Letter: Allow Google in for fair competition

As “Media Capital to the World” we have a sad selection of cable and Internet options. Other than satellite providers we get a which-is-least-worst choice between Charter and AT&T U-verse.

Let’s talk about U-verse first. Their lowest speed is a 3 Mbps (Megabits per second) option at $35 a month. Charter has a much better speed option as their lowest option is 60 Mbps for a little more monthly. This speaks well for Charter, however their television services are underwhelming and overpriced.

Charter pays more for each subscriber to media companies than other cable providers. Those costs are likely passed right along to us. Not only that, but Charter’s online hub and live online viewing options are sad when compared to a service like Comcast.

When taken together, our two cable choices probably want to extract as much money from us as possible before the inevitable switch to online only.

However, there is a fix I suggest our city could look into. Google offers Google Fiber service, which provides 1,000 Mbps and 150 channels for $130 a month. In areas served by Google Fiber, AT&T has actually lowered prices to compete. Google has a method for cities to apply to set up their service, and it seems like a no-brainer for a city that needs to be in the here and now.

Alfred Aboulsaad

Burbank