I'm very thick-skinned when it comes to criticism and I'll be happy to correct any errors you can point to.

john · 3 years ago

Well, I am definitely jealous. I live just up the road in Montgomery county, MD, but have no hope of getting FIOS anytime soon because of the TV franchise issues. Also, you are lucky enough to be in the approximately 5-10% of the U.S. that is actually seeing competition. I am lucky I have a choice of one broadband provider (comcast) - I still cannot get DSL.

Unfortunately, the "serious broadband competition" you refer to is only between two major players. I thought duopolies were not considered a competitive environment. What happens when things settle out? It seems all it would take is a little "wink, wink", "nudge, nudge" between Cox and Verizon for lock-step price increases and declining customer service. You amply describe the initial problems with getting the FIOS service - do you really expect Verizon to significantly improve customer service in the future?

You are lucky enough to live in "broadband nirvana" (at least in the U.S.), but the other 90% of the U.S. is stuck in the slow lane.

Steve R. · 3 years ago

Well, I found the article that I was looking for to explain how disingenuous these companies are. The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A...) reported how Verizon was one of several companies behind legislation that would restrict competition in providing broadband service. The twist, in this case, is that the legislation is aimed at prohibiting a local government from providing broadband service. In a free market system the government also has a right to compete. On the "big picture" side what is really troubling with this type of legislation is that it is moving us down the road to corporatism. Corporations do not need laws to "protect" them or to "guarantee" them a revenue stream.

julie · 3 years ago

I just ordered Verizon's FIOS today....I'll drop my Comcast bill from $160 to $134....I'm glad to see this post as I'm in the stage of wondering whether this is too good to be true...better quality...added features..and less cost....