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AT&T Quietly Introduces $10/Month DSL

prostoalex writes "As part of the deal with the FCC to approve the AT&T/BellSouth merger, AT&T started selling, but not advertising, a $10-per-month DSL service in 22 states, AP has learned. 'The service provides download speeds of up to 768 kilobits per second and upload speeds of up to 128 kbps, matching the speeds of the cheapest advertised AT&T plan, which costs $19.95 per month in the nine-state former BellSouth area and $14.99 in the 13 states covered by AT&T before the acquisition.'"

258 comments

  1. And what's to stop them from... by bluemonq · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...oversubscribing on a small amount of bandwidth and end up clipping real-world performance down to ISDN or dial-up levels on a regular basis?

    1. Re:And what's to stop them from... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Because it's cable companies that do that. I've never heard of a DSL company throttling bandwidth on a regular basis.

    2. Re:And what's to stop them from... by latras · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But at $10/month, if you can get even 128k, then that's a win. Since nowadays, dialup service is $9.95/mo. plus with not having to wait for the connection to establish, etc.

    3. Re:And what's to stop them from... by bdjacobson · · Score: 2, Informative

      The important improvement would be the latency.

      If there is no bandwidth cap (it's slow enough they don't need a b/w cap) then this is a great deal in my opinion. I don't need that Linux ISO _right_ now.

    4. Re:And what's to stop them from... by voxel · · Score: 1

      Whats to stop them from having all those DSL customers all funneling through a 9600 baud connection?

      Absolutely nothing, if they value their customers.

      --
      Modesty is one of life's greatest attributes
    5. Re:And what's to stop them from... by dwater · · Score: 2, Informative

      > plus with not having to wait for the connection to establish

      Eh? I have (A)DSL, and I have to wait a little while for it to 'connect'*...of course, I don't have to disconnect, but it does seem to do that on it's own every now and again (once a day?).

      *the DSL 'modem' has to connect, then the DHCP has to do it's stuff (do some DSL have permanent IP configs)?

      --
      Max.
    6. Re:And what's to stop them from... by dwater · · Score: 1

      > Absolutely nothing, if they value their customers.

      You mean "...*unless* they value their customers.", right?

      --
      Max.
    7. Re:And what's to stop them from... by jack455 · · Score: 1

      Right now I'm downloading an opensuse iso and it's averaging under 100kbps. This is slowing my connection ridiculously, and I have "up to" 768kbps. Clearly Verizon doesn't value me and they advertise my service constantly.

      Will AT&T even provide this much quality to their $10 subscribers? It's just speulation I guess, but somethying to think about.

      And no, if this is 768, I'm not paying for 1.5 or 3Mbps.

    8. Re:And what's to stop them from... by gallwapa · · Score: 2, Informative

      Math?

      100 kilobytes download = approx 768kbits/ps. fancy that, eh?

      Funny how it works. 1.5 / 8 = 192kbyte/s max - assuming no latency or TCP issues. Woo.

      you're getting what you paid for.

    9. Re:And what's to stop them from... by jack455 · · Score: 1

      So I shouldn't complain that it dropped to 89KB/s then?

    10. Re:And what's to stop them from... by fbjon · · Score: 1

      Nope. That's only 7 KB/s below the maximum, which is to be expected. The maximum can be reached only if there's no other traffic at all on the line, especially upload. If you're sending anything at all other than what the download requires you'll saturate 128kbps pretty quickly, causing the downstream to slow down, since TCP requires return packets.

      --
      True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
    11. Re:And what's to stop them from... by neokushan · · Score: 1

      You likely have a USB modem and this is your problem. The modem itself still has to make a connection to the exchange, it's not like they can just turn on and off at will (it's the same for all modems, even cable modems). Check and see if your modem has an Ethernet slot and plug in using that, as soon as your computer starts up your modem will have already logged in and you'll be off right away, at slightly faster speeds as well.

      --
      +1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
    12. Re:And what's to stop them from... by dwater · · Score: 2, Informative

      > You likely have a USB modem and this is your problem.

      Good Lord, no.

      I have a regular DSL modem with a RJ45/10BaseT socket (no USB). I have a Linksys WRT45G doing the DHCP...

      I'm not sure what they do to 'disconnect' me, but the connection goes 'dead' - as in no traffic. The modem still shows it is connected, mostly; though even that sometimes disconnects. The modem at my end has to connect to another modem at the other end, so all they have to do is disconnect the other end.

      Unless I'm very much mistaken...

      --
      Max.
    13. Re:And what's to stop them from... by neokushan · · Score: 2, Informative

      Oh, sometimes ISP's just do that, for various reasons (some just like to keep their pool of IP's constantly circulating, I guess so that you can pay them a premium for a static IP). But sometimes it can be caused by interference on your phone line. Since you've got DSL, you should also have microfilters plugged into EVERY object that's connected to your phone line, check them just to be sure (I had a similar issue because our satellite box also plugged into the phone line and the engineer didn't bother to plug in the microfilters correctly).

      --
      +1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
    14. Re:And what's to stop them from... by dwater · · Score: 1

      > Oh, sometimes ISP's just do that, for various reasons (some just like to keep their pool of IP's constantly circulating, I guess so that you can pay them a premium for a static IP).

      I had assumed they did it because I was consuming too much bandwidth. It seems to coincide with bittorrent/etc nicely.

      > Since you've got DSL, you should also have microfilters plugged into EVERY object that's connected to your phone line, check them just to be sure (I had a similar issue because our satellite box also plugged into the phone line and the engineer didn't bother to plug in the microfilters correctly).

      Well, I have *one* filter where the phone line enters the house, with the modem plugged into it's 'modem' socket, and everything else plugged into the 'phone' one (actually, I think it's just one phone, but I could put more if I wanted).

      Max.

      --
      Max.
    15. Re:And what's to stop them from... by Brad+Eleven · · Score: 1

      I think that's the dominant config nowadays :-)

      I had exactly the same problem. Upgraded router firmware, no more sputtering (unless it happens while I'm asleep).

      --
      "Press to test."
      (click)
      "Release to detonate."
    16. Re:And what's to stop them from... by lord+sibn · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hehe, "Linux ISO." *wink wink*

    17. Re:And what's to stop them from... by tsalaroth · · Score: 1

      I know that SBC (the new AT&T before the NEW new AT&T) used to dump connections using bittorrent and other P2P protocols for sustained bandwidth saturation, or something like that. When I asked about it, they said it was in their terms of service that saturating your bandwidth is a no-no.

    18. Re:And what's to stop them from... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Hehe, "Linux ISO." *wink wink*
      Sadly, this being slashdot he was probably being serious.
      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    19. Re:And what's to stop them from... by TheNinjaroach · · Score: 1

      I used to have Sprint DSL with a Zyxel modem. The Zyxel acted as a DHCP server all the time and gave my PC an internal 192.168.* address, even though it didn't stay connected all the time. When I opened Firefox it would negotiate some kind of PPP session in much less than a second - I never knew if the modem was up or down and I didn't need to. Like most good technology, it just worked.

      --
      I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
    20. Re:And what's to stop them from... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Most people who experience that are PPPoE users, are you?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    21. Re:And what's to stop them from... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The oversight of the FCC.

      Or, in short: NOTHING.

    22. Re:And what's to stop them from... by descentr · · Score: 1

      Your disconnect problem might actually be due to your modem (or like the previous poster said, line quality issues, but sometimes a better quality modem can help deal with this). I had a similar issue where the modem would disconnect during high bandwidth usage. I replaced it with a different modem known to work properly. Never had the problem again. The modem I was using before was made by Efficient Networks, not much larger than a deck of cards, and was the modem sent to me when I signed up for DSL. The modem I replaced it with is an Actiontec, uncertain of the model number, but it's the non-wireless version of the GT701-WG.

    23. Re:And what's to stop them from... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +5 funny. I hope this was a joke, DSL companies oversell bandwidth just as much as cable companies do, if not more, since they work on data link aggregates for other areas of their business too. Cable cos have one way to make money off their IP infrastructure, and that's by keeping cable internet customers (relatively) happy.

    24. Re:And what's to stop them from... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jesus Christ. Learn the difference between "it's" and "its". You've misused "it's" three times in your last three posts in this thread.

    25. Re:And what's to stop them from... by lord+sibn · · Score: 1

      Like, the ultimate injustice was that my comment was modded funnier than yours. Ok, so not quite ultimate. Penultimate, maybe. But still pretty close to ultimate!

  2. If it were free it would still be overpriced by javakah · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dealing with AT&T is just not worth it for cheap Internet Service. Even if it were free, I don't think I'd go for it. Besides, if it goes anything like my experience getting phone service from them, that $10 will really be $25 a month with all the extra fees and surcharges they are sure to add on.

    1. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by hobo+sapiens · · Score: 2, Informative

      Oh, stop your kvetching. How on earth can you find fault with them for offering $10 a month DSL? Seriously?

      I use AT&T and it works fine. I never have any problems with the service nor the customer service. Actually, their customer service is way better than most companies I have dealt with.

      --
      blah blah blah
    2. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by tknd · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I hate dealing with both the phone companies and the cable companies. I only have two options where I live: ATT or Timewarner. I think both companies are equally incompetent and the services are crap. For example ATT phone bills don't make much sense and have lots of additional charges. If there is a technical problem, they will charge you an arm and a leg. Meanwhile, Timewarner prices are too high and they will only offer lower rates as long as you purchase more services from them. Even then, the service you do get may have problems or have setup fees and miscellaneous tech charges associated with having some idiot tech come to your house just to flip a switch. (Side note: we all know that he's not really just flipping a switch, but rather intentionally making it so that only the cables connected to the TVs you asked are functional while the other cables are not!)

      And because both companies know they're so close to having a monopoly over the services, they do not put any effort into making the service better. Instead they offer less service at cheaper prices and increase the top end service (which was really yesterday's normal service), call it "Pro" and charge an arm and leg for it. At the end of the day, no matter who's charging you, you're still paying a premium for poor service.

      It's the new business strategy of America: don't hire engineers or researchers to improve your technology to have a superior product or service, instead just hire more marketers and business people to come up with new ways to sell the same crappy product.

    3. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by cdw38 · · Score: 1

      About a year ago I finally got one of my family members off of AOL dial-up (at $26/month) and onto Verizon's $15/month 768/128 plan. A total of $16-17 a month and it's been completely reliable. I'd find it hard to believe the OTD price on this new service would really be considerably cheaper.

    4. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Reaperducer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I've been with AT&T DSL for about a month. There were lots of problems getting it installed (turns out the problem was that none of the four telephone lines to my apartment were physically hooked up, but only the last tech bothered to go into the building's phone closet to check). But now that it's on, it works well.

      I have a plethora of high-speed internet choices where I live. I went with AT&T because it offered twice the speed of Speakeasy and the other resellers at half the cost AND NO CONTRACT. That was the big problem I had with most of the resellers.

      Another option would have been Comcast, but the Comcast lady told me that cable internet doesn't work with Macs (which I know is a lie because I've had Roadrunner in the past). She said if I can't install Comcast's software on Windows XP I can't have internet.

      In the end, I'm paying around $25/month for three megabits from AT&T that work fine so far. Comcast would have been six megabits, but for $75/month.

      I have a lot of reasons to hate the beast that is Southwestern Bell/SBC/AT&T/Ameritech/MegaGiantConHugeCo, but this time around I'm moderately pleased.

      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    5. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are right on about their phone service. They advertised to me, $11 a month for no frills, basic local and $.10 a minute long distance. I find out AFTER the phone call, in which I inquired about ANY additional fees, that I have to pay $2 for the ABILITY to dial long distance. Then exorbitant fees for other miscellaneous crap. I had switched because I was offered 4 months free basically, but that ran out much sooner. I happily switched back to COX san diego and I pay MUCH less for the same damn service.

    6. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Zephyr14z · · Score: 1

      I had their DSL for a while, but it was their "Ultimate" $30/month version. After taxes and fees, it was about $55/month. I've switched to a faster cable connection, and I'm paying less. As much as I hate dealing with Time Warner, it's still better than AT&T.

    7. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Idbar · · Score: 1

      Of course not! However, DSL will not work if you don't have wires... and of course are you putting them? Then you better pay for them! And I never heard of a DSL working stand alone... you MUST have a phone line, and long distance is imperative if you want to connect to websites around the globe. Everything makes perfect sense!

    8. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by rossz · · Score: 1

      I agree. They could drop the price to zero and I still won't go for it. Dealing with AT&T is far too painful. They'd have to pay me to take their damn service, and I'm not cheap!

      --
      -- Will program for bandwidth
    9. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by laffer1 · · Score: 1

      First, I use Comcast cable service with 2 macs and several PCs. The installer doesn't usually care. They'll just hand you the modem, you plug it in, and its up. They may not want to support you if you have a problem, but that's another story.

      As for AT&T and DSL, I had SBC Yahoo DSL for two years. It was great. Fast service, good tech support. Then I made the fatal mistake of moving. Their rep told me it would be no problem to move my service. I was moving in town and kept my same phone number. They refused to disconnect DSL at my old address and move it because I HAD THE SAME PHONE NUMBER. They kept lying to me about completion dates. Two months went by and I was on dial-up. They were charging me DSL package prices for their sub standard dial-up service. I gave up after they yelled at me for calling too much! (yeah once a week is too much) I went to charter and they had me going in 3 days! I fought with SBC for 3 months to get a refund. I never did get all of it. I agreed to pay for the substandard dial-up at the price of the dial-up. After that experience, I moved all my phone services away from them. I couldn't be happier using Sprint for cell phone access and now comcast workplace internet. Don't bother with AT&T.

    10. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Reaperducer · · Score: 4, Funny

      Funny. My AT&T heartache story has to do with moving, too.

      I moved from the third floor to the fourth floor of a builiding. AT&T wouldn't move my phone service insisting that there is no fourth floor in my building. AT&T claimed it was only a two-story building, which doesn't explain how it was able to hook up phone my original service on the third floor. AT&T refused to send someone out to verify the building had four stories. One hypothesis they proffered was that it was a new building. Nope. The building is older than AT&T.

      I ended up getting Roadrunner and Vonage since AT&T for some reason didn't want my money.

      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    11. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by RenderSeven · · Score: 1
      Cant speak for AT&T but I have Verizon DSL. Installed on a promo price of $14.95/mo when I put in new voice lines. After 4 years now I called about upgrading and they bumped me to 3m/768 for no charge pretty much without my even asking. I run remote desktop and remote backup for a dozen computers over it, keeping that 768 pretty loaded and never even a hint of throttling.

      The INSTALLERS though are whiny little morons, so when the underground cable got eaten by squirrels, it took 3 hours of them explaining to me why 3mb cant possibly ever work and about an hour to make it work again just fine. But other than that I dont have a single unkind word for DSL providers. Your mileage may vary of course.

    12. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by POTSandPANS · · Score: 1
      It's the new business strategy of America: don't hire engineers or researchers to improve your technology to have a superior product or service, instead just hire more marketers and business people to come up with new ways to sell the same crappy product.

      That's only half of it.. I usedto be an install/repair tech with a telco. I was not one of the lazy, knucklehead installers either I actually really enjoyed my job and did good work. I believe a reasonable price for a decent DSL/Cable connection is $40-$45. When the cable company started undercutting us by a few bucks, we had to do the same to compete. Eventually, most of my friends and I were laid off and our jobs contracted out. Now, installs are done as fast/cheaply as possible, service is terrible, and all the prices are back up to what they used to be.. If you really push for cheaper service, eventually you'll get cheaper service..

      On the bright side, getting laid off from there was one of the best things that could have happened. I'm now working for a small wireless ISP and couldn't be happier!

    13. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by moosesocks · · Score: 1

      For what it's worth, back in the day, AT&T's dialup offering was easily the best in the business.

      I knew a few IBM engineers who did consulting work at their NOC, and they were always most impressed by AT&T out of the ISPs they worked at.

      --
      -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
    14. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by michrech · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dealing with AT&T is just not worth it for cheap Internet Service. Even if it were free, I don't think I'd go for it. Besides, if it goes anything like my experience getting phone service from them, that $10 will really be $25 a month with all the extra fees and surcharges they are sure to add on.

      Funny you should mention the "extra fees".

      I moved into my house March 15'th. I called them (from my cell phone) to see how much "naked" DSL would run me a month. At the time, they had their $19.95 package (Still do). The fee was $24.95 ON TOP OF the $19.95 a month.

      Care to guess what a basic phone line costs from them (after fees and taxes)? If you guessed $24.95, you win! I told the lady, "So, to get 'naked dsl', you are charging me exactly the same price as a phone, in the form of a 'fee'. To top it off, you're not going to provide the phone service! How the hell do you people get away with this?!". Her response? "Nooo, sir.. this fee is actually cheaper than bundling in phone service!". My reply was "Lady, I may not have done very well with math when I was in school, however, I'm pretty damned sure $24.95 for a basic phone is the *same* price as the $24.95 "fee" you just tried to charge me for NOT getting phone service." As she started to bumble on, I told her AT&T could stuff the service where the sun isn't shining, and that I was going to call my local cable company (who just started offering phone service).

      AT&T can kiss my hairy white ass. They drove me right into the wide-open arms of my local cable provider (CableONE). I have no need for a phone line (haven't had one since I was 20, I'm 30 now...), and I'm not about to sit here and be treated like a fucking moron when I have other choices (there is also a wireless provider in town in addition to the cable company).

      Now that many cable companies are starting to offer phone services, I wonder if that will spark a wave of change in how AT&T operates. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for it, though.

      --
      bork bork bork!
    15. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      You're lucky your cable company doesn't get it's backbone from AT&T. I've got a 12.foo.foo.foo IP address and we know what that means.

    16. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 1

      Another option would have been Comcast, but the Comcast lady told me that cable internet doesn't work with Macs (which I know is a lie because I've had Roadrunner in the past). She said if I can't install Comcast's software on Windows XP I can't have internet.

      The appropriate response at that point would have been, "Get your supervisor on the line."

      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
    17. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by dwater · · Score: 1

      > ...and we know what that means.

      No, we don't...

      --
      Max.
    18. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't understand why would you need long distance. what you pay for is the internet connection from your home to the ISP, and the connection to websites around the globe is made in the internet.

    19. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by thebear05 · · Score: 2, Informative

      i was only offered it after i said i was switching to cable, they can do a dry loop and give you dsl without phone service, this was from verizon i have told others about this and they have received the service by asking for it.

    20. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by laffer1 · · Score: 1

      Wow. I think you should have pushed for a refund. It was impossible for them to charge you for an imaginary phone line connected to an apartment that didn't exist.

    21. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by doxology · · Score: 1

      "I moved into my house March 15'th"

      No wonder! Beware the Ides of March!

      --
      sigfault. core dumped.
    22. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It wouldn't...AT&T will still charge you for a phone line (about $11 here in Chicago). They also will charge you long distance, even if you asked for a local phone line only in the beginning. Their bills are a mess...dsl service is paid in advance, phone service is paid the month after, there are multiple sections to the bill (long distance, local, taxes, dsl) which occupies at least 3 printed pages. It takes them 3 weeks to get your DSL service working after spending hours on the phone getting routed to all kinds of departments. We had AT&T for 3 months and then switched to COMCAST (which is not particularly better in my opinion).

    23. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by fbjon · · Score: 1

      Holy crap your options are expensive, I pay 50 euro/month for 8M/1M. Are you in a city or on the outskirts?

      --
      True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
    24. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by fbjon · · Score: 1

      Gah, I mean USD, not euro. It's 39 euro/month.

      --
      True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
    25. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      whois 12.000.000.000@whois.arin.net
      [whois.arin.net]
      AT&T WorldNet Services ATT (NET-12-0-0-0-1)
                                                                          12.0.0.0 - 12.255.255.255

      Basically my cable company is just resselling AT&T services.

    26. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by slash.duncan · · Score: 1

      Mine was Qworst not ATT, but the story sounds familiar. I moved (a few blocks), they knew enough about my connection to see I had DSL and ask if I wanted it moved too, but they apparently couldn't tell the new location didn't have a drop.

      It took them several weeks, at a week to reschedule each time, to FINALLY get me even a voice line at the new location, that was SUPPOSED to be hooked up the same day I moved and my previous location was disconnected. They had all sorts of excuses, including the one week where the monkey (um, excuse me, technician) put on the ticket that the location was a vacant lot!!

      So after several weeks without even a voice line, I finally got that, and started the runaround on the DSL. After another month or so of calling back every few days, I finally got the straight story. It was the same CO and DSLAM as I had had at the previous location, but due to their monkeying around, they had given the DSLAM slot to someone else, and there was a waiting list months long, but /only/ three months to go until they'd be upgrading, after which I should have no problem.

      That's when I called Speakeasy and had them sign me up. 15 days later, I was up and running, and that was after an extra day because the telco monkeys (um, technicians) robbed the reserved dry pair for the DSL and put someone's voice line on it. However, unlike their /own/ service, they were under FCC monitoring on this as cooperation with the competition, so instead of taking a week to reschedule a single monkey to try again as they did with their own service, they were out THE NEXT DAY, with not one, but TWO techs, real techs not monkeys this time, and they had it straightened out in no time.

      So if I'd have called SE when I first moved, I'd have likely had DSL before the telco monkeys got their act together enough to even get me a voice line.

      It's little wonder that as soon as the cableco (Cox) Internet came around, I switched from DSL and got rid of the telco's providing that, and a year later, when the cableco offered phone service, I jumped on it, and severed my last business dealings with the baboons at the telco. What was pitiful was the letters they kept sending me saying they wanted me back. Cox isn't perfect, but it's DEFINITELY been better than the collection of baboons the telco had doing things around here! (FWIW, Cox gets far better ratings than Comcast does. I read about all the stuff Comcast pulls and am glad I'm not choosing between baboons and orangutans, as it looks like I'd be doing if Comcast was the local cableco.)

      Duncan

      --
      Duncan
      "Every nonfree program has a lord, a master,
      and if you use the program, he is your master."
      R Stallman
    27. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Plutonite · · Score: 1

      What kind of a geek are you? I would have taken quick photo shoots of the building, RJ11 outlets, external phone cables..etc on the spot while chatting to them wireless, put the pics on a computer and sent them back immediately to the customer support email! Die you bastards!

      [commercial with sexy woman wearing short curly hair and holding LAN cable]
      AT&T: Is your "building" tall enough?

      Also in the news: Man breaks 3 bones after jumping from roof of 4 story building to prove to telecom company that he wants their service. The said company is still skeptical.

    28. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Red+Flayer · · Score: 1

      Dealing with AT&T is just not worth it for cheap Internet Service
      As opposed to dealing with...? Anyone? Any and all telcos are a pain in the rear to deal with. It's an industry-wide problem, and I'd gladly trade you dealing with Verizon for dealing with AT&T.
      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    29. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by encoderer · · Score: 1

      1. I currently have DSL w/ AT&T. Part of this is the mandatory phone line. Mine has no long distance carrier, and I'd have to pay for every call I make thru it (3.5cents/min @ peak hrs), but it's only $12.00 a month even after all the 911 and franchise fees and such. The 3Mb/s dsl is $28 with fees and taxes. The $40 bill is inline with the local cable company.

      2. Part of this settlement with the Gov't over the BellSouth acquisition is that they have to let you get DSL without making you subscribe to a phone line. I'm not sure when this goes into effect, and when it does i'm sure they'll be hush about it, but check into it.

      3. I've had nothing but easy-going w/ my DSL. I live in an apartment building Downtown, which may contribute to the solid service I receive as I'm certain they've got good infrastructure in the neighborhood, but all they had to do is hook up something in the Telco room and send me a modem via UPS. I plugged it in, plugged in the filters, put the TCP/IP configuration disk in, and 3 minutes later I had DSL. No trouble at all. It stays connected and the speeds are fairly consistent.

      4. I used to think DSL was inferior to Cable. I had these notions of people having to sign in and having PPP problems and what not. But it works perfect for me. I've got no "DSL CLient" installed on my PC, the Belkin router seems to take care of all that.

      5. I'm a software developer. I don't do hardware.

    30. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by demonlapin · · Score: 1
      If you think Time-Warner's cable service is bad, you have never experienced Comcast. The prices are no bargain, but in the three years I had Roadrunner my internet service dropped out *once*. For five days. Starting on August 29, 2005.

      Since Comcast took over a few months ago, I have had dropouts lasting 30 minutes or more once or twice a week.

    31. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by porcupine8 · · Score: 1

      That's pretty funny. Comcast's cd worked just fine on my mac. And yes, you do have to go through their stupid cd or the only webpage that will show up is "Thank you for using Comcast, please install your cd!"

      --
      Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
    32. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      And yes, you do have to go through their stupid cd or the only webpage that will show up is "Thank you for using Comcast, please install your cd!"

      they have a provisioning webpage that eliminates the necessity of the CD.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    33. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by skintigh2 · · Score: 2, Funny

      I was paying them $66 a month for phone service that would cut in and out all night, drop calls over and over and often not give me a dial tone. Yes, this was a land line. AT&T insisted I had bad wires in the house, even though I plugged my phone into the junction box outside and still heard all the static.

      Then they told me they were going to put a conduit under my patio and put in a new wire. I came home to find that they had tore up my lawn and not bother to fix it, sprayed orange spray paint all over my patio, tore out and broke pavers on my patio, bent the thick steel edging around the patio, and damaged my cable TV cable and made that all staticy. And my phone service was not improved at all.

      After roughly 20 calls and 20 lines tests that found nothing wrong and 15 promises to send a tech and 10 messages that my gate was locked and they couldn't work (my gate can't lock) they finally decided there was a problem with the trunk, and as long as it was hot it worked, but when it cooled down at night something came loose. I asked when they would fix it and they told me the problem could only be identified at nights and they don't work nights, so never.

      When I called to cancel my phone the rep kept me on the line for 20 minutes trying to sell me, among other things, DSL! When I reminded her that I couldn't even get voice down my line she was sure they could make it work with DSL. When I finally got her to disconnect me she asks "is there anything else I can do to make you a satisfied AT&T customer?" I was speechless.

    34. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      They had all sorts of excuses, including the one week where the monkey (um, excuse me, technician) put on the ticket that the location was a vacant lot!!
      That's very odd because phone companies run lines to vacant lots all the time. One company I worked for would order 5-10 phone lines and fiber routed to vacant lots, or farm fields, or random street manholes probably five or six times a year. We'd use them for about a week and then disconnect.

      Usually phone companies will do whatever you want if you throw enough money at them. Glad I've never had to deal with Qwest.
      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    35. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      It turns out, so does AT&T. The tech who finally hooked me up used it because he said the CDROM was too slow.

      Which means I never clicked "I accept" on any of AT&T's terms of use agreements.

      Hmmm....

      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    36. Re:If it were free it would still be overpriced by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the end, I'm paying around $25/month for three megabits from AT&T that work fine so far. Comcast would have been six megabits, but for $75/month.


      You are still getting raped at that price.
  3. That price is basically a lie. by Kadin2048 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From TFA:

    Local phone service and a one-year contract are required.
    $10/mo my ass. You have to sign up for a POTS line with them, and I'm willing to bet that's going to be at least another $10, not counting all the taxes, fees, and bullshit they attach on to that. ("Cost recovery fee" my ass. Do they still have that one?) And if you already have AT&T for your POTS line, then you're screwed! You're not eligible for the price anyway.

    So let's review. It forces people who don't have a line with AT&T, and presumably don't want one, to get one -- upping the price. And people who already have service with them, can't get it.

    Nice work, FCC, nice work. This is a 'concession'? What did you have to give them? (Besides your bank account numbers, to deposit the cash.)

    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
    1. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Constantine+XVI · · Score: 4, Informative
      If you re-read the TFA, it also said:

      who have never had AT&T or BellSouth broadband

      --
      "I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
    2. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have to sign up for a POTS line with them, and I'm willing to bet that's going to be at least another $10

      $10? Clean out your head gear, new guy. A POTS line with these jackasses costs $24 per month after you factor in all the bullshit charges and overcharges (like USF fee which is 1.9%, but ATT will charge you 5.9% to collect it). Plus, no doubt they'll throw all sorts of bullshit DSL fees on that portion of the bill. Rural DSL recovery fee, DSL equipment surcharge, Data infrastructure overcharge, BOHICA recovery fee. This $10 a month DSL will cost you $50 for sure.

    3. Re:That price is basically a lie. by grumpyman · · Score: 1

      Just $10 for POTS? Our city here in Canada has the good ol' local monopoly equivalent charging $30+ a month for POTS.

    4. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      $10/mo my ass.

      OK - Keep it well lubed and you've got a deal.

    5. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless $30 canadian is worth $10-$15 US, you are getting really badly ripped off.

    6. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Dragonslicer · · Score: 1

      You have to sign up for a POTS line with them
      Are there any DSL providers where that isn't a requirement? The brief time that I had Verizon DSL several years ago I also had to have phone service through them.
    7. Re:That price is basically a lie. by the_greywolf · · Score: 1

      You have to sign up for a POTS line with them
      Are there any DSL providers where that isn't a requirement?

      Qwest doesn't like to admit it, but you can get DSL without POTS through them. They still charge you about half of what the POTS would have cost you, but it can be done. (Or, at least, you could last I checked... About 2 years ago.) The DSL service itself comes without an ISP. So they try to force you onto their MSN service. Tell them you don't use Windows, and they'll "downgrade" you to their Qwest.net ISP - which costs a little more than MSN (IIRC). So you really gain nothing over MSN+POTS+DSL, and it still costs about the same.

      --
      grey wolf
      LET FORTRAN DIE!
    8. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's $10 a month, with an additional feature of sending all your packets directly to the NSA at no extra charge!

      Oh yeah, you can't opt out of that feature. It's a bundle.

    9. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      Are there any DSL providers where that isn't a requirement?
      Yeah, AT&T. Contrary to what the reacionary twitchers at /. think, AT&T doesn't require you to have their phone service to get their DSL.

      I have no AT&T phone service (the tech called it a "dry loop"), but I have AT&T DSL.

      The catch is (at least in my area) that AT&T caps you at three megabits. In order to get their six megabit package you have to sign up for phone service.
      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    10. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder if its like a few places i have thought about going with...

      Without POTS Line:
      $40/month - naked DSL

      With POTS Line:
      $10/month - DSL
      $20/month - Phone
      + fee to cover adminstration of fees
      + fee to print bill
      + fee to send bill
      + fee to ...

      Basically where you're paying $40-50/month either way(or like 3-5 dollars more for both etc.)

      Unfortunately its fairly Similiar to cable tv/internet that i've researched...
      Basic cable $45/month
      Cable Internet $55/month
      Both $50/month
      (... for 6 months, then its $110 for both)

    11. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Joffrey · · Score: 1

      I have an AT&T POTS line, with zero frills (not even unlimited local dialing out), for about $17/mo with taxes, fees and so forth. Fully $8-9 of that monthly fee is taxes, fees, and other associated "recoveries," but it is a pretty cheap POTS line, so I still have phone service if the power goes out, etc.

      --
      No, really! I'm one of the *good* lawyers!
    12. Re:That price is basically a lie. by munpfazy · · Score: 1

      I tried to order AT&T dry loop service in the San Francisco Bay area two months ago.

      After jumping around the phone tree for a while, I was told that it was possible to order it, but that the cheapest possible plan cost more than $20 above the cost of their cheapest bundled rate, and it required paying for a professional installation, signing up for a one year contract, and not getting any discounts or rebates on the mandatory dsl modem purchase.

      I ended up reluctantly ordering a minimal ("measured rate") voice line, which ends up costing around $11/mo including taxes and fees, and ordering DSL through an outside provider which offered a much better deal than AT&T.

      I'm willing to go through a fair bit of trouble just to force a truly evil company like AT&T to meet even distressingly watered-down anti-trust settlements. . . but $12/mo, a $200 dollar setup fee, and a factor of 4 decrease in bandwidth all to prove a point is starting to get rather steep.

    13. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What did they give them? The NSA an open back door!

    14. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You dont need to pay $17 a month to have a phone line if the power goes out... just buy a UPS and plug in your modem, router and the VOIP adapter to the UPS and you will have a phone when power goes out. At $17 a month, thats a total of $204 a year! Buying the cheapest of the UPS will be enough since these devices are not power hungry. Either that or you could still use you cell phone.

    15. Re:That price is basically a lie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just chatted with a rep online. There's another catch, in addition to never having been an AT&T nor BS broadband subscriber. Jessica says that one must be a Bellsouth customer to purchase the $10 plan. New customers are not eligible. So, the trick is to order a basic phone line and then DSL after you have a dialtone. She did not suggest this approach. She happily replied to my request for $10 DSL with the response that I could get the same product for $19.95 as a new customer, as if she were offering me a deal.

      There is no information available to non-customers about the $10 plan other than the teeny link at the bottom, "Term contract plans available", which is tucked just above the "Terms and Conditions" section. In it, the close observer learns that one must input their phone number to order this plan (i.e. you must be a customer).

      Just another way Bellsouth and corporate America is making a mockery of government and it's customers.

    16. Re:That price is basically a lie. by kalirion · · Score: 1

      I thought that was a standard feature on all packages from all telcos?

  4. Advertising by Dr.Merkwurdigeliebe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The article mentioned that it was difficult to locate information about the service. Does anyone know if the FCC has the power to not only force them to offer the plan, but also to make it (reasonably) accessible? I'm not talking about posting it on every billboard, but hey, it looks like they're banking on people not knowing about this service.

    --
    I'm a student. I write iPhone apps.
  5. Worthless by Lord+Ender · · Score: 4, Informative

    To get ATT DSL, you need to sign up for a 1 or 2 year contract, pay an installation fee, and buy their landline service.

    Because anybody with a clue is using VoIP by this point, these terms basically mean their $10 DSL costs $35 (=$10 for DSL + $25 for worthless phone service) PLUS the amortized cost of installation and the effective cost of an illiquid 1-2 year contract.

    Note: Last time I priced DSL, these were the requirements. They may have changed, and if so, feel free to correct me. Until T unbundles their services, though, I'm sticking to cable.

    --
    A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    1. Re:Worthless by jc42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because anybody with a clue is using VoIP by this point, ...

      Except that many people (more every week) live in areas where the only ISP is the phone company, and they block user-level VoIP (while using it internally themselves).

      In such a situation, all the clues in the world won't get you what you want.

      It's the old "If you don't like it, you can move."

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
    2. Re:Worthless by narced · · Score: 1

      Does VoIP work that well for you? Where I live (Southern Oregon) a VoIP call has such horrible lag that you end up talking over each other. It is like using CB radio... end each sentence in 'over'.

      I guess what I want to know is is there VoIP service out there that can match the instant speed and clarity of POTS? It sure can't here.

    3. Re:Worthless by Wilk4 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Because anybody with a clue is using VoIP by this point..."

      Kind of arrogant aren't you? (oh, yeah, this is /. ;-)

      Hate to tell you, but lots of people who have clues don't use VoIP and don't really want to, myself included. DSL for a regular phone line + net access works great, phones are cheap, and I have a working phone when the power goes out. (if you're close enough to the phone company office as I am anyway).

      So why do you think VoIP is so freakin' mandatory for the clue-full?

    4. Re:Worthless by Random+Destruction · · Score: 1

      Primus Talkbroadband in Ontario on Bell DSL. No problems w/ lag. Great quality. Only issues are w/ other network traffic as I'm not using QOS atm.

      --
      :x
    5. Re:Worthless by cecil_turtle · · Score: 1

      and they block user-level VoIP
      Who is your ISP? I just did some quick searches and didn't find any news of ISP's blocking VoIP since '05 when apparently the FCC hit a few of them with fines for doing so.
    6. Re:Worthless by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      To get ATT DSL, you need to sign up for a 1 or 2 year contract, pay an installation fee, and buy their landline service.
      Lies and FUD. Did you make this stuff up yourself, or did you see it in a cable company newsletter?

      I got AT&T DSL last month with no phone service (I use Vonage -- works great!), no contract, and no installation fee. The only thing I had to buy was the DSL modem for ~$50.

      I even ordered it online, where the option to get DSL without the phone line was presented just as clearly as the regular option. No sneaky Dell-style hidden menus and options.

      I'm not a big AT&T fan, but you clearly don't know what you're talking about. Or maybe you just live someplace where the regulations are vastly different (FTR, I'm in Chicago).
      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    7. Re:Worthless by cecil_turtle · · Score: 1

      When I was on DSL VoIP was mostly acceptable but would get choppy like a bad cell phone connection if somebody was browsing the Internet at the same time. I've been on Verizon Fios for almost a year now and Vonage has been rock solid - even when downloading / bittorrenting - I haven't had one issue since changing ISPs. I don't even have the recommended ports opened up in my router that supposedly makes Vonage work better. I assume the main difference is the total available bandwidth (both directions) is much higher with Fios. The DSL was like 3mbps/768kbps so it wasn't even a slow one, but my Fios is 15/2mbps. I've never had Vonage be laggy like you describe though, it would just cut out (sometimes only for one party). What kind of VoIP were you using?

    8. Re:Worthless by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1

      I don't live in Chicago. I live in an area which has very little regulation. ATT here requires an installation fee (and forcing you to buy a modem really IS a fee). It also required buying their landline phone service. It also REQUIRED a one year contract.

      This was a former SBC state. It may not be the same everywhere, but when the local government doesn't hold them back, the phone company bundles and contracts the shit out of you, whether you like it or not.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    9. Re:Worthless by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1

      I have Vonage. There are no problems with latency or clarity, and I get every feature under the sun with it.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    10. Re:Worthless by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Well, Mr. Clueless, I'll tell you.

      Do you have a cell phone? For the 2 hours per year your power is out, you can use that. If that's not enough for you, you can buy a UPS and put your modem, VoIP router, and phone on it. So, now that you have enough clue to realize that availability is a non-argument...

      VoIP like Vonage has EVERY feature you can possibly imagine with a landline, plus some that just aren't available at all for landline proles.

      I'm talking voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, advanced call forwarding, the ability to take your phone number (including area code) with you when you travel or move...
      Oh, and did I mention simulcall? When someone calls my Vonage number, it rings my cell phone and my work phone at the same time. Sweet.

      So, yeah, VoIP is better than landline in every conceivable way.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    11. Re:Worthless by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      when the local government doesn't hold them back, the phone company bundles and contracts the shit out of you
      I've lived in rural areas, so I understand. I don't think it's so much to do with regulation as competition. If AT&T pisses me off, I can switch to one of dozens of DSL, cable, and wireless providers. It's one of the many benefits of living in a big city.

      Heck, as recently as a few years ago I lived in a very small town where you only needed to dial five digits to call phone numbers across two area codes in two states (I was 49845). How's THAT for a local phone company doing whatever it wants!
      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    12. Re:Worthless by Fred+Ferrigno · · Score: 1

      AT&T no longer does contracts, self-install is free and the modem is free after rebate. Where I live, AT&T DSL (plus no-frills POTS service and taxes) is not surprisingly roughly the same price as cable once you factor in cable's deceptive marketing too -- equipment rental, promo pricing that jacks up after the first few months, etc.

      As far as VoIP.. I've never used it, myself. I use my cell as my main number. Why bother with a phone you can't take with you?

    13. Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >So why do you think VoIP is so freakin' mandatory for the clue-full?

      Because most of us have cell phones, most of us keep them charged, and most of us live near cell towers that have at least battery backup (if not generator backup). And, for the frugal of us, we don't have any plans on these phones. They're there for that all-important 911 call that might happen when the power is out (so unlikely, but still probably worth the $$$ for a $10 bag phone from eBay).

      But if you live out in the middle of nowhere and are getting only analog mobile service, I certainly can see your point...

    14. Re:Worthless by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 1

      Do you have a cell phone? For the 2 hours per year your power is out, you can use that. If that's not enough for you, you can buy a UPS and put your modem, VoIP router, and phone on it. So, now that you have enough clue to realize that availability is a non-argument...

      How will vonage help me when I'm 35 miles down the road, and out of gas on my motorcycle?

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    15. Re:Worthless by Fred+Ferrigno · · Score: 1

      Do you have a cell phone? Then why do you need another phone? For $24.99 a month less, you could just use that cell phone when the power's on too.
    16. Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am sure all the people in New Orleans were so happy about having their cell phones when Katrina hit and took out some of those cell towers and the ones that were left were so overloaded they couldn't get connected. The only phone lines that were still in reliable operation were POTS.

      I keep my landline for the possibility that not only will I lose power but that cell service may be unavailable as well. I live in an earthquake zone and this is a definite possibility, so you can take your arrogant attitude and stick it. VoIP is fine as long as nothing happens, when it does all you have is a paper weight and no way to contact anyone for help. If you don't mind the risk that's fine for you, but I have a family to think of and that risk is unacceptable even if remote.

      POTS is not a luxury for me, it is a requirement. As such, the price of it does not factor into the price of DSL service.

    17. Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Measured rate service in California is $6. The total would be $16.

    18. Re:Worthless by Breakfast+Pants · · Score: 1

      Good point, a landline beats it there hands down.

      --

      --

      WHO ATE MY BREAKFAST PANTS?
    19. Re:Worthless by binaryspiral · · Score: 1


      Because anybody with a clue is using VoIP by this point


      What if your ISP is your phone company and gives you a decent analog voice rate? Why would I install VoIP and have a fully functional analog line go to waste?

      Sure, I don't get unlimited long distance - but I'm posting on /. - I don't have a lot of friends to call.

    20. Re:Worthless by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 1

      Overage on my cell phone costs some stupid rate per minute, and even more for international calls. My VoIP service costs $0/month + $0.023/minute to almost anywhere. I don't see any reason not to take advantage of the better price of VoIP service.

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
    21. Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You sound cluless alright. Plug your modem and DTA (Voip Phone) into the UPS and you still have you phone when the power goes out. I've been using Packet8 for over 3 years now at $20 a month for unlimited US and Canada and no land line for as long as that. I'm not going back!

    22. Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ever checked out the rates for making calls overseas on your cell phone? AT & T land line costs me $1.05 a min on a land line (Dont as Mobile charges!!!) to call Sri Lanka. Packet8 charges $0.17 pe min, rounder per second. This is pretty competative with calling cards, and get better quality sound and since calls are rounded per min, saves from that too. Calling Europe is about 2c a min.

    23. Re:Worthless by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 1

      In such a situation, all the clues in the world won't get you what you want.

      Use Skype, it's encrypted p2p so it's annoying to block. If they do block that, you could get more advanced and rent a virtual server and set up an encrypted tunnel using a protocol they don't block. If they make the latency so bad that VoIP is worthless or do protocol white listing or something, their service will suck so much that any competitor will obviously be better than they are.

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
    24. Re:Worthless by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 1

      I assume the main difference is the total available bandwidth (both directions) is much higher with Fios.

      For VoIP, as with many realtime applications, the bandwidth is much less important than the latency. A VoIP call over a connection with 128k of bandwidth and 5ms latency will sound great. A VoIP call over a 100 meg connection with 500ms latency will sound terrible.

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
    25. Re:Worthless by Y0tsuya · · Score: 1

      I hook all my networking equipment up to a UPS. Blackout problem solved.

    26. Re:Worthless by loraksus · · Score: 2, Interesting

      When I was on Verizon DSL, the DSL service went down with power outages. Comcast seemed to go down if there was a power outage halfway around the city.
      A UPS isn't going to do shit for you in either of those cases unless you can sneak into the CO and plug your bank into it...

      --
      1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcfv gbhnjmk,l.;/
    27. Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't need broadband to have a land-line. If my broadband goes down (provider upgrades/repairs, DoS attacks, whatever), my land-line still works. If I find a better deal on broadband and switch providers, it doesn't affect my land-line. Land-line service is completely independent of any other service. It is a well-understood, well-established, and time-well-tested technology. This makes it more dependable, reliable, and trustworthy IMO. VOIP is a sensible alternative for someone that makes lots of long-lasting long-distance calls and/or frequent international calls.

    28. Re:Worthless by cthulhu11 · · Score: 0

      Indeed. There are many of us with those new-fangled "cell phones", or who need to occasionally fax something. Or -- in our cluelessness -- want to be able to make/take calls during connectivity or *power* outages. Neither cable nor DSL service is nearly reliable enough to depend on for voice service. There are also many people (like me) who live in areas where neither DSL nor cable is even *available*. $650/mo for a DS1 so one can run VoIP vs $30/mo for a POTS line. Hmmm, wonder which the hipster^H^H^H^H^H^Hclueful user will choose....

    29. Re:Worthless by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1

      Vonage has a 500min plan for $15. Virgin Mobile has prepay cell phones with no contracts for $0.18/min. It's a good combo. My total phone bill is $25/mo.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    30. Re:Worthless by DaveEckels · · Score: 1

      //quote: Because anybody with a clue is using VoIP by this point, Anybody without monitored home alarm systems, you mean. I've tried two VOIP providers who both advertise E911 service, and they're both incompatible with two different alarm monitoring services. Both services work fine with POTS, and are far more valuable to my family than saving $25/mo +- after facoring in everyone's fees and taxes and whatnot. So, I guess VOIP isn't quite for everyone. And some of us have splendid reasons. And clues.

    31. Re:Worthless by fastest+fascist · · Score: 1

      Why DO you have to buy their landline service with it? I have ADSL and I don't have a telephone contract with anyone, just the broadband. Then again, I think over here the ISPs are legally barred from requiring customers to get a phone contract if they just want broadband.

    32. Re:Worthless by Monoman · · Score: 1

      Because anybody with a clue is using VoIP by this point

      Just to add more fuel to the fire you shouldn't have started. Because anybody with a clue is NOT blindly using VoIP at this point.

      VoIP is fine for non-essential areas or if you have a POTS to back it up. I live in an area that sees power outages often enough to care ... think hurricanes. :-) Try dialing 911 when the power is out on your VoIP line. When the power is out POTS will usually work if you have a regular old corded phone in the house.

      And don't get me started on how many of the VoIP systems sound horrible. We have a few smaller vendors that have switched to VoIP systems and it is obvious from the start. The calls sound so bad they call back on their cell phones ... which by the way are not really much better.

      --
      Keep the Classic Slashdot.
    33. Re:Worthless by kurtis25 · · Score: 1

      I pay $15 total (taxes, fees and junk) for my ATT phone line. I tried to fight the 911 fee since I don't have a phone hooked up to the line but ATT can't change that. ATT has cheap phone service with limited calls that's all you need for DSL. I get DSL for about $30. Cheapest in the area.

    34. Re:Worthless by iceperson · · Score: 1

      Then clearly that must be the case for everyone...

    35. Re:Worthless by westlake · · Score: 1
      Do you have a cell phone? For the 2 hours per year your power is out, you can use that. If that's not enough for you, you can buy a UPS and put your modem, VoIP router, and phone on it. So, now that you have enough clue to realize that availability is a non-argument...

      With POTS you don't need the modem, the router, the UPS, the PC or the VoIP phone.

      In our particular situation what we must have is 24/7/365 access to local E911 and other emergency services. Because there is a 100% certainty that they will be needed.

    36. Re:Worthless by Mattintosh · · Score: 1

      Because anybody with a clue is using VoIP by this point

      I'm going to snicker at your misfortune when you have an emergency and find out just how shitty E911 compliance is with most VoIP providers. That's assuming you're not running your own Asterisk server and providing your own E911... You did remember to set that up with the local fire/ambulance district, right?

      And if you seem to live in a dreamworld where E911 is "government mandated" and therefore is reliable, I'm here to tell you that I've worked with VoIP telco provisioning systems, and I can personally assure you that they're absolute shit. You're lucky if the provisioning system doesn't deallocate your phone number when you go to set it up. You're also lucky if the provisioning system actually provisions your line, rather than just displaying the expected result of the process and getting a SOAP-fault on the back-end when actually trying to provision things.

      In other words, anyone with a real clue is sticking with POTS until the VoIP providers can get their act together and make their billing and provisioning (these are usually tied closely together) systems not suck.

    37. Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Use VOIP for most calls.

      Pay $15 every three months for an emergency cell phone.

    38. Re:Worthless by Matt+Perry · · Score: 1

      Because anybody with a clue is using VoIP by this point, these terms basically mean their $10 DSL costs $35 (=$10 for DSL + $25 for worthless phone service) PLUS the amortized cost of installation and the effective cost of an illiquid 1-2 year contract.

      $35 for net access is pretty cheap. I have a basic land line and it's $17 a month with all the taxes and fees. So it would be $27 for net access where I am. That sounds like a deal. Have you seen how much DSL without a phone connection costs? It's at least $80 from what I was able to find. Who cares about the contract. Are you changing providers every month?
      --
      Slashdot: Failed Car Analogies. Amateur Lawyering. Anecdote Battles.
    39. Re:Worthless by drew · · Score: 1

      I'm talking voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, advanced call forwarding, the ability to take your phone number (including area code) with you when you travel or move...

      Yeah, I get those, too... On my cell phone.

      I don't have either a landline or VOIP, and I don't see a need for either. Really, if you have to have a cell phone as a "backup" in case your internet connection goes out, why not just use the cell as your regular phone and ditch your home phone entirely?
      --
      If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?
    40. Re:Worthless by Arterion · · Score: 1

      In some parts, there is no competitor.

      --
      "That which does not kill us makes us stranger." -Trevor Goodchild
    41. Re:Worthless by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1

      I use Vonage. I registered my address for 911. I also have a cell phone, which works for 911. Also, I've never in my life needed 911. Your argument is absurd.

      You seem to think I should be spending hundreds more per year just in case my 0.001% chance of needing 911 occurs during the 0.001% of the time VoIP+cell service is down while landline is up.

      Using your same argument, I think YOU she be spending hundreds of dollars on one of those "i've fallen and i can't get up" emergency monitoring services. I'll laugh if you die in a death that could have been saved by such a service.

      See? You are irrational and, well, nuts.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    42. Re:Worthless by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1

      VoIP (vonage) + prepay cellphone (virgin mobile) gives me the best of both worlds for about $25/mo. I have no contracts. I get VoIP rates on international calls. I can have headsets in every room in my house. VoIP audio quality beats cell quality any day. I have redundancy. I have no contracts.

      Having only a cellphone would only make sense if I spend a large amount of my time away from home talking on the phone. I don't. Maybe you do, but my cell phone convos are like "hey, where are you? be there in a minute." The long talks with the family happen only while I'm home.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    43. Re:Worthless by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 1

      In some parts, there is no competitor.

      Right. But if the service quality of the sole provider is so utterly horrid that anything would be better, it shouldn't be that hard to start a competitor. In some of the sketchier parts of the world it could be hard, but if their service is that bad it shouldn't be impossible to argue your way through bureaucrats or whatever.

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
    44. Re:Worthless by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 1

      Why have a landline?

      Why even have cable? In a month or so - there will be DSL without a landline, and I have my cell.

      Since I don't need to d/l movies I'm pert damn good to go at a fraction of the cost for cable and vonage - and of course - when I run out of gas - I can still call someone. //served...

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
  6. Other problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    DSL is available in my area, but not my prefix. So I'd have to change my phone number to get it. OK, I could probably deal with that, but then they'd charge me for the line change too. So I stay with cable for now. DSL would probably be cheaper per month, but I just hate dealing with the phone company soooo much....

    1. Re:Other problems by gavink42 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Okay, working for a telco, I throw the bull$hit flag on this one! DSL is either available to your cable pair, or it's not. It's all based on your distance from the CO or SLC DSLAM.

      So, unless you're getting your dial tone FX'd in from another CO, as long as your pair is qualified as good (distance and not loaded), it doesn't matter what your phone number is! Heck, we even have people with ported numbers and DSL on their line!

    2. Re:Other problems by fluffy99 · · Score: 1

      It's possible. They may be talking about rehoming him to a different CO which would change his prefix. Our community is served by two different COs. One had DSLAM installed and the other did not.

    3. Re:Other problems by gavink42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I hadn't thought about your very good point. Even if that's the case, there's still no reason to require a phone number change. The existing number could be ported into the new CO (local number portability).

      If the original poster explained the situation to a supervisor, any extra fees could probably be waived.

  7. Plenty fast for most people by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sure 768k is underspeed for some purposes, but that's plenty fast for most people's day to day usage: web, email and a bit of youtube. 768k is a huge step up from dial up.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
    1. Re:Plenty fast for most people by Wilk4 · · Score: 1

      especially when it's the same price as the dial-up you are switching from... I made the switch to verizon's $15 DSL a few years ago. Pretty nice change-up from my 56k that was costing the same. (had a 2nd phone line) I wonder if Verizon will lower their price or boost bandwidth limits to match if you talk to them about switching to this? Anyone try asking yet? Credit card companies offer rate or fee cuts when you call to cancel them in favor of a competitor... wonder if Verizon will...

    2. Re:Plenty fast for most people by Gogo0 · · Score: 1

      Shit, 768k down at $10/mo is 128k faster and $55 cheaper than what i have now.
      Greetings from interior Alaska.

      That said, i still get about 5GB downloaded a day (24hrs), so unless youre downloading DVD9s, the wait isnt too bad for most things.
      It hurts when I think of when I was in Japan, though. We had fibre running from the phone pole to the switch upstairs and enough bandwidth that I maxed out my concurrent usenet provider connection limit before the bandwidth ran out -and that was only about $30USD/mo.

    3. Re:Plenty fast for most people by Wilk4 · · Score: 1

      ... and it's plenty fast for us for most everything... including 2 pcs, mine and my kids surfing away... even upload isn't that bad, though it'd be nice if it matched the 768k download bw... oh well.

    4. Re:Plenty fast for most people by jombeewoof · · Score: 1

      In My Experience
      Verizon will not offer any deals other than a free month or 2. I had them for 2 years @14.99 a month for their 768K DSL, and it seemed like they really didn't care that I was leaving for a competitor (comcast). Then I realized they still charged me every month even after I cancelled for 3 months. I got to a point where I threatened to cancel my land line if they didn't stop charging me for the DSL I no longer wanted or needed.
      In short I doubt they'll offer any kind of deals. but then again, wtf do I know.

      It was certainly a step up from 23.99/mo for dial up, but I could never go back to anything less than cable now. Even at $10, (and really $10 a month) I wouldn't want DSL, too many problems with my service over those 2 years.

      --
      Linux Zealots: Smarter than Mac Zealots, but still zealots.
    5. Re:Plenty fast for most people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Less than a year ago, Verizon pulled this trick on my dad in New York. BTW, the Cablevision "triple play" deal we replaced them with, does transfer your old phone service, but won't offer touch your old ISP, though it's the one and same Verizon.

      Verizon surrendered as phone number carrier BUT kept charging for DSL (and probably dial tone access.) A "dry line" was created with its own phone number, to provide us with this DSL service, though there were no explanations via voicemail, snailmail or e-mail or their bills. The dry line loophole wasn't even fine-printed in the DSL TOS I'd read in 2003, and its existance was an after-the-fact excuse. I had never heard of dry lines. Eventually dad won the battle after heated arguments, probably to avoid some kind of lawsuit.

      It's not the first time they charge undue things. They like to reinstate user-removed "internal line maintenance" fees, which are optional BECAUSE for they charge for cables between their wall jacks [end of their $$ turf contract-wise] and my equipment... which I purchase yourself and for which I never see a cent from Verizon. And yet it cost us about $5 per month. Nearly every RJ11-equipped device comes with one such cable, so I end up having several around the house or getting a much longer one from the dollar store.

    6. Re:Plenty fast for most people by dantheman82 · · Score: 1

      I live home, and our rather large family used 768 (or basic DSL) initially, but it was too little. We've seen a bit of a "sweet spot" though with one step up at 1.5 or so. We use VOIP phone (Sunrocket), I have a number of siblings (we have probably 6 computers on a wifi network) and there's a bit of Youtube, Internet radio, Facebook, email, etc. Not really online gaming or massive downloading, and the phone gets decent use. 768 didn't work with increased internet use ALONG WITH the VOIP, and although VOIP technically doesn't take up much bandwidth, it was starved to the point where voices were garbled. But, that said, 768K is great for most families (esp. those without VOIP or the number of simultaneous users).

      --
      This sig donated to Pater. Long live /.
    7. Re:Plenty fast for most people by Doctor-Optimal · · Score: 1

      No it's not, I wipe my ass with 768k

      --
      Why are the funny and true moded Troll on slashdot?
      You mean funny and true comments like that one?
      --
      New punctuation update "~" (no quotes) at the end of a line to indicate sarcasm. ~
  8. Random thought. by iamdrscience · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've had Comcast cable internet and it's like $60-70 a month around here. It was alright, but my big beef was the upload was only 40kB/s. How hard would it be to get like six of these lines and rig them up so that I have almost 100kB/s upload bandwidth for the same price?

    And then the real question, if they can offer me that service for that price, why the fuck won't anybody just sell me a cable or DSL line with more upload bandwidth? I would be willing to pay more.

    1. Re:Random thought. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How hard would it be to get like six of these lines and rig them up so that I have almost 100kB/s upload bandwidth for the same price?

      That would depend on how much it would cost to add all that extra copper wire to your house.

    2. Re:Random thought. by stabiesoft · · Score: 1

      I have DSL with an upload speed of 768kbit (~100Kbyte) as measured by dslreports. The one
      advantage of dsl is the upload. (well that and your not sharing) Its around 80/mo I think.

    3. Re:Random thought. by rob1980 · · Score: 2

      You can't just bond six DSL lines like that and say you have 100 kb/s upload. Especially not with consumer products like that Netgear router with multiple WAN ports. To use the analogy, all you're doing is giving yourself six smaller tubes as opposed to one large tube. The difference is when you go to upload that 500mb file - you're only using one connection out of the six to do it.

    4. Re:Random thought. by Coward+Anonymous · · Score: 1

      Here's a random suggestion.
      Call up Comcast, tell them you saw a compelling offer from the local DSL provider for only $29.99 (or whatever else the price is) for a year and Comcast will match it.
      It took me less than 5 minutes including the hold time.

    5. Re:Random thought. by iamdrscience · · Score: 1

      That sounds quite nice -- I was pretty sure DSL like that was not available in my area as I periodically check in on DSL prices. In the past DSL around here has either been significantly slower or when the speed was comparable, more expensive. However, after reading your post I decided to check out the DSL offerings in my area again and it turns out not only is DSL now available here with 768k up, but it's actually cheaper than my cable connection! The download bandwidth isn't is good (3Mb vs. 7Mb with Comcast) but still plenty usable, especially considering how infrequently I encounter servers where I can actually use the extra download bandwidth my cable connection provides. I'm going to call up tomorrow and get my service switched -- thanks for posting that or I probably would have waited a lot longer before switching!

    6. Re:Random thought. by iamdrscience · · Score: 1

      Ah, I see, you're absolutely right. It was kind of a dumb question in retrospect. Kind of exemplary of Slashdot though that my silly fantasy of an idea has already been modded up to "Score: 5, Insightful" but your common sense answer hasn't been modded up at all yet.

    7. Re:Random thought. by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      And then the real question, if they can offer me that service for that price, why the fuck won't anybody just sell me a cable or DSL line with more upload bandwidth? I would be willing to pay more.
      Tell them you're a small business. I find that if you're already willing to throw money at a telecom problem, they'll do whatever you want if you say you're a business.
      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    8. Re:Random thought. by stabiesoft · · Score: 1

      Should've mentioned, mine is a tad pricier as I also have static IP addresses as well. RR wanted
      an obscene amount of money for static IP when I first got the connection several years ago.
      Not sure where cable is these days on static. Glad I saved you a buck or 2 on your bills.
      The only competition these days is between cable/dsl and when people switch it is a gentle
      reminder for them.

    9. Re:Random thought. by r_jensen11 · · Score: 1

      And then get slammed for not using their business serves? This could open up a can of worms not worth fighting. Many agreements for residential services are things like not running servers, which means no Apache, SmartFTP, or anything other than hosting a video game online.

    10. Re:Random thought. by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      And then get slammed for not using their business serves?
      I'm not sure what you mean by this. Lots of businesses, especially small ones, only use port 80. Are you worried that you're not going to use enough different types of internet that they'll crack down on you?
      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    11. Re:Random thought. by timeOday · · Score: 1

      Wow, is your new price for the 12 months of service?

    12. Re:Random thought. by rossz · · Score: 1

      Comcast offers a business cable line that has decent upload speed and multiple channels (four ways, I think) to give multiple computers better performance. Kind of like a mini T1.

      --
      -- Will program for bandwidth
    13. Re:Random thought. by evilviper · · Score: 1

      Call up Comcast, tell them you saw a compelling offer from the local DSL provider for only $29.99 (or whatever else the price is) for a year and Comcast will match it.

      FYI, I tried that with Earthlink about a year ago... Their scheme is to offer you a $10-20 rebate, claiming they're likely to have a sale/price-drop in another month or two. In my case, I checked for the next 6 months (after I switched) and nothing ever happened. I guess they hope they can brush you off, and hope in a month you'll forget about it.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    14. Re:Random thought. by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 1

      Actually, with a programmable router in your house and another in a data center somewhere bonding a bunch of crappy DSL lines together should be entirely feasible. It'd be obnoxious and expensive though - my quick figuring is showing that it's not a good deal money-wise.

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
    15. Re:Random thought. by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 1

      I have Verizon Business DSL for my house for the express purpose of getting a higher speed and avoiding the crap restrictions on Residential service. It works great: I pay a bit more and they don't give me any crap.

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
    16. Re:Random thought. by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 1

      DSL with an upload speed of 768kbit (...) Its around 80/mo I think.

      That's the service I get, although it only costs me $50/month. It seems almost reasonable, until you compare it to what they get for internet connections in the rest of the world.

      In Japan, you can get 100 Meg symmetric connections for $50/month. In South Korea, that costs $30/month. In Sweden, it costs $24/month.

      Some random European countries where you can get higher speeds for lower prices than I can here in eastern Massachussetts (one of the higher population density / property value areas of the USA) include Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic.

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
  9. Re:Breaking AT&T news: by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 5, Funny

    I just pooped my cute little pants. Then I guess right now DSL means do some laundry to you.
  10. Au Contraire by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 5, Informative

    I just ordered it for someone today that already had POTS.
    Got the 1.5Mbps package for $20/month. Did it online,
    which probably helps.

    The catch is that you also have to purchase a DSL modem ($50)
    or a combo DSL Modem/Router ($80), plus another $27 for S&H.

    And you'll definitely want to skip the $200 technician option
    to install it for you.

    --
    You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
    1. Re:Au Contraire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      $27 for shipping? Are they out of their fucking minds? For $27, I expect it to be hand delivered to me same-day by a hot female courier, with a big ol' sloppy blowjob thrown in to boot.

    2. Re:Au Contraire by wirelessbuzzers · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's the "handling" part.

      --
      I hereby place the above post in the public domain.
    3. Re:Au Contraire by gad_zuki! · · Score: 1

      Here in illinois the 1.5mbps package is only 19.99. Sure you need a landline but there's no contracts. Comcast in Chicago is something like 60-70 dollars. 20 dollars a month should be the price point for usable and stable broadband not 50-70.

    4. Re:Au Contraire by The+Bandit · · Score: 0

      Not sloppy. It better be nice and clean.

    5. Re:Au Contraire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm in Chicago too. IMHO neither AT&T (with the mandatory phoneline fees/taxes) nor Comcast are worth the price, since all I want is a reasonably fast internet connection. A provider at the $20/mo. price point would be awesome! FYI, most Chicago Public Library branches provide free wifi access.

    6. Re:Au Contraire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For $200, I can install it myself, or invite half a dozen of my geek friends over for dinner and have them install it... and dinner wouldn't even be $100, much less $200. I just moved and have been thinking about getting AT&T DSL and phone service (my dad has been happy with them), but now I'm not so sure.

  11. They better ask M$oft by no-body · · Score: 1

    They got more money.

  12. Not really that cheap... by bluemonq · · Score: 1

    You would probably need six separate phone lines, each with its own monthly costs.

  13. Which states? by thc69 · · Score: 5, Funny

    A quantity of states is provided in numeric form, but how about a list?

    --
    Procrastination -- because good things come to those who wait.
    1. Re:Which states? by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 5, Informative

      Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, California, Nevada, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

    2. Re:Which states? by lazytiger · · Score: 2, Informative

      Or, for you visual learners, here's a map:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RBOC_map.png

    3. Re:Which states? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just checked in my zip code. It cost more now in California, in fact, it's $5 more for every tier. They just added the 768kB down and priced it at $14.99, which is what it cost last year for 1.5MB down. I'm paying $19.99 for 3 MB down, but they're now charging $24.99 now. 6 MB down was $29.99 last year and now it's $34.99.

      They've just added a slower speed to the price structure. When do we get faster internet? Why are we going a step backwards in terms of speed? WTF?

  14. Link by g0dsp33d · · Score: 4, Informative

    Its there for anyone signing up, as its on their page.

    I'm still stuck on crappy dialup or one way services. :(.

    --
    lol: You see no door there!
    1. Re:Link by The+Bandit · · Score: 0

      Hey, bite your tongue. I sell "crappy" dialup service. It keeps food on the table for my little princess daughter. (title to be changed when she reaches the teenage years).
      As a dialup ISP, I find it interesting that I have a customers coming to me for dialup that are from DSL or cable. As much as I would love to tell them they must be idiots for switching, I still take them with a smile. I personally do not know how or understand how in the world you can go from anything higher than 56k back down to it. I mean to get email even would take 2 hours if you still get video's and pics.

    2. Re:Link by mknewman · · Score: 1

      Anyone found the link on the AT&T side? I am in the old SWB area (Texas) and the Bell South page doesn't work for me (isn't it supposed to be all one big happy Ma Bell again?).

  15. But will they filter the connection? by zerofoo · · Score: 1

    I don't care what it costs. If they restrict my ability to get to things on the internet, their service is worthless.

    -ted

  16. For voip?? by Tmack · · Score: 4, Interesting
    FTFA:

    However, at 768 kbps, the download speed may be too low to appeal to the relatively sophisticated customers who use the Internet for phone calls

    I would be more concerned about the 128k upload than 768 down. I mean, you do want to be able to talk to the other party right? That being said, even 128k is enough for 2 POTs lines using standard compression (64k/DS0), though the VoIP packet overhead would probably force a higher compression to actually use 2 lines at the same time. It sounds nice and all, until you compare price/kbs against other countries and remind yourself again, that the US is still falling off the backend of the broadbandwagon. Its cheap, and ideal for people like my parents, who would only be downloading emails and the occasional video or picture page forwarded by me or other family members. The upstream is a bit weak compared to other offerings, but I wouldnt get this service if I were serious about gaming anyways (yes, you can play WoW over it, even over 56k modem, just not very well and if it gets into a complex scene, forget about it).

    Tm

    --
    Support TBI Research: http://www.raisinhope.org
    1. Re:For voip?? by evilviper · · Score: 1

      time. It sounds nice and all, until you compare price/kbs against other countries and remind yourself again, that the US is still falling off the backend of the broadbandwagon.

      BAH! I would personally be MUCH happier with, say, 128/64k DSL/Cable for $5/month, rather than $50/month 10Mbit...

      Even with my regular use of P2P, Linux/BSD ISO downloads, etc., I don't come anywhere close to maxing out my 768k connection for the tiniest fraction of a day.

      I'm obviously not a gamer, and I'm sure I could squeeze at least one VoIP stream in that (with traffic shaping to stop everything else).
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    2. Re:For voip?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Download/upload speed != latency
      Of course if you are downloading or uploading to the max of your capabilities it will cause problems, but I've only got 128kbits upstream and I've played plenty of games online with no problems. Of course I've never hosted any games that require people to download maps/addons from me. I've always seen the pay servers with good hosting to be the solution for that problem.

    3. Re:For voip?? by sjames · · Score: 1

      "Standard compression" is none at all. 8Ksamples/sec at 8 bits/sample. Speex should be more than good enough to allow 2 lines over 128Kbps.

  17. Southern California. by crhylove · · Score: 1

    Does anybody know if this will be eligible in Southern California?

    Does anybody know if this means I can finally download and upload torrents of UbuntuStudio and other FOSS without being throttled down to dial up and repeatedly disconnected?

    For the record, those of you who live near San Diego and have Cox communications probably know what I'm talking about.

    --
    I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
    1. Re:Southern California. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you tried enabling packet-encryption in your torrent client?

    2. Re:Southern California. by bi_boy · · Score: 1

      I concur, many bittorrent trackers support encryption.

      --
      Chicken fried butter sticks? Do ... do you use a fork? - Black Mage, 8-Bit Theater
  18. What about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    At&t also quietly forgets to mention that all of your traffic is being spied on and sold privately. Enjoy!

  19. Re:Breaking AT&T news: by PurifyYourMind · · Score: 0, Redundant

    You just made me LOL!

  20. not so quiet, bellsouth/att advertises it by Squeezer · · Score: 2, Informative
    --
    Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
  21. So much for lower TCO... by bratwiz · · Score: 0, Troll


    Shoulda gone with no-name PC's and LINUX instead of IBM and Microsoft.

    When will they ever learn...???

    Yeah yeah mod me a troll. Bah :)

    1. Re:So much for lower TCO... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except that a lot of no-name PCs ship with hardware that doesn't function well with the Linux kernel.
      Also, the Linux kernel is not an acronym, and as such it is not appropriate to call it "LINUX."
      The parent post should really be modded off-topic.

    2. Re:So much for lower TCO... by bratwiz · · Score: 1


      Of course it should have-- it was a blantant troll!

      And I wasn't attempting to use an acronym-- the OTHER reason people sometimes capitalize words is for EMPHASIS.

      But keep reading, you'll get there

  22. You don't need a phone line by rwade · · Score: 1, Informative

    AT&T requires a phone line for discounted service. The subscriber still qualifies for service at a higher price.

  23. wow by jzuska · · Score: 1, Informative

    It's as fast as my 3g phone.

    1. Re:wow by GweeDo · · Score: 1

      So, faster than an iPhone?

  24. cheap prices mean nothing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...when the service is unobtanium at *any* price. The government just refuses to order these companies to improve their lines or switches, meaning that areas that can already get broadband can get it, other areas, still huge geographical areas of the US representing tens of millions of people, can-not. They could *pay* you 10 bucks a month to use their broadband, but if the copper can't handle it, the point is moot. They just will not upgrade anything. Sure, they are rolling out the fiber-to areas that already have broadband of some kind. Saturated market areas or nothing, that's what you get with these big telcos. And ya'all folks sitting their smug with your high speed, don't worry, the walled garden multi tiered pricing is coming for you soon. they aren't going to give up, and they will get their way with that. You can go "comment" all you want to to the FCC, they are just a bought and paid for rubber stamp bureaucracy. They know it, you know it, the big companies know it, so no use living in a state of denial over that one, it's coming. And there's nothing you can say that will stop it, they have billions, you do not. Sure, collectively you have billions, but it isn't in the form of concentrated cash by the anonymous brown paper bag you can spread around to the appropriate rubber stamp wielders, so you'll lose, same as all the folks who have been waiting for years and years for broadband have lost.

    We tried full regulation, that sucked, they allegedly stopped it. We went from a single monopoly to just a *cartel*, that does about the same thing it always did. What was that last article, US is now 24 in the list of nations for good broadband all over? Every year we keep dropping? Sure, you have your choice of a thousand different cellphone models a year-and the state of broadband has barely advanced at all over the past 5 years or more. And where is the FCC addressing the issue of these telcos already getting paid for fiber to the premises years ago, 200 billion dollars worth? Ever wonder why that never comes up in congress or in the main stream media?

    These are called "clues". They got your cash, trade you back pennies on the dollar of broadband, then have the nerve to cry poverty all the time.

    You get what you pay for, keep voting in the corporate shills, you'll keep getting corporate run government, D or R it doesn't matter. Mergers do NOT increase choice or make for a competitive market. Having unelected bureaucrats who are allowed to rule over private sector business arrangements, when they mostly all go get jobs at the same place a couple of years out of their hard government "service" is NOT good for the voter, taxpayer or consumer. FCC, FDA, dot mil high ranking officers and defense contractors, etc-it doesn't matter. Watch where the rubber stamp wielders wind up after they "retire" from government service. That's the last clue to see how this system operates. CEOs get backdated stock options, government plutocrats get retirement busy work sham jobs worth considerable sums. the delayed payback for services rendered scam.

    1. Re:cheap prices mean nothing... by HikingStick · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What was that last article, US is now 24 in the list of nations for good broadband all over? Every year we keep dropping?
      While I take no exception to most of your observations, I must ask if the ranking to which you refer is a fair comparison. Compared to most nations of the world (excluding Russia), we have a huge geographic dispersion of our population. Sure, we may have greater population densities on the coasts (where broadband has become ubiquitous), but you cannot make an apples-to-apples comparison of the United States to most other countries in such rankings. Most European nations are only as large as some American states (no offense intended to European /.ers), bringing to bear a greater population density which makes a broader deployment easier in many regards.

      --
      I use irony whenever I can, but my shirts are still wrinkled...
    2. Re:cheap prices mean nothing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Oh god, here we go again with the geographic dispersion argument. Stop it already. Even in densely packed urban areas in the US we still can't get broadband as fast as they do in other developed nations. So your argument is crap. We deserve better after all the hundreds of dollars per capita we've thrown at the telecommunications companies through our tax dollars. Don't forget that.

    3. Re:cheap prices mean nothing... by The+One+and+Only · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Manhattan still doesn't have fast enough broadband to rival a Swedish village. You tell me if it's a fair comparison.

      --
      In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
  25. $10 a month? by discHead · · Score: 1

    Cool. If they're willing to pay me $10 a month to go to the Dark Side, sign me up.0.00

  26. Not a bad option by nurb432 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If your using dialup currently and its doing the trick, this isnt a bad option. it mght be a few bucks cheaper and a lot better.

    Sure, if you want to do gaming, or 'warez' it migt hurt, but how many average people really need more bandwidth then this? If its still around, I might even consider it when i drop my real broadband after the big squeeze starts across the industry and i cant use my line for what i want anyway. Why pay extra just to be throttled and filtered?

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  27. !Worthless by hobo+sapiens · · Score: 2, Informative

    * shrugs *

    I use AT&T DSL, and it works great. I didn't pay any installation fee. And it doesn't cost nearly what cable does.

    Besides, your statement that anyone with a clue uses VOIP is a little ridiculous. Like all blanket statements, it's absolutely false :D

    Seriously, why do you say that? Personally, I prefer POTS to VOIP. If nothing else, POTS has proven reliability. It's certainly much simpler than VOIP. When it comes to essentials like telephone service, the simpler the better; it has fewer failure points. How could you possibly argue that something that relies on a high speed internet connection and a working PC is better than a simple POTS line and then imply that anyone who has POTS is clueless?

    --
    blah blah blah
    1. Re:!Worthless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then you have sucky VOIP. When I got VOIP they sent us a replacement cable modem with VOIP built in. It even works using your existing phone wiring (they send someone to disconnect the wires outside) so there is not much difference than POTS as the VOIP data never goes over the public internet. The two big issues are that you will only have phone service for 2-8 hours after the power goes out as the backup battery isn't that large and if the power is out for more than 3 days your E911 information might get erased and have to be fixed.

    2. Re:!Worthless by nickj6282 · · Score: 1

      The idea that you need a PC on all the time to run VOIP is telco FUD. I've been using Vonage for over a year now and it works just fine with the PC shut down.

    3. Re:!Worthless by pedalman · · Score: 1

      Indeed. I run a Grandstream VOIP phone connected straight to my router. Don't need no steekin' PC to use it.

      --
      Friends don't let friends line-dance.
    4. Re:!Worthless by hobo+sapiens · · Score: 1

      fair enough, I dunno for sure. Like I said, I have POTS.

      Don't you still need some kind of appliance, though, to use it? You don't just pick up your co-ax cable and talk into it! Someone replied to you talking about a router...and that's kind of my point: that's another failure point. A $20 telephone is a lot simpler and less failure prone than a router or a PC or whatever, IMO.

      Last July in St Louis, we had a major power outage after some freak storms. Some areas of the metro area (poorer ones, of course) were without power for up to eight days. Yes, eight days. Cable was out for longer in some cases.

      The telco Central Offices of course use DC power, and they have backup generators. Not sure why their lines survived (underground perhaps), but the one thing that worked for most people was phone service. You may hate the telcos, but it's hard to disagree with high availability.

      --
      blah blah blah
    5. Re:!Worthless by nickj6282 · · Score: 1

      You're right about the high availability. But truly it feels like selling your soul when you deal with a telco (or cable company). To me, the high availability of my mobile phone + Vonage is enough peace of mind for me to forgo dealing with AT&T/Verizon/Insert-name-of-evil-telco-here and possibly spending eternity in the 7th layer.

  28. Cost in Chicago by djfake · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've had Ameritech or SBC or ATT DSL for over seven years now. Here's what it costs for May 2007: Telephone (excluding calls & Call-Waiting): $16.08, DSL Basic:$14.99. Tonight's line test: 1313kps download / 313kps upload. Other than the fact that the DSL charge will go up to $19.99 upon renewal, it's done nothing but get less expensive. My only grip is that on the rare occasion when I have to call customer service, I have to deal with some off-shore help center. I always demand level two support immediately.

    --
    www.itjerk.com
    1. Re:Cost in Chicago by GweeDo · · Score: 1

      Having been with SBC/AT&T for 3 years now for DSL service I am also nothing but happy. They started with only 1.5Mb in my area, but I now get 6Mb for $29.99/month. Add a basic POTS line with caller id and I don't even pay $60/month after taxes.

    2. Re:Cost in Chicago by bcattwoo · · Score: 1

      Those of us in former Bellsouth areas are continuing to get the shaft. In my area, 6Mb is $42.95/month. I can get 1.5Mb for $32.95/month. My basic POTS without ANY additional services is like $29/month with all the crap fees. And I naively thought that maybe the prices might come down after the merger...

    3. Re:Cost in Chicago by drew · · Score: 1

      You neglected to mention the $20/month in taxes, fees, and other charges that don't appear in the monthly rate...

      --
      If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?
    4. Re:Cost in Chicago by VisceralLogic · · Score: 1

      You neglected to mention the $20/month in taxes, fees, and other charges that don't appear in the monthly rate... That's funny, because I have AT&T local/long distance and DSL, and my monthly bill is about $33. Of which $18 is for DSL. Leaving $15 to cover both my phone service, and the $20/month in taxes, fees, and other charges. Wow! I guess they're paying me to have phone service!
      --
      Stop! Dremel time!
    5. Re:Cost in Chicago by djfake · · Score: 1

      Total taxes for the billing period were $2.95, fees were $1.25 and included in my total.

      --
      www.itjerk.com
    6. Re:Cost in Chicago by drew · · Score: 1

      Last time I had a land line (about 2-3 years ago), my monthly bill of "$23.99" approached $40/month. And that was just for the land line. I know DSL has it's own taxes as well, but it's been a long time since I've had DSL, so I don't remember what they are. Perhaps the tax/fee structure has changed since then, or maybe AT&T is better about advertising actual prices than Quest (wouldn't surprise me, but I had similar experience with Ameritech / SBC when I lived in Chicago as well.)

      Regardless, I have no intention of getting another land line any time soon. Cable Internet isn't the cheapest, but at least I feel confident that the price advertised is the price that I'm actually paying, and it means not having to deal with the local ILEC, which has never been a pleasant experience anywhere I've lived.

      --
      If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?
  29. G711 by thegameiam · · Score: 4, Informative

    FYI, there are two VoIP codecs which are common: G711 is relatively uncompressed, and when Ethernet overheads are included, comes out to about 80K per stream (yes, much more than POTS). G729a is highly compressed, and runs about 8K. There is a significant MOS score difference between the two codecs, and many IP Telephony add-ons (lots of voice mail, for instance) requires G711.

    -David

    --
    Need Geek Rock? Try The Franchise!
    1. Re:G711 by DarthBart · · Score: 1

      G711 is completely uncompressed. It is 8-bit sampling at 8Khz sample rate, using A-law or Mu-law encoding. G711's average MOS score is 4.4. G729's average MOS score is around 4.1-4.2. That is still quite acceptable.

      Our entire VoIP network here runs G.729 and as long as there's no packet loss on the links, call quality is completely acceptable, even though the average latency on one of our satellite links is 500ms round trip.

      And the ITSP addons requiring G.711? They require it mostly because they're passing DTMF digits in-band in the audio stream, rather than using SIP INFO packets or RFC2833 RTP payload packets to transport digit information. Any kind of predictive audio codec (such as G729, GSM, Speex, or ILBC) mangles and distorts pure audio tones as part of the compression algorithm. This is also why you can't run modem calls over a VoIP line and have to rely on something like T.38 to pass fax modem traffic.

  30. You may not need to keep the POTS line by guisar · · Score: 1

    I used to have DSL- yeah you had to have a POTS to sign up but I cancelled that 8 seconds after the loser installer left the house. They never followed up to see if I kept the POTS. If there's any industry that needs a shakeup it's the telecom one- those early days of small companies offering internet access and the hope (make that a dream) of equal access need to stange a comeback. I will never get any product via AT&T but I do wish they'd start challenging the cable companies so both of these butthead monopolies would start to compete.

    1. Re:You may not need to keep the POTS line by Daychilde · · Score: 1

      You can't run DSL down barbed wire, you gotta admit that, though....

      --
      A cheerful little bird is sitting here singing.
    2. Re:You may not need to keep the POTS line by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 1

      If you make the hole in the CD larger, it might make it over the barbs.

      --
      You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
  31. There used to be, not sure of price. by Kadin2048 · · Score: 1

    There was a time, before the FCC reneged on Local Loop Unbundling, when some of the "premium" DSL services (e.g. Speakeasy) would sell you 'naked' DSL service, without a POTS line, I'm pretty sure. I think there was a price premium for it over bundled service, but it wasn't as bad as POTS service in some cases, if you had zero need for local dialtone. I looked into it, because I was in a house for a while that had copper running out to it, but no local service. (I would have been a good candidate, but unfortunately after a lot of hemming and hawing with the local telco, they said they couldn't do it. Somehow the line-foot estimates were off and it was just too far.)

    So I'm stuck with Comcast.

    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
    1. Re:There used to be, not sure of price. by jrockway · · Score: 1

      I have this now and it's $5 extra a month. Much cheaper than having POTS.

      --
      My other car is first.
    2. Re:There used to be, not sure of price. by Dragonslicer · · Score: 1

      One more reason to dislike Verizon then. I'm with you being stuck on Comcast, since (I think) those are my only two options around here.

  32. I've been wondering by nlitement · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    You can get 100/10mbit/s here (in Finland) for about $40/m.

    100+10 = 110 - Total bandwidth.
    0.128 + 0.768 = 0.896 - Total bandwidth.
    110mbit/$40 = 2.75mbit/$ - How much penis a buck buys you.
    0.896/$10 = 0.0896mbit/$ - How much penis a buck buys you.
    2.75-0.0896 = 2.6604 - Calculating the difference.
    2.6604/2.75 = 96.7418182% - The difference (per cent).

    The ultimate conclusion: Newsworthy DSL deals in the US tend to suck nearly twice as much as the better deals in some random country (Sweden has even BETTER deals).

    I didn't even consider all the silly bandwidth limitations or the actual price ($35) as some users pointed out, which would make it suck thrice as much. I'd expect more of a country that created this wonderful thing called Internet. What's the reason behind this? Sorry if this post offended anyone ): 3.

    1. Re:I've been wondering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      uhm, because we're very much spread out -- I live in a moderate sized city (some people would argue small city -- mostly people from Chicago would call it small); and I can't even get DSL here... but I can get cable...

      Look up urban sprawl, and country life -- Finland probably doesn't have much of either.

    2. Re:I've been wondering by nlitement · · Score: 1

      There's urban sprawl in Finland, the greater Helsinki area has a density of 415/sqkm. The Finnish Wikipedia article mentions that Atlanta is considered a very sparse city in the category of over 1 million inhabitants, at about 1000/sqkm, yet the Helsinki area beats it. And speaking of rural populations, Finland is higher than Europe's average in that area, too. But if you want to say that you have a larger area in general (requiring more wiring), which you inarguably do, then I can understand it. I don't think population density is relevant. If that was the case, then Finland would still be more sparse.

    3. Re:I've been wondering by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 1

      uhm, because we're very much spread out -- I live in a moderate sized city (some people would argue small city -- mostly people from Chicago would call it small); and I can't even get DSL here... but I can get cable...

      That's the common excuse, and (like nlitement said) it's utter bullshit. In Finland, which is less dense per area - they have faster service cheaper. In Canada, with 1/10th the total population density of the US, they have faster service cheaper. In Slovenia, Latvia, Romania, and the Czech Republic - all places where they shouldn't have the budget to compete at all on telecom infrastructure with the richest country in the world - they have faster service cheaper.

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
  33. Up to? by haut · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Ever notice how high speed internet connections are always sold as "up to" so-and-so speed? That doesn't mean anything to me - I want to know the lowest it can go and the typical up/down speeds. I'm just glad my salary isn't an "up to".

    1. Re:Up to? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they did sell you exactly X, and you're trying to download from a site that can't give you X, most people would be complaining left right and center not knowing the difference.

    2. Re:Up to? by dodobh · · Score: 1

      Minimum speeds when not specified are 0. If you have a minimum speed specified, you also get a SLA to go with it, and a much more expensive link.

      --
      I can throw myself at the ground, and miss.
    3. Re:Up to? by xsadar · · Score: 1

      They advertise the maximum speed because everyone already knows the minimum speed: 0b/s. And everyone knows it will reach that speed on a somewhat regular basis, no matter what provider you have. As for the typical speed, do you really expect an ISP to give you any promises (or even estimates) about the quality of service they're going to provide? Then they might be legally required to live up to them.

      Honestly though, they can't promise you a typical speed, because it depends on too many external factors (like the speed of the site you're downloading from or uploading to). And since there are so many variables already, they figure you won't notice if they throw in some variables of their own to save themselves money.

      --
      The only thing I know is that I don't know anything; and I'm not even sure about that.
  34. Re:Breaking AT&T news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'll reply to your post instead of the one you replied to.

    That is the third time today I have seen that post, all in different stories. I don't have the desire to see how many stories it has been posted in, but for a second there I almost thought of doing that.

  35. You've got lots more than two options by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    "Everybody hates the phone company." And cable companies also suck, plus they're the ones encouraging their competition to cap the monthly download capacity and ban anything resembling a server from residential broadband, and are really much better at selling Pay-Per-View than visionary telecom services.


    But they're not the only options for service, even if they're the only ones bringing wire to your house. There are lots of non-facilities-based broadband carriers that provide the upstream Internet connectivity and resell the telco access - I use Sonic.net, and a number of friends use Speakeasy, and there are numerous others. And there are other carriers like Covad who rent the copper from the telco and provide their own DSLAMs over it, either selling directly or selling to the non-facilities-based carriers who offer them as well as telco service.


    For basic service, the resellers and niche ISPs usually cost more than the telco, though they're usually giving you a real price and not some three-month-trial rate. But if you want static IP addresses, you'll find that most of the telco services end up charging just as much as the resellers, even though their actual _costs_ are probably lower. Another big difference is policies about things like running servers; many of the resellers are quite upfront about "yes, we're giving you *Internet* access, not just couch-potato consumer service", and you can do anything except spam and maybe run some kinds of IRCbots. By contrast, telco and cable broadband providers used to have policies against using multiple computers on the same connection, or using wireless, or required you to use PPPoE which they wouldn't support on Mac or Linux (even though there's perfectly adequate Linux client.)


    They also tend to give you better customer service - more responsive and more competent. It's not always faster for repairs - I've had DSL go out three or four times in the last 5 years, once because the DSL modem failed (they helped me diagnose it, and shipped me a replacement box next day), and a couple of times because some telco installer did something in one of the junction boxes down the road (the ISP was probably a bit slower at getting it fixed than going directly to the telco would have been, but reaching the ISP's techs was a lot faster which helped make up for it, and the last time that happened I could use a neighbor's wireless to stay on the net.)


    In some places, there's cellular-phone wireless data (everybody hates their cellphone companies also, and most of them want to charge you old-pager-service pricing per KB, or not let you connect your phone to your PC.) And there's satellite service (which has technical limitations due to the geosynchronous-orbit hop, but I'm not going to say they suck, because you knew it was satellite when you ordered it, and you probably bought it because it was the only thing you could get other than paying business prices for a telco T1 circuit.)

  36. Random complaint. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hosting plans are cheap. Why even bother with running a home server? Anything requiring the upload speed you're complaining about not getting is better hosted on the other end.

  37. dialup in 2007 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Try running one of the normal big name Linux distros and try to keep up with updates on dialup, let alone download the multiple CD or DVD ISOs. Try to use any youtube or google videos. Try to listen to any net streams of music on dialup. Try to even load busy media rich pages on dialup anymore..you'll go nuts. And if you turn javascript and image rendering off, half the net just presents you with malformed or totally blanked out blobs of color pages, no links that work, no alt text, nothing. Seriously non functional and fugly. It sometimes takes minutes to load a graphics heavy page now. This isn't 1992 with ascii pages and the occasional small image, the net is far different now and on dialup it is becoming more and more of a chore to just "surf normally", let alone use any of the more advanced features.

    And they really *did* get paid with incentives to roll out high speed fiber everywhere, yet they failed to do so, and the FCC is not calling them on it. It's not just annoying, it is blatantly criminal, and a lot of telco execs should be sitting in front of congressional committee hearings right now trying to explain their failure to follow through. This cheap low speed DSL should be the bare minimum anyone can get anyplace in the US by now. They are a decade behind in what they already contracted for, yet they still aren't happy.

    1. Re:dialup in 2007 by nurb432 · · Score: 1

      Why would you *need* to continue to update every time a new version of your favorite linux distro comes out? Even if you did have an itch for the 'latest and greatest', you can buy the disk for a minimal amount ( or free, if you use u(k)buntu. Microsoft sells cds of updates for a small fee. So its still not a deal killer.

      The average person doesn't care much about 'media rich', they check their email and do the occasional on line shopping. So it takes bit longer to download that youtube video, but once its cached it plays fine.

      I still don't feel that the average Joe will care that much. And once the feds crack down on content, he will care even less. If they end up using net-terminals and renting their apps like the Microsofts of the world want, it really wont matter then.

      But, that's just me, your view of the future may vary.

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  38. perfect! by Chris+Snook · · Score: 1

    This is really perfect for my needs. I already use my neighbors' wireless and high-speed cable connection for things like bittorrent anyway. I just need something that's always on that I can configure for port forwarding so I can ssh in to my desktop when I need to.

    --
    There's no failure quite as dissatisfying as a complete and total solution to the wrong problem.
    1. Re:perfect! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I already use my neighbors' wireless and high-speed cable connection for things like bittorrent anyway...

      Uh huh ... Does your neighbor know it?

    2. Re:perfect! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I do now! Chris, you bastard...

  39. AT&T's cherry picking service model by kaaona · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My home and residential neighborhood were built in 1973. A state highway with the highest traffic flow in Illinois (Il-159) passes just 200 yards from my home. The Metro East area across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, MO has a population of well over 200,000 yet since 1992 I've been unable to order anything but POTS from Illinois Bell, Ameritech, SBC, and now AT&T. "Not currently available" is the perennial status. The cold hard truth is that AT&T refuses to upgrade its physical plant from the classic copper-based exchange-centric service model. Oh, for years they've made widely-publicized promises of universal broadband service to the Illinois legislature, then refused to install the fiber-connected satellite equipment needed to expand DSL coverage beyond the 16,000-odd cable feet radius limits around their existing dial central offices (exchanges). A pin map shows that AT&T offers DSL service ONLY within those areas served by their existing copper cable plants, and they don't give a damn about investing in the infrastructure needed for universal service. They just keep milking that ol' copper cable plant for all it's worth.

  40. they forgot to mention.... by doood · · Score: 1

    that this service is going to be the one of the new monitored systems to help stop movie and music pirating. You like AT&T filtering your traffic at the request of hollywood? F*CK THAT!

    IMHO AT&T became a 'no touch' in my book when they announced they'd be helping hollywood. Yea, good job AT&T, make the net less effective and while your at it, monitor everything your customers are doing so Bush can whip out his jedi mind tricks and pull another WMD senario.

    A ssholes
    T yranny
    &
    T otal domaination

  41. AT&T is NOT AT&T, it is SBC. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    AT&T is not AT&T now, because the name was sold to SBC. My understanding is that the SBC trademark was worse than useless because the company is so abusive. So, the managers decided to use another name.

    Those interested in how that happened can watch Stephen Colbert explain in a 1 minute 14 second video: The New AT&T.

    SBC taking the name AT&T is, in my opinion, a kind of legal fraud, but fraud nevertheless. People are bound to be confused and misled. AT&T had a very good reputation. SBC-AT&T is a completely different company, and has no connection in its culture with the old AT&T. At the very least, the SEC should require the company to disclose in the first sentence of any prospectus for its stock that there is no connection whatsoever.

    The growth in market capitalisation, in this case, apparently does not necessarily mean success. The growth is only because SBC is buying companies. (I have done little research on the history of SBC, so I say apparently.) So, there is a huge potential for investors to be fooled.

    The recent history of the former AT&T is interesting. David Dorman, a manager who presided over the failure of his company made $30 million from selling the company to other managers who are reputed to be just as inept and corrupt.

    The Wikipedia article says, "Dorman's management finesse can be ascertained by tracking the value of AT&T stock during his tenure." Dorman became president in 2000, Wikipedia says. The stock performance tanked beginning just before that, and continued down until the AT&T name was sold to SBC.

    Is this a correct summary of the story? The suspicion is certainly raised that the former AT&T manager got $30 million for reducing the value of his company so that the cost to the buyer, SBC, would be less.

    1. Re:AT&T is NOT AT&T, it is SBC. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AT&T is not AT&T now, because the name was sold to SBC.
      AT&T is AT&T. SBC bought AT&T: their network, their employees and all other assets...including their name (yes, that's an asset). At time of purchase SBC wasn't universally hated, although any large corporation has its enemies. But SBC, wanting to project a more global image, took on the name of the name of the company it had bought, which is more globally known.

      SBC-AT&T is a completely different company, and has no connection in its culture with the old AT&T.
      You may be unfamiliar with history that extends back more than 10 years, but in the not-too-distant past AT&T was broken up into several smaller companies, one of which was Southwestern Bell Telephone. Southwestern Bell, years later purchased Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell...and then changed its name to SBC - removing the "Bell" from the name that associated them solely with the telephone instead of the "all around communications technology" that they were now offering.

      And after a few more mergers with (purchases of) other "Baby Bells" SBC arrived at the point where it was a better option to buy AT&T and its network than constantly rent space on its network. So they bought back the company of which they used to be a part.

      Your "no connection in its culture" phrase makes me laugh. The company is full of people who have been around since before divestiture (the breaking up of AT&T)...especially in the senior leadership. That is where their corporate culture was born. There were a lot of friendships and networking ties that never died between AT&T and its children.

      There's no fraud. It's like if John Smith had a daughter and ended up giving her up for adoption. Her birth certificate says she is Mary Smith. She was adopted by John Doe and lived as Mary Doe for 20-some years. Then one day she finds her biological family and decides to take on their name (again). It would not be fraud for her to say she is a Smith. She is.

      I have done little [emphasis mine] research on the history of SBC
      I would say that "little" is about right.

      - A 13-year employee of what is now, again AT&T
  42. terms of the deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Go to https://swot.sbc.com/swot/dslMassMarketCatalog.do? do=dslProductPage&offerId=17&serviceType=DYNAMICIP and click on "terms and conditions" at the bottom.

    Note the very last line "Price expires on 12/29/09."

    Full text of Ts&Cs here:
    T&T YAHOO! HIGH-SPEED INTERNET:

    Residential AT&T Yahoo! High-Speed Internet customers only. Basic speed ($10.00) available for new customers only. New customer is defined as not having AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet or Bell South High Speed Internet in the past 12-months. Purchase of local service from the applicable AT&T incumbent local exchange carrier required. This is a limited time offer and is only available for AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet. Static IP products not included. Speed references based on maximum downstream DSL synch rates and may vary. $150-$200 additional charge will apply if technician install is required or desired. Charge for modem ($49.99) or Wireless Gateway ($79.99) will appear on the first bill. $49.99 equipment rebate available for new customers. Equipment rebate postcard, with rebate terms and conditions, will be included with equipment if self-installed or by mail, if technician installs. Rebate request must be postmarked within 90 days of AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet service activation. Mail-in equipment rebate offer is valid in the following states: AR,CA,CT,IL,IN,KS,MI,MO,NV,OH,OK,TX,WI. Rebate void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. Rebate may not be assigned, transferred or sold. One equipment rebate allowed per high-speed Internet line. High-speed Internet account must be in service for a minimum of 60 days to be eligible for rebate. Customers are not eligible to receive a rebate that would exceed total purchase price of equipment and account must not be in delinquent status. Rebate check will be mailed to the customer's billing address within 10-12 weeks of receipt of the rebate postcard. We are not responsible for late, lost, misdirected, or postage due mail or mail damaged by the U.S. Post Office. Rebate is offered by AT&T Internet Services and cannot be applied to your AT&T local exchange carrier bill. Some customers may need to purchase additional equipment (i.e. Ethernet card and/or cables). Billing begins on the date service is provisioned by AT&T, even if customer has not yet registered. Service not available in all areas. Subject to change without notice. Maximum speed achieved depends on customer location. Acceptance of Terms of Service required. Taxes and additional fees extra. Other restrictions, including credit restrictions and qualification, apply. Price expires on 12/29/09.

  43. San Francisco's free wifi is coming along... by christian.einfeldt · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    This is a link to a map showing free wifi nodes in San Fancisco. Of course, someone is paying for these "free" nodes, but hey, these telecoms are starting to price themselves out of business:

    http://sf.meraki.net/overview

    From Meraki's home page:

    Meraki is teaming up with people in Alamo Square, Duboce Park, the Castro, and the Mission to start bringing free wireless Internet access to the city. As a neighbor, you can help the network grow by putting a Mini repeater in your front window, balcony, or roof. We're giving away the hardware and if you can place a repeater on your roof, we may set you up with a free DSL line as well.

    Our goal is to connect the next billion people to the Internet by changing the economics of access. From time to time you might notice things like local advertising and search tools. These are things we're testing to determine the best way to roll out affordable wireless access to the rest of the world.

    or send us an email: sf@meraki.net
    I'm in !
    1. Re:San Francisco's free wifi is coming along... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      I apologize for whoever modded you "offtopic". Your post was one of the more "on-topic" posts in this whole story, friend.

      Narrow minds bug me.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  44. Re:Breaking AT&T news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are the bane of my existence.

  45. Re: Current Status of Bells by TaoPhoenix · · Score: 1

    Hooray for Maps!

    I have an idea! Let's merge AT&T, Qwest, and Verizon, so they can "better leverage economies of scale!" Then the sons of the lawyers of the early '80's breakup can do it all over again.

    The 21st century might be the Age of the Oligopoly. 3-5 competitors = just enough to avoid pure monopoly considerations in name, but a little collusion keeps them all the same.

    The tricky part is figuring out the playoffs between the chunk of "telephone" companies and "cable" companies. Comcast is pretty big too. So a consumer's choice is only "one member of each of two oligopolies".

    --
    My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
  46. Plans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, the plan for $14.99 in our area that they are pushing now that they've finally put in a DSLAM in our local CO after 10y(!!) of coming soon(?! WTF?!) is at least 1.5M for $14.99. Too bad my current acces is 10M for not much more, or that they had shown up at least 5y earlier, in which case I may have been interested...

  47. comes with free monitoring software! by bl8n8r · · Score: 1

    Don't miss out on this great offer! act now and save!

    --
    boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
  48. I have by kurtis25 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have ATT (one other choice in the area is accounts managed by Comcast so internet alone would run $80 a month). The trick is to get the lowest possible phone line you only get a few calls a month with it which is fine (you can use vonage, grandcentral or other such services). They of course will jerk you around and try to sell you more phone service than you need. I got signed up with no problems but the installation tech didn't show up during his 4 hour window. So I called told them I was going back to work and he couldn't show up until after 4 and he needed to call before he came. He didn't call when he showed up but he did call to ask why I wasn't there for my appointment. I told him to call his office they had a message for him. I eventually got the installation fee waved after a few trips between billing, customer service and a large conference call with people from 3 different departments. Back when I signed up they were offering a cash card to offset the installation fee (so yes I got free installation and the card) when I signed up I was told I would get a $100 card. When I got the form for the card it was only for $50 I called and complained. They said they would credit my account for $50 (I made the CS worker stay on the line while I checked my online bill). I filled the card form out mailed it in and eventually received a $100 card (plus the credit). When I signed up they said I could combine my billing with my Cingular phone and monthly discount. When I called to get that they said they couldn't since I didn't actually have an ATT phone number, I protested and they said I still had a Bell number it hadn't been switched to ATT. That call ended in a conference call between them, me and Cingualr, they could do nothing. A few weeks later I was at the Cingular store so I asked, they lady there said she couldn't help that ATT in our state couldn't combine and she was receiving about 10 complaints a day.

  49. My situation exactly by iceperson · · Score: 1

    I ordered DSL because their website said I was close enough, but when they came out to hook me up they said they couldn't because I was "homed" to a different CO too far away. It was then explained to me that even though there is a CO less than a mile from where I live I couldn't have my line moved to it because that CO was already at max capacity.

  50. Just an FYI by certain+death · · Score: 0

    ABC News carried a news story about the $10 DSL this morning. I think they may actually have to deliver it now!!!!!

    --
    "My immediate reaction is "WTF? What kind of moron doesn't make things 64-bit safe to begin with?" Linus
  51. They discourage this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The sales representative I talked to on the phone knew about this, and said it was an "online promotion." If I try to do anything online, it says my account can't be serviced online and gives me the 877 number. They have the same package offered for $14.95 per month, which I can get.

    So, I think that's an important caveat, besides "first time customer." This is an "online offer" and it wouldn't be too surprising if areas (like mine, where the *only* packages available due to technical limitations are the $10.95 and $14.95) had 'trouble accessing information online' and invalidated the 'online only' offer.

  52. One does not rule out the other. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    I don't see any reason why what you said, which I think is correct to some degree, means that what I said is wrong. I am speaking about the management and management attitudes, and you are speaking about working for the network as an employee.

  53. Typical Junk - Good Luck Actually Getting It! by Plekto · · Score: 1

    First off, it was virtually impossible to actually find the page. I finally had to go over to Google and do a search for the exact page(ie - you practically have to scan/crawl their entire site to find it!)

    THEN I put in my number. It jams. It seems as if it will only "check" your availability if you are a current customer. Same with Bell south. So essentially you have to call them directly and confirm with an operator that it is possible in your area. But it says online ordering only - so you have to go through that as well.

    Finally, as others have pointed out, they often tell you that the local connection point is full. Call them again asking for normal service and presto - hey - they have space.

    It's such a typical ploy by them to skate around the law. Sure they offer it. Good luck getting it, though.

  54. Free DSL modem from AT&T available for Linux u by 2l82w84u · · Score: 1

    Last time I inquired about one of these (similar) offers, I was told there was no support for Linux, there were no Linux DSL modems (available from them), each of my computers had to have a separate modem (versus networking them), there was a $50 charge for self-installation per modem, there was a penalty for dropping the service, at the end of the promotional period it would cost me $49.95 per month to keep DSL--and I could not go back to my "legacy" dialup connection. Does anyone know what the details are for Linux users under the current offer? Cost is an issue because we are a low-income household (one of us is disabled).

  55. Re:Free DSL modem from AT&T available for Linu by jjthegreat · · Score: 1

    Sorry for being 2 weeks late. Whats a linux dsl modem? Are you talking about the internal ones they havent been selling anymore for years now? Nowadays external modem just merely convert ATM to ethernet, and you connect to your standard nic to use your protocol stack of choice, PPPOE/A or whatever.