My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL now
$80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll have to
go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.

TIA


--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

On 14 Oct 2015 16:10:04 GMT, KenK wrote:

My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL now
$80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll have to
go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.

TIA

Did you speak to a "customer retention representative" at CL? Not the
first couple you contacts. The CRR is there to keep you. My CL bill
went up to. Things may be changing when the "bull dog" gets off the
chain

"KenK" wrote in message
...
My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL now
$80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll have to
go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.


It may depend on the area, but you may not need the TV service part of cable
to get cable internet. I did have cable TV and internet,but a few months
ago I went to Direct TV and just kept the internet of cable.

This is for Time Warner internet by cable and is $ 57 per year. I did by my
own modem for about $ 50 to advoid their modem monthly charge. They have
several rates depending on the speed. At $ 57 I am on the 50 meg down and 6
meg up. It should be 15 down and 1 up , butg lately they upgraded it at no
charge. Probably to compete with a fiber network going in around the area.

I think their very basic plan is about $ 15 a month.

KenK wrote:
My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL
now $80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent.
I'll have to go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.

TIA

According to their web page...

http://www.centurylink.com/home/bundles/ (scroll down)

you should be able to get phone + INet for no more than $65. Plus the
inevitable taxes, fees, etc. In my case (Verizon) phone + 6 MB Inet is
about $50, fees/etc add another 40%.

The whole problem with ALL these goniffs is their damned bundles. It was
like pulling hen's teeth to get a price for just a basic phone (about $20);
once I had that, I could talk to them about Inet.

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 12:37:07 PM UTC-4, Ralph Mowery wrote:
"KenK" wrote in message
...
My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL now
$80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll have to
go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.


It may depend on the area, but you may not need the TV service part of cable
to get cable internet. I did have cable TV and internet,but a few months
ago I went to Direct TV and just kept the internet of cable.


That's how it works here in NJ with Cablevision. Who knows what's available
where the OP is located.... The options are limited by what's locally
available.

Oren wrote in
:

On 14 Oct 2015 16:10:04 GMT, KenK wrote:

My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL
now $80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll
have to go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.

TIA

Did you speak to a "customer retention representative" at CL? Not the
first couple you contacts. The CRR is there to keep you. My CL bill
went up to. Things may be changing when the "bull dog" gets off the
chain


How do I reach that rep? Do you know? If not, will try Googling.


--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

On 14 Oct 2015 17:10:01 GMT, KenK wrote:

Did you speak to a "customer retention representative" at CL? Not the
first couple you contacts. The CRR is there to keep you. My CL bill
went up to. Things may be changing when the "bull dog" gets off the
chain


How do I reach that rep? Do you know? If not, will try Googling.

Cancel your service, they will call you.

On Wed, 14 Oct 2015 13:18:28 -0400, wrote:

On 14 Oct 2015 17:10:01 GMT, KenK wrote:

Did you speak to a "customer retention representative" at CL? Not the
first couple you contacts. The CRR is there to keep you. My CL bill
went up to. Things may be changing when the "bull dog" gets off the
chain


How do I reach that rep? Do you know? If not, will try Googling.

Cancel your service, they will call you.

....then demand a $200 gift card for coming back

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 9:10:12 AM UTC-7, KenK wrote:
My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL now
$80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll have to
go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.

TIA


We have AT&T's u-verse 15 mbps ($52) and unlimited land line phone service ($45) a month, but if you're way out in the boonies that option won't help much

"dadiOH" wrote in :

According to their web page...

http://www.centurylink.com/home/bundles/ (scroll down)

you should be able to get phone + INet for no more than $65. Plus the
inevitable taxes, fees, etc.

Evidently what they advertise and what you can actually buy are two
different things.


--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

KenK wrote:
"dadiOH" wrote in
:

According to their web page...

http://www.centurylink.com/home/bundles/ (scroll down)

you should be able to get phone + INet for no more than $65. Plus
the inevitable taxes, fees, etc.

Evidently what they advertise and what you can actually buy are two
different things.

1. Pick up phone

2. Call them

3. Tell them you want to switch to package "X"

4. If they give you static, say, "Let me speak to your supervisor".

5. Repeat #4 until you get what you want

TWC [time warner cable] here

$15 a month, and i'm very happy
[and i use a router also; 2 computers]

although it may not be fast[?] enough for some

marc

On 10/14/2015 9:10 AM, KenK wrote:
My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL now
$80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll have to
go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.

We dumped CenturyLink (ne Qwest) after a year. They wanted to
increase the $20/month service to something like $56.

Dumping them was VERY painful! It eventually took 7 phone calls
(and many hours on the phone). Along the way, they managed to
disconnect our land line service (which required a call to
get REconnected), etc.

Want NEW service? Go to their web page and click, click, click.
Want to DISCONTINUE service? Ah, now you have to wait for a
dweeb to mishandle your VERBAL order.

Thankfully, in our case, we kept meticulous notes as to who we
talked with, times, dates, etc.

CATV has a *worse* reputation, here. Quick to take your money
but dog slow to handle problems with service, outages, etc.
Friends have nothing but bad things to say about them.

[This from second-hand accounts; we've never had cable, here,
and see no reason to head down that road]

We ended up with a local provider and a point-to-point microwave
link (rooftop dish pointed at a location in the foothills).
After a few years, the only problem came when a tree in the
line-of-sight about half a mile from here grew *into* the
radio path. They sent out a guy who relocated the antenna
the next morning...

IMO, CL is stupid for *not* offering a dirt cheap $20/month
service "no strings attached". Sooner or later, they'll lose
all their POTS subscribers and all of that buried copper/fiber
will sit WASTED!

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 1:50:30 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:

Dumping them was VERY painful! It eventually took 7 phone calls
(and many hours on the phone).

Thankfully, in our case, we kept meticulous notes as to who we
talked with, times, dates, etc.


Whenever I have to call AT&T, which thankfully is rarely,
I also keep meticulous notes about the problem, time I called,
who I spoke with, etc. It saves a lot of time trying to
remember what they said, I said, what was promised and on
and on.

On 10/14/2015 11:57 AM, ItsJoanNotJoann wrote:
On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 1:50:30 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:

Dumping them was VERY painful! It eventually took 7 phone calls
(and many hours on the phone).

Thankfully, in our case, we kept meticulous notes as to who we
talked with, times, dates, etc.

Whenever I have to call AT&T, which thankfully is rarely,
I also keep meticulous notes about the problem, time I called,
who I spoke with, etc. It saves a lot of time trying to
remember what they said, I said, what was promised and on
and on.

We do it as a matter of course for all our phone contacts. It
was a habit that I formed from dealing with clients on the phone
(who invariably have "selective memory" regarding what was said
and/or agreed upon).

I much prefer email contact, now, as it forces both sides to
"document" what they are saying. :

On 10/14/2015 9:10 AM, KenK wrote:
My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL now
$80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll have to
go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.

TIA


Cross-circuit to Panel B.

On 2015-10-14, Don Y wrote:

Sooner or later, they'll lose all their POTS subscribers and all of
that buried copper/fiber will sit WASTED!

Lotsa areas are dropping POTS jes so they CAN abandon all that "buried
copper/fiber" in lieu of cellphones.

nb

On 10/14/2015 12:41 PM, notbob wrote:
On 2015-10-14, Don Y wrote:

Sooner or later, they'll lose all their POTS subscribers and all of
that buried copper/fiber will sit WASTED!

Lotsa areas are dropping POTS jes so they CAN abandon all that "buried
copper/fiber" in lieu of cellphones.

Sure. But, now you've got an asset that you've valued at $0 -- the
same as your CELLPHONE competitors! I.e., you've traded away the
liability *and* the asset!

(there's no other "game in town" for landlines; but LOTS of them
for cell phones!)

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 3:42:01 PM UTC-4, notbob wrote:
On 2015-10-14, Don Y wrote:

Sooner or later, they'll lose all their POTS subscribers and all of
that buried copper/fiber will sit WASTED!

Lotsa areas are dropping POTS jes so they CAN abandon all that "buried
copper/fiber" in lieu of cellphones.

nb

Sure and the fact that pots customers have been sharply dropping for 15 years
now on their own has nothing to do with it, right?

On Wed, 14 Oct 2015 12:22:04 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

it forces both sides to
"document" what they are saying. :

.... if it isn't documented, it didn't happen!

On 2015-10-14, trader_4 wrote:

Sure and the fact that pots customers have been sharply dropping for 15 years
now on their own has nothing to do with it, right?

How the fsck would I know what has what to do with it? Jes stating
what I've heard. If you wanna start an row, find a chump.

nb

On 10/14/2015 05:54 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 3:42:01 PM UTC-4, notbob wrote:
On 2015-10-14, Don Y wrote:

Sooner or later, they'll lose all their POTS subscribers and all of
that buried copper/fiber will sit WASTED!

Lotsa areas are dropping POTS jes so they CAN abandon all that "buried
copper/fiber" in lieu of cellphones.

nb

Sure and the fact that pots customers have been sharply dropping for 15 years
now on their own has nothing to do with it, right?


I live in an area served by Comcast and AT&T.

AT&T put in wimpy Uverse crap and the max I can get from them is 6Mb
down and less than 1Mb up.

For a mere $10 more from Comcast, I can get 120Mb down and 24Mb up.

Why would anyone stay with AT&T? No wonder AT&T is swirling the bowl.

On 10/14/2015 10:44 AM, KenK wrote:
"dadiOH" wrote in :

According to their web page...

http://www.centurylink.com/home/bundles/ (scroll down)

you should be able to get phone + INet for no more than $65. Plus the
inevitable taxes, fees, etc.

Evidently what they advertise and what you can actually buy are two
different things.


You have to call the number on the junkmail they send you or the
number of the intermediary you found online. The customer support
people don't have the same freedom as the other entry points.
I accosted the installer for my neighbor's system and got the phone
number for the guy in charge of FIOS for the city. His staff has
options for better deals and cash incentives than the normal customer
support channels.

EXACTLY where you're located is critical.
The junction boxes for cable and fiber are in my front yard.
I have 30Mb unlimited fiber for $30/month. Could get the same in cable
for $35/month.
Phone is google voice and an OBI100 interface that cost me $40.
TV is "antenna TV". Better pix than cable for network TV.

My emergency flip-fone is with PagePlus on the verizon network. $30/year
Also have a MagicJack phone interface that costs $35 a year.
Don't need all that, but this whole phone/data/tv business
is in continuous flux. I keep it...just in case.

The way this is set up, it avoids almost all of the taxes and fees.
I expect that will change eventually. MagicJack is already starting
to add about $5/year in fees, although I think it's just obfuscating
a rate increase.

I have 1GB/month 6Mb internet for free with FreedomPop wireless.
It's WiMax, so it will be gone on Nov 6. They have a replacement
service with 4G LTE. The 500MB free part is still free, but if you
need more, it's much more expensive than WiMax.
You have to have good Sprint coverage to make it work.
Lots of complaints about their cheap hotspots to access it.
Keep an eye on 'em.
Chatter suggests that there may be more options by the end of the year.
If you go with them, tread carefully. They are masters of hidden
"services" that you have to opt out of.

I have a friend who uses this.
https://www.metropcs.com/30-phone-plans.html
He pays $5/month extra for tethering.
He also has cable internet, so while he thinks the
tethered connection is really fast, he's never
used it enough to pass the 1GB/month limit
and revert to dead slow, but still free, 2G-speed data.

There's another option for Xfinity. Their home installations
have an additional hotspot channel. Maybe you could offer
a neighbor some monthly cost sharing and get access to their
hotspot channel.

Sounds like you don't have these options in your location.

And there's another fly in the ointment...
If you plan to use windows 10, be prepared for a huge increase in
internet data requirements. I've been playing with 4 windows 10 systems.
I don't watch videos, so my internet needs are modest.
I went from ~2.5GB/month to 30GB/month when I started messing with
win10. This should throttle back when win10 settles down...
I hope...It's already down to ~20GB/month.

KenK wrote:
"dadiOH" wrote in :

According to their web page...

http://www.centurylink.com/home/bundles/ (scroll down)

you should be able to get phone + INet for no more than $65. Plus the
inevitable taxes, fees, etc.

Evidently what they advertise and what you can actually buy are two
different things.


And what speed of Inet(DL/UL speed) Up here in Calgary AB we pay ~200CAD
for full featured cable TV, two phones with free NA calls, Inet with
50Mbps DL/5 Mbps UL. Quite expensive. Very reliable service overall.

On 10/14/2015 12:10 PM, KenK wrote:
My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL now
$80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll have to
go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.

Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable
broadband but don't have much hope.

TIA


Apparently all cable/telcos have weird plans. Mine, Frontier, after a
year, automatically puts you on what I call, the retail plan ... full
price. I call them and they magically fix it. If you don't call, you pay
and pay. Also, most of these companies have what they call, a retention
department. It is usually just a subset of their call center. If you
complain and make noise about leaving, they hand you over to a retention
droid that is allowed to make deeper changes than the regular person.
They never tell you about the retention department. So that's a good
place to start. BTW, most cable companies will sell you a data only plan
for your internet connection. Cable internet will usually be much higher
speed than DSL. And of course, there is satellite which is usually more
expensive and has data limits. I once told them right out, if they
didn't fix my problem I would cancel all there stuff, even though that
would entail a more expensive internet package via satellite and they
jumped in with a good priced plan.

ItsJoanNotJoann wrote in news:90457a49-2874-
:

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 1:50:30 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:

Dumping them was VERY painful! It eventually took 7 phone calls
(and many hours on the phone).

Thankfully, in our case, we kept meticulous notes as to who we
talked with, times, dates, etc.


Whenever I have to call AT&T, which thankfully is rarely,
I also keep meticulous notes about the problem, time I called,
who I spoke with, etc. It saves a lot of time trying to
remember what they said, I said, what was promised and on
and on.


That/s why I prefer to use email. But the companies often don't answer it
nowadays, or insist on you giving them a phone number and then use that
instead of email. I suspect just to make it more difficult to keep
meticulous records.


--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

On 10/15/2015 10:44 AM, KenK wrote:
ItsJoanNotJoann wrote in news:90457a49-2874-
:

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 1:50:30 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:

Dumping them was VERY painful! It eventually took 7 phone calls
(and many hours on the phone).

Thankfully, in our case, we kept meticulous notes as to who we
talked with, times, dates, etc.


Whenever I have to call AT&T, which thankfully is rarely,
I also keep meticulous notes about the problem, time I called,
who I spoke with, etc. It saves a lot of time trying to
remember what they said, I said, what was promised and on
and on.

That/s why I prefer to use email. But the companies often don't answer it
nowadays, or insist on you giving them a phone number and then use that
instead of email. I suspect just to make it more difficult to keep
meticulous records.

Note that most customer service calls are recorded nowadays.

Rather, I think it is probably because it is usually easier to get
all the "missing details" via a brief telephone exchange than to
play "email tag" -- especially if there is any subtlety in the
information sought.

If you had to rely on users to report the necessary detail to resolve
an issue, you'd invariably end up "solving" the wrong problem.
Company wonks tend to speak whatever "language"/jargon is appropriate
for their business. That often doesn't map easily onto colloquial
English (and, folks often are inept at doing that "translation").

In an interactive exchange, you can fine-tune the other party's
understanding of the issue being discussed:

"When you say your phone is 'broke', do you mean it now lies in
a pile of several small pieces? Or, that there is no sound
coming from the earpiece? Or, that the other party can't hear what
*you* are saying? Or, that the 'dial' doesn't work? Or, ..."

E.g., in a conversation, I can ask, "While you don't hear any
*dialtone*, do you hear a faint 'click' when you toggle the
cradle switch on/off hook? (i.e., is there *battery* present
on the line)" This is not the sort of detail that folks would
*offer* in a report of "no dialtone".

[There's a good reason why customer service "scripts" exist.
Unfortunately, too often, the droids cling to those scripts
and abandon all independent thought!]

On 15 Oct 2015 17:44:26 GMT, KenK wrote:


That/s why I prefer to use email. But the companies often don't answer it
nowadays, or insist on you giving them a phone number and then use that
instead of email. I suspect just to make it more difficult to keep
meticulous records.

And that dont include all the time they place you ON HOLD during a phone
call. I just contacted a manufacturer for help regarding a piece of
machinery. Their website has a link which says "If you need help, click
here to ask". I got a long form, requiring all sorts of personal info,
before I could even ask the question. I did all of that, waited 3 days
for a reply, and got a reply which told me to call my local dealer, with
a link to "locate a local dealer". And they also had a link to buy an
owners manual.

Needless to say, I was ****ed. I had already been to my local dealer who
said they could not answer my question. What a waste of time filling out
all that crap on that form, and I suppose I'll get all sorts of spam
from them for the rest of my life now. (Of course I have a special email
address just for contacting businesses).

Don Y posted for all of us...


Note that most customer service calls are recorded nowadays.

I usually decline the recording if it's automated. I usually give approval
to live person because aren't getting anywhere without it. I called Verizon
once and after I got "your call call is being recorded for training and
business purposes" I repeated the same exact lines to her and she said I
can't do that. She would refuse the call. After about 5 different calls I
used my inside source and completed my business.

Yeah, it isn't. A large company tried that with me. I moved up to the
supervisor and said "Well, you record all calls so play it back to me and
we'll find out what you think I said and what I actually said." After some
clicks and bongo bongo he came back and said it was unavailable at this
time. I said you really don't have the recording do you? Crickets. I won.

I will take names and times to memorialize things but names don't really
mean squat because one call center may have a Latisha and another may have a
completely different Latisha.

Only the very well integrated centers will have the notes in a call that
gets passed on to the other call takers. Strangely I never seem to have
problems with these business'.

--
Tekkie

On Thu, 15 Oct 2015 16:16:50 -0400, Tekkie®
wrote:

Don Y posted for all of us...


Note that most customer service calls are recorded nowadays.

I usually decline the recording if it's automated. I usually give approval
to live person because aren't getting anywhere without it. I called Verizon
once and after I got "your call call is being recorded for training and
business purposes" I repeated the same exact lines to her and she said I
can't do that. She would refuse the call. After about 5 different calls I
used my inside source and completed my business.

Yeah, it isn't. A large company tried that with me. I moved up to the
supervisor and said "Well, you record all calls so play it back to me and
we'll find out what you think I said and what I actually said." After some
clicks and bongo bongo he came back and said it was unavailable at this
time. I said you really don't have the recording do you? Crickets. I won.

I will take names and times to memorialize things but names don't really
mean squat because one call center may have a Latisha and another may have a
completely different Latisha.

Only the very well integrated centers will have the notes in a call that
gets passed on to the other call takers. Strangely I never seem to have
problems with these business'.

I hate bongo bongo.

Tell me to my face. Then I can go ape **** on them with kind words.

wrote in news:kh3t1bp0ag93m6ais60o88tvakb0o5cmva@
4ax.com:

On 14 Oct 2015 17:10:01 GMT, KenK wrote:

Did you speak to a "customer retention representative" at CL? Not the
first couple you contacts. The CRR is there to keep you. My CL bill
went up to. Things may be changing when the "bull dog" gets off the
chain


How do I reach that rep? Do you know? If not, will try Googling.

Cancel your service, they will call you.



You don't have to cancel, just mention it. After a phone conversation
yesterday, supposedly I now have a much lower DSL rate. The November bill
will tell all!


--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

On 17 Oct 2015 17:34:58 GMT, KenK wrote:

Did you speak to a "customer retention representative" at CL? Not the
first couple you contacts. The CRR is there to keep you. My CL bill
went up to. Things may be changing when the "bull dog" gets off the
chain


How do I reach that rep? Do you know? If not, will try Googling.

Cancel your service, they will call you.



You don't have to cancel, just mention it. After a phone conversation
yesterday, supposedly I now have a much lower DSL rate. The November bill
will tell all!


Good for you old man. At CL, you can set up your online account and
further monitor it. It you think it may be necessary, I don't, though.