Customers get attention of local cable company
At one time, not long ago, there was a saying, “As GM goes, so goes the nation.”
Well, we have seen that even the powerful can allow selfishness to bring down an empire.
Now the local cable TV franchise is testing the waters of little competition with a plan to charge customers as much additionally for the Internet as it can get by with.
I was the first operating manager of Cablevision of Greensboro and then one of three regional managers for the parent company, Jefferson Pilot Corp.
We opened our service with the Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem channels and mandated WUNC educational stations plus the New York stock market ticker tape, news and weather (before News 14), as well as each Greensboro City Council meeting
Oh, and we had a music channel.
The present franchisee has temporarily shelved its additional charges.
Thanks to the citizens of Greensboro (and the area) for letting them know that you still pay their salaries and bonuses.
Jack W. Gourley
High Point
Comments (4)
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I discontinued my rr internet service because of this. (see how it works? the market is perfectly capable of policing itself)
Posted on May 5, 2009 6:52 AM
When I went over to the Spring Garden TWC location to turn in my cable modem, I noticed about 10 other people there, doing the same thing. Looks like you're right Neo.
Posted on May 5, 2009 9:13 AM
This is an important victory. In a couple of years the internet is going to be an important vehicle of content delivery which will devalue the cable monopolies. Right now you can get many of the same shows that you get on cable and you can get them when you want them. (the interface is difficult though). Netflicks has 12,000+ movies on demand (and rising).
If bandwidth charges become the norm then a: it retards the growth of this new and exciting technology (preserving the monopoly for a while longer) and b: provides a windfall revenue stream at the expense of the same folks that TW has been gouging all of these years.
I concur with the writer. Thanks for letting these guys know how you feel.
Posted on May 5, 2009 11:53 AM
This is why my boyfriend and I have our internet through our cell phone company. (We don't have a desktop, just our two laptops). With Sprint, we pay $60/month for unlimited usage on our aircard. And we actually pay less than that thanks to Sprint's discount for fire and EMS personnel.
Posted on May 5, 2009 1:35 PM