Cable Providers

[lammius]

This thread has been started out of my frustration over a recent switch to Comcast. At my old place I had Cablevision. They were great! The service was never out, I had 150 channels of TV, 8mbps HSI, and digital phone, all for just under $100/month!

But since cable services are monopolies of sorts in New Jersey, I was unable to elect to stay with Cablevision when I moved to my new place. The only provider is Comcast. The problems I had with them came the first time I visited their website. I noticed that for a package similar to what I had with Cablevision I would be getting fewer channels (less than 90) and a slower internet connection speed. It was also more expensive ("enhansed basic" TV and 6 mbps HSI fpr $97!).

We (my roommate and I) decided to suck it up and go with them anyway (what choice did we have?). We made an appointment for installation. I took 1/2 day off work to wait for the guy. He didn't show. So we had to get on the end of the list again and wait two more weeks for a hookup! So almost a month after moving in we finally got hooked up. Today we got our first bill. On it was an installation fee of $92!!!!!! With Cablevision there was no installation fee. This is highway robbery IMO!

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Anyway, so what do you guys think about the cable providers available in New Jersey? Which service do you have? Are you happy with them?

Do you support the move in Trenton to break open the cable monopoly (what the Cablevision TV commercials call the Verizon Cable TAX!), or do you think opening the market to competition could be a bad thing for New Jersey residents in the end?

[Recchia]

There really is no competition anywhere for cable companies. You basically have to use the service thats offered there. This is really odd to me, especially in a huge metro like New York. How can one single company dominate 18 million people?

In Rhode Island we have COX Cable only now. They have pretty good service though, and are really reliable with appointments. Not too expensive either, I pay 61.50/month for cable internet and 70 channels of cable.

[lammius]

There really is no competition anywhere for cable companies. You basically have to use the service thats offered there. This is really odd to me, especially in a huge metro like New York. How can one single company dominate 18 million people?

In Rhode Island we have COX Cable only now. They have pretty good service though, and are really reliable with appointments. Not too expensive either, I pay 61.50/month for cable internet and 70 channels of cable.

I had Cox when I lived in Virginia, and don't remember having any complaints with them.

In NY/NJ there isn't only one cable company serving the entire area. The cable monopoly is decided town-by-town. I live in Montclair, NJ so I have Comcast. A friend of mine lives two towns over and has Cablevision. A town or two in the other direction may have Time Warner. There's really no method to the madness!

[MadVlad]

I had Cox when I lived in Virginia, and don't remember having any complaints with them.

In NY/NJ there isn't only one cable company serving the entire area. The cable monopoly is decided town-by-town. I live in Montclair, NJ so I have Comcast. A friend of mine lives two towns over and has Cablevision. A town or two in the other direction may have Time Warner. There's really no method to the madness!

[monsoon]

Most people can get DSL and a satellite dish if they don't like cable. The state of broadband in this country is petty bad though.

[MadVlad]

Right, but as far as cable specifically, you can't pick one cable company or the other, you have to use the one in your area. The phone companies will soon be offering service that is simlar, so the party's over for the Cable companies....

[Cotuit]

Most people can get DSL and a satellite dish if they don't like cable. The state of broadband in this country is petty bad though.