Proposed Comcast Time Warner Merger
Since I was asked about this by a client recently — I wanted to share my feelings with you. This also relates to my December 2013 newsletter where I advised on the pros and cons of ATT Internet vs. Cable internet (Comcast for most of you).

There is nothing exclusive about Comcast as a company. I don’t like them, specifically, over any other cable company. Unfortunately, except for those who live in Boston or NYC, we can only pick from one company per household. What I like is the TECHNOLOGY of cable internet.
1. Cable internet speeds are typically faster for the same or better price than the phone company can offer you.
2. Cable offers more freedom in terms of your Internet equipment. When you take ATT’s U-verse internet, you are forced to accept their combined modem and router unit. It’s a piece of junk. With cable Internet, you can have a separate modem and router. Therefore, its not a complete disaster if one fails and also traffic is better routed to the multiple devices you have accessing the internet in your home or workplace.

Time Warner Cable actually offers more freedom to their customers than Comcast. They are a really cool company in a rather boring industry. I hope the FCC does NOT allow this acquisition to take place.
Important Notes
1. Some of you may have received an e-mail from Comcast in the past week saying that they are doubling your internet speeds. This is for real. It’s not a scam. Comcast has regularly increased speeds over the past 10 years and kept price increases to a minimum. I can’t say the same for TV.
2. As a condition of their merger, Comcast has agreed to sell off about 3 million customers to Charter (the 4th largest cable company in the US. Comcast is not selling off any Connecticut accounts. Phew! They will actually be taking over some Charter accounts in parts of CT. Source: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Charter-Comcast-Strike-Deal-to-Swap-Subs-Launch-Spinoff-128725
3. I stand behind my advice from December. If Internet actually matters to you, if it means more than just a utility to you, then I think cable Internet is the way to go. I realize that for some of you it is just a utility and I’m not trying to tell you that you are wrong.
4. Especially for retirees (seniors) or people with health issues, I am not advising to change to Comcast home phone service. Once you change, you can never get back to plain old phone service with ATT. I know that a basic phone line with ATT costs about $40 a month, but if you were my mother or grandmother – I would tell you that the piece of mind you could have in a power outage is worth it.
5. I’m not a huge believer in bundles — from any company. If they give a you a 2-year offer in writing, with a 30 day right to cancel — then that is fine.
6. If you want to switch to (Comcast) cable internet — let me know. I will handle everything including picking the modem and router for you so you don’t have to rent them from Comcast (roughly $200 equipment cost). We will need a 1 hour appointment.