Why We Despise Cable Providers

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Cable providers are among the most despised businesses in the country, regularly coming in below airlines, banks, and drug companies in public-opinion polls. "Cable is essentially a monopoly now in urban areas,” said Susan Crawford, a professor at Harvard Law School and a former policy adviser to President Barack Obama on science, technology, and innovation.

Internet service was deregulated during the George W. Bush Administration, with the theory that fewer rules would foster greater competition. For a time, as AT&T and Verizon started building fibre-optic networks to compete with cable Internet, there seemed to be truth to the idea. Over the past few years, however, the companies have largely abandoned those projects; according to Crawford, the capital investments required were too high. Rather than fuel vigorous competition and lower prices, the rise of these giant companies has meant that Americans are paying inflated costs for poor service.


Why We Despise Cable Providers