[SATLUG] AT&T $10.00 DSL Ordering - Easiest Way

[toddwbucy]

I understand all of that and in fact sympathize with the cost of maintaining 
and building the infrastructure that makes our high tech lifestyle possible.  
My beef though is not with the cost but with the deceptive nature of the 
pricing.  If the Phone company is going to offer DSL service at $10 a month 
then it should not require that I pay an additional $24 a month for a land 
line as well.  The fact that they require that I pay for the land line 
suggests to me that their DSL pricing does not represent the true cost of 
having DSL.  Instead, their pricing seems to reflect a deceptive marketing 
ploy which is aimed at maintaining their traditional customer base of land 
line phone service.

Todd

On Monday 25 June 2007 10:58:39 Don Wright wrote:
> On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 09:44:37 -0500, toddwbucy <toddwbucy at grandecom.net> 
wrote:
> >I think the point is that the lines have already been laid.  If one just
> > wants DSL and not a phone then why can't at&t offer just the DSL without
> > the phone. Instead if one wants DSL they are offered a bait and switch of
> > sorts.  It does seem a little dishonest to say that they are offering a
> > $10 DSL service but only if you pay $24 for the phone as well.
> >
> >Todd
>
> OK, let's look at the costs involved in delivering DSL. There's the
> bandwidth charged by the upstream provider, the local equipment (which
> doesn't last forever), the actual copper lines (likewise), and maintenance
> expenses (the trucks and people) to keep it all operating, plus cash
> reserves to build out service for future clients.
>
> Most of these items are already bundled into the price of the POTS service,
> which as a regulated[1] monopoly is built into the business plan of the
> telco. Dry copper pairs, with or without DSL, are not the usual case and
> thus more expensive to supply[2]. Therefore the cost of DSL without dial
> tone is almost the same as DSL with dial tone, and therefore not a
> desirable service to offer.
>
> I hate to be devil's advocate[3], but in this case there really isn't more
> than a tiny amount of evil in this situation.  --Don
>
>
> [1] Sarcasm tags implied.
> [2] Economies of scale, extra costs of handling exceptions.
> [3] for this particular Great Satan, at least.
>
> --
> Migraine: All the fun of a hangover without the bother of
> getting drunk.