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El Reg reports
The US state of Oregon says it will charge Comcast tens of millions of dollars in taxes after revoking a tax break the cable giant had claimed on its broadband service.
The state's Department of Revenue (DOR) has denied a request by Comcast that it be granted an exemption reserved for companies that offer gigabit internet service in the state.
Written to lure Google's Fiber service to Portland after years of courtship, the tax break would give exemptions to reward the installation of high-speed fiber broadband.
Comcast [claimed] its "Gigabit Pro" service tops out at 2Gbit/s and thus made the cable giant eligible to claim the same breaks as Google.
The DOR, however, did not agree, and it ruled earlier this week that Comcast will have to pay the taxes.
[...] Critics of Comcast have previously argued that the Gigabit Pro service is prohibitively expensive (up to $4,600 a year) and only reaches a small number of Oregon residents.
[...] Both Google and Frontier also had their applications denied because neither has an active gigabit service in the state.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Sunday May 29 2016, @05:17AM
Just one tiny problem with DSL: need land line phone service. What does a land line cost? Another $20/month or so, isn't it?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 29 2016, @06:09AM
Depends on the area. Walnut Hill basic telephone service, $14.95. Extra fees apply for caller ID, and other services. There are NO long distance services provided in this package - long distance is a separate deal with a long distance carrier, such as AT&T - but you can choose any carrier you wish.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Sunday May 29 2016, @10:51PM
I my jurisdiction I was able to get "dry copper" (no dial tone) for about $10/month. You still technically get a phone number. You just can't really use it.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday May 30 2016, @08:25PM
Y'all pay a tax so people like me can get phones for free.
If I didn't need to talk so much I could even get a cell phone for free.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]