Cheap Internet Access

[youbet]

You have to have a landline to get DSL don't you? We dumped our landline a few years ago, so DSL would cost us more than a cable modem (far faster), when you add phone service (was costing us $32/mo or more) plus DSL. If this is no longer true, please advise, I'm not thrilled with paying $46/mo for internet access...

I get ATT DSL + landline for $27/mo. The landline is a limited package which includes only 30 local calls per month (additonal at $.05/call) and no long distance but unlimited incoming calls. I like having the landline since I give my cell number out very sparingly. For me, it's worth the extra $7/mo over "dry loop DSL" to have a landline number to pass out in commercial transactions, to new acquaintances, etc., rather than spreading the cell phone number around.

Look carefully on the ATT website to find this cheapo landline service. It's in the fine print.

 

[sengsational]

Thank y'all. MIL decided to go with AT&T/Bellsouth 's DSL lite. It's $14.95/month for the first 12 months and $19.95/month thereafter. I am trying to sell her on VOIP, but I think she wants to keep her landline for now.

You might want to put a calendar reminder in for 11 months from now to call the AT&T marketing department....

What they told me was if you let your price jump at the end of 12 months, you're pretty much stuck, but if you come in before the end of the "special" and say you're shopping around again, they might be able to give you whatever the current special is. If you wait 'till after your rate jumped, it's much harder for them to do anything about it. This is based on a conversation with the AT&T rep, so might not hold water, but might be worth a try. This was how they talked me up to the next higher speed (also $15/mo, but it's price jumps to something like $35/mo at the end of the "special").

--Dale--

 

[FIREd]

You might want to put a calendar reminder in for 11 months from now to call the AT&T marketing department....

What they told me was if you let your price jump at the end of 12 months, you're pretty much stuck, but if you come in before the end of the "special" and say you're shopping around again, they might be able to give you whatever the current special is. If you wait 'till after your rate jumped, it's much harder for them to do anything about it. This is based on a conversation with the AT&T rep, so might not hold water, but might be worth a try. This was how they talked me up to the next higher speed (also $15/mo, but it's price jumps to something like $35/mo at the end of the "special").

--Dale--

Good to know! Thanks.

 

[Midpack]

Midpack - you do need a land-line in the sense that you need the physical telephone wires to your house in order to get DSL service, but you don't necessarily need phone service on that line in order to have DSL. DSL without phone service on the line is called dry loop DSL.

My local phone company (AT&T) offers basic speed dry loop dsl for 19.95/month.
Ask your company if they offer it. They don't usually go out of their way to promote it but it's probably there if you ask.

That's good to know, I'd happily pay $20/mo for DSL even though it will be slower (but not dial-up slow) instead of the $46/mo I've been paying. I'll look into it, thank you very much!

 

[missionfinder]

ATT is currently running a 6 mbps naked DSL deal for $14.95/month, and yes it works in the Huntsville area (where I am). Its good for a year and then reverts to the normal price. No contract. I've been on this plan for about 2 months and no regrets. Includes a $100 wireless router (they rebate the $100 on the 2nd bill).

After the year is up I'll see if they can keep the same price by talking to their customer retention person, if not I'll shop around then.

If you want a land line, you can get a no-frills land line with it (no caller id, call-waiting, etc.) for an additional $14.95 per month. Since we only need the land line as a back-up for our wireless alarm system, it was a no-brainer.

 

[REWahoo]

We've been on the road for a week using my new VM "Broadband2Go" aircard for internet access. Our first stop was a COE campground in the deep woods of East TX. The VM map showed us just inside the coverage area but the card would only rarely get a connection and then was unusably slow. Not a good first impression.

However, once we got on the interstate we had good service while traveling down the road. We also had good service at our next three stops - central Mississippi, the Florida panhandle and now on the Florida Atlantic coast. The speed is identical to the Sprint aircard I used for three years, which is to be expected since Virgin Mobile uses the Sprint network.

I like the flexibility of paying for a month of 'unlimited' service only when you need it, an excellent option for someone like me who spends a few weeks each year in the RV.

 

[sengsational]

If you want a land line, you can get a no-frills land line with it (no caller id, call-waiting, etc.) for an additional $14.95 per month.

The problem with having any land line, though, is the taxes and fees. On my bill, the Al Gore fee is $6.50! That, plus other fees and taxes come to $10 in NC ($2.12 is NC state tax). So just a word of warning to those thinking about the no-frills land line.