Time Warner Cable, Not Just Bad for New Yorkers

A follow up to my previous post where I expressed my elation with the imminent arrival of FiOS in the New York tri-state area. If you recall, it was not simply because I have heard wonderful things about the FiOS product, but rather because Time Warner Cable is down-right awful.

Today, Consumerist reports that the city of Los Angeles is filing a lawsuit against Time Warner Cable for, get this, sucking! According to the LA Times:

The 25-page lawsuit, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times, claims the company violated its franchise agreement with the city by having subscribers spend hours on hold with customer service representatives and allowing excessive repair work delays.

“Hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles residents were ripped off,” Delgadillo said in a statement. “Time Warner must be held accountable for its promises.”

We’ll see how this one plays out, but regardless of the outcome hopefully it will promote a little more accountability and, dare I say it, innovation. Till then, I won’t hold my breath.

I Can’t Wait to Get FiOS

It has gone on long enough. For as long as I can remember, Time Warner has held the city of New York by their proverbial cable/internet balls with their mediocre customer service, minimal HD selection and their late-to-the-game DVR technology. It isn’t bad enough that cable television prices have risen 77% (double inflationary rates) since 1996, but we hardly even use their full offerings!  According to a recent NYTimes article, on average the cable customer only use a mere 13% of all channels available.

Today marks a step in the right direction. According to Alley Insider, the New York City’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee voted unanimously to allow Verizon to wire all five boroughs. This is awesome for multiple reasons:

1. FiOS is a better product.
2. You now have the opportunity to bundle in your mobile bill (assuming you are a Verizon customer) with your cable bill, eliminating yet another layer of taxes.
3. Competition will spawn both Time Warner and FiOS to improve product offerings at a faster rate
4. Price jockeying

In the meantime. I am still going to buy the Roku Netflix box and wing it with basic cable. But, it is good to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.