Tag: cable
The FTC Wants to Make It Easier to Cancel Cable and Gym Accounts
We’re all familiar with memberships and subscriptions that are easy to sign up for but difficult to cancel. I’m talking about your unused gym membership, cable TV, magazine subscriptions, and even things like Amazon Prime. The FTC is looking at new ways to ban those frustrating situations and prevent hidden fees.
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Cable and satellite providers may have to advertise the true price of TV service
Are you tired of TV providers advertising one price, but charging another thanks to hidden fees? You might not have to put up with that practice for much longer. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a requirement that cable and satellite TV services “clearly and prominently” display the true cost of service both in their marketing and on subscriber bills. Companies couldn’t mask programming costs as fees that only show up on your bill, hiding them behind vague or potentially misleading terms.
The measure is intended to help would-be customers make truly informed choices about TV subscriptions, including comparisons with streaming services. The move could also help boost competition between providers and help cash-strapped families avoid unpleasant surprises, FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel claims.
The proposal comes months after President Biden called on government agencies to fight “junk fees” and otherwise demand more transparent pricing for services and events. The FCC itself recently said it would require broadband “nutrition labels” that display prices and typical performance. In that light, the TV price transparency effort is mainly an extension that could outline exactly how much you’ll pay for a multi-service bill.
The proposal doesn’t come at a great time for conventional TV giants. Streaming TV viewership in the US (including live and on-demand) overtook cable for the first time last summer. While internet-only services aren’t always better deals than cable and satellite equivalents, the increased transparency could prevent traditional companies from artificially minimizing the differences.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cable-and-satellite-providers-may-have-to-advertise-the-true-price-of-tv-service-164929621.html?src=rss
Asus’s new motherboard hides ports on the back for cable management
YouTuber Sentenced To Over 5 Years and Ordered To Forfeit $30 Million in Large-Scale Cable Piracy Case
“Thirty million dollars is a lot of money [but] tangible objects aren’t everything,” U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III said in announcing the punishment during a hearing in federal court. “You have a large following and there may be people who think if you can get away with it, they can too.” Carrasquillo, 36, apologized to his family, his employees, and the cable companies he’d cheated through his business, which illegally sold content hijacked from cable boxes to thousands of online subscribers paying fees as low as $15 a month. “I really didn’t know the significance of this crime until I was picked up [by the FBI] at my home,” he said. “I feel like I let everybody down.” But while prosecutors described Carrasquillo’s crimes — which included counts of conspiracy, copyright infringement, fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion — as serious, much of Tuesday’s hearing focused on Carrasquillo’s remarkable rags-to-riches story.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Leave My Lightning Cable Alone
I remember the day I brought home my first lightning cable. I had just upgraded my iPhone 4S to a 5S, and the new connector came in the box. I wasn’t thrilled that I had to incorporate a new cable type into my life. But now that Lightning is on the way out, I must protest … “Hey! I’m using that!”
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Why I’m Switching Back to Cable TV
Cord-cutting—the act of ditching traditional cable TV—has been gaining popularity for over a decade. Streaming is great, but it’s not the home run it used to be. In fact, I made the decision to switch back to cable.