This year, my complaints to Charter fell on deaf ears and they refused to lower the top tier monthly rate of $60 that they were charging me for an internet connection. Fortunately, AT&T is finally rolling out its improved DSL service to Ventura, and I signed up. I shaved my monthly bill down to $45 by subscribing through DSLExtreme, who allowed me to buy the modem in order to avoid monthly rental dues. So, I quit Charter’s service, much to their apparent disappointment.
I’m getting slightly more than one-third the throughput of Charter’s service at 22 megabits/s, but this is enough. Economists tout the virtues of competition. If enough of my neighbors abandon Charter for DSL service, then maybe Charter will begin to compete for customers in Ventura, instead of taking everyone for granted.
That’s the only recourse the consumer has in a deregulated marketplace.
