Aight hexbears, so here's the sitch:
I am a homeowner living in a zip code where there is 99% coverage from gigabit internet plans for fairly cheap.
Unfortunately: the home I own is a condominium. I am required to pay for my own internet service but per discussions with other ISPs it sounds like there may be some sort of exclusive deal between the HOA and my current ISP provider to exclusively service the complex I am in. We're literally a red dot in a sea of blue. The result is that I am currently being forced to buy a service that not only provides me a much shittier service than nearby competitors, but also charges me more than double the rate. Obvious fun benefits aside I am on the work from home train and could really use a boost for my job.
What are my options? Anybody have personal experience with this? The details regarding this deal are not in any of the governing documents provided to me and my attempts to reach out to property management or the community portal have been met with radio silence. I have a decent repour with the president and the treasurer of the HOA just as a resident and haven't made any waves but I'm prepared to light a fire under anyone's ass I have too. Plan on asking them both about it next time I see them.
Edit: update! Welp looks like the HOA meeting was postponed due to the three day weekend...Im gonna stay on it though!
Edit2: BIG UPDATE! Ran into the hoa treasurer earlier this morning on a dog walk. The minute I said the word internet he had the most glorious OMFG expression on his face.
TLDR; this is a known issue shared through the community and the president of the HOA is making moves to get us on fiber, but its slow going. I am going to ask him more regarding specifics next time I run into him.
*Longer version: * the treasurer launched into a huge list of complaints about how spectrum basically has a monopoly in the community and multiple people have shared the same frustrations. There's no exclusive deal, but its apparently required an act of congress to get us on the fiber train. Not only that but when I asked about the AT&T wire pillars and the fact that they're in multiple spots and we're surrounded by fiber coverage he said "Oh no, it gets better. Those wire pillars inside the gates are there to serve the houses outside the community. I know because I dug one up behind my unit and pulled the wire out and a representative from ATT show up at my door 3 weeks later and there was a huge back and forth over how they even had the authorization to dig there when they're not servicing any of the units here." Sounds like there have been delays and the process has been going on for a year but there has been some movement and we should be on the fiber train at some point. Again, i'm gonna check with the president and see about where that stands and what I can do to expedite, if anything.
Moral of the story is: HOAs do suck, but big telecom companies suck even harder.
I can't give any recommendations, but I always kind of wonder how this sort of thing happens. Isn't the point of an exclusivity deal to provide cheaper services in exchange for guaranteed customers?
I've researched into this a bit and it sounds like there's several possibilities, some more nefarious than others. The most nefarious and perhaps corrupt is that there is a handshake deal to provide kickbacks to the HOA with additional deals/services to the community (IE gate maintenance, surveillance, etc) if not directly to HOA board members. The other option, which I suspect is more likely, is that the current ISP ran the initial wires at a loss under a non-compete contract for x number of years. Its impossible to know more unless I can get specific details, but it seems like whatever the case may be: contracts are ALWAYS up for renegotiation if you're willing to go through the headache. There's an HOA board meeting tonight and I intend to crash it and find out more information.
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Oof, that's a possibility I hadn't considered but that def makes sense. I can totally see some boomer on the HOA board being insanely short sighted about that one. Eitherway, I will hopefully find out more info tonight.
Eager to find out more about this
Got an update. Edited my post.
Rights of Way are huge issues when it comes to telcos and the legal fuckery they can get away with by delaying or otherwise obstructing competition from leasing space makes it worse for everyone. Spectrum was the sole provider here for the longest time with broadband that maxed at like 300 Mbps for like $150/month (internet only) then AT&T came in offering 1 Gbps (up/down) for $90/month. It took spectrum another year before they offered fiber at equivalent speeds and prices. Spectrum also had the great habit of raising prices arbitrarily by $1 to $5 per month every year without upgrading service or anything else.