Maybe it’s karmic payback for those shittalkers saying Austin is a pretentious city but I was thrilled about us being the second destination for Google’s high-speed Internet access. I didn’t know they offered television channels. I can live without them since Netflix Streaming and our vast DVD collection has everything covered.
Then, boom, out of the woodwork, AT&T says they will do the same. Time Warner blew it off. It’s amazing what happens when corporations face actual competition. They always talk a good game in front of Congress and their ad blitzes. In reality, monopoly is the preferred strategy.
My experience with AT&T’s Uverse is mixed. Its reliability and operation has been excellent. AT&T’s price hikes every year along with forcing me to use inferior equipment is the bone of contention. I have a suggestion for them. They could lower my monthly bill by not wasting money on stadium naming rights. Getting them to scale back on advertising is a pipe dream, never mind the number of competitors who’ve disappeared or were gobbled up, making ads less necessary.
If Google can offer me a no frills connection with a decent up-/downstream setup and allows me to provide my on gear, then AT&T can kiss it. Provided where I live will be in Google’s range. Unincorporated Pflugerville isn’t Austin, yet.
The naysayers have made a couple statements worth exploring but not entertaining too much. Why Austin, Kansas City and Provo? Why do they ignore their own backyard in Silicon Valley? I should ask friends who live in California for theories. There was another point about advertising, Google’s primary revenue. Not sure what drives such a complaint unless they think Google will force pop-up ads into everything you’re doing, like a 21st Century Net-Zero.
The real solution would get me labelled a Communist by the vast idiot population around Texas. It entails cities and municipalities to own the lines like other public utilities. Then they’re open to Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Dish, DirecTV, Uverse, Grande and Google to compete on a level playing field. With them removed from the technical part (really the excuse for jacking prices on deprecated technology), they would have to focus on getting us better deals on access or channels.
We’ll see how it works next year. Google has billboards posted already.