Local Residents Discuss Internet and Cable TV Needs for Ocala/Marion County

In response to recent letters from Marion County residents discussing the quality of Internet service and cable television in the area, a few Ocala residents wrote in to share their thoughts on the subject.

“Hi everyone. I agree with every comment I’ve read. We have Dish and they charge us like we have premium channels, and what they constantly air is paid programming. Our internet service is AT&T and it’s slower than dial-up.Supposedly, we have “high-speed” Internet.We need better, and growing, options that won’t leave our pockets dry.
Channels that were once free years ago, now we have to pay for them. It’s totally ridiculous. Stream channels? Yeah OK. I asked AT&T to come and check the lines. I was told they couldn’t do anything about the speed as they were at full capacity. Thus, optical fiber was suggested. Of course, if they pay for it, let’s do it. Damn,” says Ocala resident Marta Varnell.

“I recently moved here from Washington State. I had a remote job planned, but when I got here and moved into the house I currently purchased, only Viasat (satellite internet) or CenturyLink maxed out 10MB. To maintain a work from home you need at least 30MB. When I called Xfinity (my service provider in Washington) they assured me that I would be able to maintain service with them. But when I got here they said they didn’t come where I was. I think as Marion County grows, it needs to grow its internet business if it’s going to continue to grow and be able to compete to keep up with the rest,” says Ocala resident Angel Anton.

“For a city as big and sprawling as Ocala, our internet and TV providers are abysmal. This city seems to have blinkers on the growth here,” says Ocala resident Marilyn Lefoy.

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