Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC |  For an extra $9.99 a month ...
... we'll guarantee you that we'll fix your problem in the time frame we would have anyway!
Seriously, depending on the wording and commitment level of the SLA, this could be a good thing. |
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nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
 ·Comcast
| cost?
can you say "ouch, my wallet hurts"?
every broadband service I've seen with an SLA is outrageously expensive. this could end up being simply a niche service used by very few residential customers.
the only market I see is:
- rich people that don't want their internet to go down
- people with home business
- maybe people that telecommute a lot, with the employer picking up some/all of the tab.
I'm guessing this will start at $200 (or more)/mo and get higher from there. |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
|  Good thing; but expect higher fees for SLA service
An SLA actually puts the AT&T on the hook contractually to provide guaranteed service or pay a penalty. For a residential SLA, I expect the damages would be limited to reduction of monthly fees and not anything that would obligate them to actually pay out any money like they have in some business SLAs.
But I also expect that those getting an SLA would pay a higher price to have one.
--
My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page |
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Alpine
Premium
join:2000-01-11
Atlanta, GA
| Good for home office users...
Home business users and telecommuters would benefit from this.
One thing I can say about my DSL with BellSouth/AT&T is that it really never goes out. I think I've had about 30 minutes of downtime in the 6 years I've had them.
Now, if they'd finally get Uverse to me so I could try it... |
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backness
join:2005-07-08
K2P OW2 | reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Good thing; but expect higher fees for SLA service
any credits provided would easily be eaten up by the premium charged for such a service |
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axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| I don't think it would cost so much
They need to monitor their network and make fixes anyways. It doesn't sound like an extra charge, just an incentive to pay for the more expensive services.
They only need to offer something like 99% uptime, if there are 720 hours in a month then they can be down for 7 hours a month. Home service is already pretty reliable, and if it's down more than that, a credit back might keep customers from switching or getting a cheaper plan. |
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jc100
join:2002-04-10
| reply to nasadude
Re: cost?
Can you say this is a waste of money. Seriously, if you live in an area that has this many outages or problems, go to another ISP in the first place. This is only viable if A) you are required to have internet for your home business at which you'd probably have a business line anyway with an SLA. B) Your line sucks and then I'd revert back to another choice. Seems more of a marketing scam than anything. For all the times Ive had internet I think Ive seen only a few major outages and while annoying, they aren't worth that kind of money to fix promptly. If its really a major problem for me on something, I turn to the state attorney general and the BBB. In most cases, I've solved my problems this way pretty efficiently. |
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jc100
join:2002-04-10
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Good thing; but expect higher fees for SLA service
At which point mitigates the worth of the contract. If you are paying 10 dollars a month for an SLA and say you have 2 outages a year. A) you might see line fixed promptly and B) get half that month credited or something. Unless you REALLY need your internet for something important (Business, etc) then I can't see justifying an extra 120 dollars tacked onto your bill. |
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jwersan
R.I.P. Mom, Brian, Ziggy, and Max.
Premium
join:2004-12-20
Port Jefferson Station, NY
clubs: | Maybe...
I would like an SLA if it gave me a minimum speed I can expect 24/7, otherwise it is useless to me...
--
RIAA/MPAA... Bite me!!!!
In constant search for intelligent life on Earth! |
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Enlightener
join:2006-01-28
Cedar Park, TX
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| Customer Service SLA
I'm happy with the reliability of my service and the price. I'm FTTP and I would like to pay more for faster, but that's another story.
What I'm unhappy about is that while when everything works, all is great in the world.... the part of the experience I really hate is anytime I have to call in to ask a question or inquire about a change of some sorts. It's like pulling teeth to get to a human in the correct department who can actually answer the question. Even here in the Direct Forum I ask a question, someone replies to say they are looking into it and then I never get an answer and no one else bothers looking at the thread because it's been bumped.
So I would pay a surchage to get a properly functioning customer service organization funded. $10/mo should do it. That's $120 a year and I shouldn't need more then a few hours total of someones time in a given year. But for that, I expect a human to answer the phone, get my question, route/research/resolve ( they call it fix,delegate or escalate at my job ) and get back to me with a resolution without taking up my time. |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME
| reply to Matt
Re: For an extra $9.99 a month ...
I think that should read...
... we'll guarantee you that we'll fix your problem in the time frame we should have anyway!
Also, AT&T doesn't offer residential DSL (ADSL) service beyond 6Mbps. VDSL is sold as Uverse, and if there's an issue with the Internet, you can almost guarantee that there's an issue with the TV.
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Canada = Hollywood North |
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djtim21
It's all good
Premium
join:2003-12-22
Buffalo Grove, IL
clubs:
| reply to Alpine
Re: Good for home office users...
I agree this would be good. I can list at least 10 to 15 of our sites that could use this - BUT only if AT&T can meet the SLA.
I can list 3 sites that we've moved off of AT&T/SBC managed T1's because they could not meet their SLA's
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"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” - Edmund Burke |
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mikes60
My Paradise
Premium
join:2001-07-31
Boynton Beach, FL
·AT&T Southeast
 ·Vonage
| reply to jwersan
Re: Is it worth any increase at all??
I may have an unusual situation, but in the 4 or 5 years I've had FastAccess I've always had the fasted speed available- now I'm at 6.0.
I don't think I've had outages of more than a few hours over all those years- I even had my Residential FastAccess working during two major hurricane seasons (thanks to my generator).
Since MaxSync my speed has always been in excess of 6.0.
Why would I want to pay anything extra for an SLA.
I have an SLA as part of my AT&T T1/hosting package at my business, and have never fallen below the guarantee- so I have never received any credits there either.
I hope I'm not jinxing myself, but these are the facts.
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No good deed goes unpunished. |
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NoSLA
@comcast.net
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Good thing; but expect higher fees for SLA service
SLA idea is nice, but this devalues their current offerings and what premium are they going to charge for a SLA that is obvious going to be favorable to them. I mean, where I work, the stake holders ( customers ) get a say in setting the SLAs. This looks to be a$$ backwards. |
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justbits
More fiber than ATT can handle
Premium
join:2003-01-08
Chicago, IL
·AT&T Midwest
| Single static IP?!
SLA for an extra nominal or premium fee? For people needing mission critical network access from home, it would be more worth it to get an alternate ISP, like cable in addition to DSL and get a dual-WAN router. Personally, I'd rather have a single static IP address for a low per-month fee.
I could see a good SLA as being a great insurance policy for people who regularly telecommute though. But then again, it could turn out to be just be as worthless as "Line Backer" is. |
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pokesph
It Is Almost Fast
Premium
join:2001-06-25
Sacramento, CA
clubs:
·Comcast
| lets see..
when at&t was sbc which was pac bell before that, they offered sla's on their dsl service.. guarantees of both up-time and connection speeds.. then pac bell moved into yahoo based service and those sla's all but went away (no new ones except on business class services) and now, fast forward through sbc and at&t, we're back to the possibility of adding sla's again. (tho this time I doubt that any speed promises will be made..)
I guess what's old is REALLY what's new - for sure.
been there, done that.. no thanks.
--
Webmaster - Steve
- - - - - - - - - - - -
»www.1-gb.net
»www.ppnstudio.com |
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viperpa33s
Why Me?
Premium
join:2002-12-20
Bradenton, FL
·Bright House
| Anti consumer
Is AT&T saying you can't get a credit unless you have a SLA? A company should be providing customers with prompt, courteous service whether the customer has a 2mb tier or a 10mb tier. No matter what service you have, you are still paying AT&T to have good quality service. I don't believe having a SLA will make AT&T fix a problem any faster. I believe what AT&T is doing is anti consumer.
Just think if you went to a car dealership and they said you can only get quality service if you bought a car that was $30,000 and up. |
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Old_Grouch
Don't just sit there silly DO something
Premium
join:2004-05-26
Greenwood, IN
clubs:
·AT&T Midwest
| Slow down and read closely
Before getting all warm 'n having bladder control problems, read the current language for business customers' SLA.
What is included and the exclusions will really make you feel good.
If it is not in their absolute control, it is excluded. If the problem happens as a result of scheduled change, it is not their problem.
If the problem is with outside plant (yeppers, their own wires 'n such) it is not their problem.
Only thing at&t is toying with is the public's habit of not paying attention and the willingness to pay more for less just 'cause it seems better.
Buyer beware.
--
At Team Discovery we know how to get more outta that danged 'puter of yours!
If you paid taxes it's a rebate. If you didn't, it's welfare. |
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neil0311
join:2005-07-24
Marietta, GA | Where did it say it they would charge more?
Maybe I missed it, but where does it say they would charge extra? I have 6Mb DSL service, so if they want to give me an SLA where I have none now, bring it on. |
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dslwanter
Why would I want DSL? I have FTTH
Premium
join:2002-12-16
Lowellville, OH | Hell
My DSL would be free or my service would get terminated, one of the two. |
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