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 bencPremium
join:2007-06-17
Glen Carbon, IL
 ·Charter
| Keep your broadband, say dial-up users "Only 14 percent of dial-up users say they're stuck with the older, slower connection technology because they can't get broadband in their neighborhoods, Pew reported Wednesday."
I don't believe that for a second. Who wouldn't want faster? Especially when the price difference is small, and in some cases non-existent? I doubt $10/mo. extra will break anyone.
"Thirty-five percent say they're still on dial-up because broadband prices are too high,..."
Wrong. Dial-up is more expensive, and is to be avoided when possible.
El-cheapo DSL: Total $20/mo.
Dial-up: Total $30-$40/mo.
Breakdown:
Dial-up account - $5 to $15
Second POTS line (Basic + CID) - $25
"Vint Cerf, one of the Internet's key inventors and an advocate for the idea that the government should be more active in expanding broadband, suspects that many more dial-up users would be interested in going high-speed if they had a better idea of what they're missing."
How can anyone not see what they are missing? Not only is the el-cheapo DSL cheaper, but can you imagine downloading a Vista Service Pack over dial-up? (shudders) Even in the NT4 days it took overnight to download a service pack.
I can imagine having dial-up as a back-up line, if you live in a broadband monopoly area. I even do that. However, I can't imagine relying on it exclusively anymore. I gave that up awhile ago.
I wonder how much of a negative impact this has on rural areas? I could see myself enjoying living in a rural area, except for the higher costs involved. T1 lines aren't cheap. | | |
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CorydonCultivant son jardinPremium
join:2008-02-18
Denver, CO | Back in the day, I only had one line coming into the house, so I couldn't stay on the internet for hours at a time.
The first summer I was on the internet a lot (rather than just local BBSs) I actually ended up staying up all night and sleeping all day so I could be online without anyone yelling at me to get off the phone and (worse) picking up the receiver.
That was about the time I got into MUDding and IRC quite a bit 
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"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too." | |
KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to benc
to me even if all i did was check mail vs being the the bandwidth sucking swine i tend to be. id still want a basic BB line just because it doesnt tie up the telephone or reqire the cost of a second line(which once added in, you may as well have broadband).
or just get the cable/fiber triple plays and get full broadband and the phone.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports | |
bencPremium
join:2007-06-17
Glen Carbon, IL Reviews:
·Charter
| reply to Corydon
said by Corydon:Back in the day, I only had one line coming into the house, so I couldn't stay on the internet for hours at a time. The first summer I was on the internet a lot (rather than just local BBSs) I actually ended up staying up all night and sleeping all day so I could be online without anyone yelling at me to get off the phone and (worse) picking up the receiver. That was about the time I got into MUDding and IRC quite a bit That was one of the things I hated the most about dial-up, and why I assumed that anyone using dial-up exclusively will want a second line.
I think it's safe to assume that even on dial-up, you'd spend more time on the Internet, if only to wait for downloads to complete. So then the second line is there so you don't lose the ability to talk when you go on the Internet.
When I heard about the so called land-line losses, I figured it's the result of people leaving dial-up. It's like "now that I have broadband, I don't need a second line for dial-up anymore."
I have a back-up dial-up account, but only my one POTS line. That's because my cable doesn't usually go out, though a couple times in the last year it has. I can't get DSL here, so I have the dial-up.
If I could get DSL, I'd follow my own advice, get a slow DSL connection, ditch the dial-up, and let the DSL connection be a back-up. An added bonus is that when I have both I could use both. I could set up a dual WAN. | |
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