Embarq Customers Learning About CenturyTel > Embarq broadband prices may be going up.

Embarq broadband prices may be going up.

It really depends on how the advertise rates are set. Our rates on the website are without any promotions and full price. But, they go as follows:

256k 31.20/mo

1.5Mb 41.20/mo

3Mb-15Mb 51.20/mo

Are those full prices or promotional prices Embarq is advertising? Because we used to advertise promotional prices over the full price on our website, but not anymore.

In fact, I checked their website, that is the BUNDLE price. Relax.

»www.embarq.com/Residential/Inter···Internet
--
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
- Abraham Lincoln

In my opinion Embarq is doing the right thing by offering 5 Tiers of service. I had a friend served by BellSouth. At the time BellSouth offered 3Mbps or 256Kbps. When he tested his connection he found that he was only able to get around 600Kbps download speed. After BellSouth worked on his connection his download speed increased to 800Kbps. Unfortunately BellSouth did not offer a 768K price tier. When he asked for a price reduction he was told he could drop back to the 256Kbps rate or cancel his service.

CenturyTel's rate structure forces a customer to pay for a 1.5Mbps connection even when CenturyTel can not deliver that download speed. The rate structure is the equivalent of charging the customer for a pound of coffee and then handing them a quarter pound. When a customer complains they are directed to an agreement on the package that the seller does not guarantee the weight of coffee in the package. It is time the State Attorney Generals begin investigate Broadband Pricing for customers served by DSL.

Mr Matt , I'm slightly confused by what you are saying here...prices vary everywhere, from milk to cereal to gasoline to prices for services. I don't see how you are coming up with the statement that CenturyTel forces you to pay for 1.5 when you cannot attain that speed?

Every customer that can get DSL has a minimum of two options:

256 or 1.5 (up to 18,000ft; higher speeds available in many locations but those are minimal if DSL is available; 79% of access lines served by CenturyTel are DSL capable)

256 or 512 (up to 23,000ft)

DSL is quite limited by many factors, including distance, cable type, and equipment serving the location. So, we have minimum speeds that we have set for each tier that a customer should be getting, and if they are not getting that speed, then we fix the issue.

I was not correct when I used the term forces, a LEC cannot force a customer to do anything. What a LEC can do is to charge a customer for a high speed connection even though the LEC cannot deliver the advertised speed to the customer. If the LEC can only attain a lower download speed to the customer, the customer should have a choice of a lower price tier that is still considered broadband. It has been stated in DSL Reports that a 256Kbps download speed is no longer considered broadband. Apparently 756Kbps is the lowest download speed to be considered broadband.

All LEC's should offer a 756Kbps download speed at a reasonable price, like Embarq's $19.95 monthly price, in the event that the customer determines that speed is acceptable and the carrier cannot deliver a download speed at the next advertised tier. The customers other option would be to pay for a higher price tier even though the LEC cannot attain the advertised download speed. The customer can use this option when they find that the download speed they obtain, is needed, even if the download speed is lower than the advertised speed but higher than the next lower tier.

I believe one of the reasons that the CATV industry is cleaning the Local Exchange Carriers clocks is the LEC's broadband pricing. Customers have finally realized that they are being over charged by Local Exchange Carriers for broadband service that delivers less the advertised download speed. If customer can, they will go to a service provider that can deliver the advertised speed even if the monthly cost is higher.

reply to dsldude08

Well, to give you a simple and straight forward answer, to the best of my ability I will say the following: The last company we acquired was Madison River Communications, all of their pricing structures were grandfathered. So, I would imagine the same process would be used. We do the same for our current pricing structure, if you have a rate for DSL that you've had for two years, and then we increase it, well, generally your rate doesn't change until you make a change to your account requesting such. So, as of right now, I wouldn't be too worried about your current pricing being changed.
--
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
- Abraham Lincoln

Thanks!!
That was what I needed to know! and was actually what I needed to hear!

appreciate the reply!

WT

reply to dsldude08
I currently have Dry-Loop DSL with Embarq with 5Meg/768K service and Static IP for $55/month.

Service has been very reliable, probably rating with 99.9% uptime and rarely any thruput issues. Speedtests usually run at 4.5M/650K, so not quite up to the rated speed but close.

One thing I like about Embarq's tiers compared to CenturyTel is more tiers and higher upload speeds. Embarq's 10M service has a 896K upstream but Ctel's max is 768K.

Will our upstream speed change under CenturyTel? Will our tiers be grandfathered under CenturyTel?

Also, I see no mention of Static IP option on CenturyTel website.

We do offer static IP's, and it is likely your prices/speeds/etc will be grandfathered. But I cannot give any definitive answer to it since it is really not up to myself, just going by the history we have here.
--
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
- Abraham Lincoln