I received in my email today the link to vote for how the HOA will handle the Qwest Contract renewal come end of September when the current one expires.

There are basically two options. Keep it similar to it is, where it's included in our HOA, but it will be upgraded and faster, or to disband it as part of our HOA altogether, and be billed individually, but at twice the cost for the same thing.

So, with HOA, $33/month. Without it being in the HOA, $68 per month.

For me, this is a no brainer. Lets all save money and keep the Qwest internet contract with the HOA billing.

Can someone explain to me why this is even a question? Am I missing something? Why would anyone vote to have it billed separate, at twice the cost?

You are missing that the $68 is if you bundle it with home phone service, Television, e.t.c. If you go to Qwests website you can sign up for internet service at 12 mbps for $19.99 a month for the first 6 months. After that it is only $29.99 a month. I have never understood this. I thought that the idea of getting a bulk rate is to make the price lower than retail. Isn't this new rate only a couple of bucks a month lower than we were already paying anyway? Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems more logical for the home owners to either sign up by themselves or have the opportunity to purchase service from another provider.

Well, one of us is missing something. The $68 is WITHOUT home phone service. It's closer to $60 WITH home phone service.

The $29.99 you saw on the website is the same $19.99 promotional deal if you DON'T also have a home phone package. After 6 months the cost is $40/month with home phone package, $50/month without.
Link: http://www.qwest.com/residential/internet/broadbandlanding/product_summary-12.html

I had this service before I moved here to Daybreak, and no home phone service. (Don't need it, don't want to pay for it.) My bill for internet alone was around $58/month.

Trust me, $33 is a steal.

After 6 months it is either $40 w/phone or $50 w/out (plus taxes). $33 is definately a good deal.
This is what their website says:

With Qualifying Home Phone Service
(Does not include price of phone service)
$19.99
After 6 months
Month-to-Month $40.00
Without Phone Service
(Internet with no home phone)
$29.99
After 6 months
Month-to-Month $50.00

Edit: Guess we were posting at the same time

That makes more sense to me now. Thanks.

Did anyone notice if they said anything about giving us discounts to bundle with other services?

So you really think it's a good thing that we, as an HOA, are still on the hook for all of the vacant homes. I realize that that's only for 90 days after inactivity, but add it up. It's still a lot of money that could be going to other things that people are always bitching about wanting here, like a pool or a REAL dog park.

Besides, it also takes the choice out of it for anyone who wants to go for a different provider. Isn't that Socialism when you're forced to have the same services? I thought all the people around here were supposed to be against Socialism, if they even know what it means. If we're going to have to have the same internet provider, who's to say the HOA can't force us to use the same lawn service or any other services? I'm sure luckyfish would love to get a similar no bid contract that Qwest got.

As we also saw last time, there is no recourse for those of us for whom Qwest never worked. They had absolutely no motivation for coming out and fixing it, as we were still obligated to give them money either way.

I think you'd be singing a different tune if you were being forced to pay for a service that you didn't particularly want. How about you think of others for a change?