Comcast and Verizon like to debate the technical merits of their broadband Internet services, but even as a geek, I don’t care anymore. Internet access is a commodity, and the lowest price wins. Unfortunately, the virtual duopoly local phone and cable companies enjoy, there’s little real competition on price.
I called Verizon yesterday to see if I could get a better deal on my current DSL in light of a discounted offer from Comcast. I found out that they had already raised prices and only way to get a deal was to add an unnecessary phone line with more hidden fees than the line itself would cost. (The fact that I also pay them a bunch of money for my cellphone apparently counts for nothing.)
Comcast, meanwhile, continues to raise prices at a good margin over the inflation rate. They claim to be giving you more bandwidth than before, though they’re really just activating dormant capacity they’ve always had.
With promotions, I’ve flip-flopped several times to save a few bucks, but termination fees and time spent reconfiguring quickly erode the savings. In summary, I don’t think there are any good deals out there and like any addict I’ll just have to suck it up and pay what the dealer wants.
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