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Cable competition could cut costs
Article published on Friday, Oct. 28, 2005 |
Editor:
I read with interest a recent October newspaper article: “Verizon’s arrival cuts cable prices in Dallas area.”
According to the article, the new cable TV package being offered in Dallas under competition costs $43.95 compared to the current monopoly package of $68.99. Here in the St. Petersburg area, it appears that basic cable (the one you need to see the picture but don’t get any special channels) is $46.49. The cheapest digital cable is $55.49 a month, and the premiere package is $116 a month.
I would love to see what the prices would be – and what the package options would be – if we had other realistic and truly competitive companies that wanted to offer cable TV in St. Petersburg. The article makes it clear that when monopolies like cable TV have to compete, prices fall. So why haven’t the cable monopolies fallen yet? It’s because lawmakers in every state but Texas haven’t changed the law that make it happen, but when they do change laws, it always benefits the communication companies, such as the Florida Telecommunication Act of 1995 which has kept out real competition and continued to raise consumer pricing.
A lot of people complain about the price of cable television. Well, the opportunity is here to do more than talk. As a charter member of Consumers for Cable Choice, I have been working to encourage Americans across the country to speak up about the need for competition in the cable industry. If you’re like me, you want Florida to be the next place cable competition comes.
Ernie Bach
Executive Director of Florida Action Coalition Team and former Largo commissioner
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Article published on Friday, Oct. 28, 2005
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