Washington : High Speed Internet users are now using choice as their weapon against unresponsive cable companies.
Cable television has always had its problems with service, even generating the stigma of the ever elusive "cable guy." Now those problems seem to have extended to cable's version of high-speed internet service. Some communities tried striking back by threatening the companies with fines, as was the case in Montgomery County , Washington . But determining what response time for outage repair was fair turned out to be far more complex than was first thought. So now customers are fighting back by switching to cable's greatest competitor - High-speed internet through DSL. As this technology starts reaching more and more communities, competitiveness, not fines, will surely improve both service and price for all high-speed providers, just as it did in the early days of dial-up service.
Arizona : Communications Giant promises support to candidates who agree to sign a "tax equity" pledge.
Cox Communications, Arizona 's largest cable television provider, forwarded a letter to all candidates in this year's election indicating that by signing the pledge the candidate would gain the support of Cox this election cycle. The inherent threat was that the candidate's opponent would be supported if they refused to sign. The pledge Cox is seeking is for a 4.5 % state tax on satellite television service. Their argument for the tax is to level to playing ground of competition between them and the two major satellite television providers. Currently Cox and other cable companies are required to pay local licensing fees of up to 5%, a charge which provides the companies use of the cities' rights of way. The satellite companies do not have to pay this fee since their signals do not use any local services. Their signals are beamed directly to the customer from space. Most lawmakers do not support the legislation that would impose the tax since it would mean money out of Arizona 's pockets going to national companies that have nothing to offer the state in return. Cox Communications has operations in Arizona , Rhode Island , and other states.
Rhode Island : Satellite television's great offers are forcing cable companies to rethink the way they do business.
With technology expanding at an ever increasing rate, it is no wonder that one of the fastest growing industries in the country today is satellite television. Because of that, cable companies, such as Cox Communications out of Rhode Island , are seeing their rate of new subscribers flatten out. In the past, cable companies had dominance over television entertainment. They could pretty much do whatever they wanted as far as pricing. In fact, in the five years between 1998 and 2003, the average amount spent on cable in the United States went from the mid $20's to almost $50 per month. And that is for the most basic subscriptions. Cable companies argue that the increases are due to the need for purchasing newer and more expensive programming. But with the new threat posed by satellite television, cable companies are suddenly able to keep their subscription rates steady. Cox just announced, in fact, that there would be no increase in rates this year, despite the fact that their customers had almost grown accustomed to the yearly late summer increase. When consumers are given the choice between an industry that has historically increased their fees by 41% and one that is beginning to see their fees come down, consumers are going to follow their pocket books. It's the American way.
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