( You can read this piece if you want, but first let me tell you that as of Oct/08 in SOME states you can get ATT DSL for 14.95 again . And only TEN DOLLARS A MONTH for new customers. ) This was supposed to be the technical part of this series, but that will be my next and final part in 2 days. And in part one I mentioned speed. And the reason that’s important is because I use Vonage. An inexpensive VoIP service, so my landline is the CHEAPEST deal ATT has, called a dial tone only, no bells and whistles it’s JUST enough phone to make DSL work. When you ask for this they MIGHT try to tell you, you can’t have it with DSL. That will be a lie (and/or incompetence). So that basic line here in Chicago is $6.53 a month, but when you add in ALLLLL the taxes and fees it’s a little over 15 dollars. To recap; with the old plan I was paying $14.95 for 768kb of DSL and the phone line to make the DSL function $15 for a total of $21 and change. I had to do some thinking to get that configuration, but you need not go through all that anymore. Just get one of the new plans.

Right now if you sign up for ONE FULL YEAR, you can get that 768kb (that I should remind you is currently selling at $19.95 because I got the $14.95 deal before they changed the price) for TEN DOLLARS A MONTH . If you’re a new customer you can get this unadvertised special just ONLINE. Over the phone and internet sign ups are NOT the same. Just put in your address (sometimes you have to do it twice because the first check to see if you’re in the service area).

But that’s not all. I went to this guy’s and this other guy’s website this morning and read about something called Dry Loop , also might be known as Naked DSL , or Dry Line or DSL Direct . And what it is, is ATT DSL without the ATT phone line. Just plain DSL. I don’t think it’s in every state, but I checked Illinois, and we’ve got it. “Shared line” means that your phone and DSL are on the same line and this new kind of DSL Direct is dedicated. I’m almost positive you wont find this deal on their websites. At all.

So I called back. This time I was told the Basic speed of 768kb download and 368 upload was $19.95 a month with a year commitment and a $99 fee for early termination. And the next plan was $29.00 a month at 1.5mb download and still 368kb upload but no annual contract. As you can see, with that plan I would pay the same or a little bit less with a faster speed. And since I don’t use the land line at all that would be a good package for me. Now you may be wondering WHY I got these different prices. Earlier I told the first lady I was IN Chicago, but I gave the second lady my exact address/account information. I’m making a shrugging gesture right now. But she did say the service was US wide but they have to check individuals in their service area.

One last thing. Now I’ve written a few times about “handling” customer service people. And today I actually had to talk to Comcast (hopefully) one last time. See I turned OFF my internet service with them and they sent me a bill when they actually owed me money AND they tried to charge me for my own cable modem-yet they had no $3.00 modem rental fees on 2 years worth of bills. Now I’m a bastard on the phone . I will not call a person a name or shout, but I will eat their lunch. In the end, that got squared away and they’re sending me my $9.50 as of today’s call. But I want to talk a little about those ATT DSL one year contracts and termination fees. On the website it says $50 fee and on the phone she said $99. So I also called two more times and talked to two separate guys to see if there was any way out of that fee. What if I totally disconnect the service? Loose my entire house even-have no phone service or DSL anymore? Am I still liable for the termination fee? And despite making them VERY angry by asking them to get second opinion and check with a manager or supervisor all three said no matter what the fee will be attached to my account. So, I tried.

And do yourself a favor and get the cheapest broadband deal out there. Get DSL ONLY withOUT the phone line from ATT. Folks the price right now is CRAZY, all you need to get Vonage or MagicJack working is a fast connection.

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Tags: Computers and Internet //