A $500 installation fee (up from $79) should be enough to discourage new subscribers from signing up for FiOS cable television from Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR). If it's not, regulators in Washington County, Ore. are adding their own discouraging words.
"The $500 installation fee is simply ridiculous and unjustified, particularly when weighed against free or typical $30 installations by Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and similar offers from satellite providers," regulatory affairs manager Fred Christ wrote to the Metropolitan Area Communications Commission.
The regulators said that they would also probably block any move by Frontier to drop cable service, even if the telco manages to drive down subscription numbers with the new higher rates.
For now, Christ wrote, Comcast is the best bet for consumers who want TV "since it provides a locally franchised service in many ways superior compared to the satellite providers."
For more:
- The Oregonian has this story
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