US Telco Support > AT&T > AT&T Midwest > SBC lowers pricing to $19.95 w/o bundling LD

reply to Riss_Centaur

Re: SBC lowers pricing to $19.95 w/o bundling LD

Well, I received my bill today and the price jumped up to 49.95 for express package. I was like "WTF?!?!" since my contract doesn't end til late April/early May. Called the billing support, since it's too weird. My friend has same dsl, and he's still paying 30 bucks even though his first 12 months were past for long time. They automatically renewed my contract without any hassles. I think it sometimes depends on type of Tech Support person you get (knows stuff/doesn't know stuff).

reply to dsl_joe
I think what he was saying was caveat emptor.

I'm not against communities getting into broadband. Especially if they're getting snubbed by SBC and Comcast.

You didn't get snubbed. You got service. You didn't get the $19.95 plan on the first call, and you didn't pay attention to the fact that you had a 12 month contract with costs reverting to 49.95 per month after that. Caveat emptor.

Is it right? No. Is it something you can avoid with a small amount of effort? Definitely. Is it something to push your community into providing their own broadband?

I kinda doubt it. More like you're trying to put words into Riss_Centaur's mouth.

Call back, and be reasonable. You might just find someone willing to give you the $19.95 pricing.

reply to OnTheNet
Well, my due date for the upgrade is tomorrow. Earlier tonight I noticed my modem resynced. I checked and sure enough I was at 3008/512. However, my redback profile wasn't changed. I posted in SBC Direct just a bit ago. Seven minutes later, I was getting full download, Superb!

reply to Suchaknight

reply to gust334
Maybe I wrote/spoke too soon. 'tis now the day after the purported upgrade to Pro, and after completely unplugging the modem for two minutes and then reconnecting everything, the only difference is that my upload is now 139 instead of the original 240. No increase to the download.

This happen to anybody else?

Yes, I ran into the same problem. Post in SBCDirect and they will fix things.

Thanks for the advice. I posted and got a response, but I don't know how to read it. S/he said my profile only supported 2M and then s/he included a bunch of numbers for 2M and 2.5M, all of which were bigger numbers than I'm used to seeing.

I have replied to that post and asked him/her if those numbers meant I couldn't have the "Pro" package, and if so, if I could at least get my old speed back (I was rock-solid 1300/240 for the last N months and now I'm 1200/139).

reply to OnTheNet
Just for reference, I am on the Express package (Pro speeds not available in my area) and was paying $26.95. I called to ask about the new pricing and was told I could not switch. When I said, "So there's no way to switch to the new pricing? What about disconnecting? Or is there a fee with that?"

I think "disconnect" was the magic word. She then checked to see if she could authorize an overide, and my bill has been reduced $7 per month.

So for those that are wondering, it's still possible to get the new pricing.

reply to OnTheNet
Many thanks to Toaster, my DSL service is back on! My pro service is now clocking in at 1521/400. That's worlds better than 24/23!

reply to Mchart
These numbers are from a speed test from the Tools page here at DSLR. 1521kbps down, 400kbps up, on the Pro package for $29.95/mo, 1 year contract. I see very similar numbers when I run the speed test from SBC's page, choosing Elmhurst IL.

Prior to this, I was grandfathered month-to-month on a 1500/256 profile that consistently tested at 1300/240 at $59.95/mo.

So, after a day of lost service, my D/L speed increased by a small amount, my U/L speed significantly increased, and I'm paying half as much a month.

Toaster disclaims credit for the fix and recommends that I get my line switched from the CO to a new RT in the area. I know that wolfdragon01 ran diagnostics on my line when it was testing 1300/139 earlier this week, perhaps s/he was the one that fixed my line. Or, as toaster suggests, maybe it fixed itself?

FWIW, here are the numbers wolfdragon01 gave me for the diagnostics using a "2M" profile:

Trunk Status IS-NR

ADSL Down
Relative Capacity Occupation (0 - 100%) 73
Noise Margin (0 - 31 dB) 10
Transmitted Signal Power (0 - 20 dB) 20
Signal Attenuation (0 - 60dB) 57
Max Attainable Bit Rate on Fast Channel (Kbps) 2816
Fast Channel Bit Rate (Kbps) 1984
Fast Cell Count (Kbps) 64468779

ADSL Up
Relative Capacity Occupation (0 - 100%) 59
Noise Margin (0 - 31 dB) 17
Transmitted Signal Power (0 - 20 dB) 8
Signal Attenuation (0 - 60dB) 31
Max Attainable Bit Rate on Fast Channel (Kbps) 928
Fast Channel Bit Rate (Kbps) 512
Fast Cell Count (Kbps) 74125802