I've been on Dial-UP for 10 years with the "same" company (now owned by EarthLink) and I pay $21.95 per month for the Dial-Up, 8 e-mail boxes (I only use two of the eight) and 10 MB of webspace. I've been debating whether I should upgrade to either DSL or Cable (I also have a limited budget to devote to an Internet connection). Earthlink (my current Dial-Up provider) recently sent me literature saying that I could upgrade to DSL for $14.95 a month for 6 months but when I went to their website, I was switched to this deal: EarthLink DSL (Available) * Downstream speed of up to 6.0 Mbps * $19.95/month for the first 3 months * Monthly Charge: $ 39.95/month thereafter * Up to 4 times faster than regular DSL! (regular DSL = 1.5 Mbps) Not only that, but I read that I would have to have one of their technicians to come to my place to install the DSL (an additional charge of $100). I see this as a classic bait-and-switch. Any opinions? Do you think this is a good deal or are there better deals available and where could I find a better deal? Does anyone else still use Dial-Up? Thanks in advance.
They are probably trying to sell you their fastest, most expensive service first. See if there's a similar offer for 1.5 Mbps or whatever else they have.
Thanks for the quick reply. The funny thing on their site there is a button that says, "Chat with a sales rep" but it won't work on my computer The other chat button (for general support) works. I wanted a conversation that I could save in writing. Should I call them? I always seem to be "snowballed" over the telephone
HOLE_E S! $21.95 per month for the Dial-Up!!!??? you are getting ripped!!! Then again, I suppose it all depends on where you live and what is available to you. We have AT&T (formerly SBC) and while we have their bung-holed package deal (phone, TV, internet) we pay $20/mo for 3Mbps Unless you are just a speed freak you probably don't need 6M, especially if $40 is too steep for you! Regular DSL will run circles around your current dial-up and then maybe somewhere down the road you can step it up. EDIT: the technicians thing is a load of bunk in my mind. what is there to install??? Def. shop around and or haggle with them for a better "deal" than they are offering.
Thank you for your response. I've been with the "same company" -- now Earthlink (they took over the company that took over the original company I signed with) for 10 years so I'm not sure what else is available "out there" -- perhaps a price comparison would be a good thing. I live in a large city (half an hour by train from Manhattan), it's not as if I am in a remote location. I'm trying to find some other plans. Btw, timsdd, your completemyspace.com site is really cool
If this is acurate, I should check them out!! I'm currently spending $50+/month for 5Mbps cable. I always thought Cable > DSL, but if they can offer 6Mbps it must be pretty good. If you choose anything you should go with what you just pointed out at Earthlink, because I've had 5Mbps cable for the past 2-3 years, and I hope to never have to use Dial-Up again -_-
Heck yeah, if you are that close to THE major city then you should be able to find at least one other company that might offer you comperable to much better rates/better value for your money. Tks , but I'm only helping to promote the site, it is not mine
Yeah, DSL can go from 1.5, 3, 6...not sure if there are any other steps in between or above those. oh how I miss the T1 from when I had a real job!!!!
Hmmm, I might be off with internet connections and their speeds, but I thought T1 was a standard 1.5Mbps?
Here in Egypt we pay what equals 35$ monthly for 512kbps DSL :d for dial-up we pay what equals 0.25 per hourly usage i'm currently on 512kbps DSL for 2 years
no, it looks you are right on. I guess I was stuck in a time warp. this was 1999-2002, WAY before we had DSL @ home; we as in we personally. When did DSL become common? We didn't get DSL until ~ 2003 or 4.
Verizon (I live near the telephone company) has a DSL Starter Package $14.95 for 12 months with a modem at no additional charge (what do they mean by that?) & there's a line that says: Three installation steps Connection speeds up to 768 Kbps. What is meant by 3 installation steps? Verizon has another deal at $29.99 per month for 12 months including free wireless networking with Connection speeds up to 3.0 Mbps Which is the better deal? All Verizon DSL packages include: * Choice of Verizon Yahoo! or MSN Premium -- does anyone know what is meant by this? * 24/7 live technical support * 10 MB of personal Web space * 30-day money-back guarantee * 9 e-mail accounts * Self-install kit -- how difficult is it to self-install? Should I get Cable or DSL? I took a look at Optimum Online, their offer is: $29.95/month for the first 6 months when you install it yourself* (I'm afraid of "install it yourself deals -- what exactly do I need to install?) Optimum Online Boost is an additional $14.95/month (I'm nost sure what that is). Optimum is not upfront about how much the monthly fee will be after the first 6 months. Any other suggestions? Thanks again
Your quote became a decisive factor in my choice for the Earthlink DSL Downstream speed of up to 6.0 Mbps Thank you, joeybob, and I'd like to thank everyone who gave me ideas by contributing to this thread DSL is so much better than dial-up
I am paying $50/month for a 512kbps ADSL connection. If your tech savvy or know someone else who is, getting set up yourself is easy enough. Isn't there a broadband forum in the USA where you can compare all the different ISPs?
You guys are lucky,in my place here,Malaysia,the maximum speed available is only 2 Mbps.and I'm using 1 Mbps with monthly charge about 24 USD