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To: mlo
There doesn't need to be a government rule to enforce that. This is how markets work.

I've had VONAGE phone service for nearly TEN years.

I had it some two years before Comcast even offered it.

After Comcast began offering it and getting me to try to switch from Vonage to Comcast's phone service.. for nearly a year and a half I had a constant problem with being in the middle of a phone conversation and suddenly losing connectivity. This would happen 60% of the time I was on a call that lasted longer than 7 minutes.

I eventually found out through a Comcast technician that this was a Comcast tactic employed to get non-Comcast phone service users to switch to Comcast.

My point: Comcast had the upper hand of CONTROL because Vonage needed an Internet connection to pass through in order to work.

Comcast CONTROLLED that connectivity. My only alternative for connectivity at the time was AT&T's DSL, which IMO was inferior and cost nearly as much as Comcast.

By the way.. during this interruptive period I was deluged with emails, snail mail ads, and TV commercials trying to sell users, like myself, on Comcast's Internet phone service.

ALL of this happened during a period when there was NO NET NEUTRALITY. Between 2005 and 2012, five attempts to pass bills in Congress containing net neutrality provisions failed. Each sought to prohibit Internet service providers from using various variable pricing models based upon the user's quality of service level, described as tiered service in the industry and as price discrimination arising from abuse of "local monopolies enshrined in law" by some economists

Net Neutrality came into existence in 2015.

61 posted on 12/15/2017 10:32:52 AM PST by VideoDoctor
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To: VideoDoctor
Comcast CONTROLLED that connectivity. My only alternative for connectivity at the time was AT&T's DSL, which IMO was inferior and cost nearly as much as Comcast.

And we all know that the best way to increase competition and choices is to get government involved. After all, the ACA has done wonders for the availability and affordability of health care.

Government is not the answer for this particular problem. They will stagnate the issue at the point they got their grubby mits on it. If a company treats its customers poorly, in a free market other companies will step forward to offer better services and products.

64 posted on 12/15/2017 10:43:22 AM PST by dirtboy
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To: VideoDoctor

I used to have problems with my carrier’s voip service. Then I switched to Basic Talk and haven’t had a problem since. Saves me $30/month, too.

Maybe NN would have helped TWC have better voip.


84 posted on 12/15/2017 11:53:42 AM PST by beef
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To: VideoDoctor
"My point: Comcast had the upper hand of CONTROL because Vonage needed an Internet connection to pass through in order to work."

And you had the option to change providers because of the way Comcast handled that. You were using Comcast's wires. They had the choice of how to manage their offering. You had the choice of being their customer. This is no different than any other business.

108 posted on 12/15/2017 4:46:52 PM PST by mlo
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