--- On Thu, 4/23/09, Michael Pollak <mpollak at panix.com> wrote:
> From: Michael Pollak <mpollak at panix.com>
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] what happened to ISPs?
> To: "lbo-talk" <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
> Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 10:49 AM
>
> On Thu, 23 Apr 2009, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
>
> > Comparing to these ripoffs, Verizon's DSL @ $15/mo is
> a bargain
>
> You expect to find cheaper than that for broadband?
>
[WS:] No, that is the rock bottom price. The problem is that Verizon tried to rip me off by adding some extra services that I did not order (like "games on demand") and I filed a complaint with MD Attorney General. Depending on how that case goes, I may be looking for another provider.
When I checked other alternatives (e.g. Speakeasy or earthlink by Ravi's suggestion) I found that most of them are far more expensive for basically the same kind of service (DSL) - starting with $40/mo which is a ripoff. I do not need any "blazing speed" - which is a scam anyway, since most downloads rarely exceed 300kbps, which is well below the 'slow" DSL limit.
AT&T offers DSL for about $20/mo - which is reasonable, provided they will not try to rip me off by requiring some extra services.
One more comment - I noticed that most home wi fi services are now encrypted to prevent others from using them. This benefits telecoms, as it limits free riding, but not users who have nothing to lose from other using their access. It is quite ironic that people do it nowadays. As they say in the old country - they are like gardener's dogs - they will not let others eat it and they will not eat it themselves. I am probably the only DSL subscriber in the area who does not encrypt the wi fi access.
Wojtek