burgermeister
All Computers Are Junk
join:2000-10-23
Utica, MI
| There is another option....
Maybe they should try to expand their business instead of downsizing the company? Perhaps more competitive pricing would help?
Who knows. I don't think it's the last downsizing for Covad.
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"I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." |
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soccerguy
join:2004-06-28
Seattle, WA | I agree. The high pricing is a problem. |
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ackman
join:2000-10-04
Acworth, GA | translation
"We continue to pursue opportunities to manage our business more efficiently,"
translation: "We're going to India" |
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CovadsDone
@rcn.com
thumbs down from:
DSLdewd 
| Covad is done for
Covad is in its final stages of life now. We are moving to fiber optics platforms and higher speed cablemodem plants.
Covad's 15000/1000 only fits a niche in the urban cities for instance on a temporary basis till Fiber optics is brought closer in buildings/homes which arent lucky enough to have alternative providers.
We need Fiber optics based plants. The quicker those accelerate the quicker Covad will be pushed out. The question is if the other carriers are committed to a fiber optics based future. |
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ftthz
If love can kill hate can also save
join:2005-10-17 | cost seems a little high
but the speed packages look alrite might need a bit more upload |
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GoD of KaOs
Agent of KaOs
join:2001-01-29
Chatsworth, CA | I wondering if that 8% is being cut from their workforce in India...
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The Capital of Jabuti is Jabuti.... |
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kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL
| reply to burgermeister
Re: There is another option....
Covad's residential pricing isn't that far out of line....and their service is MUCH better than Telco DSL or Cable HSI.
However, Covad's focus is business accounts...and the pricing for their business service is very reasonable. They are usually cheaper than their partner ISPs....and if you're comparing the service to AT&Ts $14.95 DSL, that's hardly a fair comparison....not even close to the same level of service.
$329/month for a T1...let's see someone beat that now. |
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kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL
| reply to ackman
Re: translation
said by ackman :translation: "We're going to India" They've been there for a while. |
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kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL
| reply to CovadsDone
Re: Covad is done for
If prophecies like yours are to be believed, Covad should have died 7 years ago. They didn't. And they won't.
Their business customers are very profitable. They are sitting on a goldmine of a network footprint...a facilities-based one at that.
Their wholesale customers cater to the residential user base very well.
They are very competitive on the price. Their service is excellent and customer support/service is generally better than Telco and Cable.
They are also heavily vested in wireless. I can get 100Mbps wireless with 99.9 SLA installed in a week for a couple of grand a month. Let's see AT&T or Comcast do that.
Aside from some dot-com era foolishness, Covad has acted very responsibly...and has gone above and beyond what is reasonable and fair....it is only because the ILECs have tilted the balance of power in their favor by buying the law that Covad and the like are in trouble.
In a truly fair and open marketplace, Covad would make more money at AT&T and Verizon. |
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burgermeister
All Computers Are Junk
join:2000-10-23
Utica, MI
| reply to kapil
Re: There is another option....
The problem is (in my case, anyway) is that I used to have Covad because of the 'business' level support. Granted, it was still DSL, but it was SOHO service and there was a price premium that allowed me to run servers, etc.
Within the last year, something happened to customer service. I don't know what, but my last problem went unresolved for WEEKS! That was a serious turn-off.
That, coupled with the fact that I ended up getting residential cable service that's 6x faster *and* I added a hosting account on a different provider for less per month than the Covad SOHO service.
I used to really like Covad. Now I just don't know how they justify the cost.
And as for the $329.00 T1: Had one priced out. That $329.00 per month turned into $900.00 per month. You pay for distance with the T1.
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"I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." |
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LBDSL
Lightning Bolt
VIP
join:2002-01-07
Auburn Hills, MI
2 edits | said by burgermeister :You pay for distance with the T1. That depends on the carrier, and the type of T1, Some are loop/mileage based, some are not. Covad does not base price on the loop distance. If you are wired to a CO Covad is in, you can get a T1 for the advertised flat rate, no matter if you are 1 mile, or 10 miles from the CO.
And most providers who do charge based on distance, is based on the distance to the PoP, not the CO. I have quoted T1's with 200+ mile loops before.
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Lightning Bolt Technologies |
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burgermeister
All Computers Are Junk
join:2000-10-23
Utica, MI
| I don't know -- all I know is the quote was from Covad.
It was for service in the Imlay city area. I don't know if the fact that it's Verizon up there matters?
All I can tell you is that is was WAY more than the price on the site.
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"I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." |
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TheOtherPete
join:2001-06-28
Boyds, MD
| reply to kapil
Re: Covad is done for
said by kapil :If prophecies like yours are to be believed, Covad should have died 7 years ago. They didn't. And they won't. Their business customers are very profitable. They are sitting on a goldmine of a network footprint...a facilities-based one at that. Ummm, I'm a former Covad customer and (still) a long-term shareholder and I don't see this profitability that you speak of.
If their network is such a goldmine I wish some other company would realize the value and buy them out at a substantial premium to the sub $1 price the stock currently trades at. |
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LBDSL
Lightning Bolt
VIP
join:2002-01-07
Auburn Hills, MI
| reply to burgermeister
Re: There is another option....
Covad isn't in Imlay City, so they must have quoted you a T1 from one of thier partners. so it wasn't out of a Covad CO 
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Lightning Bolt Technologies |
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kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL | reply to TheOtherPete
Re: Covad is done for
Read the annual report. I am also a shareholder, and a customer. While they are not yet making a net profit, there is a high profit margin in the business circuits. |
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TheOtherPete
join:2001-06-28
Boyds, MD
| said by kapil :Read the annual report. I am also a shareholder, and a customer. While they are not yet making a net profit, there is a high profit margin in the business circuits. Actually I have read it - I guess I have a different definition of "profitability" then you do. |
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burgermeister
All Computers Are Junk
join:2000-10-23
Utica, MI
| reply to LBDSL
Re: There is another option....
Could be. All I know is the low price wasn't so low! 
I don't care how ya get me the packets, just get me the packets!  I'll try to dig up the quote and see what it says. It's been a while.
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"I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." |
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retrogame
join:2003-04-14
Auburn, MA | reply to ftthz
Re: cost seems a little high
1.0Mb/s appears to be the max for ADSL2+ but ADSL2+M and ADSL2 J have a max of 3.5Mb/s. That would be the reasoning for the 1Mb upload speed on all of the tiers. |
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Time4aNAP
Premium
join:2007-04-09
Des Plaines, IL
1 edit | reply to ackman
Re: translation
said by ackman :"We continue to pursue opportunities to manage our business more efficiently," translation: "We're going to India" No, it's more like 'translation: "We're out of business"'
Covad is the one and only surviving back-office DSL provider that I know of. It's the only one in my area--even AT&T provides its DSL service through Covad. It was hard enough to compete back when potential customers couldn't fathom paying more than $20/mo. for "the Internet". (The same people thought nothing of paying ten times that for Cable TV, and thousands for the latest big screen TV / a TV in every room of the house.) Since SBC was granted the privilege to charge potential competitors near-retail prices to use their lines wholesale, it's been mighty hard for Covad to turn a profit, even without any DSL competitors.
If we lose Covad, we lose all of the competitive DSL ISPs. With AT&T being at both ends of Covad's revenue stream, and their DSLAMs colocated in AT&T's COs, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that if Covad goes into receivership, AT&T (and Verizon and Qwest) will be the receivers. If that happens, the new Ma Bell (think "Mom" from "Futurama") will gain ownership of the equipment, in situ, no less. And without any other DSL work to be had in the US, they can name their price (think "minimum wage & salary") for out-of-work DSL techs.
The end result will be less than a serious effort to provide service to users, and all about stealing away as many customers from cable companies as they can, the goal being to put the cable companies in financial jeopardy as well. In this deregulated country, if the cable industry went bust, the FCC, FTC and SEC would have little choice but to allow the Mega-Bells to re-acquire the cable franchises that they had divested themselves of previously, for pennies on the dollar. And that would give "the phone company" a synthetic, unholy, but technically natural monopoly on all local wireline traffic in the US.
By the end of the decade, we could be right back to a single AT&T, after SBC, Verizon and Qwest agree to merge, and put the same squeeze play on the remaining long distance providers and cellular companies. If that's allowed to happen, I predict that "the phone company" will suddenly lose interest in offering non-telephony services like cable TV and Internet, and price them out of the reach of the average consumer.
Don't think it could happen? When the old AT&T was broken up, did you think that the Baby Bells would be allowed to merge, get back into the long distance business, own cable franchises etc? |
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Time4aNAP
Premium
join:2007-04-09
Des Plaines, IL
| reply to kapil
Re: Covad is done for
said by kapil :...there is a high profit margin in the business circuits. Yes there is. Just not for Covad. |
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