DSL
Being 2 miles from a Central Office doesn’t help when the phone line runs more than 3 miles before it comes to your house.
Ugh. . . I’ve been hunting for an affordable Broadband solution for about 3 years for where we moved in the Texas Hill Country. Although we are literally 5 miles from Austin City Limits as the crow flies, Broadband other than sattelite has only been available for 18 months. That is from the Cable Company at a full $42 dollars a month. Now that’s not bad, but it makes me kinda sick to see all the Phone company ads for a $13 internet when I can’t get it. But over the last few months I’ve been gettting some flyers in the mail regarding DSL access. I’ve been interested but doubted that the marketers knew what they were talking about. But hey I keep up at DSL Reports and map out the Central Office, which has to be within about 3 miles of a residence to provide Broadband service. And lo and behold a new one appeared a couple months ago. Wow, you know as the crow flies that has got be less than 2 miles from my house. . . I even mapped it out and did an approximate overlay. Wow Really close. . .
So I call up SBC oops I mean AT&T Ma Bell reconstituted and check to see what is available. The first few times I did this in December and at a store in January they said Nope no dice not quite there yet. . . But with the new CO and the mailers, I thought ahh maybe. . . so I put in for a manual loop check cause the first person I talked to said my address was closest to a Central Office in Dripping Springs, TX. Now I know that’s not my CO my local phone wouldn’t start with that pre-fix if I had one. So off to manual check. I give my life information, . . . name, address, mobile number so they can contact and they want a home phone. I’m like nope don’t have one. . . but I’ll sign up if DSL is available.
I wait a few days and get back a few conflicting reports some are like I’m not sure and one person says yep, DSL is most likely available, but I’ll have to order my phone line to be sure. . . Hmm. . . Well seeing as I can see the CO is less than a couple miles from my house now, I think now finally someone who makes sense!
Now my beautiful bride rolls her eyes when I tell her this information and says “They Lie” But I convince her I’ve opened a trouble ticket I’ve got the number and so and so said it was a go! . . .
She just rolled her eyes again. . .
But I’m convinced and push foward. . . I order the line Thursday a week ago and push ahead with the DSL order. Within a few minutes I have email confirmations on the phone line and a cryptic unable to verify account information error on the DSL order. Well, I’m not giving up now so I give AT&T a call to verify. They let me know they think DSL is for sure available at least better than 50/50 ha ha and I need to wait till the line comes active scheduled for last Tuesday. So I wait, I’m assured by so and so that I’ll recieve a callback as soon as they know something so I wait. Tuesday morning and afternoon come and go, my phone line activated Mon, I had a nice guy Mike with SBC local who called and it worked like a champ, but no call from the DSL lady. . . Okay so I give them a ring. . . through the voice prompts I go where I end up back in DSL sales. . . “Oh your account is on hold!” ? Huh Two service reps have requested a manual loop check and they lock the account till that is clear. I show so and so (original contact) has scheduled a follow-up tommorow. . . So I say okay and I wait.
Wed morning comes and goes, Wed afternoon comes and goes, no call from AT&T. . . okay so I call them back. Whew whew round and round I go where I stop nobody knows back to DSL sales.
“Your account has been set at a status red and didn’t you recieve the letter?” Says the nice but evidently very poorly aquainted with the US Postal service. I ask when did they send the letter? Oh. . . that was yesterday, she says seemingly understading her earlier misstatement. . .
Okay I say, is their any possiblity that the manual check will come back that DSL was available?
Not very likely she says. . . so that’s a wrap, less than 2 miles from the CO as the crow flies but no DSL for me not at $13 not a $17 not a $39 dollars! nada nothing zilch. . .
Ugh. . . So I ask to speak with someone who can cancel my brand new local line that I ordered since I was told DSL was available. . . and back transfer land whew whew off to local billing where I explain the situtation and ask to cancel. After 5 minutes of rebuttals and trying to get me to keep the local service that I only ordered because I was told I would have DSL I finally get a disconnect order. Now I ask, I made a pre-payment? How will that be refunded, and will my complete installation charge be refunded? hmm that was too long of a pause. Now I had asked this question multiple times before ordering, I was assured each and every time that this would be the case all charges would be refunded, if DSL wasn’t available after all.
“But your line was installed” she litterally stammers. . . I politiely explain that I only ordered the line since I was told DSL was available, and since DSL wasn’t available I would need to have all charges refunded. “Who can help me with that?” I asked. . .”Okay I’ll transfer you to the DSL billing department she says.” Whew whew red flags go up and I stop that with a firm but polite. “Wait a minute, are you saying that the DSL billing department is going to be able to help me with a charge that I recived from your department for my local phone installation?” She admits, “Well they probably can’t do anything for you.” Okay I say “Who can you connect me with that can help me with my problem?” I’m still pretty cheery, since I know if I’m rude or obstinate, it won’t get me anywhere but dead air and a tired low paying local billing CSR will probably not even be reprimanded, since it’s hard to even catch their names. Off to a “Billing Specialist” Ahh. . . finally this person seems to emphathize with my plight of round about order for DSL being told it was available and then finding out it wasn’t, she knows how to work the SBC billing system. “Okay let me cancel that first disconnect” Huh? Yep that’s what she did and she reset the disconnect date to the initial date of installation or in SBC lingo ASI date. That was last Tuesday although they were fast and it came up on Mon, Evidently since ASI and Disconnect are on the same date that will cancel all billed charges and issue a full credit of my pre-payment back to me via check. This CSR was really helpful and gave me the new disconnect order number. Very nice, I’m holding onto that and her name so I can watch to make sure that happens. . .but I think I’m happy. . .
But not about not having broadband.
C