On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 07:43:05 -0400
"Robin 'Roblimo' Miller" <robin@roblimo.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >I agree satellite is really expensive, and the speed sucks. I looked into while stuck on dialup in NY. iirc the cheapest for service was like 70$/month, and 600$ for installation. (Unless you use a dialup line to send, the system has to be pro installed because you are sending info to the satellite) worhtless.
> >Vonage sounds like a great idea, and actually cheaper than what i was gonna say. I have verizon for my local and long distance, but pay 65$ (i think) flat rate for any call, anywhere, anytime. If you want the name of the plan let me know.
> >
> >
>
> I used to use Vonage for long distance and RR for Internet, but I'm now
> 100% Verizon. Why? Money + reliability. My *total* bill this month, for
> local phone service, unlimited U.S. long distance, every add-on phone
> feature known to the human race *and DSL*, was $104.14.
>
> Vonage was ~$40/month. The sound quality was passable, but Verizon's is
> much better for about the same price, and Verizon's international
> calling rates are lower. The rest of my phone bill, including all the
> add-on services, brings my total voice commo charges up to ~$55/month.
>
> RR Internet service was noticeably faster than DSL when everything was
> working right and the loop wasn't crowded, but slower when things
> weren't working right or the loop was saturated. On the whole, I find
> DSL more satisfactory. And both are "plug and play"' installs these days
> either directly to your computer or, in my case, through a Netgear
> WAP/router combo (that also has a built-in hardware firewall). And the
> DSL part of my phone bill is $35/month, which is $10 less than RR.
>
> The balance of the bill -- the difference between the ~$85 you'll get if
> you add up the above figures, and the ~$104 actual total, is taxes and
> other mandated add-on fees that cable companies and Vonage aren't forced
> to levy. (I'm not one of the "ask not what I can do for my country, but
> how much my country can do for me and how little I can do in return"
> people, so I don't really mind helping to pay for things like 911
> service, low-cost local service, and generally doing my share to support
> local, state, and federal government.)
>
> Anyway, taxes and all, I am getting better service per dollar on both
> voice and data transmission from Verizon than I've ever gotten before,
> either through a single supplier or through a combination of suppliers.
>
> Another factor for me, since my phone and Internet sevices are an
> employer-paid business expense, is that I turn in one bill a month
> instead of three separate ones. Even if you are using these services on
> your own dime, if you are doing *any* amount of work at home, your
> telecom services are tax deductible, and once again, saving one bill per
> month is a lot more convenient than saving three.
>
> I don't love Verizon. But I have even less love for AOL Time Warner, and
> I'm neutral toward Vonage, so I have no major moral qualms one way or
> another that influence my telecom provider choices. If AT&T or MCI or
> whomever offered me a better price, and similar reliability and billing
> convenience to what I've been getting from Verizon, I'd change
> providers in a heartbeat. That's what the free market competition is all
> about. And I'm glad to see that it's finally having some major effects
> on both voice and data commo services!
>
> - Robin
Unfortuneatly, where I am in Oldsmar, I don't qualify for DSL. I looked into it. On the plus side though, my loop for rr is pretty light. (there don't seem to be alot of people hooked up around here, as I've never experienced a slow down) Not sure if this is true or not, sense I'm coming form dial-up it all seems fast lol. Maybe once we move, i'll look into DSL again. Tampabay DSL seemed to have descent prices. THere is also another DSL provider that offers service around here (they only use one office though so availability is small). THey have 1mb/1mb for 100$ a month with a static ip. I found them through dslreports.com.
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