AT&T Promised To Offer $10 DSL; It Didn't Promise To Tell Anyone About It
from the fine-print,-people,-fine-print! dept
At the end of December, AT&T proposed a bunch of “concessions” to the FCC in order to get approval for its merger with BellSouth. While there was a last minute protest, as a few people noticed that the fine print contained a few surprising nuggets, the FCC wasted no time (literally, it was just a few hours) approving the merger on those concessions. One of the concessions was that within 6 months of the merger, the company would offer customers in certain “buildout areas” 768k (downstream) DSL for $10/month. This offer would last for at least 30 months and only be for new customers. On Friday, AT&T announced that new customers in exactly those areas could get discounted DSL… but for $19.95/month and it requires a phone line as well. That seems a bit odd. So, Karl over at Broadband Reports did some sleuthing and found out that AT&T also did start offering the $10/month DSL plan… it’s just not telling anyone about it. Again, you have to read the fine print on the AT&T concessions. The company promised to offer the cheap DSL, not that it would let anyone know that it existed.
Comments on “AT&T Promised To Offer $10 DSL; It Didn't Promise To Tell Anyone About It”
Now that’s a sneaky move. But I bet it won’t be long before people know about it now.
good ole AT&T,
Embarq has a lot of problems and it sure cost more than 10$.
I need good ole AT&T, Maybe?
Re: good ole AT&T,
Net Neutrality My @$$
So let me get this straight…I could get NetZero dial-up for $9.95, PeoplePC dial-up for $10.95, or AT&T DSL for $10.00? So basically, they’re saying “768k of bandwidth costs us – and therefore you – the exact same as 56k of bandwidth, but we believe we aren’t being unfair to lie to congress and try to get laws passed saying so anyway.”
If there was ever a silver bullet for those against Net Neutrality, wouldn’t this be it? Isn’t this the one, single bit of proof that shatters the notion that more bandwidth costs more money?
Also I should mention that AT&T Worldnet (their old dial-up offering) is still $19.95 for legacy users who haven’t dropped it or upgraded since they quit offering it, so for those who would argue “you’re comparing two different companies” I regret to inform you that my point remains valid.
In AT&T’s defense, I have Bellsouth DSL (well…AT&T now, I suppose) and at 8MBit/sec in a town where Charter Cable (3MBit/sec) is my only alternative, I’m quite pleased with it. Great service, fast, and never goes offline (once for 1 hour in 4 years). Of course, being less than 2 blocks from the DSL station might have something to do with that, but either way, it’s really, really nice. I have no problem with their products, I simply dislike the way they spin the Net Neutrality debate.
An offer?
Is it an really an “offer” if you don’t communicate it? I don’t think so. So they’re not being “sneaky”, they’ve actually failed to satisfy both the spirit and the letter of the agreement. Now will the FCC do the right thing and require that the merger be reversed? I doubt it.
Re: An offer?
That’s true. It depends on the wording they used. “Offer” connotes telling people. If I offer you some ice cream, I’m obviously making you aware that the ice cream exists.
But if they said, “make available” or something like that, I can see it holding up in court.
Re: Re: An offer?
But it doesn’t tell you where the ice cream is, does it?
"Up to"
Actually, they were only required to offer internet service at “a speed of up to 768 Kbps” for $10 per month. Don’t forget that “up to 768 Kbps” includes “0 Kbps” so they really have to do is to offer to let people send them $10 per month for nothing and they are within the letter of the agreement. As it was written, all the agreement really does is prevent them from offering anything better than 768 Kbps for $10 per month.
Re: "Up to"
what is kbps i am confused
Naked DSL
Don’t forget they also have to start providing naked dsl soon too. Lets see where they bury that offer.
Re: Naked DSL
They are now offering dry dsl loops in Indiana-not sure of the price, but I have personally installed 2 in the last 2 weeks.
AT&T sucks
Today I tested a connection I installed for the company I work for. The download was 54MBS – Yeah 100 times faster then AT&T for 10 bucks. We have plans for 10 buck a month for 1mb speed. I pay for 3MB and AT&T only gave me that speed for a week… over a year later- we still fight. I am going to prove that AT&T actually on purpose cut my speed in half but makes me pay in full. I Would switch to the company I work for.. but how could I let my boss have all my ip info?? Esp if I ditch work?????? otherwise I would switch.
Re: AT&T sucks
I thought they had to offer the NAKED DSL for $10.00.
Any idea how much naked will cost or when it will be offered?
Re: AT&T sucks
AT&T didn’t cut your speed on purpose, or accident, or in any other way. I’m a dsl tech for AT&T and I troubleshoot 4-6 speed and connection trouble ticket per day. Your dslam, the equipment that supplies your dsl sync, is provisioned at a certain rate. That rate only changes when a valid order is processed. If your throughput has changed it means that there is a physical issue that is causing the problem. That could be line trouble, jack trouble, modem trouble, a bad dslam card, a faulty T1 supplying the dslam, unfiltered phone equipment in your house, or problems with your pc. Did you have a dsl tech come check your line? Did you see what your bandwidth readings were on his sunset meter? Did the tech run any speedtests on his gobook? If not, I suggest you have those things done.
Re: AT&T sucks
GOT ATT $10 MO FOR YEARS CONTRACT SUDDENLY BILLING STATED $32 MO. FOR DSL RAISED TOTAL HELL FOR OVER TWO HOURS ON PHONE GOT TRANSFERED TO EVERYONE THEN TO GOD OR JESUS I THINK AND NOW BACK TO $10 MO AND NOW THE SUCKER IS A MIRACLE IF IT WILL GET OVER 500KBS DOWNLOAD AND 200KBS UPLOAD AS THEY POKE IT TO YOU FOR MAKING THEM HONOR A CONTRACT AS THAT IS WHAT ATT HAS BECOME SO EM ME THE CO U WORK FOR AS HELL WITH ATT CONTRACT ILL SWITCH
THANKS MUCH
Re: Re: AT&T sucks
I tried to get the $10.00 DSL deal, and thought I had after speaking to three reps on the phone in early June, but couldn’t because I dropped my landline. Like everyone has said, they don’t make it easy. Just got my bill for $80.00. The charged me for two internet services and my landline that I cancelled plus an extra $5.00 fee for something else they didn’t tell me about.
They gave me DSL Ultra when I requested the Lite. I had to use my time ….lots of it and speak to more than one person to change it. Then, request a refund which will take up to two billing cycles…for $20.00 + and they still have not emailed me to confirm the switch. I think they are purposely giving people the more expensive service that they did not agree to in hopes that they will not notice, will not go through the hassle of changing, or will not want to “downgrade” do a lower service. I kept arguing with the 3 customer service people that it is not called “downgrading” when you are just requesting that you get for you asked for.
I REPORTED THEM TO A LOCAL TV CONSUMER WATCH AND THE BBB. Got a call from AT&T corporate office in Atlanta. Eric Watts (Eric something)I think was his name. I told him exactly what I thought they were doing and that it is “slimy” business practices to bait and switch with the plans. He kept disagreeing with me that their practices were wrong or “slimy”, but he never denied that they were doing it. The BBB closed the case. I think the local TV station dropped it because their customer service was handling it. I got one call saying they were on top of the issue and would email me, nothing yet. But at least I got their attention.
I am also stuck with the option of crappy AT&T or even crappier Comcast.
oh my gosh — the best part about this article is the ad for AT&T that popped up underneath it. “AT&T DSL: SBC is now AT&T, Plans start at only $14.95 a month not contract”. I love irony.
my girlfriend works for cingular/att. she said the plan for the old cingular stores its to 1st change brands which hers has and quite a few have already. but also offer land lines service, sell land phones, and dsl. its just taking a long time to rebrand.
no dice
Unable to find anything about the $10 dollar a month service on AT&T’s web site and only passing mention of it on the BellSouth web page I decided to give AT&T a call. They are my local phone provider here in Pennsylvania and I also have their cell phone service (my wife got me stuck in some 2 year plan.) After being passed around and given multiple numbers to call I was finally given 1-800-967-5363. This will allow you to talk directly to the DSL department with any questions regarding this matter. I should note that all representatives I spoke with were obviously outsourced, probably Indian, so it made communications difficult and frustrating.
My first go resulted in the representative saying that the $10 offer was not available to me so I asked to speak with the manager. The manager said the “special offer” was only available in 22 states. I asked him to list them and he gave me the following: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. I asked him why it is only available in those states. He didn’t know. I then told him that I had family in California who would be interested in this DSL price, how do I directly access the AT&T web page that details this “special offer.” He directed me to att.net which uncovered nothing, then to att.com/localhelp which also uncovered nothing, finally he told me to go to newatt.com which redirects you to attfashion.net a site selling shoes. At this point he was getting frustrated and said he would connect me to one of his “DSL specialists” to resolve the matter.
Can you guess what happened? He redirected me back to the main menu of 1-800-967-5363. *sigh* I waited on hold again for another outsourced Indian representative. This lady was armed with a lot of information. She was obviously reading a printed statement and basically said that the $10 offer is only available where BellSouth owns the land lines. Because Verizon owns the land lines in Pennsylvania the service is not available. I asked when the offer would be available to Pennsylvania and she said she did not have that information.
She then tried to sell on the 19.99 DSL offer. No thanks. Much faster than the $10 offer! No thanks. How about AT&T dial up? No thanks. Its very fast with an accelerator! No thanks. Would you like AT&T wireless? I have it already, it sucks and is overpriced. How about adding another line? *CLICK*
That was my experience. I say to hell with AT&T. Although if you’re in one of those 22 states you might be in luck and your best bet is probably ordering it over the phone.
Only available for 12 months in Texas
Although 30 months is specified, the current AT&T listing shows $10 service available for only 12 months currently.
Before the ATT/BellSouth merger I had 1.5MB ATT DSL for $12.99/month. A few months after I was switched to 1.5MB at $19.99/month and when I complained I ended up with 0.75MB at $15/month (over 200% increase on a $ per MB basis). When I tried to switch to the new 0.75MB at $10/month, I was told that I need to be a new customer. Even if my wife starts a new service under her name though, switching to the $10 DSL still does not make sense, because then you get charged $50 for a DSL modem, while with the $15/month DSL you get the modem for free.
In short, the new $10 DSL is a bunch of boloney. I do realize that 10 or 15 bucks is not a lot of money for most people, but it is a sad state of affairs when in Korea speeds of below 10MB are not even considered broadband and here in the US we are going backwards – offering slower speeds for more money.
My retirement portfolio is 60% international now and I bet the next Google / Microsoft will not be a US company.
All sites say 22 states get the $10 plan. No one lists what the 22 states are. Can you tell me?
Re: List of states from previous post
: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Wisconsin
Found the link to $10 DSL, but good luck getting i
The link to the $10 DSL, which has to be ordered online, is hidden under a “term contract plans available” item on this page: http://www.bellsouth.com/consumer/inetsrvcs/index.html
This link is just above the Terms and Conditions section near the bottom of the web page.
Here’s the kicker though — on the fast access DSL page, there’s a place to enter your phone number to check to see if DSL is “available” for your phone line. Of course, it IS NOT AVAILABLE to me. They say in their FAQs that one can check back often to see if DSL has become available in your area, but as long as they are forced to “offer” the $10 DSL lite, it seems to me there is little incentive for them to expand their coverage.
Re: Found the link to $10 DSL, but good luck getting i
I went to the link you provided Lenny. They said I don’t have an ATT account, correction: not found, is what it said. Yea, good luck getting it!!
They're hiding it alright
The terms page is at
http://www.bellsouth.com/consumer/inetsrvcs/inetsrvcs_agreement_plans_pop.html
How long has this offer be available?
I’m not sure how often the link changes, but they’re avoiding it like it will kill them. I know a school teacher that needed this rate, and AT&T gave her a so called “great deal” knowing she didn’t really have the money. They charged her for the modem, and they acted like they were doing her a favor by giving her the best deal and a “credit” after three months of the 15/mo service. Vultures!
Vultures where they should be hummingbirds
AT&T has again mis-handled this deal–to serve their short term interests. No surprises to we end-users, eh?
I’ve been on dialup here in Florida since ’95.
Have had Comcast cable for many years, but I would not submit to Comcast service: it’s very poor, unreliable here in Miami.
They don’t keep apppointments, they don’t maintain cables, the whole nine yards of complaints, you know. Went two months without cable service because Comcast failed more than a dozen formally-scheduled service appointments to re-hang a fallen drop.
Well, sot that leaves BellSouth/AT&T.
It wasn’t until recently that DSL was even available in my neighborhood. Dialup is awful, but it is the devil I know.
When I learned the other day about the $10/month with free modem “offer”, learned of it on the ‘net, I thought: ‘First I’ll call the order department and ask”:
“There is no such plan that I know about. Really? Well, this is sales so you’ll have to find out about that elsewhere.”
Thank you, AT&T for caring (not).
Online, in the DSL order form: NO “offer”, no mention, no nothing. The trick procedure is this (already mentioned above):
you must begin to jump through hoops as if you were ordering one of the firm’s sheeple $$$ plans. It’s only after you enter a virgin-to-broadband number, and answer in the negative two leading questions, that then you get to a page, which, without highlight of any kind, amazingly has the $10 per month lite DSL plan.
The “offer” does not really make clear that the modem is FREE, so long as you adhere (PAY) $10/month for one year.
NO upgrade of modem to “wireless gateway” is offered.
However, I found out the next morning, when my AT&T line went dead, that a person is free to buy a wired or wireless router, by which to add other computers in his/her home to the FREE AT&T modem. This can cost as little as forty bucks, for a wired router.
Yes, the morning after my online (only online!) 10 buck DSL order was placed, the house phone went dead. Drat, getting punished already?
No, I went outside, peered down the street to the neighborhood junction box where the phone techs are often at work. Yes, there was an AT&T panel van and one worker.
I queried him, to learn (politely) what he was doing that must’ve taken off my line. “Do you live at —–?”.
Yes.
“Oh, well!” he said, and he had my phone’s wire-pair in hand, “I’m installing your DSL line right now! I’ll be done in a minute and I’ll call your line to verify it’s working well at your end.” (I paraphrase, but he was really nice.
He’s the one who instructed me (a dummy) about sharing this minimal DSL service with my dad’s computer elsewhere in our house.
He also confirmed (as did Mrs. AT& Sales-Only lady, my street, at present, can only garner 1.5mbs -at best-.
Therefore, I just won’t shell out more money than this, for now, if that’s all I could get, say 1mps or so.
IT WILL BE INTERESTING to learn in a few more days, when the FREE modem arrives, if “they” (the turd-wranglers making policy at AT&T) even allow we $10 the full “768kbs” potential we’re supposedly paying for. OR will they throttle us down to half of that, or less? And would, say, my next door neighbor (hypothetical because he’s dead), on say, their premium plan, would he be allotted the full 1.5mbs?
Between the choice of fast but evil Comcast, from whom I shy on principle and on practice of frequently-failed service,
between Comcast the Ditz and Liar, and AT&T, the oily-haired, parsimonious Thief…well, I don’t know but that dialup retains certain charms yet to come.
Majorly pained,
MC
Not such a BAD DEAL
The $10 DSL was specifically listed in the ATT to FCC consession letter (I used Google to get a PDF of the letter from the FCC web site after just after the merger) as promoting broadband. The offer was supposed to be for former Bellsouth customers.
Bellsouth was the greedy baby bell that made you pay something like 24.95 per month for a DSL lite that was actually DSL ultralight (5x dialup as I recall).
I was waiting for the offer since the 6 month clock in the letter was about to run out. The day after I heard it was available, I signed up (Wednesday). The free modem got here Monday. The installation failed (no DSL sync).
After a long wait on the hold, the phone support guy went through his check list & he decided a technician visit was required. They offered to send a guy the next day, but I scheduled the visit for Thuresday 8-12 so I could be home.
He showed up at 9:00, found that my house was not getting DSL, went to a connection box a couple of blocks away & fixed a wiring problem. My DSL (660 k tested speed) was running by 10:00. An hour or so later I set up my $39 Wireless G router (I could of gotten one from ATT for an extra $5 per month, but they are just too cheep to not buy).
Read the fine print...then read it again.
Link to the $10 AT&T offer can be found at:
https://swot.sbc.com/swot/promoLanding.do
-or-
Go to following link:
http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=6431
scroll to bottom, and on right side click “Learn more” in box labeled “DSL at even a lower price!”
A year ago, I signed up for AT&T’s “Pro” DSL service at $17.95 month for 1.5-3.0 mbps downstream. Maximum speed I could get was just under 970k (confirmed by tests on AT&T’s own servers.)
Their tech support and service department couldn’t agree what the problem was. Tech support said I was given “cheaper” speed, Service Dept said no. After listening to them arguing for 2 days, I cancelled the service, packed up the modem, and sent everything back COLLECT. Later, I filed a formal complaint with my states Consumer Regulatory Agency, about AT&T’s false advertising.
As poster earlier stated, remember whichever service you apply for, no minimum speed is guaranteed, its all “up to”.
Also keep in mind, the FCC sets regulations in accordance with the “policies” of the Administration then in power. (eg: The FCC approval for most the “baby Bells” (11 of the original 13) to merge back into todays AT&T, came while Michael Powell (Secretary of State & former General Colin Powell’s son) was appointed Chairmain of the FCC by the current President.)
DSL Lite for 10.00 per month for 30 months
AT&T is also not telling how to order this DSL for the 10.00 a month pricing, because if you go to the ordering page it gives the promo price only of 19.95 per month with a 1 year committment.
AT&T "read the fine print"
truelly AT&T is just one of those who wants to make money and dont think about the consumers needs… i checked there web site as well to shop for a new service and im happy to say that i’m keeping my Earthlink account for DSL service.. money is not an issue for as long as they are meeting my needs for internet connection… pls dont fall for a false promotion that you will regret in the end….
WHY ARE YOU SURPRISED?
AH’ MAYBE YOU ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER “MA BELL” AKA AT&T. REMEMBER WHEN YOU COULD HAVE ANY COLOR PHONE YOU WANTED AS LONG AS IT WAS BLACK. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT TO BUY YOUR OWN PHONE? YOU WILL RENT ONE FROM MA BELL OR YOU WILL DO WITHOUT. THANKS TO LOADING THE COFFERS OF OUR “REPS” IN WASHINGTON MA IS ABOUT TO PUT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER [IT WAS BROKEN INTO 7 PARTS BECAUSE IT HAD GROWN TO SUCH A MONOPLY THAT IT WAS STRANGLING THE COUNTRY.] SOON WE WILL ALL KISS THE RING OF MA BELL AGAIN.
Greedy Bastards
Is anyone really surprised. This illustrates that they did not negotiate in good faith or in the sincere interest of the consumers – ACTIONS DO SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. I worked there and can tell you that (in my humble opinion)they are driven by nothing but greed. It became increasingly disgusting how meetings focused on new ways to squeeze more and more money from customers. The discussions on delivering better value were wrapped in the twisted propoganda sales BS about why customers should pay more. I pray that wireless will take off strong and these A-holes can eat their copper lines.
"Technical Difficulties" registering
After eventually finding the $10 “lite” option and completing the contract, at final submission click a large red pop-up said “we are having technical difficulties”. So, am I out $120 (give or take the $50 cancellation fee) or not?
AT&T Runaround
I submitting my phone number for DSL several times and getting, “Service not available”.
When I received a flyer in the mail offering DSL Lite for $19.95,I called AT&T. Was told my line was at capacity, but could put me on list to be worked in. When I stated I wanted the $10.00 /mo. DSL, I was told the plan required one year contract and was $10.00/mo. for first 6 months, then $24.95 ea month. I declined.
Has anyone actually been signed up on a $10.00 mo./1-year plan?
According to what I have read on the Bellsouth/AT&T website, in certain states, you can get Fastaccess DSL Lite for 19.95 a month with a free modem with no contract OR you can get the same Fastaccess DSL Lite for 10.00 a month but you have to pay $75.00 for the modem and the $10.00 per month is only good thru December of 2009. After that time, the price goes to whatever the price of DSL Lite is at that time.
$10 DSL scam
You may also want to keep in mind that the fiber optics are already in the ground. and The overall bandwith of those fibers has not been reached, not due to the fact that they dont have to burry or dig up any lines. The work that need to be done to really fire up the speed of the internet is in the switches look it up. The technology is growing rapidly now.
at&t10 dsl
What areas is it available?
Sixth week report of the $10 DSL service quality
I knew there would be some extra charge tacked onto the bill.
The hidden extra cost imposed, is $6/mo for “access”, a charge “allowed by the FCC”.
So, the service is $16/mo, bottom line.
The quality: My terminal is several hundred feet from the neighborhood’s main hard-wired junction box. My 786kbs-paid-rate is verified available there.
Losses in the buried cable between the box and my computer cost about 100kb.
Speed tests always show the same rate: about 690kbs on average for download, and about 108kbs upload.
That’s fine and fair. The service is reliable. There has not been an outage yet noticed.
The bandwidth is adequate for downloading YouTube quality videos in streaming mode.
Therefore, I’m happy with the service. It beats dealing Miami’s terrible, unresponsive, irresponsible, unreliable Comcast cable.
A good deal. A router allows my dad to share the service.
Two happy campers for $16/mo. for the next thirty months, before ATT can jack up the rate.
Sixth week report of the $10 DSL service quality
I knew there would be some extra charge tacked onto the bill.
The hidden extra cost imposed, is $6/mo for “access”, a charge “allowed by the FCC”.
So, the service is $16/mo, bottom line.
The quality: My terminal is several hundred feet from the neighborhood’s main hard-wired junction box. My 786kbs-paid-rate is verified available there.
Losses in the buried cable between the box and my computer cost about 100kb.
Speed tests always show the same rate: about 690kbs on average for download, and about 108kbs upload.
That’s fine and fair. The service is reliable. There has not been an outage yet noticed.
The bandwidth is adequate for downloading YouTube quality videos in streaming mode.
Therefore, I’m happy with the service. It beats dealing Miami’s terrible, unresponsive, irresponsible, unreliable Comcast cable.
A good deal. A router allows my dad to share the service.
Two happy campers for $16/mo. for the next thirty months, before ATT can jack up the rate.
Re: Sixth week report of the $10 DSL service quality
What do the taxes for this service add up to? On the web page it says there will be taxes applied.
Thanks!
Owen's thread
If you ever dump your Earthlink make sure you follow their
directions. They will continue to bill you if you don’t.
And in my case even after jumping thru all the hoops.
I choose the Certified mail/return receipt option and it still
took 5 months to get the billing stopped. Check out
http://www.badbusinessbureau.com search by company name. Might be
a good idea to use this site for any purchases that you are
contemplating on line.
Just Promises and higher bills from AT&T
When I was switched to AT&T from So. Central Bell the first month my long distance rate went from $.17 a minute to $.34 cents a minute. I had ask for a DSL line for 3 years, it was not a mile away. Now they have not lived up to the bargain they made with the FCC for $10 a month DSL service. I am greatly disapointed. Poor service and higher bills.
Sincerely,
George Reynolds
AT&T $10 dsl
It is on the AT&T web site and not hard find if you look.
HOW DO I GET CHEAP DSL,WHERE I AM???ANHYONE KNOW??
I was totally spoiled by Comcast for 6 months;I deliberately got dial-up,cause I had to use the computer less,I got tendonitus from too much artwork on oekaki sites(Japanese art software,it’s a community thing.)So,I would like dsl,if I can get it,cheap,where I am;eugene,Oregon,97404.Anyone know if I can wrangle it there somewhow?any experts know this?Post it,or email me,(best)and let me know,especially if it’s possible.AT & T said”no,not where you are.”IS this the truth?thanks all 🙂
The plan works!
All you have to do is 1 – be in a state referenced in the FCC merger agreement. 2-not be a current BellSouth DSL customer.
Go to the fastaccess page, and look for a line in fine print below the slowest speed that says “See if you qualify for an even lower speed!” When you click that, it will take you back to the top of the page to enter your BellSouth phone number, and then ask you two questions (say no). Then you are at the ten dollar page.
Now, to figure out how to hold them to the cheap naked DSL price! (You can get cheap, like 19 a month DSL without a voice phone line). Its’ in the agreement. Go to the FCC page, select more headlines, then look waaaaay down for the agreement terms.
AT&T’s methods illustrate what is increasingly a problem in our society – lack of ethics. Many companies these days require their employees to attend “ethics” training, but at the top of the organization they do whatever it takes to get business – even it is done in a dishonest way. They do it until they are caught, pay a small fine, admit no wrongdoing and move on to the next scam.
After searching for an hour or so...
Aiyayai… if you made it far enough down to read this, you know what I’m aiyayai-ing about. After many small-print combings, phone calls, and everything else I could think of, I was rather put off.
..and then I found this: http://www.stephouse.net/
They offer a DSL connection independent of local service providers. $50 a month, but unless I had gotten that %#@%@ hidden $10 offer I’d have been paying more than that to AT&T, even without making a single phone call.
So yeah! If you’ve actually found my comment in these 4 dozen others, go give it a look!
AT&T web page to $10 DSL deal
http://attsignup.com/att_dsl_for_$10.htm
at&t dsl
When is the last day for this $10.00 conncetion.
Live in TX still couldn't get dsl
I went to the http://attsignup.com/att_dsl_for_$10.htm site where I discovered via pop-up message that dsl was not available at my location, which I find difficult to believe considering I live in the Dallas area. I spoke with a rep via live chat and asked, “if dsl is not available in Dallas County, where is it available then”. The rep replied, “It could be because there are no ports left in your area. It’s like a parking lot, once all the spaces are filled there is not way in knowing when one will become available.” I am still waiting to hear back from AT&T to see if I “qualify” for the satellite broadband.
Live inDallas County Texas absolutely cannot get d
I tried calling AT&T again. Apparently, one has to live 18,000 feet or closer to their “wire center”. I live 21,000 feet away. I asked the rep where the “wire center” was (thinking maybe I could MOVE close enough to get the $10/month dsl) and she was appalled that I asked and exclaimed, “I cannot divulge that information…people might vandalize the wire center”. Fair enough.
I called everybody that was listed in the yellow pages under High Speed Internet. The best I can get is Broadband Satellite (lo and behold AT&T does offer that) which is very pricey, includes adding a satellite dish OTHER than the one I’ve already got on my roof and requires a 1 or 2 year contract depending on which swindler…er…I mean company you would want to use. What a racket. And of course, there was the obligatory automated customer service hell to wade through only to speak to an outsourced (albeit kindly) individual that was extremely difficult to understand.
Surely some company out there is going to be bright enough to capitalize on the old fashioned concept of “customer service”.
DSL in Dallas Co-try Earthlink instead
I have also been told that ATT DSL is not avaiable where I live in Dallas Co. The irony is that I have had ATT DSL before (I was “grandfathered in” since I joined while it was SBC). When I moved to another apartment in the same complex, ATT would not let me subcribe to DSL (due to the distance fromt the station) even though I patiently explained that I had had their service for over a year with no problems. So I am now using Earthlink DSL which is ok but not as cheap ($30/mo).
‘Naked DSL’: how to find and get the best price
By Michael Sorkin
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Jan. 18 2008
Here’s something you should know when you order DSL service from AT&T: The
company sells the same speed Internet service at $10, $15 and $20 per month.
— The $14.99 service is called Basic DSL and is the easiest to get. Anyone with
an AT&T landline phone can order it by phone or online.
— The $10 DSL service can be ordered only online, and hundreds of consumers
have had trouble signing up for this, the company’s cheapest-ever DSL. AT&T
says it won’t sell it to anyone who is already an AT&T Internet customer.
— The newest Internet service is called DSL Direct Basic and costs $19.95. It
can be ordered only through an AT&T call center, but some sales reps say they
have never heard of it.
There are four DSL Direct plans; the $19.95 version is the cheapest and
slowest. The Direct plans are the only ones AT&T will sell consumers without
AT&T landlines.
This type of service is known as “naked DSL.”
Each DSL Direct plan costs at least $4 more per month than the same plan for
customers who have AT&T landline phones.
DSL users don’t need a phone; Internet service works fine without one.
AT&T is free to charge the higher prices because Internet rates are unregulated.
As for the $10, $15 and $20 Internet plans described above, all are rated at
the same speed: up to 768 Kbps downstream. That’s too slow for downloading
movies but may be fine for e-mailing or Internet surfing.
Why charge three prices for the same speed?
AT&T spokesman Andy Shaw says customers have different needs. It’s not unusual,
he says, for companies to offer different customers different prices.
AT&T offered $10 DSL reluctantly. The company already was charging higher
prices for Internet service and had no incentive to offer it so cheaply.
As for naked DSL, AT&T wants to sell you as many services as possible:
landline, Internet, cell phone and video. That’s called bundling. Naked lets
consumers avoid bundling by choosing only what they want.
But about a year ago, the Federal Communications Commission required AT&T to
offer the lower-cost services in exchange for approving its purchase of
BellSouth.
AT&T began quietly offering $10 DSL about midyear on its website. AT&T said it
would not provide a phone number or e-mail address for anyone needing help.
By the end of the year, the company also began offering naked DSL. It is
quickly gaining popularity with the growing number of computer users who have
traded landlines for cells.
The FCC is requiring AT&T to offer a naked DSL plan for less than $20. An AT&T
spokesman said last month that consumers shouldn’t sign up for the $19.95
service online or by calling. He told them to go to company stores.
That advice turned out to be wrong, and Savvy received more than a dozen
complaints.
Mindy Lynn Thomason, a financial analyst from St. Charles, hurried to an AT&T
store, where “they told me I could only sign up by calling.”
She called — and reached a sales rep who said he couldn’t help her.
This week, AT&T’s Shaw offered different advice: He said to sign up for the
$19.95 Direct Basic only through a company call center.
That $19.95 plan is AT&T’s cheapest naked DSL service — and the only one for
which the company requires a 12-month contract. The other plans are
month-to-month.
AT&T’s site says to call 1-800-288-2020 to sign up for its more expensive DSL
Direct plans ($23.99 to $38.99.) We reached a sales rep who said he knew
nothing about any such plans and transferred us to 1-800-264-0002.
As first reported by hearusnow.org on the Consumers Union website, AT&T is
asking callers seeking naked DSL to provide their AT&T landline phone number.
We were asked three times.
But consumers who want naked DSL won’t have a landline — and don’t want one.
That’s why they want naked.
“They want to sell you a phone line,” Thomason said after her experience.
She says after nearly a day, she finally connected with a sales rep who signed
her up for AT&T’s $28.99 Direct Pro DSL plan. Service started this week, and
she’s delighted.
But she chides the company for making it so hard: “They do a good job of hiding
it.”
We called AT&T’s Shaw, who responded:
“I apologize. We want everyone who calls in to be a customer. The vast majority
of these orders work. Sometimes we make a mistake, and we try to fix it.”
msorkin@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8347
It’s a real chore to find the unbundled DSL price that’s advertised, but here is the direct link.
http://attsignup.com/att_dsl_for_$10.htm
Re: Re:
what kind of additional fees will you have when signing up for the naked dsl? do you have to buy the modem, etc? I am a current ATT landline customer but want to cancel that line and just get the 19.95 naked dsl. plz help!
ATT Service
I just looked at my bill. I’m paying $39.95 for “ATT Internet Access Service” for 500 Mb of storage. The plans that I see on the ATT site are all lower priced than this. I don’t even know the speed of my service.
ATT never did reimburse me the $200 that I spent for their modem.
Am I continuing to be taken?
Just tried to get $10 DSL.
You can only get it online as you have to chat with live person who will direct you to request $10 DSL in the comment section at the end of your order. They only give you an option to get $19 through the whole order. You have to freaking request it in the comment section!!! Which of course I by-passed. UHHHH.
DSL Service
I just found out that AT&T is offering DSL without having to have a phone line. Its called “Direct Connect DSL” and I believe it has 3 prices $35, $40 and $45. The $45 package offers twice the speed of the $40 package so seems like a good deal. I then added T-Mobile’s home and phone service for $10 a month for unlimited local and USA long distance calls on that DSL line. Saved me $50 a month on my total DSL/Phone bill combined.
$10.00 DSL
I have a friend who is now receiving DSL for $10.00 a month.
I am very much wanting this service. What do I need to do
to get this? Please let me hear from you.
AT&T DSL speed
I signed up for AT&T $10.00 DSL , the down stream speed is 224 kbps not 768 kbps.
$10.00 dsl at&t
I got my $10.00 dsl from AT&T.Boy was it hard to get. On purpose ,I think.I spent hours and hours and they failed to get me set up and so I gave up.
Waited a few weeks and , giving them the benefit of the doubt ,tried again. They set dates to connect then they failed to perform. I finally hired a tech support to help me get it done ,$$$$$. It was like pulling teeth but I finally got it done.
How sad that one of the biggest company in the world operates with such a lack of values or honor.
Values and sense of honor is what made so many of us proud to be Americans.
And oh yes I spent hours and days talking to people in another country being paid American money, wages that will never be Spent or taxed in America.
the money AT&T spends to get customers is shot in the ass when do do get them.
No customer would choose this shabby treatment if there was an alternative.
As Mexico is we are becoming!
DSL woes
After jumping from one page to another for several HOURS I finally figured out how to order $10/month DSL. I have my own modem which cost me $5 (craigslist). I repair computers and write software so I could check it out etc.
It took the predicted 10 days for ATT to send a technician to make the actual connection at the box down the street to get DSL to my house. I borrowed an “installation” CD from a friend who has DSL. I didn’t receive the installation CD for two weeks AFTER the order was placed (and then only after I requested it again in one of my HELP phone calls).
I am not exaggerating here, it took 4 HOURS (continuous) on the phone trying to get the AT&T server to take the information from my DSL modem to activate the account. (I had logged into my modem and checked that the information was correctly entered into it ready to send to AT&T.
Finally the phone person took the info over the phone and someone had to manually enter the info and my DSL connection was established. (I’m very stubborn and decided to make them get it to work.)
The next day I tried to set up the “AT&T powered by Yahoo” (I had bad feelings about that right away) email account. After entering my password many times on different pages I finally got that working. I then discovered that Yahoo doesn’t work with my Thunderbird email client. At first there was an entry on one of the help pages that told you what settings to use for Thunderbird but it lead to a dead page. Later that Icon disappeared.
I tried various methods from websites on internet but Yahoo has apparently counteracted the ways that sometimes used to work.
I called ATT and was transferred all over the world to some people who finally spoke English as their primary language. Most of them that could comprehend what I was trying to do gave me pop and smtp settings that I already knew didn’t work. After 4 days of trying, I finally gave up and got a gmail account which works fine.
Next I tried to get to my “personal web page” to move my website to AT&T . After another day of trying to get to the PWP log on page I finally called ATT for help. Another hour on the phone and I finally got step by step instructions as to how to get -TO- the log on page. I wrote the steps down.
I then discovered that they only give you 10 Mb of space. So I put a redirect page on the web page and left.
Yesterday I decided to remove the page and again tried to log into the PWP area. After trying for 1/2 hour to -find- the log in page I again called AT&T. This time it took ONE AND HALF HOURS to finally find a person who;
1. spoke English as their primary language
2. could comprehend what I wanted to do (Apparently it’s unheard of to actually want to log into PWP. And to top it off, the ATT help search has NO knowledge of what a personal web page is!)
3. knew what I should do.
That person stepped me through the exact same instructions that I had written down, only to discover that the Icon on one redirect page IS MISSING!!!
I asked him to sign into my AT&T (“powered by Ya-WHO?” ) at his end and guess what? He didn’t see the Icon either! That proved that my modem, DSL connection and computer/browser weren’t at fault.
He then signed into HIS AT&T account and the Icon is not there either. I then asked him to see if he could SEE my web page. He couldn’t find it (neither can I).
So not only do they not give you enough web space to post a real website, I/you can’t get to it now. And yes, it was working for several days after I activated the web page.
Now about the rebates …………. I have spoken to three people on my block that have signed up with various AT&T rebate offers over the years. Not ONE of them have gotten their rebates. Most of them gave up after jumping through all the hoops. From what I’ve been told (on the phone) you have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for the rebate info/offer to appear on another enigmatic AT&T page. And I think I read that you only have a limited time to -apply- for the rebate. Couldn’t they just take it off the monthly bill?
Do a Google search on “att rebate complaints” for more info
I must say that the DSL itself does work “up to” 150Kb though. I haven’t gotten my first bill yet so it will be interesting to see how much all this aggravation is going to cost me.
My advice …….
1. If you want to use AT&Ts DSL (which works fine) just forget about the “free” email if you use Thunderbird. Get a free email account somewhere else
2. forget the “personal web page”, there are (really) free web hosting ISPs that will give you 5 Gb of storage space.
2. if you have to call the ATT help numbers be prepared to stay on the phone for several hours. You may want to have a drink and a sandwich near the phone and make sure you walk the dog first.
I might not get any emails that anyone sends me because Thunderbird can’t download them. I thought it was funny when I was trying to get email to work that several ATT help people wanted to send me an email so I could rate their performance in trying to get my email TO WORK! Dhuuuu
DSL/Dial-up/Net zero/AOL/AT&T so much fun...
Wow! A lot of stories here. To those who write, it helps to say which area you are having problems with AT&T as in the State. I end up always working computers at Friend’s houses and always contacting Cable or Phone Companies here in CALIF. I find the wait time to be the same regardless. Of course the Postings are old to start with on this page to comment about, but the recent modem, AT&T offers is $30, and it as small as an IPOD. Now with the larger type modems, the size of answering machines, the computer logs in saying 10mps, which is BS, cause the line I was on was only 768kbs (kilobytes/Sec). And the New $30 dollar Modem, shows up on the screen saying 100mbs, which I know is BS too. It is true that I have read recently there is a $10 month/12month offer but As for it being a Naked DSL setup, I didn’t see this. I do know this, I asked AT&T, “do I need to have phone service to start DSL?”, They said no.. And they said, if I go to the website I can find a better price, and that they aren’t allowed to quote the cheaper price over the phone”, cheaper than $19.99 That is how he put it
As far as AOL goes on Dial-up, I have heard from people who have AOL, telling me they were going to Cancel, and Aol offered and just gave it to them free. I heard this story a couple of times from different people. As for NET ZERO, I had netzero when it was always free for a short spell, then they changed their “FREE OFFER” to 10 hours. So I really didn’t use it. Additionally, what really sucks, is NetZero sent out cards in the mail, as in POST CARDS, to sign up or reactivate your account and they had my password on the card. I was really pissed.. I had to change many passwords online because of them.
Now for all you, I have done research on the web, and those who listed above paying for Dial-up, well, that’s a joke.
There are quite a few FREE dial-up places I have found scattered around the US. For those who have Long Distance Flat rate, aka Unlimited, you can call any of these dial-ups and use them. Those that I have found involve no software Installation, not like Netzero or AOL.. Just create a dial up connection, and launch IE.. very nice.
One Such place is in CaliF, Fastfreedialup.com.. I have used it for a year now, and connect from 45 to 50kps.. without forcing a LOCK on the speed. IT’s great for backup, the DSL or cable crashes and takes a long time to fix by them. LOL
After tweaking my connecting with CableNut using some provided Online testing and templates, people who watch my connection really don’t notice that much of a difference until I have to download a large file.. However, that’s no biggy. Like the guy above said, his company has 45mbs, well, I can find that at a nearby city library, which offers 45mbs. My local library offers only 768kbs. A 700mb ISO at 768kbs started to download would take 14hours to download, so the computer said, but the other library with a 45mbs line, downloaded this ISO only in 25mins so I was told by my friend who downloaded for me. I do know this, I download a 5mb file in 5 to 10 seconds at the same library (T3 line/ 45mbs).
And for the the rest of you that don’t know, there is no excuse for any slow downloads. A project launch backs years ago, for donated 13,000 miles of Fiber optics wire was created. This Creation is called INTERNET 2. The project was spread amongst the major universities and businesses across the States.. I do know this for a fact. I even visited one such in Cali, and I can say, the downloads were very, very fast. Pages load in about a second. There was no viewing pages while images were still loading. It all came in at once.
Now for the $10 a month deal and having a land line: Yes, they offer $10 a month/768 for new Users, but after my conversation with AT&T and based on our current plan, just $10 more, would get me 3mbs DSL..
What is our plan? Flat Long Distance, 3way calling/Call screening package..
You all cry about AT&T service. I have to deal with MicroSoft and AOL, calling them for people around me, which is worse, cause talking to people in India or Philipines, doesn’t get you very far. It was just Last year I called Gateway/Emachines and was surprised I got a US person. Just today, I called Emachines, and thought I called Microsoft..
Soon, you will be calling AT&T and talking to some guy who you can hardly understand his English, and is limited to what he can do for help.
Best time to get a US or CAnadian at MS or AOL, is to call on Saturday. I find most of my calls get someone who grew up speaking english..
Is it me, or do they have One guy in India with Three phones in front of him, one for MS, another for AOL, and the 3rd being Gateway?
My Famous day for troubleshooting an AOL/IE browser problem: I called AOL and explained the problem to the guy from India and he said, “That is not an Aol Problem, that is a Microsoft Problem”.
So I call MS, and the guy, who sounded exactly like the same guy said, “That is not a Microsoft problem, that is an AOL Problem.”
you tell me…………. the same guy or what? LOL
Re: Reply to .......... DSL/Dial-up/Net zero/AOL/AT&T so much fun...
DSL/Dial-up/Net zero/AOL/AT&T so much fun…
by Les – May 15th, 2009 @ 1:17am
Wow! A lot of stories here. To those who write, it helps to say which area you are having problems with AT&T as in the State.
—
Response:
I’m in So. Fla.
—
As for NET ZERO, I had netzero when it was always free for a short spell, then they changed their “FREE OFFER” to 10 hours.
—
Response:
I still have a free NetZero account as a backup. It is still free for up to 10 hours a month. (Just take out more free accounts if you need more time.) But the phone company has slowed dial up speeds down to ~17Kb so it takes about 5 minutes to load -each- complicated web page!
—
You all cry about AT&T service. I have to deal with MicroSoft and AOL, calling them for people around me, which is worse, cause talking to people in India or Philipines, doesn’t get you very far.
—
Response:
Wait till you try to deal with “AT&T powered by Ya-who?”.
Apparently the programmers don’t bother to tell the help people what changes they’ve made. Icons disappear from pages, the help area has no information about certain things. The help section has NO knowledge about “PWP”, “personal web page” or “web page”.
Yet if you search around long enough or do a google search on “ATT pwp” (or something similar) you will might find the page that does address the problem you have. Most likely it won’t -solve- the problem, but it does address it.
—
Soon, you will be calling AT&T and talking to some guy who you can hardly understand his English, and is limited to what he can do for help.
—
Response:
Cheer up, AT&T has already done that. They are very good when reading from a script to solve your problem. They are also very good when reading from a script that -isn’t- related to your problem.
—
Update on my experiences:
I tried for over a week to find a way to -return- to the PWP FTP server to upload some more pages to my AT&T PWP folder.
Something has changed because I haven’t found a way to login back into the AT&T FTP server! I even tried the last resort DOS FTP commands and the server will not accept my password because the server disables all the keys on my keyboard except the [Enter] key. And then the server responds with, “ID or password not valid.”. Duu
I then tried using their canned pre-programmed method of creating a website that is supposed to accept html commands. It might take some commands but it chokes on real .html files.
I finally decided to handle the AT&T website the same way I did their email account. I deleted the site and now make believe it was all a bad dream.
Now the run around on the “cash back” is in progress. I don’t expect to get that either. But I have found ONE person who actually got their rebate a few years ago. Of course she had to threaten to report them to the state fraud agency but she did get her money.
When I was filling out the order form for DSL, a pop up “chat” window opened and “Jessica” said that I would be getting the $50 cash back information when I “registered” the account. I assumed that meant once the DSL was working and I signed into my account and created a profile etc.
After I created my account etc I searched around for several days and I finally found the cash back/rebate page. I had to call the help phone number (more snacks) because the sign in page wanted my account number that begins with a “0”. None of the documentation etc I received has an “account number” listed. My phone number does not start with a “0” either. I forget how I first got in but now I can now get into the page with my normal log on info.
The page originally said that you had to wait a month before any information will appear. I waited a month and now it says you have to wait TWO (more?) months. I think I will stock up on snacks and call the help number again-again-again … today.
I notice that after 3 hours on the phone with them my right eye starts to twitch like Inspector Clouseau’s boss. 🙂
I still want to emphasize, the DSL itself works fine and has given me NO problems. But just forget about the extra free stuff they offer.
And my phone bill has only increased the advertised $10/month for the DSL.
You don’t want it anyway. Their system is often not working. You’ll be promised free tech support and then they charge you $80 for that.
AT&T Offers About New Plans & Letting Customer Know.
AT&T has cost me thousands of dollars over the years. I am permenetly disabled now. I had my own business for 17 years and used AT$T as my landline, credit calling card and fax number. My bill then ran $850.00-$1,200 per month. When I would have a substantial error on my bill I would call personally instead of my secretary. Each time I did that I would discover a substally better program that was never notified of. That was in the 90’s and now the whole package would probably run less than a $100.00. Over those past year AT&T literally robbed me for a small fortune to a small business. When I would discover these change in plans I would ask why I wasn’t notified. The consistant answer was I needed to periodically call to discover these plans. AT&T has a very low life rip off policy. I don’t have to and won’t hide my comment on these policies.
DSL LITE FOR 10.00 A MONTH
10.00 DSL concession
No one should be surprised, At&t owns the FCC, not through current payments but thou the routine practice of proving cushy jobs to the (friendly) board members once they retire. Its just deferred compensation, I’m surprised they don’t carry it on their books it so endemic. At&T required auto charge to your credit card to get that 10.00 DSL. About a year late (not 30 months) they will quietly raise the charge amount each month until you are paying the full market price. The FCC has already granted merger they are powerless to do anything about it, even if they wanted to. Our congress knows this but does nothing. They are paid off with fat campaign contributions. The electorate can’t stop it because they pay both party candidates in the race. The independents are out spent 5 to 1. Our only hope is a revolution, bring back the Guillotine and wipe out a few generations of carpetbaggers not just the CEO’s their whole clan. Even in a supposed free society must on occasion clear their pipe of the slag that slows and ultimately prevents equitable distribution of the pie.
$10 DSL
When I read about $10 DSL from BellSouth(now AT&T), I contacted them and was told it was not being offered. I quoted the newspaper article quoting AT&T CEO about the $10 DSL being offered as a concession to acquiring BellSouth. I contacted someone at AT&T and was finally given the $10 per month rate. The newspaper article said the modem would be free as well but I was charged for the modem but finally got a $75 rebate. A squeaking wheel gets the grease and I did squeak until I got my grease!
The rate has increased to $15 since. The $10 rate was supposed to last for 2 1/2 years or 30 months but today I got a notice that the rate is going to $19.95 per month as of 3-1-11. I have been satisfied with the service.