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Driven Back to Dial-Up
Apr 02, 2010
You know your company is performing poorly when someone cancels
your high-speed Internet and opts for dial-up instead.
But that's what Bettye W. Clark from Chattanooga, Tenn., did. In a letter-to-the-editor
of Chattanogan.com yesterday, Bettye wrote about her decision to cancel
Comcast: "I hung up [with Comcast] and immediately called the phone
company to have dial up installed and am leaving Comcast completely."
We've all probably experienced frustration with our Internet
providers - whether we're repeating "speak to a representative" to a
confused robot on the phone, trying to figure out why a bill is so
startling high, or simply getting service turned on.
It reminds e of an old
skit from comedian Brian Regan about phone service:
-
Regan: Can you turn on our telephone?
Phone rep: OK, it's going to be a problem.
Regan: I figured. How? Why?
Phone rep: It's just going to be a big nightmare. That's our policy.
These days, Regan's joke increasingly reflects reality. ISPs like
Comcast - with their near monopolies in many communities - can set
nightmarish policies and prices for many consumers.
Bettye expressed her frustration with the Comcast's cartel. "I think
it is a horrible thing when one company has a monopoly and treat people
in the way I was treated dealing with Comcast."
But here's the thing: Our answer to Comcast's shoddy service
shouldn't have to be to simply shut it off or accept a lesser, but less
frustrating, service. We need real competition that would not only give
us other local options for high-speed Internet service but also pressure
Comcast to do a better job. But unfortunately, most people don't have a
second or third option in their communities - in fact, 96 percent of
households have access to two or fewer wired broadband services
providers.
The FCC recently released their National
Broadband Plan to help connect all Americans to high-speed
Internet. But as we've
noted, the plan is lacking in details about how to increase
competition to give consumers another option besides forgoing broadband.
And of course, Comcast and others are doing all they can to ensure that
the status quo remains - high profits for them, terrible service for
us.
You can do something by telling
the FCC you want a broadband plan that supports the public's needs,
not the ISP's.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 In These Times
Megan Tady
Megan Tady runs Word-Lift, a consulting and copywriting service in western Massachusetts. Previously, she was Campaign Coordinator for Free Press. Prior to joining Free Press, Megan was a national political reporter for In These Times, The New Standard, and worked extensively as a freelance journalist.
You know your company is performing poorly when someone cancels
your high-speed Internet and opts for dial-up instead.
But that's what Bettye W. Clark from Chattanooga, Tenn., did. In a letter-to-the-editor
of Chattanogan.com yesterday, Bettye wrote about her decision to cancel
Comcast: "I hung up [with Comcast] and immediately called the phone
company to have dial up installed and am leaving Comcast completely."
We've all probably experienced frustration with our Internet
providers - whether we're repeating "speak to a representative" to a
confused robot on the phone, trying to figure out why a bill is so
startling high, or simply getting service turned on.
It reminds e of an old
skit from comedian Brian Regan about phone service:
-
Regan: Can you turn on our telephone?
Phone rep: OK, it's going to be a problem.
Regan: I figured. How? Why?
Phone rep: It's just going to be a big nightmare. That's our policy.
These days, Regan's joke increasingly reflects reality. ISPs like
Comcast - with their near monopolies in many communities - can set
nightmarish policies and prices for many consumers.
Bettye expressed her frustration with the Comcast's cartel. "I think
it is a horrible thing when one company has a monopoly and treat people
in the way I was treated dealing with Comcast."
But here's the thing: Our answer to Comcast's shoddy service
shouldn't have to be to simply shut it off or accept a lesser, but less
frustrating, service. We need real competition that would not only give
us other local options for high-speed Internet service but also pressure
Comcast to do a better job. But unfortunately, most people don't have a
second or third option in their communities - in fact, 96 percent of
households have access to two or fewer wired broadband services
providers.
The FCC recently released their National
Broadband Plan to help connect all Americans to high-speed
Internet. But as we've
noted, the plan is lacking in details about how to increase
competition to give consumers another option besides forgoing broadband.
And of course, Comcast and others are doing all they can to ensure that
the status quo remains - high profits for them, terrible service for
us.
You can do something by telling
the FCC you want a broadband plan that supports the public's needs,
not the ISP's.
Megan Tady
Megan Tady runs Word-Lift, a consulting and copywriting service in western Massachusetts. Previously, she was Campaign Coordinator for Free Press. Prior to joining Free Press, Megan was a national political reporter for In These Times, The New Standard, and worked extensively as a freelance journalist.
You know your company is performing poorly when someone cancels
your high-speed Internet and opts for dial-up instead.
But that's what Bettye W. Clark from Chattanooga, Tenn., did. In a letter-to-the-editor
of Chattanogan.com yesterday, Bettye wrote about her decision to cancel
Comcast: "I hung up [with Comcast] and immediately called the phone
company to have dial up installed and am leaving Comcast completely."
We've all probably experienced frustration with our Internet
providers - whether we're repeating "speak to a representative" to a
confused robot on the phone, trying to figure out why a bill is so
startling high, or simply getting service turned on.
It reminds e of an old
skit from comedian Brian Regan about phone service:
-
Regan: Can you turn on our telephone?
Phone rep: OK, it's going to be a problem.
Regan: I figured. How? Why?
Phone rep: It's just going to be a big nightmare. That's our policy.
These days, Regan's joke increasingly reflects reality. ISPs like
Comcast - with their near monopolies in many communities - can set
nightmarish policies and prices for many consumers.
Bettye expressed her frustration with the Comcast's cartel. "I think
it is a horrible thing when one company has a monopoly and treat people
in the way I was treated dealing with Comcast."
But here's the thing: Our answer to Comcast's shoddy service
shouldn't have to be to simply shut it off or accept a lesser, but less
frustrating, service. We need real competition that would not only give
us other local options for high-speed Internet service but also pressure
Comcast to do a better job. But unfortunately, most people don't have a
second or third option in their communities - in fact, 96 percent of
households have access to two or fewer wired broadband services
providers.
The FCC recently released their National
Broadband Plan to help connect all Americans to high-speed
Internet. But as we've
noted, the plan is lacking in details about how to increase
competition to give consumers another option besides forgoing broadband.
And of course, Comcast and others are doing all they can to ensure that
the status quo remains - high profits for them, terrible service for
us.
You can do something by telling
the FCC you want a broadband plan that supports the public's needs,
not the ISP's.
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