Dear Editor,

The cable TV/Internet industry has become a pervasive preditor that
touches the lives and pocket-books of the majority of Americans.  When
President Eisenhower warned our nation about the vast
"Military/Industrial Complex," he never envisioned a power so great that
it would completely dominate our lives and financial resources.

Since the Information Revolution began, Americans welcomed the
opportunity to experience the benefits of instant news and to be able to
communicate instantaneously with anyone on the globe.  Like most
beneficial technologies, this technology came with a price.  A recent
series of personal experiences makes me raise the question:  "At what
cost?"

From 1972, as a product service and technical support engineer, until my
retirement, I enjoyed helping folks with technical issues.  After my
retirement, I was able to resolve technical issues with computer tech
representatives in a reasonable amount of time.  I can't think of a
single time that I totally lost faith in the ability of a Technical
Support team to resolve a problem issue.  That is, until now.

When I found myself unable to send email, I placed a call to my
provider, Charter Cable.  I reached a nice young lady in Louisville, KY
at 11:07 am who was on the verge of providing help when the call was
suddenly disconnected.  I re-dialed and wound up speaking with an
individual in Toronto, Canada at 11:14 who was unable to understand what
my problem was.  Strangely, the phone suddenly went dead.  I tried a
third time and reached another new tech support person, this time, in
Mexico City at 11:29 am.  It seemed as though he was using me to test
his language skills.  But just when I thought we were making progress,
you guessed it, the call was dropped.  Patient as ever, I re-dialed the
Tech.  Support number.  This time, I reached a gentleman in Manila,
Phillipines at 11:58 am.  While I tried to explain what my problem was,
he kept repeating the same questions.  I detailed to him the procedure
that Windows has established for determining whether an Internet
connection exists.  He asked me to slow down so he could write it down.
The simple procedure, understood to all but the most basic users, was
totally foreign to him.  After trying to understand one another without
success, he offered to transfer me to his supervisor.  After two hours,
I though that was enough time for a lunch break.  I called back at 2:29
pm and was directed by a lady in Nova Scotia to another tech service
number in the Phillipines with a girl named Heidi (ID V70) who has asked
me the same questions as the previous tech support folks.  She informed
me that the problem was with my email program.  Not satisfied with the
answer, I called back.  This time I spoke with a Joan in Toronto, Canada
who thinks the problem is with Microsoft.  After speaking with her, the
password I have used all along does not work and I can't receive mail
through Charter that I was an hour prior.  At 3:37 pm, I'm going to try
again.

At 3:51pm, I again found myself again with Heidi in the Phillipines.
Again, I repeated my vital information.  We had a serious communications
problem since I didn't speak the local dialect.  Nevertheless, this time
she ascribed my problem to Microsoft, not the problem she previously
ascribed to my email program.

Without a resolution to my current problem, I continue to hold out hope
that Charter will provide me with someone who truly has the knowledge
and understanding of my problem.  Based on the ten folks I have spoken
with today, I don't hold out any hope.  After over five hours on the
phone, I am no closer to resolution than I was when I first called.

Simple communication between Charter's technical services and their
local operations seem to be either poor or non-existant.  They have
successfully managed to isolate themselves from day-to-day issues.
Out-sourced foreigners have been employed to resolve issues that are
logically local problems.  As an example, this summer my TV/Internet
signal suddenly went out.  I waited ten minutes for the service to
return.  It never did.  I called their Tech Support number and was told
by a gentleman in Mombai, India that there was a "problem with a
transmitting node in Iron Station, NC" and it would be restored
momentarily.  Three more calls before midnight resulted in three
different outage excuses, none of which made sense.  In other words, I
was lied to on four separately occasions.  The next morning, I went to
the Hickory, NC office, demanding to know what was going on, since none
of my neighbors had experienced any outage.  It was only then that I
learned that a dead-beat neighbor had his cable service shut off for
non-payment.  Turns out, it was not his cable service that was
terminated, it was MINE.

As a supporter of laissez-faire, I have always believed that the best
government is the government that regulates the least.  In the case of
Charter Cable and other cable systems, I strongly believe that an
exception must be made.  Since the advent of this technological marvel,
the signal suppliers have enjoyed the protection of their mandated
monopolies.  They don't have justify fee increases that, thus far, have
exceed annual inflation rates.  They supply channel package options
without any input of viewers.  They have reduced their operating
expenses by out-sourcing their support services to third-world countries
staffed by warm bodies who have difficulty speaking English and who have
the most basic technical skills.

These cable providers, with no competition or regulation, feel free to
raise their fees at any time and for any reason.  The cable customer can
either accept their arbitrary menu of fees or hang "rabbit ears" on
their TV.  As a retired individual on a fixed income, I see my cable
cost rise several times a year.  Meanwhile, I am forced to pay for
channels in a language I either can't understand or have no interest in.
The channels I am interested in are placed in a higher price tier.  I
have the option to either upgrade my service or shut up.

It seems that Charter Cable TV/Internet has established a cozy status
quo with the Catawba County government and every other municipality they
have infected.  Our local government seems comfortable to do obeisance
to this cable giant.  Perhaps there are those in the FCC and Congress
who will hear the plea of those, like me, who say, "enough is enough."
And then again, perhaps not.  I'm beginning to doubt that anyone has the
power to regulate these cable giants, much less care how they affect the
typical citizen.