Want to save money? Why not cut the cord?
“You’ve heard the rumors, maybe even felt the temptation,” writes Evan Horowitz at The Boston Globe. “Everybody else is doing it, right? Cutting the cord and watching TV over the Internet.
“Except it’s not true. Cord-cutters are rare beasts, like white rhinos or Beyonce-haters.”
In fact, he explains, cutting the cord just doesn’t pay. He cites figures for the greater Boston area that probably resemble the situation wherever you live, at least if you live in the United States: “Comcast will sell you a bundle that includes 140+ channels, high-speed Internet, and telephone service for $89.99 per month for two years. Getting just the Internet—at the same 75-Mb/s speed—costs $79.95.” He notes that you can get lower speed Internet service for less but may have trouble streaming video to multiple devices.
“For cord-cutting to really take off, the economics of the industry would have to change,” he writes. “And that means greater regulation, greater competition, or both.”
Horowitz cites an engadget article from 2011 noting that regulation and competition have worked well for consumers in Europe, but you won’t be surprised to learn that American incumbent service providers remain adamantly opposed.
Perhaps the arrival of 5G will improve the competitive situation for OTT delivery of video programing.
