cable

CPUC says telcos, cable companies, mobile carriers shouldn’t cut off customers during corona virus crisis

18 March 2020 by Steve Blum
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Corona virus

Edit: The title of this post originally contained a (serious) typo. It’s fixed now. I can blame jet lag but, really, sometimes my fingers don’t do what I think they’re doing. Sorry about that.

Communications companies should declare “moratoriums on disconnections” in California, according to a letter sent yesterday by the California Public Utilities Commission to executives of landline telcos, mobile carriers and cable companies. It warns telecoms companies that the “CPUC plans to take action to provide emergency customer protection measures for customers in California to prevent disconnections for unpaid bills” during the corona virus emergency.… More

U.S. broadband is expensive, even more so where bundles aren’t available

2 January 2019 by Steve Blum
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Us ave broadband price 2feb2018

The U.S. is in the bottom half of the broadband price league table, according to a report by the Federal Communications Commission. It was published last February, but I just unearthed it and had a chance to take a hard look at the numbers. When you take both standalone and bundled Internet service packages into account, and weight it by the FCC’s market share figures of 25% standalone and 75% bundled subscriptions, the average monthly price ranges from $38 per month to $74 per month, depending on speed.… More

With end of net neutrality, cable companies can put brakes on subscriber slide

26 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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Fewer than half of U.S. households have traditional cable television subscriptions, according to research done by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). With the end of network neutrality rules, cable companies, AT&T and, to a lesser extent, other telcos will be able to fight this trend more aggressively. Even if they can’t stop or even slow it, they can use their monopoly broadband gatekeeper power to rake in a greater share of subscriber revenue.

Cable TV subscriptions have been trending downward over the five years that PWC has been running this survey.… More

Cable lobby argues California lawmakers should bless Internet slow lanes

25 January 2018 by Steve Blum
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Cable operators want to sell Internet fast lanes to those who are are willing to pay, thereby consigning those who don’t to the slow lane. That was the clear message from Carolyn McIntyre, the president of the California Cable and Telecommunications Association, which is the main lobbying front for Comcast, Charter and most other cable operators in the state. She spoke out against senate bill 460 – a network neutrality revival bill introduced by senator Kevin de Leon (D – Los Angeles) – during a senate judiciary committee hearing yesterday.… More

UK considers making ISPs, particularly cable companies, tell customers the truth

29 October 2017 by Steve Blum
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A consumer protection proposal by the United Kingdom’s telecoms regulator does two useful things: it would require Internet service providers to state a minimum speed they’ll deliver, even under peak load conditions, and it takes a big step towards eliminating the artificial distinction between telephone and cable companies.

The U.K.’s office of communications – Ofcom – says it’s planning to do three things…

  • Improve speed information at the point of sale and in contracts, by reflecting the slower speeds people can experience at ‘peak’ times; and by ensuring providers always give a minimum guaranteed speed before sale.
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Cord cutters hurt cable but are killing AT&T

22 October 2017 by Steve Blum
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AT&T’s overall television subscriber count is down, despite the strong growth of of its online video service, DirecTv Now. That’s according to a federal securities and exchange commission filing by the company. Even though it signed up 300,000 new online viewers to DirectTv Now in the third quarter of this year, its total video subscription count dropped by 90,000 according to the filing…

The video net losses were driven by heightened competition in traditional pay TV markets and over-the-top services, hurricanes and our stricter credit standards.

… More