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MediaOne dns problems



The issue is still honest competition. Once fiber is ubiquitous and in the
hands of many (not just the local telco), competition will fix it all. In the
meantime, we live with well greased monopoly powers like Verizon that have
little incentive to provide good service since they ultimately control at
least part of the backbone everyone is dependent on.

One thing that would greatly help is a legal requirement for all public
right-of-ways to be made available for installation of telecommunications
services at little or no cost, rather than be placed with a tax and access
burden from the very beginning. I understand this is happening to a small
degree but should be made universal. Of course, this is contrary to
entrenched interests like Telcos and other utilities. So we remain screwed
for now.

Chris Janicki wrote:

> > The point is, they are creating an /artificial/ demand for premium
> > services by being jackasses about the basic services.  Which they can
> > afford to do because they are a monopoly.  But they're not making any
> > friends in the bargain, and if they ever face real competition ... well,
> > I know where my money will be spent.
>
> I don't follow your logic... "basic" service is simply plugging in and
> surfing.  MediaOne does a kick-ass job at that, IMHO.  Running your own
> services is NOT basic.  That's a "premium" service.
>
> In fact the cable company is actually being nice by not canceling your
> service for breach of contract. Instead they're enforcing the agreement
> by the friendliest means possible... providing near-perfect basic
> service, while annoying your unpaid premium usage attempts till you go
> away.
>
> And they already have real competition (in some locations) from DSL...
> but the prices are nearly identical, so obviously no one is getting rich.
>  In fact, ISPs are folding due to the low prices versus
> deployment/service cost.  (e.g. NorthPoint.)  That tells me prices are
> rock bottom.  And cable companies are notorious for running in the red,
> so I don't see them price gouging either.
>
> Don't get me wrong, I'm generally no fan of monopolies, but sometimes
> they can work to the public's advantage.  For example, they lease T1/DS3
> lines from the phone company and connect to Tier 1 Internet providers at
> rates we can't touch.  I actually investigated getting a T1 to my home.
> It would have cost $800/mo for the T1, and $400/mo for the ISP.  And a
> crappy 56kbs frame relay circuit was almost $800/mo total.  Instead, I'm
> getting 1.4Mb download rates from a $39/mo cable modem.  I'm thrilled!
> Hail to the buying power of the monopoly!
>
> Besides all that, you get what you pay for...  If you want better options
> or service guarantees, they ARE available.  You just have to pay for
> them.  Would you prefer communism, where everything is free, and it all
> sucks?
>
> Sorry, I'm not trying to pick a fight.  I just get tired of poor-me
> attitude that plagues America lately.  If you think you can do a better
> job, while actually making some honest profit, then go for it!... there
> are investors looking for you.
>
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