[Nolug] Cable companies

Hi Charles.

> I do have to ask however, how "your" tax dollars paid for anything
> Cox has upgraded or services we currently offer?

My taxes paid for the public right-of-ways which Cox uses to run their cable.
 Without them, Cox wouldn't need a contract with the parish to do business.
Without them the cost of setting up and operating a cable TV system would be
MUCH, MUCH, MUCH higher. The parish lets Cox use their property and in return
Cox pays them a royalty.

The parish gave Cox a long term contract - 11 years, if memory serves. Thus
Cox had the necessary time to grow and recoup its initial investment before
facing the competition of a contract renewal.

> We do have and will continue to have competition from many vendors.

I should point out that Cox's deal with the parish is a non-exclusive
franchise. But just about everyone acknowledges that it is really a virtual
monopoly. I asked the Cox lawyer in what percentage of their installations
they competed with another cable company. I didn't get a response. I also
asked the Council how many other companies had applied for franchises since
Cox's was granted. The answer was "None".

> As for open access. I believe our customers will drive how we do business.

In a free-enterprise system, yes. A monopoly doesn't need to listen to its
customers.

> I too would love to sit back and watch a company or industry spend
> millions or billions of dollars developing a technology and upgrading
> the infrastructure to carry the technology. Once they've got it going ...

Let Cox sell access, just as BellSouth does for ADSL.

Again, my beef isn't with Cox. They are just doing what comes natural. My
beef is with the FCC and the legislators who allow a monopoly to compete
outside the area it was designed for.

John

John Souvestre - Southern Star - 504-888-3348 - http://www.sstar.com
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Received on 12/15/02