CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) – No one ever likes getting a cable bill – or any bill for that matter.
How do we know this?
10 On Your Side’s email and phone lines have had many viewers wanting to switch cable or internet providers if they had the chance.
For a while that wasn’t an option, but now that it will be, will it make a difference?
It’s a years long process, done about 2 feet at a time.
Fiber optic cable is being installed, in this case GloFiber, in the Suffolk area of Hollywood. The service, provided by Shentel, will now operate as an alternative to Spectrum.
“Competition is healthy,” said Nneka Chiazor, vice president of marketing for Cox Communications.
Chiazor is eyeing similar new installments in cities like Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach by companies like MetroNet and Lumos.
“The fact that there are others coming to try to do the business we are doing is not surprising,” said Chiazor.
So will it change the prices they offer for their services? That depends on what prices, and types of services, those competitors offer.
“We compete like our competitors,” he said.
Dr. Bob McNab, an economist at Old Dominion University, said that “everyone tends to succeed when there is competition.”
He says that usually when the perceived affluent is challenged by another company, prices will drop initially, but not for long.
“We don’t expect prices to drop by 50% and stay there for several years,” said McNab, “But it’s preventing price growth.”
Which means your bills may not always increase.
Chiazor says the best way to try to reduce your debt — at least with Cox — is to drive.
“Talk to us first, reach out to us, you know how to contact us,” Chiazor said.
He said there are discount programs in different cases.
Useful information to know as you weigh your communication options.