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SnittyKitty2
join:2002-10-19
Opelika, AL

1 recommendation

SnittyKitty2 to hayabusa3303

Member

to hayabusa3303

Naked DSL

1st: BellSouth Preferred Pack - $29.95;

2nd: "Gov't Mandated & Authorized Charges" - $4.43 ("Federal Excise Tax - $1.11, AL - State & Local Taxes - $2.19, Telecommunication Relay Service - $0.15 Emergency 911 Service - $0.98;

3rd: "Surcharges and Other Fees" - $7.09 ("FCC Authorized Charge for Network Access" - $6.50 and "Federal Universal Service Charge" - $0.59);

4th: DSL Extreme - $37.95;

5th: Gov't Mandated & Authorized Charges (AL - State/Local Tax) - $2.28)

6th: Refund for Regulated Cost Recovery Fee - $-1.82 for FastAccess account.

Total: $79.88

Someone explain to me the logic of any Telco rolling out VoIP, when FCC several months ago pulled the rug out of state commissioner offices over the subject of naked DSL? BellSouth didn't seem to have a problem with in Georgia and Louisiana. That said, it cost $59.95 for the service unbundled.

If you're forced to have a local phone line, where's the logic? Cable subscribers using the service?

We live in an area where you can see the cable TV line, but there isn't enough saturation of homes for the company to run us a line to our home. And if I had cable, I wouldn't own a home phone, period!!! And why? Our cells we use exclusively for long distance calls and literally for all calls. We might answer our phone once a week, with all the crap we get calling from satellite TV to credit cards.

Whether it's T-Mobile, our cellular provider which I understand intends to roll-out Wi-Max, living deep in the woods, we don't have choices like many others do. It pisses us off that companies deliberately make it hard for customers to have choices.

If you live in Phenix City, AL, you know exactly what I'm talking about - 1 cable company monopolizes the entire area.

If you live in Auburn & Opelika, while there is more choice, it amazes us where DSL is offered, like us, deep in the woods, yet others, just across the street from us, no DSL, not even BellSouth, but Alltel.

The Montgomery LATA and Columbus LATA exist here in Lee County, it's long distance if you call your next door neighbor, and no plan they offer can change that, except their unlimited long distance plan, yet if you live in Montgomery and you live where I do, it's free of charge.

I get that where the lines are drawn, what border you live on, etc. this sort of stuff happens.

But it seems to me, every attempt to streamline, make this technology acceptable to all is deliberately made difficult unless you live in big cities.

I understand costs, I really do, but when you sit down and really crunch the numbers, and your neighbor happens to be the last run for CATV and you're not, and the difference in cost is well over $50 a month...it will drive you nuts when you're forced to do things their way.

Naked DSL shouldn't cost $60 in Georgia, when with local service it cost as low as $25, depending on what bundle you have, but my main problem with this tactic is the same as having a food coupon that's worth $1 off. If I buy the product, I save a buck, if I don't buy the product, I save even more. I don't understand the logic Telco use to make you buy their products, when it seems to me all the common sense in the world is to make different technology available...aka choice!

It never seems to matter who it is...like taxes, doesn't matter what state you go to, everybody has a tax or a fee for something...same with the Telcos...everybody has a USF, and there are only subtle differences between them, and only a few dollars when you really do the numbers from one Telco to the next.

And about that AT&T BellSouth merger... amazing to think it was only 20 or so years ago Ma Bell (AT&T) was broke up into all the baby bells and why was it broken up? Have we not learned the lesson...aka Microsoft...it doesn't create software, they buy out smaller and innovative companies and then sell their software under "Microsoft."

I'm done ranting.... Y'all be good!

roamer1
sticking it out at you
join:2001-03-24
Atlanta, GA

roamer1

Member

said by SnittyKitty2:

If you live in Auburn & Opelika, while there is more choice, it amazes us where DSL is offered, like us, deep in the woods, yet others, just across the street from us, no DSL, not even BellSouth, but Alltel.
To their credit, BellSouth (and Windstream) do have more rural DSL than some other phone companies, particularly Verizon.
The Montgomery LATA and Columbus LATA exist here in Lee County, it's long distance if you call your next door neighbor, and no plan they offer can change that, except their unlimited long distance plan, yet if you live in Montgomery and you live where I do, it's free of charge.
The Alabama PSC, who has jurisdiction over intrastate LD, could fix that by passing a "countywide calling" bill similar to what exists in Georgia, Tennessee, and other states...but they won't. Many other areas in Alabama have small/oddly shaped calling areas; Jackson County comes to mind as an area that's a total mess.
Naked DSL shouldn't cost $60 in Georgia
I could see it costing $5-10 more than DSL with a phone line, to cover the costs of the loop...there's no reason for naked DSL customers to be paying the same they'd pay for DSL and a full phone line, as naked DSL doesn't use the POTS switching infrastructure, only the last-mile copper.

-SC