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ATT Raises Prices for Cable Modem Owners

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the no-we-own-you dept.

MBCook writes: "It appears that AT&T broadband doesn't like it when customers own their own cable modem. According to this article at ZDNet, ATT will be 'changing' their prices for all users. If you own your own cable modem, your bill is going up $7. If you lease your cable modem, you end up paying the same ammount you were before. I guess AT&T likes to milk it's customers. If I don't have a long distance service with any phone company, I have to pay for the privilage of not depending on them. Now I'll have to pay for the privilage of not depending on AT&T for a modem?"

2 of 382 comments (clear)

  1. How quickly we forget. by drxyzzy · · Score: 5, Informative
    There was a time when the Phone Company would only let you connect their phones to your local loop. And you heard a lot about how dangerous it would be to allow a person to hook up any third party equipment instead of bona fide Ma Bell telephones.

    In order to hook up a modem, you had to get a special Data Access Arrangement from them, for which the monthly charge was more than you'd pay for a modem today.

    Eternal vigilance, etc.

  2. Re:This is wrong... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    You are a retard. Read the article.

    Base fee (now): $35.95
    Cable modem surcharge (now): $10.00
    Total bill to lease the modem: $45.95
    Total bill w/o the modem: $35.95

    Base fee (June): $42.95
    Cable modem surcharge (June) $3.00
    Total bill to lease the modem: $45.95
    Total bill w/o the modem: $42.95

    Everyone is paying $7.00 more per month for the service. The difference is that people who lease their modem will not notice the difference because the lease fee has dropped.

    As often happens, the headline is not accurate, and no one else bothers to read the original article.

    There is no subsidy. Cable modems used to be $300. At $10.00/mo, the lease paid for the modem in 30 months. Now that cable modems are $100, dropping the lease to $3.00/month means that it is paid off in 33 months.

    The metrics are basically the same. You're just dumb.