Study says many dial-up users don't want broadband

[Red Ranger]

People:

I was also a member of the great unwashed who toiled with dial-up until last fall. That's when I broke down and got a high speed connection via Verizon. Unfortunately, the triple-play wasn't available in my neighborhood, but recently that changed, so I may sign up for it.

I had been using Earthlink dial-up, but the only way to get high-speed was to deal with Time Warner cable. They made me jump through all kinds of hoops, called me several times with the same b.s. about puttng me in the queue, and this went on for a month. I called Verizon and in less than a week, I was set up. I immediately canceled my Earthlink account and told them their partner, Time Warner, was to blame for me quitting the service I had for more than 2 years.

Time Warner is the Anti-Christ!

Red Ranger

 

[Candlelight]

I'm still on dial up and don't want broadband until the price drops/cost per GB drops.

Price plans in NZ are terrible. Download speeds are terrible.

Dial up ends in 4 years. They better do something quick.

 

[John Picard]

OK, I have my issues sorted out. I spent about 15 minutes with tech support last night from AT&T regarding the "Phone Book" issues. It turns out that I still had my old dial-up networking configuration in my LAN connections, which was causing a conflict with the USB 881 device. I removed that and then checked the Auto Detect box for the proxy settings and *BAM* I'm getting fantastic downloads. With the USB extension, I can move the device around to increase my signal reception. At $60/month versus my former ~$50 which covered a land-line at dial-up, this is well worth it. I will be receiving a $100 rebate for the USB device (I paid $107 and change), so it's all good. This new service is tacked on to my cell phone bill since the USB device is treated like a cell phone. I opted out of sending text messages via my PC because I don't need the extra charges so that I can "lol" with my "BFF".

I also canceled my land-line service yesterday and the phone company rep almost had a cow. She preached the doom and gloom that I'd had the service for so long (13 years) and having a land-line would come in handy for an emergency (yawn). I told her I have rarely used it except for the Internet, so it was of no use to me anymore. She tried to sell me on reduced service where I would pay $7 (PLUS TAXES), which would give me a limit of 20 telephone calls per month and all calls after that would be .25/call. No thanks. Hell, back on dial-up I would encounter random disconnects, which were very irritating. It was also very satisfying to cancel my dial-up account.

So, for those of you who are like I am, I would strongly recommend that you look into the USB 881 device from AT&T. When I get a laptop, I can connect it to the laptop anywhere in the US.

 

[B.J.]

She preached the doom and gloom that I'd had the service for so long (13 years) and having a land-line would come in handy for an emergency (yawn).

I don't know about your area, but around here, you can plug a phone into a jack that doesn't have phone service and still call 911.

 

[John Picard]

She preached the doom and gloom that I'd had the service for so long (13 years) and having a land-line would come in handy for an emergency (yawn).

I don't know about your area, but around here, you can plug a phone into a jack that doesn't have phone service and still call 911.

She said by this morning the line would be dead, so I don't see how that's possible. Besides, my cell phone can call 911 just like any land-line. I also have a new enough cell phone that can be located via GPS.

Give it another 20 years and you'll be hard-pressed to find more than 20% of the populace with a land-line, which is ironic considering it was after 1999 that the very last town in the US (a rural area of Louisiana) was finally wired with land-lines.

 

[Red Ranger]

She preached the doom and gloom that I'd had the service for so long (13 years) and having a land-line would come in handy for an emergency (yawn).

I don't know about your area, but around here, you can plug a phone into a jack that doesn't have phone service and still call 911.

She said by this morning the line would be dead, so I don't see how that's possible. Besides, my cell phone can call 911 just like any land-line. I also have a new enough cell phone that can be located via GPS.

Give it another 20 years and you'll be hard-pressed to find more than 20% of the populace with a land-line, which is ironic considering it was after 1999 that the very last town in the US (a rural area of Louisiana) was finally wired with land-lines.

I'm sure your second statement will be in true in a few decades, John. However, I do remember my cell phone didn't work on two major occasions: (a) 9/11 and (b) during the NY blackout of the summer of 2003. And landlines eventually worked in the first occasion, and definitely worked in the second. Also, with penalties for going over one's peak minutes so expensive, I use my landline during that time so I don't go over my monthly allotment. I need that landline because I work from home, so it's worth the extra expense, which isn't much in the grand scheme of things. -- RR

 

[John Picard]

^^ I understand your point. She stated that sometimes during a crisis that cell lines will be jammed; however, that also holds true for land lines. Back when the F5 ripped through the OKC metro area in 1999 the phone systems were jammed for 2 days straight (cell and land-line). Also, I don't yap a lot on the phone, so it doesn't make sense for me to maintain a land-line when I have the cell phone which I essentially use as my answering machine.

 

[Brolan]

I have kids at home so I plan on keeping the land-line for now. But some day, I expect, I will cancel it.

 

[Red Ranger]

I have another business-related reason for keeping my landline. As a freelancer, I sometimes have to make overseas calls, and cell phones are notoriously unreliable when it comes to voice quality, not to mention it's hard to use a calling card with a cell. -- RR