Does the power of three pose a monopoly threat, or rather greater quality and ease in paying the bills to one company? Verizon, Time Warner, and Optimum, are three companies that provide cable for television, Internet and phone service. They, like other companies, draw in the consumer by offering great deals and savings, however this is usually only for the first year. Purchasing the deal may be contingent on the person signing up for more than a year, during which a company could potentially jack up the rates.
With any of these Internet Protocol service providers, data is transmitted through a cable and passed onto all three mediums through Internet Protocol, or certain groupings of bits. Thus, it can be easier for the consumer who chooses all three because the reception is simple and there is essentially unlimited bandwidth for the companies (thus far), so their is no need to worry about an overload. IPTV, which is Internet Protocol that is specifically passed through television by IP providers, remains on a private network.
Verizon has currently set its rate at $74.99 per month for a year for all three services. However, to find out about later rates, Verizon requires that the buyer put in personal information before they can obtain more detailed pricing information. For Time Warner, their rates are a bit higher but they offer more perks up front such as HD DVR for three months and unlimted calling in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. If one wanted to purchase all three services, he or she would have to sign up for each for a year to keep the fixed rate of $49.95 a month for cable, $34.95 a month for Road Runner Internet, and $39.95 per month for phone service, a total of $124.85 a month for all three, about $1,500 a year. While this plan may seem enticing, it requires like Verizon that the consumer give personal information before they can obtain long term rates. As for Optimum’s Triple Play plan, they provide great detail up front about the services they offer. For example, they allow the consumer to compare their upload and download rates with other “typical” carriers, granted, Optimum is providing this information. However, when it comes to rates, it also mandates that the buyer to purchase all three for $29.95 per month for a year.
Verizon pic from Google Optimum pic from Google Time Warner pic from Google
While it is easier to pay one bill monthly and receive awesome perks for signing up for a three-for-all, in the long run, sticking with one company for all three might lead to too much power and dependency on that one company by the consumer. On the other hand, for the company, offering television, Internet, and phone for the buyer could yield greater brand loyalty for the consumer/s, especially if they are parents because they could potentially pass that brand loyalty down to their children, who media companies have the hardest time targeting and strive the most towards pleasing.
