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Q. Why isn’t the less expensive Charter Cable in Pender County allowed to penetrate Time-Warner’s monopoly in New Hanover?
A. Charter does provide cable service in some areas of southern New Hanover County — from Monkey Junction to Kure Beach.
But residents have no choice for cable access. Either you belong to Time Warner or you belong to Charter. Legally, cable companies could compete for business, but that almost never happens. Cable companies were granted exclusivity when they first entered an area. That practice ended in 1992, but it was too late. It doesn’t make economic sense for another company to invest in burying cable to try to compete with an established entity.
A state law mandating state-issued franchise agreements to encourage video services competition was passed in 2006.
The Secretary of State Web site advises anyone having a problem with cable service to contact the N.C. Attorney General’s Office at www.ncdoj.gov/cable.aspx
If you are not satisfied with your cable company and you want live television in your home, your options are limited to satellite providers.
I found this link very helpful:
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Date posted: February 26, 2013
User-contributed question by:
Anonymous
We can’t switch cable companies, but we can fire T-W or Charter and get TV via satellite dish. There are at least two satellite dish companies operating in his area that we can hire after we’ve fired T-W or Charter.
Switched to DISH for TV several years ago and never looked back. Terrible customer service and insane price increases drove me away from TWC for good. Unfortunately I still have to use them for my internet service as no one else offers fast enough speeds.