This is exactly why I'm reluctant to sign on with a cell phone company and why I canceled my cable TV.
The federal government has required DSL providers to pay a universal service charge, which ranged anywhere between $1.25 and $3.00. The DSL companies would simply pass that charge on to customers. Well, now the government does not require that charge. So your DSL bill should drop by that amount, right?
Wrong.
While they dropped the federal charge, they simply added another surcharge of a little less than $3. They say this new charge is "intended to help offset costs we incur from our network supplier in providing Verizon Online DSL service. But guess who Verizon's network supplier is? Yup. Verizon.
These companies keep playing us for suckers and we keep buying it. I know, I know, "It's a only a couple of bucks. Calm down." Well, generally I don't have a couple of bucks to spare, much less give away. $40 a month to talk on the phone and and $70 just to be able to DVR the Daily Show are things of the past for me. I don't want to get rid of broadband, but if these greedy bastards don't quit trying to squeeze every last penny out of me, I may have to on principle. In 2000, when it was kinda-sorta new, my cable internet bill was $45. Today, six years later? $45.
$70 for cable?!?! Geez man. I pay around $58 and that is with TIVO and a second box in the bedroom. It gets a little more expensive soon because I get the NBA league pass every year, but nothing THAT high!
ReplyDeletewell let's see, the package that comes with comedy central is $48, to get dvr service you need the digital package = $10, then the comcast dvr = $10. I was much happier with satellite, but I still don't understand why in 2006 I cannot order channels a la carte.
ReplyDeleteAmen! I am so with you there on the a la carte issue. I really want the fox soccer channel(yeah, I know you hate soccer), but in order to get it, I have to get the $12/mo sports package which is 90% crap.
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