I've been thinking of getting DSL. EMBARQ offers what at first glance
seems like a decent deal 19.95/mo but looking at the "fine print" I'm
a bit put off.

-$99 "early termination fee". - So, if you decide the service stinks
and find a better provider, you're obliged to pay them for
approximately the equivalent of 5 months of service to get out of it.
They don't specify what "early" means as far as earlier than what.

But...

-EMBARQ may cancel services or susbstitute similar services at its
sole discretion without notice - How the hell about that. Are they
gonna pay me a $99 early termination fee?

-No minimum level of speed is guaranteed. - How cutting-edge of them
to buck the trend of "quality assurance". And if you decide the
product is no good, not only do you not get a refund, as per above
you're obligated to pay them for months of crappy service you never
received.

-Taxes, fees and surcharges are additional, subject to change without
notice and BASED ON NON-PROMOTIONAL, STANDARD MONTHLY RATE. - So,
they're going to play "let's pretend" and tax you on more than you're
paying.

-Additonal restrictions apply - Well, I'm sure that can only be good
news.

Oh, and they charge 14.95 to ship a modem and a $15 activation fee.

Is this all "normal" as far as such services? Anyone here using
EMBARQ? Thoughts?

Any providers out there that don't have all these kinds of caveats?