Comcast to leave Detroit market

**dtowncitylover** · October-01-14, 12:02 PM

A poorly written headline about Comcast's decision to leave our market and Metro Times' rebuttal. I've never heard anything good about Comcast so good riddance to bad rubbish I suppose...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-1...t-detroit.html

http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/arch...asts-departure

**Spartan** · October-01-14, 12:19 PM

Wait, if Comcast leaves, who the hell is going to provide cable?

**Gorath** · October-01-14, 12:26 PM

A new spin off company would be formed, called GreatLand Connections. Charter will manage it and be part owner with Comcast owning a majority share.

**Wesley Mouch** · October-01-14, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by Spartan

Wait, if Comcast leaves, who the hell is going to provide cable?

Read the article. They aren't taking their cables with them, just their greed, bad customer service skills, and money.

Just corporate deck chair rearrangement. This is where our PSC should be stepping up and making sure that the new owner of the customers and infrastructure treat both appropriately.

If the new company has a 5x earnings debt and Comcast only as 1.9 x earnings, that strikes me as a concern that I do hope is addressed.

**gazhekwe** · October-01-14, 12:30 PM

Will this end their monopoly so we actually can choose who we want for our cable, phone and internet? Oh, UGH, I see they plan on a new spinoff company to take over, which will use CHARTER. From my experience with Charter at my Dad's place up on the Res, that is not good at all. Lots of unexplained outages with poor communication to customers.

I may be one of a few who actually like Comcast. I have Brighthouse in Florida and like them too. Other relatives swear by WoW. But not Charter. Take that short end of the stick and shove it.

PS, I am not reassured that Comcast will assist Greatland for a year. The transition from Roadrunner, which I also liked, to Comcast, took better than a month to accomplish, with spotty service and missed connections. Then Comcast took more than two years to provide web access to the e-mail account. Now they actually have a pretty good Smart Phone app for the e-mail, too. What services can we expect and at what cost from this changeover about which we apparently have no choice?

**Llama** · October-01-14, 12:36 PM

I wonder what this will mean for their very helpful Internet Essentials program of greatly-reduced-price home internet for low income kids. They've just recently rolled it out here. If they go then it seems that will be going as well, and that one small part anyway is sad.

http://www.internetessentials.com/

**Blueidone** · October-01-14, 12:46 PM

I, too, prefer Comcast over any other provider I have used here in southeast Michigan. I currently live in Farmington Hills, and am STUCK with Brighthouse Cable. Comcast and Wow are not available here, only Direct TV, AT & T and this super crappy Brighthouse.

I had used Comcast for years before coming here and was always happy with them. I had vew service issues, so I can't speak to all the customer service complaints. I have also used WOW in the past, although, according to my sister, they have much-improved cable programming and internet service.

This change will not currently affect me, but I wonder if the service will become available here. I would love to see some real competition.

**mtburb** · October-01-14, 01:06 PM

I will still miss Comcast's predecessor [[what was that predecessor called again? TCI? Cablevision?) that we had at our first home in Southgate in the 1980's and early 90's.

thoro · October-01-14, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by mtburb

I will still miss Comcast's predecessor [[what was that predecessor called again? TCI? Cablevision?) that we had at our first home in Southgate in the 1980's and early 90's.

I expected that might have been.....Barden Communications?

**Bong-Man** · October-01-14, 01:23 PM

I have WOW and enjoy their service. My neighbor got Comcast and when they came to install, they hijacked my line. I was watching the game...the screen went blank.....looked out the window...and there was the Comcast truck pulling away. I called Comcast, until I suddenly realized from past experience they wouldn't show until 5 days later. Called WOW, and they came and corrected the problem within 3 hours at 10pm on a Saturday night. Prompt service is a good thing.

**CLAUDE G** · October-01-14, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

A poorly written headline about Comcast's decision to leave our market and Metro Times' rebuttal. I've never heard anything good about Comcast so good riddance to bad rubbish I suppose...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-1...t-detroit.html

http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/arch...asts-departure

Comcast isn't necessary leaving Detroit, they are simply swapping territories with Charter cable as they prepare to take over Time Warner Cable.

All it really is, is a name change. The services you get now will remain the same, its not like its going to get crappy over night.

**Honky Tonk** · October-01-14, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by CLAUDE G

Comcast isn't necessary leaving Detroit, they are simply swapping territories with Charter cable as they prepare to take over Time Warner Cable.

All it really is, is a name change. The services you get now will remain the same, its not like its going to get BETTER over night.

I think that's what you meant......

**iheartthed** · October-01-14, 01:54 PM

What is the point of that headline? It is immaterial to the content of the article.

The reason why Comcast is leaving the Detroit market is an attempt to avoid concerns from the feds about a monopoly in their attempt to buy Time Warner.

**Cliffy** · October-01-14, 02:42 PM

I have UVerse and its pretty good.

**jackie5275** · October-01-14, 02:43 PM

Hopefully this will end among other things their grammatically poor radio commercials for Comcast Business internet "Did you know blah blah blah? Did you also know blah blah blah? And did you also also know blah blah blah?" Whoever wrote that commercial has a limited vocabulary of adverbs.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · October-01-14, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by Blueidone

I, too, prefer Comcast over any other provider I have used here in southeast Michigan. I currently live in Farmington Hills, and am STUCK with Brighthouse Cable. Comcast and Wow are not available here, only Direct TV, AT & T and this super crappy Brighthouse.

I had used Comcast for years before coming here and was always happy with them. I had vew service issues, so I can't speak to all the customer service complaints. I have also used WOW in the past, although, according to my sister, they have much-improved cable programming and internet service.

This change will not currently affect me, but I wonder if the service will become available here. I would love to see some real competition.

I agree about Brighthouses service. During those storms we had in July and August, my service went out for a day and a half. Even when storms aren't present, the connections are spotty at best. I could be surfing from site to site, and inexplicably, lose my connection. I hear a lot of people are switching to Hulu, not familiar with them though, I hear the costs are a lot cheaper. Hope another provider will be offered. Competition is good.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · October-01-14, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by Cliffy

I have UVerse and its pretty good.

You must be in a good area or something, because a friend of mine is not impressed with them at all and is contemplating changing services.

**Scottathew** · October-01-14, 03:08 PM

I hate Comcast and welcome a change. I currently use WOW.

**Jimaz** · October-01-14, 03:23 PM

Comcast hasn’t provided adequate information about GreatLand, and there’s nobody to talk to at the new company, said Jodie Miller, executive director of the Northern Dakota County Cable Communications Commission, in suburban Minneapolis.

The irony there is that communications companies aren't communicating.

Municipal officials say they have questions about service, including whether subscribers can keep Comcast e-mail addresses or if the cable-channel lineups may change.

What? Subscribers might have to change all their email addresses just because some corporate overlords want to shuffle their businesses?! How is that not sabotaging their own customers?

That Great Guy · October-01-14, 04:48 PM

A small suburban property tax could work to pay for those in the City of Detroit who are low income. This will help to offset the higher tax they pay to live in the city limits, thus reinvigorating our economy by creating more opportunities with tax breaks for those who provide jobs.

This and other similar taxes such as the SMART Property Tax are supported by both the Republican and Democratic parties alike with compassion for those unable to live outside the confines of a socialist or communist structured society.

Admittedly, a regressive idea to fund cable and other services it does work to provide an illusion of security and hope that Ponzi schemes to siphon much more from those who are in the lower income levels then those who can fully pay. This is in exchange for an excessive number of low wage jobs, which otherwise would not exist under a supply and demand free market economy.

An example of this are those making 10 bucks an hour paying over 90 percent of my SMART bus ride, despite the fact that I can pay in full AND the Michigan route would make a profit if a free market was allowed to exist. And it is, if acted upon by voting NO to give SMART and DDOT more money. They are well funded already, just like Comcast.

**Honky Tonk** · October-01-14, 04:55 PM

I thought l read a while back the City was looking into providing free internet in Detroit through a Google test program. Anyone know what happened with that, or was it just talk?

**Wesley Mouch** · October-01-14, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by gazhekwe

Will this end their monopoly so we actually can choose who we want for our cable, phone and internet?

I believe your beloved City of Detroit granted the monopoly in exchange for money which they have no doubt already spent on Manoogian Parties and on Bobby Ferguson's yacht. I would expect that the monopoly will last a long time into the future, and you will continue to pay 'franchise fees' for this monopoly, extracted by Dear Leader CAY, if I remember.

Enjoy what your democratically elected mayor and council hath done to you, while surfing on Charter.

**Danny** · October-01-14, 05:33 PM

Pitiful, first Barden then Comcast. All they care about is money and profits.

**Danny** · October-01-14, 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

I believe your beloved City of Detroit granted the monopoly in exchange for money which they have no doubt already spent on Manoogian Parties and on Bobby Ferguson's yacht. I would expect that the monopoly will last a long time into the future, and you will continue to pay 'franchise fees' for this monopoly, extracted by Dear Leader CAY, if I remember.

Enjoy what your democratically elected mayor and council hath done to you, while surfing on Charter.

Hey! don't blame Duggan for this mess! He became Mayor while Detroit was broke! Go blame former Detroit Mayors of the past:

1. Albert Cobo, a racist bigot!

2. Jerome P. Cavanaugh, a cool city sell out and neigborhood buster.

3. Coleman A Young, A cussing racist bigot [[to White people)!

4. Dennis Archer, a proposed urban sell out,

5. Kwame Kilpatrick, a pimp!

6. Dave Bing, a lame duck sellout!

**Hypestyles** · October-01-14, 06:17 PM

is there any way that the federal attorney general can step in and force equitable bidding for the Detroit area rights? Perhaps even split it up deliberately among multiple companies to prevent an outright monopoly/oligopoly.. [[I don't see the state AG Bill Schuette caring about this). Also there needs to be consideration for community access shows/features at affordable rates. The ethnic diversity of metro Detroit should be embraced.