Broadband access

[911Carrera]

Thanks for the information. I will see if I can get on that bundled deal as well. I understand your comments about the regulatory fees. However, I still don't get why Mikeinsmd pays only .06 cents. Both Hollywood and Budds Creek are in St. Mary's County (correct?) and neither are part of Leonardtown. Since we both are forced into paying for cable TV (although I don't use it) in order to get cable Internet, why aren't we paying the same fees? There must be another variable to throw in here.

Astrogeek, your regulatory fee should be $.06 just like Mikeinsmd not $2.78. That should be identical for all GMP customers.

The franchise fee could be different for customers based on their levels of service being different (i.e. one having HBO and the other does not) or if they live in Leonardtown which is 3% and all other St. Mary's County areas being 5%. Cable modem service is excluded from the franchise fees.

You should call GMP and mention the $2.78 regulatory charge. I'm sure they would change it quickly for you. It should be $.06 per month.

 

[Oz]

Basic $15.55
Expanded Basic $26.70
Residential 768K $39.95
Franchise Fee $2.11 (which equals 5% of the Cable/Expanded)
Regulatory Fee $0.06

Balance Due $84.37



911 - does that mean that those folks who have the bundle will now pay the same price I pay on January's bill if that program expired in Dec 04?

Why was I penalized for going through the same cable upgrade and already having their service prior to? When my neighbor paid $220 LESS over that same 18 month period?

 

[911Carrera]

Basic $15.55
Expanded Basic $26.70
Residential 768K $39.95
Franchise Fee $2.11 (which equals 5% of the Cable/Expanded)
Regulatory Fee $0.06

Balance Due $84.37



911 - does that mean that those folks who have the bundle will now pay the same price I pay on January's bill if that program expired in Dec 04?

Why was I penalized for going through the same cable upgrade and already having their service prior to? When my neighbor paid $220 LESS over that same 18 month period?

Oz, I believe that the people with the "bundled rates" were promotional specials. Those packages were introduced by GMP's Door to Door sales reps around February 2003 and were originally intended to last through December 2004. The bundled package rates have been extended beyond December 2004. Those people probably upgraded their services, too to get the bundled package rates. They added Internet, digital cable etc. and went into that promotional package.

Those packages were designed to compete with Dish offers. There's a Dish Buy back program GMP has too. If you turn in one Dish receiver and one card you get a $20.00 per month credit for a year, two Dish receivers and two cards and you receive a $25 credit per month for a year. Those discounts are in addition to the "Bundled package" prices.

If you do the math the bundled packages coupled with the dish buy back offer makes cable a cheaper option than the Dish. Either with Cable Internet or without cable Internet.

Most businesses have "specials" designed to increase business, encouraging customers to upgrade their services. That's why there was a price difference.

 

[POOH]

What is the going rate for internet access from the local cable company? (I live in St. Mary's and have sat tv so I do not know the name of the cable co. this week.)
What "package" do I need to buy in order to have access?
TIA

:dosman: (hating dial up, smoke signals would be faster)

http://forums.somd.com/showthread.php?t=33615

I pay the $29.00 and thats it. I used the phone # danzig sent me in a PM

 

[AstroGeek]

That link goes to a message with another link that is dead. Could someone repost the original information (or PM me with it).

Thanks.

 

[POOH]

I sent you a PM with the info that I was sent by another forum member and I DID get Internet for $29 a month TOTAL and I still get it for that price.

 

[POOH]

I am looking at my GMP bill now

Basic Cable: $15.55
Service Discount -$15.55
Basic & Modem Service $29.95
Subtotal: $29.95

Balance Due: $29.95

I have NO
Sales Tax:
Franchise Fee:
Regulatory Fee:

 

[itsbob]

Thanks for the info. Now I have to decide if it is really worth the extra expense. I really wish Verizon would get off their azzes and bring DSL into my neighborhood. I only pay $14.95/mo for netzero so $71.73 is a big hike.

According to GMP's website, Internet access is only 39.95 a month with no mention of internet service requiring their TV service. Though I heard they do require it, it seems it would be illegal to me, like a violation of some sort of anti-trust or fair business practice. How can a company require you buy an unrelated service that is being provided by someone else, to use another of their services? Especially since Verizon and other comapnies don't offer DSL in that area, they somewhat have a monopoly on high speed internet access.. I know in Calvert County you CAN get Cable Internet without subscribing to their TV service..

Maybe the legal team from DirecTV would like to hear about this.. Yeah I love your TV service, but the local Cable company forced me to give up your service so I could get internet access..

 

[FastCarsSpeed]

According to GMP's website, Internet access is only 39.95 a month with no mention of internet service requiring their TV service. Though I heard they do require it, it seems it would be illegal to me, like a violation of some sort of anti-trust or fair business practice. How can a company require you buy an unrelated service that is being provided by someone else, to use another of their services? Especially since Verizon and other comapnies don't offer DSL in that area, they somewhat have a monopoly on high speed internet access.. I know in Calvert County you CAN get Cable Internet without subscribing to their TV service..

Maybe the legal team from DirecTV would like to hear about this.. Yeah I love your TV service, but the local Cable company forced me to give up your service so I could get internet access..

What comcast does is charge a higher rate to have cable modem without tv.. most of the time its cheaper to get basic cable and Internet then just internet by itself.. Man I think I will stay in Northern St. Marys. Comcasts digital cable and Internet rocks and is cheaper then the dish and cable modem big time.

 

[Voter2002]

My neighborhood just got upgraded by Verizon and now offers DSL (which I am going to switch to). Verizon has 1.5 Mb service for $29.95 vs. GMP's $39.95 for 768K AND Verizon provides a free modem/wireless router.

Verizon package = $29.95 per month with free modem
GMP package = $39.95 per month + $9.95 modem rental = $49.90

 

[POOH]

My neighborhood just got upgraded by Verizon and now offers DSL (which I am going to switch to). Verizon has 1.5 Mb service for $29.95 vs. GMP's $39.95 for 768K AND Verizon provides a free modem/wireless router.

Verizon package = $29.95 per month with free modem
GMP package = $39.95 per month + $9.95 modem rental = $49.90

GMP just uped the 768 to 1.5 and I only pay 29.95 but I did buy the modem from GMP for 50.00

 

[Voter2002]

GMP just uped the 768 to 1.5 and I only pay 29.95 but I did buy the modem from GMP for 50.00

Yeah...but Verizon is just as fast, $10 cheaper and I get the modem for free and it includes a wireless router. Don't get me wrong...I've enjoyed having high speed internet access with GMP - just switching to a better deal.

 

[Mikeinsmd]

Yeah...but Verizon is just as fast, $10 cheaper and I get the modem for free and it includes a wireless router. Don't get me wrong...I've enjoyed having high speed internet access with GMP - just switching to a better deal.

Wonder if Verizon is in the north county area

 

[Voter2002]

Go to www.verizon.com and punch in your phone number at the top of the page to see if DSL is available at your house.

 

[Mikeinsmd]

Go to www.verizon.com and punch in your phone number at the top of the page to see if DSL is available at your house.

I get a stupid error saying "ACCESS DENIED" Sheesh I prob. dont get it.

 

[alex]

For $10 more ($39.95) a month you can get Earthlink DSL and it is 3 MB instead of Verizon's 1.5 MB. If you can get Verizon DSL, most likely you can get earthlink as well.

 

[Bruzilla]

I'm on a service called Clearwire that has been super! They have two levels of service. One's about 700K for $19.95, and the other is 1.5G for $34.95. What's really nice is they use cell towers to transmit to a wireless modem that's about the size of a small book. You can stick the modem into your laptop case and set-up and be online anywhere you can get the cell signal, so you're not limited to only having access in your home. If I want to go out in the backyard and lay on the hammock while I download or post, I can. I can take it to the office, out in a park. Anywhere. They're a fairly new service and only in a few areas, but they're growing fast.

 

[pappascw]

I too got in on the 29.99 deal, wasn't easy but had to call a direct sales rep about a dozen times. It was getting expensive paying 84.00 for internet and a satellite bill. I just converted my phone over to ATT Callvantage, knocked about 30 bucks a month off there. Works great too.. Also no one mentioned that also you got locals for the 29.99 a month.

 

[Railroad]

I had concerns about the "Clear Channel" plan because of wireless security issues. I operate a home office for most of my work and don't want anybody monitoring that work. I went the rather pricey route of getting DirecWay business service, and as yet I've had few complaints.

 

[Gemmi]

:shrug: I was paying about $94.00 for Expanded basic,Internet Service including modem rental.I canceled and now have DSL for $29.99 monthly with a free modem included.The Internet service was $39.99 plus $10.00 for modem rental from GMP.