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Comcast Pays Overdue Fees, Offers Freebies For TWC Merger Approval
WheezyJoe writes: In seeking more support for its mega-merger with Time-Warner Cable, Comcast has been going across the country giving local governments a chance to ask for favors in exchange for approving a franchise transfer. In Minneapolis, this turned up an unpaid bill of $40,000 in overdue franchise fees, so Comcast will have to pay the city money it already owed in order to get the franchise transfer. Comcast will also throw in $50,000 worth of free service and equipment.
"Thirty Minneapolis city buildings will get free basic cable for the next seven years as part of a package of concessions (PDF) the city wrung out of Comcast in exchange for blessing its proposed merger with fellow cable giant Time Warner," Minnesota Public Radio reported. The article notes that getting any kind of refund out of a cable company is not easy.
Part of the deal with Minneapolis involves the spinoff of a new cable company called GreatLand Connections that will serve 2.5 million customers in the Midwest and Southeast, including Minnesota. After the deal, Comcast's franchises in those areas would be transferred to GreatLand. Such goodwill concessions may seem impressive as Comcast seeks to foster goodwill, but one wonders how Comcast/Time Warner will behave after the merger.
"Thirty Minneapolis city buildings will get free basic cable for the next seven years as part of a package of concessions (PDF) the city wrung out of Comcast in exchange for blessing its proposed merger with fellow cable giant Time Warner," Minnesota Public Radio reported. The article notes that getting any kind of refund out of a cable company is not easy.
Part of the deal with Minneapolis involves the spinoff of a new cable company called GreatLand Connections that will serve 2.5 million customers in the Midwest and Southeast, including Minnesota. After the deal, Comcast's franchises in those areas would be transferred to GreatLand. Such goodwill concessions may seem impressive as Comcast seeks to foster goodwill, but one wonders how Comcast/Time Warner will behave after the merger.
They should be dissolved, not merged.
"Thirty Minneapolis city buildings will get free basic cable for the next seven years"
Which is to say Comcast is helping Minneapolis increase taxes. We all know there's no such thing as "free," so this is simply a hidden tax on cable subscribers, who will now be subsidizing municipal cable.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
local access channel in HD but what about main channels in HD?
Comcast is lagging big time next to other systems.
Comcast is paying off citys and people in GOV to rip us all off.
"Complimentary Service. Comcast will provide 3complimentarydigital converters to 30 municipal locations.Comcast will also provide an additional 40 HD converterboxes to be placed at the City’s discretion. The City is currently receiving no complimentary service; this will allow the City to save approximately $50,000 per year"
Save $50k PER YEAR. Plus a few other bits like HD public access channels.
Still don't like it, but at least be accurate.
....just how can you be bought? And how cheaply?"
Also, shouldn't Minneapolis' club being removing the franchise for the unpaid franchise fee? If I don't pay Comcast, they turn off my cable.
I know, as a cartel-based geographically-monopolistic corporation it may look like I think I can do what I want and ignore these fees. But here I am trying to be a good upstanding corporation. I'll even give you a cut. Make me bigger and I'll promise... It'll all work out.
"Basic cable": 1GB monthly cap at some ridiculously low bitrate and/or contended connections (like, one 10MBit fibre into a tower or some shit to a 500:1 contention ratio), pay-for terminal equipment (great, superfast BB but you have to pay to rent the box or you get BC when you take out a phone/tv bundle). Or are we talking about "Basic cable TV" which'll be offered in a similar way: 20 channels bundled when you take a phone/BB deal?
I've seen this shit before.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
Part of the merger should be the requirement that franchise fees across the country need to be made illegal. They are only used to limit competition in a legal form.
The franchise agreement in my town states that no other cable company can sell services here. That's wrong.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Let's see, they promised to provide decent service, pay their fees, etc. but never did. So we PROMISE to bless the merger if you provide decent service, pay your fees, etc.
The only way Comcast can be stopped is with bloodshed
To see anybody even considering this only illustrates how easy they fall for every con in the book, and not even new ones. This shell game goes back to ancient times.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Hey, you guys remember that time that the US government was so corrupt and greedy that they allowed the two worst companies in America to combine into one mega company and literally destroy the internet as we knew it?
That was awesome.
This is so obviously bribery it isn't even funny anymore. Obviously nobody will do anything about that. There will be no investigation. There will be nobody actually trying to stop it.
The merger will go on and I would not be surprised if they did not even pay out their bribery.
I can imagine that some of the big shots will get a much larger bonus when the merger goes through.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Much like lobbyists and donations - it's obviously a well calculated cost. Spread around the freebies when you want something, because the upside once you get it is a thousand times more profitable! Yay for obvious corruption.
Comcast has been going across the country giving local governments a chance to pay bribes in exchange for approving a franchise transfer.
FTFY
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
One Comcast to bring them all and in the baksheesh bind them
In the Land of 'murica where the infomercials lie."
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
One wonders how Comcast/TimeWarner will behave after the merger.
After being held accountable for, what to them, is tens of dollars in past due franchise fees, and then bribing gov't officials fully & legally right under our noses,
I would say their incentive to improve is infinitesimal.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Such goodwill concessions may seem impressive as Comcast seeks to foster goodwill, but one wonders how Comcast/Time Warner will behave after the merger.
If you think they will do anything other than go back to being the giant pile of donkey feces that they have always been, you need to share what you are on.
general public: you are by far the worst internet service provider on the planet. There are detainees being tortured in guantanamo right now with better internet access than us.
Comcast: It is comcastic. it bundles its service. it does this whenever its told.
FCC: seriously guys we have quantifiable data that shows people prefer packet radio and tin cans to you. Also its pretty obvious we're going to pass some common carrier regulation
Comcast: Is it because we aren't comcastic enough? Here, We'll merge with Time Warner and then you can experience the best service. also bundle it.
FTC: guise, this is the opposite of a solution. you would literally own half the US internet. No dice.
Comcast: How about we do you....a favour....Minnesota, just this once because we're buds like that
Minnesota: What? we--
Comcast: ssshhhhhhhhh its comcastic.....its comcastic.....
Minnesota:...right. uh, any chance you could pay the franchise fee you've been ignoring?
FTC Jesus Comcast....
Comcast: HE BUNDLES TOO WE ALL BUNDLE WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT
Good people go to bed earlier.
What the fuck is a government building going to do with basic cable? (which is basically 14 channels).
When Governments are for sale, it is folly to blame it people and companies for utilizing the bribery provision that is then legal. In a large country, someone WILL do it. And, will succeed, and survive (in business). Eventually, all that survive will be bribers. The problem is not the bribers. The problem is that the Govt. is for sale. It is funny, therefore, to see people call for even more Govt. laws to solve these problems. The critterbugs that reach there are always for sale. Always. Show me one honest Govt. that has ever ruled the earth. The more and more aspects of our lives the Govt. controls, the more you will see of this. Government's sole purpose should be maintenance of law and order and national security. If they can bungle it so bad, taking us into fake wars, do you really want to trust them with other jobs? Really? No wonder we see such bribery...
Paying the bill you owe seems nice, but it doesn't make the merger smell better.
The concession that a city should ask for is that the resulting cable company no longer has an exclusive franchise.
If there was any serious competition to comcast in my area I'd switch. But we have nothing. ATT U-Verse at half the speed and the same price, or comcast with 1.8th the support and customer service.
I'd gladly pay 35% more for 100mbps internet with a 10mbps uplink.
Giving away basic cable, which for buildings already wired has a marginal per-unit cost approximating zero, in exchange for a quid-pro-quo from a political entity sounds like public corruption to me.
Each year, the system costs $300 million
Each year the system can transmit 500 gigabytes/second * 3,600 seconds/hour * 24 hours/day * 365 days/year = 15.7 billion gigabytes
$300 million/15.7 billion gigabytes = 1.9 cents per gigabyte.
The 350GB cap cost them $6.93 in 2011 and it's even cheaper today.
http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/brainstuff/what-does-a-gigabyte-of-internet-service-really-cost-a-look-at-the-worst-case-scenario.htm
Comcast haram ?
No, one does not. One actually has a pretty darned good idea.
I predict that within 10 years GreatLand Connections will be purchased by Comcast/TW.
"Information wants to be expensive" - Stewart Brand, the same guy who said "Information wants to be free"
I was under the impression that offering money in exchange for political favours was illegal. I mean the usual end run around these issues is support for a re-election campaign; this seems a bit more obviously over the line.
*sigh* plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
We really need a term for "giving money to a political body in exchange for their support". Hmm. They are basically, offering to wash the windows or give "free" internet access in exchange for support. Maybe we could make the term from the old French term "bribeor", which means "begger". Of course, it's a verb, so lets put a "y" on the end of it. Bribeory. That would work. Maybe somewhere along the line the spelling can get simplified a bit.
"Occasionally declare peace, it confuses the hell out of your enemies"
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