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Consumer Issues

  • In an open and competitive system, consumers should pay less and get more. In the closed AT&T/Comcast de facto monopoly, consumers pay more and get less.
  • Under an AT&T/Comcast de facto monopoly, "free-choice" consumers will have to pay twice to get high-speed cable access to the Internet service of their choice.
  • This "pay twice" monopoly discriminates against people of limited means, and widens the gap between the technology "haves" and "have nots".
  • An open system will ensure that consumers have competitive prices and wider choices that will not be available under the cable industry's monopolistic system.
  • AT&T and Comcast's respective exclusive control of the cable franchises in communities across the country has already been marked by consumer frustration and higher prices, remember, they are the cable company, enough said!

Bigger Issues
  • An ISP controls the flow of information between you and the Net, do we really want to afford one company all of this control?
  • An ISP can force you to view content one their web pages, including causing ads to pop up. Do we really want a monopoly with this kind of advertising power?
  • An ISP can either SPAM or reject SPAM. Do we really want to trust the cable companies to do the right thing?
  • An ISP can choose to terminate your account for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons may be justified in one person's mind, but not justified to another person. When an account is terminated where there is just one choice, what is that persons recourse?
Without competition, the consumer is left to simply hope for the best. When a company maintains a de facto monopoly, what is that company going to base their decisions on? Their captive customer's best interests or the advertising dollars that are sure to come flow their way? Who loses in this scenario? We believe it is the the consumer that loses.