Bound By Cable!

One friend will just laugh at me over at least part of this (to prevent him busting his gut completely at my video addiction, I’ll avoid disclosing specific dollar amounts), but I want to ask a question.

Those of you who have cable television, are there any choices in your market? (No, Direct TV/satellite dish systems are not competition for cable, especially not when the one can offer high speed Internet connections and the other can’t.) Here in Pennsylvania the territory is carved up as if by so many mob bosses, and if one wants to have cable one has to deal with the local boss. Where we are these days, it’s Comcast.

There’s simply no convincing me that we aren’t in need of competition, and while I’ve been aware of that since the start I’ve just paid the bill (the enormous, monthly bill – which is already so large I haven’t been able to bring myself to add their Internet service, despite knowing how huge the increased speed, and therefore useful access, would be) and moved ahead.

Now… I’m starting to get interested in agitating for change.

To start, I’m trying to do a little fact-gathering. I need to see if cable monopolies have been busted in other parts of the U.S., and – even better – if it’s been done long enough for there to be some clear signs of long-term change in term of quality and cost of service. Knowing whether or not it’s been done elsewhere will make a significant difference in how I can approach my representatives. Obviously, I'm taking the lazy man's approach, but this has to be someone's hot button issue, and these fishing expeditions are one of the strengths of the 'net.

So, please, any information will be appreciated. Toss comments below, or use the email link near the top left of the site. Thanks in advance.

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