Dean's World

You've got part of it: they want to keep you off that fiber.

The other part of locking you into a contract is their valuation. I'm no stock expert, but here is how it was explained to me.

When you're on month to month with them, your payments are classified as one sort of asset, one that's risky and subject to fluctuation. But when you're on a contract, that's a guaranteed receivable for them. It counts as a different sort of asset, one which looks better on the bottom line for them.

Now it gets more important (for them) from there. Because their bottom line looks better, their stock value tends to go up. Analysts move from sell to hold or hold to buy, which bumps up the price. And today, that stock valuation matters a lot, because we keep going through periodic bursts of mergers in the communications industries. If their stock value is up, it helps them to acquire another company, because often the medium of exchange is stock, not dollars. Or if the sale is in dollars, they can sell some stock off to raise dollars, or maybe use it to collateralize loans.

Meanwhile, if they're trying to avoid being acquired, a high stock value makes them more expensive to purchase. So it's a defense. Or conversely, if they want to be acquired, then they want to get as much money for the sale as possible. So again, a high stock value is in their interest.

So the net result is that everybody in the communications business wants to lock you into a contract. And personally, I'm happy to let them lock me in, as long as there's something pretty decent in it for me. Premium packages won't cut it for me, because we don't have time to watch the channels we have now, and we own more DVDs than we could watch in a month. But if T-Mobile cuts me a deal on a good Windows Mobile phone -- say, a couple hundred off list -- I'll be happy to boost their bottom line a bit. After all, they're practically the only carrier in my neighborhood anyway, so I'm not likely to switch. I wouldn't be giving up much.

I've been a Comcast Internet user for years, and I've been pretty happy with the Internet service, overall. I tend to spend a lot of time helping friends and family get on broadband and/or wireless access points setup correctly, and I've become very unhappy with the software crap Comcast and the other DSL vendors push on you. Often, your Internet connection refuses to work unless you install this crap - sometimes it's a MAC address registration issue, sometimes it's something different (like "support" software that has to call back to their server on a regular basis).

I've learned a little trick: pretend you are a Linux user. It usually goes something like this:

(Calling to Tech Support)

Me - Yeah, I'm trying to get my new Internet connection to work, but apparently nothing will happen until I install your software.

Tech - Yes, that's right! Let me help you...

Me - Wait, you don't understand. I don't use Windows or Mac. I run Linux.

Tech - Uhhmmm. You run Linux? Uh, do you have a Windows or Mac system that we can use to get the software installed?

Me - Nope. Just Linux.

Tech - *sigh* Oh, you are one of those people. Okay, let me just do [insert whatever technical explanation they use here] and it will work. Give it a try.

Me - Yep, I'm up!

Tech - Okay, thanks for calling...

I've helped 6 friends get hooked up on DSL or Comcast in the past few months and this has worked like a charm. Only once has the tech actually tried to ask me questions, like what linux distro I use, etc. Since I actually have a spare computer running linux, and I'm reasonably familiar with linux overall, it was easy to keep up with his questions until he gave up. :-)

Anyway, that's how I keep that software crap off my computers! I'm pretty envious with that fiber deal, let us know how it goes will'ya?

-Rod

It still amazes me how cable has pretty much gotten away with becoming a monopoly in the modern era. Living in the Northeast and having many friends who have worked at Comcast at one time or another has also shown me just how arrogant a company can be. Honestly, I would have cut over to satellite years ago if the Wife really hated the dish on the house (yet doesn't mind our collapsing gutters! WTF?)

Competition is good. We need competition in broadband and TV now more than ever.

FIOS. Yum!!!

It still amazes me how cable has pretty much gotten away with becoming a monopoly in the modern era.

Well, they do have satellite and DSL as competitors. Keep in mind too that they also took on MASSIVE amounts of debt building the infrastructure to turn one-way cable delivery into two-way broadband Internet.

Victor, you must be my neighbor!

To add insult to injury, every three or four months the mice get into the nearest phone box, build a nest, and chew through the wires. I have three lines to the house, so fortunately two are still working tonight.