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Originally Posted by This'nThat
Did anyone else notice that Metrocast raised their rates by 6%? I just sent a message to them demanding that they roll back their rate increase and start looking for some cost savings instead. Did anyone's salary increase by 6%? Mine didn't. Is inflation running anywhere close to 6%? Not hardly. Did we get 6% worth of service quality increase from Metrocast this year? I didn't.
What gives them the right to do this? One word -- Monopoly. This, apparently, is what you get with a monopoly -- no price pressure at all. I wonder why they didn't simply increase rates by 20%, or 30%, just to really stick it to us.
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It's been a while since I was heavily involved in the cable tv industry (I worked in the industry and sat on the telecommunications board in my last town). The majority of the pricing is fairly well regulated by the FCC as I recall. They can charge so much for every channel in the basic lineup, etc. A lot of the prices are passed on to the MSO's by the content providers (HBO, etc.).
While I wouldn't hold them blameless, this is also not likely a case of Metrocast just randomly deciding to grant themselves a raise.
Metrocast may be the only catv company in the area but they are certainly not a monopoly. You can get over the air or satellite TV options, although you may find you like the channel lineup on Metrocast better.
Cable TV is really a luxury item when it comes down to it. If you don't like the prices, don't buy it. Voting with your wallet will carry more merit and influence than a letter "demanding" they adjust their pricing structure to what YOU deem reasonable.
I would also recommend (and this is directed more towards soxie) that you setup your own email account that is not tied to your Internet provider. There are plenty of free options (gmail, etc), that way when you change providers, or your provider changes names, people aren't left wondering how to reach you.