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If you like your Internet service provider to have intermittent blackouts, terrible customer service and even worse infrastructure, you would be excited to learn there is a company that operates in Blacksburg that does exactly that. That company is none other than Access Media 3.
AM3 provides Internet to a large portion of off-campus housing sites in Blacksburg. This is, in part, due to contracts that they have signed with property managers and leasing agencies that either charge a hefty fee for residents to change ISPs, or completely prohibit residents from changing ISPs.
This situation creates, what my friend Julianne Arnold called, “an Internet purgatory,” a situation where we as customers are stuck with only one ISP to choose from.
This situation would not be so bad if AM3 were able to provide any level of customer service.
My roommate and I had a bad experience with AM3, and I have heard countless horror stories from students who are or have been in similar or even worse situations than my roommate and I were in. This begs the question: Why? Why does AM3 have such poor customer service?
Monopoly. And no, unfortunately I’m not talking about the board game. AM3 has a monopoly on Internet service in some areas of Blacksburg.
AM3 does not care that their customer service is virtually nonexistent because they don’t need to. They know they are not going to lose any of their customers to competitors because there are no competitors!
Competition forces companies to innovate, to provide better goods and services than their competitors to attract more customers and make as much profit as possible. Companies like Microsoft, Sony, Google, McDonalds, Nike, and Toyota, among many others, have to constantly strive to provide better goods and better services than their rival companies.
If they don’t, they lose money, which these companies do not want to do, so they keep improving their products. Competition breeds innovation, growth and development, and without it, companies like AM3 are allowed to exist.
The most effective way to communicate with any business is with money. If there were another ISP to choose from, we would be able to show AM3 that if they want our money, they are going to have to provide better service than the other company.
This would mean AM3 would have to either shut down because they lost too much money or improve the quality of their service, but unfortunately, this not the case. Instead, AM3 is able to hold us hostage, taking our money every month.
With the knowledge that they have a monopoly, AM3 are allowed to do whatever they want because they have little to no chance of being stopped. My friend was right when she called Blacksburg “Internet Purgatory” because we’re going to be stuck in this situation for the foreseeable future. The only way out of the situation is for the monopoly to end.
A version of this article appeared in the Feb 1 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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You are completely wrong Marcus Williams, get a job.
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Ya think?
Access media 3 reviews from employees: 1.3/5, look it up. Doesn't sound like a nice place to work.
In Chicago they have 63 reviews for their internet service on Yelp with 1/5 rating. They don't have Yelp ratings for BB, but here is a comment for an apartment complex: "Lastly, the biggest thing that grinds my gears is their contract with world's worst internet provider, Access Media 3. They are atrocious, spotty internet."
"Completely wrong" huh?
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Yep, completely wrong. You chose to live in an apartment with crappy internet access. I had a few friends warn me about single provider internet access in some complexes before I moved to Blacksburg, so that was certainly a question that I asked while looking for an apartment. Be more scrupulous next time you go apartment hunting.
Why Chicago, Joe? They are no where near here... for consistency, I looked up my provider, Comcast, on Yelp in Chicago. They got a 1.5/5. I suppose you could say that's a 50% better score, but it's still essentially an F. I'm really happy with Comcast, 15ms ping, 25.47Mbps down, 4.27Mbps up as per speedtest.net from my apartment which, for the record, is in Blacksburg, VA 24060.
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Not everyone has contacts that can warn them about crappy internet access. Rental companies certainly don't tell prospective tenants. The monopoly factor is an issue. I used to have Comcast, and while their service was decent, their billing was horrible.
Why Chicago, because that's where AM3 is located. If you had to deal w/ their crappy customer service, you'd likely have spoken to someone in Oak Brook, IL.
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No high horse here, this problem existed in Atlanta, too. It's simply a question that you should ask when you rent a place. Just like asking about utility providers, bill expenses, various fees the complex charges, etc. Your crappy internet access is your error; you have other options - there is no monopoly. What I would take away from this it to ask more questions next time you rent a place.
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"There is no monopoly"
I don't know what definition you're using but we're talking about the economic concept, not the board game. When apartment complexes sign exclusive contracts like many of them do, that does indeed limit choices, and that indeed is a monopoly. It's been a problem in this town for over 10 years. These companies get special deals with the management so that other internet and cable companies can't wire those complexes, and then sign up way more than their infrastructure than they can handle. Considering that there is often more demand than supply for apartments in Blacksburg, both apartment complexes and internet companies are deceptive, and students get locked into leases before learning the full details (especially when they move in during the summer when bandwidth usage is lower than during the semester, thus giving the impression of 'fast' internet), this is a real problem that requires more than just "oh ask more questions".
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"...students get locked into leases before learning the full details..."
Ask questions and read your lease next time. It's a legally binding contract. You should take it seriously, and don't let leasing agents pressure your signature. You don't "get" locked into a lease, you agree to it and affirm its details with your signature.
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"...students get locked into leases before learning the full details..."
You didn't read your lease. That's your fault. A lease agreement is a legally binding contract. You should take it seriously and ask questions about things that are not clear to you. Don't let some leasing agent pressure you with a smug look and "Oh, just sign the lease, I've got others waiting..." It's your signature, and your responsibility. Tell them to go away while your reading the lease. I do, and I don't feel bad about it.
To stick to the main topic: with 3 wireline ISPs (Verizon, Comcast, AM3), at least 4 cellular (Verizon, T-mobile, AT&T, Sprint), and Hughesnet - there is no monopoly.
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STOP FEEDING HIM!
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Yeah my bad. I'm not sure what personal satisfaction this Dan guy gets out of trolling the CT but if that's how he likes to spend his free time, whatever.
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Resort to name calling when logic and reason fail. Good job guys!
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As one who lives in Terrace View and is subjected to AM3 I choose I different route. I went with Verizon DSL for my internet (by the way horrible customer service also) and good ol' free HDTV with my antenna. Another route for TV would be satellite and problem solved. The only real monopoly they have on you is the coax coming into the residence which can be bypassed (for internet services via DSL) by the phone line which by law AM3 cannot own.
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