 
MattE
Obama '08
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC |  $9.99
There are some people who can't see paying $5-$10 more a month for something they only use once or twice a week to check email. | |
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ncbill
Premium
join:2007-01-23
Winston Salem, NC | Price is still an issue $39.95 for a YEAR of 150 hours/month dial-up (vtisp.com)
vs.
$10/month for the cheapest broadband in my market:
AT&T 768KB (but that price requires a $30/month landline) | |
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DOStradamus
MVM
join:2003-11-04
Santa Rosa, CA
| Re: Price is still an issue said by ncbill  :AT&T 768KB (but that price requires a $30/month landline) Actually, it's a $11/month landline. I have one.
It "costs" $5.70 a month, on top of which, about $5 worth of taxes, fees, and unfees are tacked on.
-NK | |
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DOStradamus
MVM
join:2003-11-04
Santa Rosa, CA
| Re: Price is still an issue Seeing that you mentioned Verizon in your second paragraph,
I'll say that the $5 rate + $5 in taxes (sarcasm about "unfees " intended) should be available in at least the CA/NV SBC-(stud)-serviced areas.
Heck, isn't FIOS coming to your Verizon-served SoCal neighborhood "Real Soon Now"?
Up here in Sonoma County (60 Mi North of SFO) there are two companies that provide broadband over a VHF or UHF radio link.
One, Broadlink, has a handful of towers that serve the Central part of the County. A point in their favor, is that they primarily transport Sonic.net ISP services.
The other, RDS (IIRC), is aggressively trying to provide service to every corner of the county where the see a decent potential market. They claim that they also have some 900 MHz hardware that can do 768K symetrical twenty miles or more from their tower.
What I need to do, is get rich enough to order me my very own "big dunb pipe" --- A DS3 with an SLA guaranteeing restoral of service in time to be dealt into the very next hand. I have a process I should be able to patent --
"A procedure for autologous recycling of the by-products resulting from the digital cleaning of the passages that serve olfactory sensors."
I dare anyone to provide the "prior artwork" needed to deny issuance!
-NK | |
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Skeedatl
Ah, push it - push it real good
Premium
join:2007-12-26
The Cloud | Re: Price is still an issue I have FiOS at my other house in Corona. In Orange County I have Cox (that market it served by AT&T). | |
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Verizon Vet
@rr.com
| said by Skeedatl :Depends on your market. Not everyone can get $5.70 basic POTS. In my area it's $10+taxes and fees for a total of about $18. But you can get away with metered service with DSL. With dialup I'd be paying $18 for unlimited local plus taxes. But even then, POTS plus cheap dial up is less than 1/2 the price of Verizon's cheapest DSL. The cheapest POTS line we can get (without the extortive "line insurance" package) now exceeds $20.00 per month with taxes, for measured service. Verizon (GTE) has always been permitted to charge 50-200% more for their services in California. Our city didn't have to "lower" its utility tax either.
Come January 2009, though, all bets are off. We'll probably see these low-end services increase dramatically in price, and various "bundles" we don't want offered in their stead.
We'll be keeping our POTS at almost any price. We have just enough drug dealing, gang shootings, home-invasion type activity on our block to justify the payment for real 911 response. | |
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Ark
join:2002-06-08
Hudsonville, MI
 ·AT&T Midwest
| said by Skeedatl :Depends on your market. Not everyone can get $5.70 basic POTS. In my area it's $10+taxes and fees for a total of about $18. But you can get away with metered service with DSL. With dialup I'd be paying $18 for unlimited local plus taxes. But even then, POTS plus cheap dial up is less than 1/2 the price of Verizon's cheapest DSL. In Michigan, the cheapest is around $24:
Monthly Service - Jun 10 thru Jul 9
Call Plan 50 13.93
Zone Service 1.69
Federal Access Charge 5.37
Total Monthly Service 20.99
Local Calls
Call Plan 50
2 Call(s) were placed this month
50 Call(s) were allowed
Surcharges and Other Fees
9-1-1 Emergency System
Billed for Ottawa .22
Federal Universal Service Fee .60
Total Surcharges and Other Fees .82
Taxes
Federal at 3% .65
State at 6% 1.31
Total Taxes 1.96
Total Plans and Services 23.77 | |
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Geminimind
Premium
join:2003-12-20
Sacramento, CA | Re: Price is still an issue att is the cheapest here in Sacramento with the lowest 24.99 and you don't have to have a phone line. | |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK | Minimum for a POTS like here is around $25. | |
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| | AtlGuy
join:2000-10-17
Marietta, GA | I could be wrong, and I'm sure someone will point it out if I am, but I believe the cost is higher in the AT&T Southeast (former Bellsouth) region. | |
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Skeedatl
Ah, push it - push it real good
Premium
join:2007-12-26
The Cloud | Re: Price is still an issue It depends on your state tariff. | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | Re: Price is still an issue True - but it doesn't have to be yours.
DSL is tied to a physical line. Dialup can be done anywhere there's a dialtone/jack.
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
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BSD24
Premium
join:2008-04-30
Taunton, MA
clubs:
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Comcast
·Verizon Online DSL
| said by ncbill :$39.95 for a YEAR of 150 hours/month dial-up (vtisp.com) vs. $10/month for the cheapest broadband in my market: AT&T 768KB (but that price requires a $30/month landline) I doubt you will ever see $39.95 for 1 year of broadband, thats way out of the ballpark. Thats bargain isp, and I think it would be funny to find out how many people have that. Probably less than 19% of the first group. I agree with MattE - a cheaper tier like $10 - $15 per month will bring many customers over who have regular unlimited (dial-up) ISP's like PeoplePC, AOL, Earthlink, etc. DSL was the only one to touch $14.95 - but has risen since, but problem with DSL, not only is it not available in many areas, but many times even if the area is available - only homes and such can make it impossible for the house to receive and use DSL service (just won't work).
My grandmother tried to get DSL back when it was $15/mnth but even when it was active and supposed to be working, no PC (tried 3 different ones from my house besides hers) would get online successfully, verizon couldn't figure it out or just didn't care. So she is still on dialup.
If cable went as low as $19.99 perm price for lower tier I bet I could get my grandmother to switch - $15 would be better though. | |
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insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN
| If a user is on dial-up they would already be paying for a land line. So the land-line price should not be considered an extra fee for someone migrating to dsl from dial-up. If their dial-up was 10 bucks and att has 768k dsl for 10 bucks, the price of either product is the exact same to a dial-up customer. | |
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Mizzat
This space for rent
Premium
join:2003-05-03
Atlanta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
| said by ncbill :$39.95 for a YEAR of 150 hours/month dial-up (vtisp.com) vs. $10/month for the cheapest broadband in my market: AT&T 768KB (but that price requires a $30/month landline) And dial-up doesn't require a land line? You can get the 768 without a line line.... | |
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jadinolf
I love you Fred
Premium
join:2005-07-09
Ojai, CA
·DSL EXTREME
| said by ncbill :$39.95 for a YEAR of 150 hours/month dial-up (vtisp.com) vs. $10/month for the cheapest broadband in my market: AT&T 768KB (but that price requires a $30/month landline) I pay AT&T 5.70 a month for my phone service. Where do you get that outrageous number?
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Ark
join:2002-06-08
Hudsonville, MI | Re: Price is still an issue After taxes/fees, I pay close to $24, and I don't think I can possibly get it any cheaper. Pretty sure that it varies from state to state for whatever reason(s). | |
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lt_wentoncha
Red6
join:2002-05-12
000000 |  Wow...
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| BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| Re: I'm not surprised said by Skeedatl :There are so many sources of news and entertainment that broadband isn't a necessity, it's a luxury. And if you're just surfing and checking email occasionally you certainly don't need it. While people tout AT&T's budget DSL, that price is extraordinarily rare. Even Verizon raised their budget DSL price 33% to $20 plus the junk fees. When you can get dial up for less than $7/mo, and and it does the job, why pay more than 3X the price? It's like telling someone to buy race gas for their Toyota at $15/gal when regular 87 does the job. You forget you have to count the cost of the phone line. fr example my friend that lives justs couple mles outside city limits can't get briadband. he wants it, he'd pay for it can't get it. Sure he could get dial-up for $10 form AOL or whereever but then he needs to get a landline. He uses a cell and doesn't need a landline. For some reason his part of the county is servivced by TDS which charges 418 for basic POTS line not counting taxes and fees so it's close to $25. So that' $35 a month if he gets dial-up. Hell I can get naked DSL from at&t for 768 Kbps for $20 or 1.5 Mbps for $38. | |
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Skeedatl
Ah, push it - push it real good
Premium
join:2007-12-26
The Cloud
edit:
July 3rd, @10:38AM
| Re: I'm not surprised Of course everyone on earth can get AT&T. Verizon's dry loop is $27 plus junk fees.
And most people have home phone service no matter what. | |
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Daniel P
join:2000-10-11
united state | $38 for dry 1.5? I have a dry 6mbps DSL for $39 from at&t | |
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Madtown
join:2008-04-26
Madera, CA | 19% I wonder what the age range of these 19% that refuse to upgrade to broadband, and what type of life do they live??? | |
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| patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY | Re: Remind me to NEVER work for you! I goin to skol to do da numba lernin | |
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mgbaker
join:2000-05-14
Charlotte, NC
·RoadRunner Cable
·Covad Communications
| Really- some folks just don't care It may be hard for some in this forum to understand, but there are people out there who simply don't care about the internet and others who just like to check their email or maybe visit a few sites. There's probably a lot of folks who could care less about how fast their download and upload speeds are.... just let them get their email and that's fine with them. My parents are like that and my grandparents see no need for an internet connection at all. I even have a a couple of friends who've grown bored with the internet and seems like they're never using their computers except for maybe work related stuff.
I'm not sure if I could live without broadband, but some people just don't care. Also, with the way the economy is right now there will probably be some folks who just decide to do without an internet connection in order to save some money. | |
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| | mgbaker
join:2000-05-14
Charlotte, NC
·RoadRunner Cable
·Covad Communications
| Re: Really- some folks just don't care Great points.
I think sometimes there's this impression everyone is doing a particular activity. When in reality, a lot of people are not. Like the sickening hype about the iPhone, there were times when websites, news reports and blathering blogs made it sound like every single person in the world wanted one. Or, everyone wants to surf the web on their cell phones and watch tiny arse videos on tiny arse screens... I certainly don't.
I love technology and gadgets, but there are certainly times when I feel some people really get their knickers in knots worrying about the latest greatest next best thing. There are so many people out there who just can't afford that stuff, and others who could care less. | |
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| dougis
join:2000-05-02
Everett, WA
·Verizon FIOS
| said by mgbaker :there are people out there who ....just like to check their email or maybe visit a few sites. There's probably a lot of folks who could care less about how fast their download and upload speeds are.... You hit it right on the head. I have talking with my folks about high speed (well, Quest BB) and they don't really care.
The only time they look at it really hard is when I or my sister are down there and get tired of waiting for things to load (downloading patches at dial up SUCKS).
Until the cost is a wash there won't be any compelling reason to switch. | |
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| | mgbaker
join:2000-05-14
Charlotte, NC
·RoadRunner Cable
·Covad Communications
| Re: Really- some folks just don't care You hit it right on the head. I have talking with my folks about high speed (well, Quest BB) and they don't really care.
The only time they look at it really hard is when I or my sister are down there and get tired of waiting for things to load (downloading patches at dial up SUCKS).
Until the cost is a wash there won't be any compelling reason to switch.
Sounds just like my parents situation.
I also have a neighbor who's in her 50s and I help her from time to time with her computer. She has a DSL Lite package, but she may go a week or two without ever turning on her computer and only has one because her son bought it for her.
Off-topic: I see you joined BBR way back when I did, 12 days before me. | |
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ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL
| And then there are folks... ...like a friend of mine who is in his early 60s. He started out with WebTV a few years ago, then he disconnected that. A couple of years ago, he mentioned he might be interested in getting a laptop, so I told him about a really good deal at Circuit Shitty, which he got. He kept the thing in the box for almost two years before he even looked at it. Now, just to provide some additional info, he has no cell phone, and he doesn't even have an answering machine. Basically, he'll tell you that he's a low-tech guy. He's very educated, mind you, but he simply doesn't care that much about technology.
Anyway, he finally decided to get online, so he decided to sign up with NetZero's absolute cheapest plan. Man, that was a mistake, since it only worked for a short time before something happened (I'm not sure what, but it was related to him tinkering with his dialer), and he could no longer connect. Well, his plan didn't include human support, and to get Web support, you have to be online, so he was caught in a catch-22. So now, he's about to get Comcast, not so much because he wanted broadband but more because dial-up was such an awful experience for him.
Personally, I think he'll be much happier with broadband, but he doesn't know yet, since he's never experienced it. And I have a feeling that this is the case with many dial-up users. It's hard to get excited about something that you've never seen. Back in 2000, when I first got DSL, I knew I wanted it, but I had no idea how much faster it would be. About 30 seconds after I first used it, I knew I'd never go back to dial-up.
Incidentally, my friend just told me last night about his experience canceling his NetZero service. It sounds like they're employing the same techniques that got AOL in trouble a few years ago. So if your grandparents use them and want to cancel, you'd better do it for them, since the reps apparently don't want to take no for an answer, even if you tell them to cancel it a dozen times. | |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| Re: And then there are folks... Yeah. There's many people who can't see how a DVR is better then a VCR, and swear up and down they'll never pay a monthly fee just to record TV shows.
That changes pretty fast once they actually get a DVR and get used to them. The idea of going back to VCR seems well.... positively luddite to me....
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) | |
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Richard B
Fur It Up
join:2007-06-22
Portland, OR | Re: And then there are folks... If it was DVD I agree with you but a VCR unlike many DVRs does not report what I watch to some dammed marketer. | |
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tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Floral Park, NY | bleeding ssid Many can choose no isp because wifi bleeds thoughout suburbia with ssid: linksys
A spotty (2 bars) wifi connection is better on average than a 56k dialup connection.. | |
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hooRAH
@utc.com
| Re: bleeding ssid said by tmc8080 :Many can choose no isp because wifi bleeds thoughout suburbia with ssid: linksys A spotty (2 bars) wifi connection is better on average than a 56k dialup connection.. Absolutely true! I know of one neighbor in our old condo that had internet access, but used the other neighbors wireless because they didn't feel like paying for a wireless router.
If they institute caps, I wonder if/when people will learn about securing their routers? I think it will be a major change to net access in suburbia and condo communities. | |
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NetAdmin
join:2008-05-22
| Providers need to do better 35% of dial-up users say that the price of broadband service would have to fall. Okay, this is just evidence that the marketing departments of providers need to do a better job educating users on their low end tiers. Most providers have tiers that are the same price, or cheaper when you factor the extra phone line in, as dial up access and are faster.
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Over ten plus years of carrying The Clue Bat... | |
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GaffMan
join:2007-08-10
Sedalia, MO
| Broadband Service Providers Just don't get it! Broadband Service Providers just don't get it if they want more costumers they need to be able to provide service to more people. I live in a housing track of about 400 homes just one mile from town, and I have been told by AT&T that they will never bring DSL or U-Vers to my aria. I wold gladly pay three hundred ($300.00) a month for 128 kbps. | |
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Daniel P
join:2000-10-11
united state | Re: Broadband Service Providers Just don't get it! Have you shopped around for fractional T1 service? | |
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| PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR
| yea, people can't "migrate" to broadband, if the ISP's refuse to sell broadband to them. 
I pay $80/month for satellite internet that doesn't qualify as broadband IMHO, because Verizon refuses to install DSL line cards in the Remote Terminal serving my neighborhood. Maybe they think some of us would be stupid enough to subscribe to their 5 GB capped mobile "broadband" service. A surprising number of other people in my neighborhood subscribe to the same satellite ISP. We'd gladly hand that $80 to Verizon for real broadband (DSL), but Verizon is not interested im our business. | |
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| | theDUDE
vote with your wallet
join:2008-05-10
Wytheville, VA
 ·HughesNet Satellit..
| Re: Broadband Service Providers Just don't get it! Yeah! Same problem here with EMBARQ. They don't put enough money into infrastructure.
Meanwhile $80/month with 18/month contract.F%#&! I'm thinking about going back to dialup but i don't feel right giving them a single penny of my hard earned money until they provide the service i want. Kinda like rewarding some one for not doing their job! | |
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benc
Premium
join:2007-06-17
Glen Carbon, IL
·Charter Pipeline
 ·Future Nine Corpor..
·Callcentric
·AT&T Midwest
| Dial-Up is a PITA, and should be avoided if at all possible I'm going to address each point:
35% of dial-up users say that the price of broadband service would have to fall.
What?? Dial-Up is more expensive.
Dial-Up costs $30-$40. It's $5-$15 for the dial-up account, and $25 for a Basic POTS line + CID. I'm assuming there are no per-call charges; unlimited local calling.
On the other hand, el-cheapo DSL or cable costs about $20-$25. I think Comcast has 384k/128k for $25.
19% of dial-up users said nothing would convince them to get broadband.
Oh really?? Nothing at all?? People should be careful about absolute statements like that.
I've already explained how dial-up costs more. DSL is cheaper and it's faster, how can anyone not choose DSL over dial-up?
If you want to keep that AOL E-mail address, then switch the AOL account over to BYOA.
14% of dial-up users – and 24% of dial-up users in rural America – say that broadband service would have to become available where they live.
Okay, you can't argue with that. How can you buy something that isn't available?
Fortunately I've never faced this situation, and I can't stand the idea of being stuck with dial-up. Thus, I refuse to live in such areas, unless money were no object (meaning I'd get a T1 or faster).
I wonder how many people have moved away from such areas for this reason? Or to be more fair, I wonder how many college students came from such areas and decided not to move back for that reason (because they experienced broadband)?
Of those who aren't connected:
33% of non-users say they are not interested.
Um....OK. The question that occurs to me is, are they aware of what they are missing? If so, and they still say that, then fine. But I can't help but think that some of them don't know what they're missing.
12% say they don't have access.
No access? Very, very few areas anymore can't even get POTS. If there's POTS, then there's dial-up which is better than nothing.
9% say it is too difficult or frustrating.
OK, to a point I can understand this. While I don't have difficulty setting up dial-up, I've often overlooked one minor detail when I've tried to do things like set up an E-mail server or FreePBX+Asterisk.
7% say it is too expensive.
Is $20-$25 for el-cheapo DSL or cable really all that much? It's easy to go through that much in a single night at a bar, especially if there's a cover. Going out to eat for dinner also costs that much.
Is $25 going to break them?
7% say it is a waste of time.
I've never felt this way, although I know I certainly would if I had to download at glacial-slow dial-up speeds.
It's like trying to ride a bicycle from St. Louis to Philly (a distance of about 850 miles). Or in other words, something you don't want to attempt. | |
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| PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR
| Re: Dial-Up is a PITA, and should be avoided if at all possible said by benc :35% of dial-up users say that the price of broadband service would have to fall.What?? Dial-Up is more expensive. That's only if you assume that you buy a dedicated line just for internet access. The couple of people that I know who choose to have dial-up, even with broadband available, don't buy a second line. Try calling them, and the line will be busy for hours at a time. | |
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| | benc
Premium
join:2007-06-17
Glen Carbon, IL
·Charter Pipeline
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Callcentric
·AT&T Midwest
| Re: Dial-Up is a PITA, and should be avoided if at all possible said by PDXPLT :said by benc :35% of dial-up users say that the price of broadband service would have to fall.What?? Dial-Up is more expensive. That's only if you assume that you buy a dedicated line just for internet access. The couple of people that I know who choose to have dial-up, even with broadband available, don't buy a second line. Try calling them, and the line will be busy for hours at a time. Oh OK. I'd think that'd be quite annoying, both for them as well as you.
Still, I have to wonder if losing the ability to call people is worth $10 (assuming DSL is $20 and dial-up is $10).
I clearly don't think so. If I really had to use dial-up regularly I'd get a dedicated line for this. | |
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i1me2ao
join:2001-03-03
TEXAS
·Comcast
| like my parents till we told them we could send pic and video of kids they never wanted it. but now they love it. and hell for that matter there are still people happy with horse and buggy transportation.
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»www.thereligionofpeace.com/ | |
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heat84
join:2004-03-11
Fort Lauderdale, FL
·AT&T Southeast
| Re: like my parents said by i1me2ao :and hell for that matter there are still people happy with horse and buggy transportation. I think we should go back to that. It would definitely help the environment and is alot cheaper than a car. | |
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theDUDE
vote with your wallet
join:2008-05-10
Wytheville, VA
·HughesNet Satellit..
| I'm in the 24%..............YAY??? And i'm still waiting. YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR. I can't help but feel that they(EMBARQ) are either waiting until they have everyone else in the area signed up before expanding OR they just don't think the rural areas are worth their time.
WHAT'M I? CHOPPED LIVER?!? | |
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Why Some Prefer Dial-Up Or Disconnection
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Bill Lowered