[TriLUG] TWC "Existing Customer Promotion"

[Sean Alexandre]

On Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 06:26:39PM -0400, bak wrote:
> > This hardly seems like deregulation.
> 
> I agree completely.
> 
> I think the term is actually “regulatory capture”.

A related article from yesterday:

If You Want To Fix U.S. Broadband Competition, Start By Killing State-Level Protectionist Laws Written By Duopolists
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140308/06040526491/if-you-want-to-fix-us-broadband-competition-start-killing-state-level-protectionist-laws-written-duopolists.shtml

"For fifteen years now I've watched as phone and cable duopolies lobby to pass
draft legislation designed to keep broadband uncompetitive...

"Fortunately, with Google Fiber's entry into the market I've seen a renewed
flurry of attention on these bills, in large part because several would have
impacted Google Fiber's expansion, and Google Fiber, as I've noted, appears to
have captured the imagination of the public...

"A few years ago, these bills would have flown through state legislatures with
nary a mention. Not only are new bills starting to fail more regularly under
heightened public awareness, I'm starting to see -- for the first time in my
many years covering the industry -- pushes to roll back some of these
ridiculous protectionist measures...

"Yes, god forbid you'd have to face a new competitor and adjust your business
model accordingly; you might even have to work with a local government to
determine what works best in each region! Meanwhile, Google Fiber's recent
announcement to help 34 cities in nine regional markets examine local fiber
needs should bring greater attention to the issue. Google intentionally
targeted regions like North and South Carolina, where regional incumbent Time
Warner Cable passed protectionist bills a few years ago (on their fourth try).
It only took fifteen years, but we're only just starting to see people realize
that perhaps letting your regional duopolists write laws dictating what you can
and can't do for your own community might not be the best idea."