Charter to Acquire TWC in CA

[roger1022]

Looks like Charter is acquiring Time Warner Cable in CA

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-charter-time-warner-puc-20160412-story.html#nt=oft12aH-1la1

That's just great as I just got TWC this year. Had Clear Internet until Nov of 2015 when the service was shut down.

Wonder if Charter will keep the TWC Internet rates/packages intact or raise prices. Chances are, prices will go up as companies consolidate and buy up their competition.

[fishmonger]

not just ca but all of twc.

[Maltese Falcon]

Well, I have Charter and they pick your pocket for every **** thing.

$145/month with 3 boxes

Digital home: $66.99
Digital receiver: 2 x $6.99
HD Receiver upgrade 3 x $5.00
Digital view: $7.00
HD Ultra view: $5.00
Sports view: $12.00
Taxes and other S***: $25.10

Thinking of getting rid of Sports view and one box.

.

[Albs]

Greaaaaat. I was happy with TWC, but if Charter is taking over and has the horrible issues I've been hearing, I may have to go elsewhere.

[roger1022]

Yeah I had a bad feeling about this. Really digging the $15/month 3/1 as it's what I can afford for now. Hope I don't have to go back to using my phone's hotspot for internet...

[HkUSP45]

I had charter for a very short period of time. They were recommended by a friend. We live I am Whittier. Their customer service dept could use some work. We had some overcharges on bill they wouldn't budge to remove it. So we dropped them and went with directv.

[Amendment-II]

Less competition is not good. I've got Cox for internet. They have a monopoly here, and their prices reflect it. I'm paying significantly MORE for their lowest level internet than a lot of other places pay and they get a lot more bandwidth.
We need more competition, not less. Bummer.

[DevNull Ogre]

What competition? Cable companies don't compete with each other. Every cable company has a local monopoly on cable.

(Sure, they compete with satellite and maybe fiber, but that has nothing to do with cable company consolidation.)

[Amendment-II]

What competition? Cable companies don't compete with each other. Every cable company has a local monopoly on cable.

(Sure, they compete with satellite and maybe fiber, but that has nothing to do with cable company consolidation.)

In some cities, I've seen two cable companies advertise their services (I think, for example, Thousand Oaks). I know where I live Cox is the only game in town. But I thought bigger cities might have two companies, so there is competition.
We also could go with DSL or satellite, but I have to admit, cable internet is much better, or so I've heard. I've only ever used dial-up, and then cable. I just wish Cox cable internet wasn't so expensive.

[Iknownot]

Ugh. Charter is pretty bad. TWcable, as far as cable companies are concerned, was actually pretty decent. Looks like I'll finally be switching to ATT Uverse.

[DevNull Ogre]

In some cities, I've seen two cable companies advertise their services (I think, for example, Thousand Oaks). I know where I live Cox is the only game in town. But I thought bigger cities might have two companies, so there is competition.

It's only competition in the sense that one could use the cable provider in deciding to pick one's neighborhood when moving. In larger cities, different neighborhoods might have different providers, but individual homes (including apartments) that are able to choose from multiple cable providers are essentially nonexistent.

We also could go with DSL or satellite, but I have to admit, cable internet is much better, or so I've heard. I've only ever used dial-up, and then cable. I just wish Cox cable internet wasn't so expensive.

Right, that's the kind of competition that does exist: between providers using different connectivity technologies. So there may be competition for TV service or Internet service, but there isn't any for cable service. That's why TWC merging with another cable company doesn't actually reduce competition.

[catmman]

I would hold off an wait.

[89 Vision]

Charter TV sucks, I have it. OTOH, I've bundled it with my Internet which is fast as hell. Another good thing is that I get Dodgers and Lakers now. I suppose it's a fair trade from my excellent Directv cable.