With the holiday season upon us, there is no doubt that our gift giving budgets will be stretched to the maximum. Of course, we will try to get the greatest value possible for the dollars we spend.
However, the idea of watching one’s budget does not only happen around the holidays, it is an area of life that we deal with on a daily basis. At times, it can be rewarding to know we are saving money, but at other times it can be downright frustrating when we owe more than expected.
This same philosophy holds true in the telecom industry. There is no doubt, at least here in the United States, that we expect great service, which includes Internet access at blazing speeds, as well as access to a wide variety of cable television formats. However, that can also be an expensive proposition. For instance, with Comcast, the basic fee for Internet services costs on average is $80.00 per month. When you add more services to your plan, the costs can easily swell to over $150.00 per month and, sometimes, over $200.00 a month!
The problem is that not everyone can afford these staggering prices. Thus, in an effort to make Internet access and cable television more affordable, three telecom giants have introduced a new plan to bring down the cost of Internet access to as low as $14.99 per month. These three vendors include the following:
- Time Warner Cable
- Bright House Networks
- Charter Communications
However, there is a caveat to getting this price. In order to subscribe to this very cheap plan, an individual or a family must prove their income (or other assets) is low enough to actually qualify. In a way, it is really like signing up for a subsidized medical insurance plan, but without as much red tape.
According to Tom Rutledge, CEO of Charter Communications, “Recognizing the central role broadband plays in our daily lives and the economic challenges faced by many Americans today, we look forward to launching this offering that will provide more consumers a superior broadband service . . . low-income families deserve state-of-the-art fast broadband as much as other families – indeed, they need fast broadband to climb out of poverty . . . this program seems to be a step in the right direction for improved economic conditions for minority and low-income communities.” (SOURCE: https://www.fiercecable.com/cable/charter-announces-details-for-low-cost-broadband-service-30-mbps-for-14-99-per-month).
GeoTel Communications, LLC, provides fiber route maps that help businesses visualize telecom data and locate fiber for predictive analytics and location based intelligence. If interested in obtaining these datasets, call 407.788.8888.
