17 Comments

I'd some similar thoughts a day or two ago about the few monopolistic companies that control consumer internet access these days. I was reminded of an old SNL skit which at about 45 years old, is still relevant with the tagline "We're the phone company, we don't care". I didn't actually see it when it came out as I was just 2 1/2 months old at the time. https://vimeo.com/355556831

Still funny that even with technology, history repeats.

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Ah, Zeynep. First of all, how can you call them "hidden fees" when they are hidden in plain sight? Consider how fortunate you are to overpay for something that 40% of New York City residents can't afford, and that would be substantially cheaper if you got it, say, Indonesia. But as Andre Gregory said in the movie, My Dinner with Andre, Manhattan is a concentration camp where all the inmates have convinced themselves there is no better place in the world to live, so welcome, welcome! But one thing about the flooded subway pics you shared--while it is distressing to have to walk through a few feet of water to get to one's train, I need to point out that in the background of the first clip you shared, you can clearly see the train arriving on the platform. That is true NY grit on display.

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Before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau came into being in the early 2000s I spent hours on the phone with Sprint customer service trying to get them to acknowledge that we’d paid our phone bills and sent multiple copies of the cashed checks. It’s so horribly Kafka-esque. I don’t want to be the one who encourages complaining but filing a complaint with the CFPB completely shut down the maddening hamster wheel that Sprint had had us on for 6 months.

But yes. In general, America’s self-image constrasted with the state of our infrastructure is mind-boggling.

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Why is infrastructure so poor? Privatize everything and then act surprised when less financially advantaged areas have poorer results. And be amazed when Cable companies .05/.10 new subscribers like you at every turn. Le plus ca change….

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https://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/local-news/palmyra-house-severely-damaged-after-spectrum-truck-crashes-into-it-driver-hospitalized/

This news item via my friend, a Spectrum employee. I'll sum up for those who hate links:

-Spectrum van, driven by Spectrum employee, hits house going fast enough (>80?) to fully enter and fall into the basement!

-Homeowner learns the house will have to be razed because of the damage (mostly because how else to remove the van?)

-Homeowner, as you may have guessed, is a Spectrum customer!

-Homeowner calls to cancel service, bc a destroyed house doesn't need it, is told that 'before service is cancelled they have to return the leased equipment that belongs to Spectrum' (I know what you are thinking, they weren't talking about the VAN)

-Spectrum sent customer a bill anyway for service cancellation.

My friend says you got off easy, Zeynep!

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My brother bought a turnkey business in the early 90's, and the first phone bill we got had a line item for $15/month equipment lease. It was for the three 10-pound desk phones that were in the building. They might have even had dials. We called the phone company and told them take it off the bill, and come get your shi!!y phones.

They took it off the bill.

They couldn't have cared less about the phones.

I guess the scam still works (just not on you:).

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I moved recently to the Netherlands after living in the United States for 25 years (a fellow Turk like yourself). It’s been mind boggling and frustrating to me, the slow but increasingly accelerated down slide on so many fronts in the US whether it be institutional oversight, regulatory capture, or political gridlock. It’s become such an average -citizen hostile place on many of the basics, maybe it’s a good thing we Americans don’t travel too much.

For reference: I pay 25 Euros a month for a Gigagbit connection. No bullshit fees (they do provide a router and a WiFi modem for no fee), no bullshit upsell of anything (I don’t have/care for TV) and it’s the full price (typical in Europe - taxes are part of the price). There was recently an article about the Dutch government and public/private about the high cost of internet in the Netherlands. Gives you an idea of where priorities lie.

In general I think it’s a matter of knowing who the ultimate constituent is and being almost dogmatic about it. And maybe a citizenry that is aware and good at complaining and shaming. The regulatory/ administrative zeal of Europe does well on these types of issues. There are many things I like in the US but when I think about it it’s mostly convenience stuff. I find myself feeling a lot less guilty here when I check out at a grocery line or have food delivered. The grocery/delivery person has health insurance. They’re getting a living wage (or support to get to a minimum level). I do pay higher taxes (which are also super transparent and understandable) - but the basics for all citizens in this large village/country regardless of their current place in life meet a basic human standard.

It’s not perfect by any stretch - some are more equal than others for sure but much is done to try to get people to the same place as far as opportunity (the thing I used to believe in naively when I first came to the US).

Despite all this frustration I still do love the US. I think it’s on the average one of the most accepting places for immigrants (as always - experiences can be very polarized). I don’t know what it is - maybe it’s that the country seems to absorb without too much fuss people coming in and despite the national level rhetoric, locally one can view the naturalized person with an odd accent as an American just as easily as someone native born.

We should and can do better on the basics. Or you can move to the 1% of the country that has 3 or more ISPs.

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I am a fellow New Yorker - let me know if you need anything or have a question! I live in Astoria, Queens. Best of luck!

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Monopoly misery that goes beyond simple pricing power. This is timely, just as the prez signs an order on competition!

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The new Moynihan Train Hall connected to Penn Station came with a $2 billion price tag…And apparently Amtrak didn’t even want it! It’s a nice showpiece, but I’m imaging what else 5,000 construction workers with a $2 billion budget could accomplish over a few years.

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I'm moving from outside the country to the Boston area. New house already has Comcast, so the cable is there and "free" self-install is an option. They also rent the cable modem for a constant fee forever, just like the pre-Carterfone AT&T. But I was able to move the chat session off of TV and movies and into just Internet in only a few lines. Discussion of what modem and what multi-channel access point went in circles and ended with a list to peruse of "compatible" equipment. Most of the cost is in the cable modem, which costs about a year's rental. If you buy your own instead. Their access point (or points -- I'l see how many antennas are waving when I open the box) is built-in, and seems to be the part that limits performance. Cable boxes are FAST. WiFi is less so. Fancy discounts (I wonder how long they apply) mask some of the rental charges for this.stuff.

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The providers are evil, but Congress + FCC are failing on purpose.

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I feel your pain.

Apparently “No, I do not watch cable TV,” is not semantically a valid sentence in English, up there with “I believe falsely.”

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