I’m in the process of writing a check for my cable bill today, an ungodly large check for the service I get, and I’m including a note to whomever at Charter Communications reads these kinds of things.
I’m unsubscribing. After three years on their books, I’m giving up on waiting for fast—as in consistently fast—Internet and fast channel change. I’ve had my fill of a really, really, really lousy user interface that won’t allow me to search, yet alone discover, content I might be interested in.
And, I’m tired of having to watch movies that have titles that start with “A,†“B,†or “C.†Why “A, B, C?†Because to get to any others—God forbid one that has a title that starts with “W‖I’d have to scroll through the entire list of VOD titles, SD and HD versions, mind you, to get there. No. I just won’t do it. Getting a TV Everywhere product that isn’t Stone Age (as in, inaccessible)? I’ve run out of patience.
I know Tom Rutledge is working hard to clean up what he described as “a mess,†when he took over as CEO at Charter a little more than a year ago. He’s worked hard before, he was COO of Cablevision for years. (There’s a man who really understands what “jumping from the frying pan into the fire” means.)
Still, I gotta tell you, Tom, from my perspective, in my little town, Charter still has a long way to go. I know you see that, too: You’ve called Charter a diamond in the rough (Ha! That’s the same term I use to describe the house I bought to renovate, four years ago), and cite a two-year timeline to catch up to the competition.
I’m sorry, man, I’m throwing in the towel. Chalking my Charter time up as experience, a lesson well learned. If there were another cable company in town, I’d try it. No, I wouldn’t. I’ve been there.
I’m going with Google Fiber, Baby!
I’ll get a gig of upstream and downstream connectivity, storage, a Nexus 7 tablet, a full channel line up, options to add Showtime and Starz (no HBO yet, but I can watch Homeland and be very, very happy), and even NFL RedZone! If Google could swing a deal for NFL Sunday ticket, I’d be thrilled, as I’d be able to watch the Houston Texans every Sunday. Why Houston? Because the Texans signed my son, Dann, as a free agent last week (and, yes, that last sentence was a shameless, prideful plug. I am sooo sorry).
Google Fiber hasn’t made it to my area, yet. But I’m pretty sure it will soon.
After all, Google just announced it would be available in Shawnee, a Kansas City, Kan., suburb soon (no worries that most of Kansas City–both Kansas and Missouri–that expected to be wired by now still hasn’t been… it’ll happen soon. Right?). And Google Fiber will be rolling out in Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah… can my little town of Grand Haven, Mich. be far behind?
In the meantime, maybe I’ll subscribe to Intel’s online service. Yeah, that’s it… Intel.
