Service Providers (Internet, TV, Etc)

I dont think there is a DirecTV office. They had to mail me these boxes, they arrived a couple days before the technician appointment to install them all. The satellite companies usually don't have local offices like cable companies do.

It's funny you bring that up. I have genies with 1 old box still lingering that I rarely ever use in the kitchen. The response time between the 2 was so bad I ended up calling for a replacement on the final one.

Verizon replaced a box with a bad/dead IR receiver after 20 minutes on the phone with a tech who couldn't get it to work. Also had an issue with an older box after getting a sports package, went through their auto-menus and they detected that I "needed" 3 free upgrades to the latest model.

One new box had a dead LED light though, so instead of saying PLAY it says FLAY. Might make for a cool Game of Thrones picture.

For fun, vpn to YouTube and see what you get. I bet they throttle YouTube like at&t does.

I read about that earlier in the month. I didn't read much of the article, but is that essentially the nail in the coffin for the company?

It should be, do the crime pay the fine. But they'll probably get a slap on the wrist instead.

Dish is too big too fail!

Zero chance. Dish has serious issues but they'll settle that fine down to nearly nothing.

Why Romania's Internet Is So Much Faster Than America's | Motherboard

Better info in the comments than the article but it's still a decent read.

I want Google Fiber so bad, and I can't be alone. Joeboo, have they said anything about home values increasing in those areas that get Google Fiber first?

It's coming to Portland, and damn straight I'll be looking at getting a house in the area that first gets it.

AT&T: We're going to sue the government - Feb. 4, 2015

Will be fun to watch what happens and if the FCC caves

I hope that bullshit explodes in their goddamn face. Oh no cable internet providers aren't monopolistic at all. Not in the least. Cock suckers.

Tred_sl said:

I hope that bullshit explodes in their goddamn face. Oh no cable internet providers aren't monopolistic at all. Not in the least. Cock suckers.

Click to expand...

Especially hilarious coming from AT&T, seeing as they have been nailed before for being a monopoly.

Crone_sl said:

I want Google Fiber so bad, and I can't be alone. Joeboo, have they said anything about home values increasing in those areas that get Google Fiber first?

It's coming to Portland, and damn straight I'll be looking at getting a house in the area that first gets it.

Click to expand...

The general number that I see thrown around a lot is that Google estimates it will increase individual home property values by an average of 2-3%. While that doesn't sound like anything earth-shattering, who wouldn't pay a $300 install fee in order to be able to sell their house for $3000-$5000 more? (The average home price here in KC is probably around $150K).

I work in personal insurance, so we work with a lot of people on a daily basis who are buying homes, selling their homes, mortgage brokers looking to get insurance for their customers, etc. While I haven't really noticed a obvious divide yet between fiber-capable, and non-fiber properties in the single family home market, you can definitely see the effects of Google Fiber on apartment complexes and rental properties. It's one of the first amenities listed for properties that have access to it, and there was a story a while back here in the local paper that the average apartment can charge $50-$100 a month more in rent just for having Google Fiber acceess. That's also a damn good return on a $300, 1-time investment. Although to be fair, it is a little more daunting of an up-front cost for Apartment owners, as you have to pay $300 per unit, so you could be looking at some complexes facing an initial install charge of say, $30,000 if they have 100 units. Many large apartment complexes declined the service so far, also often because Time Warner cuts them a sweet deal on an exclusive contract. Many property owners who aren't really tech savvy look at the 2 options, pay Google $30,000 for install, or GET paid by Time Warner for signing an exclusive provider contract for your complex.