AT&T wants YOU to Pay their $186,000,000,000.00 Debt

AT&T wanted to corner the entertainment market, so they bought DirecTV plus a Time Warner Cable against the advice of financial advisors. AT&T also reportedly told the FCC they wouldn't raise prices. They did. AT&T customers are now paying down a $186 BILLION DOLLAR DEBT through an AT&T PRICE INCREASE. Many AT&T customers are switching to T-Mobile, Sprint, and other carriers. Overcharges removed by customer service typically reappear on a future bill. AT&T REMAINS  "The King of Nickel & Dime CHARGES and OVERCHARGES"

Cost of Internet Data: AT&T in the United States vs. TELSTRA in Australia
The following data charges are for a customer-owned Netgear Nighthawk M1 MR1100 Gigabit LTE Modem (Hotspot)

COST for 200GB 4G monthly WIRELESS INTERNET in AUSTRALIA with 2 year contract through TELSTRA: $70 AUS / month (which equals $98 US Dollars each month)

COST for 200GB 4G monthly "WIRELESS HOME INTERNET" in the United States through AT&T: $100.00/month for their highest 100GB/month plan (Netgear Nighthawk M1 MR1000 Modem), plus $25 for each additional 10GB of data you use. This makes your total AT&T bill $350.00 Dollars per month in the United States.
Australians pay only $98.00

NOTE: I pay less than $10 USD/month for UNLIMITED TERABYTES of data on my Internet Servers in Europe.

In 2005, the Federal Communications Commission classified the internet as an Information Service, not a Communications Service.  AT&T is currently limiting this information service by creating Speed Tiers, Mb limits and caps, and other profitable surcharges.  ATT's position is to provide profits for itself, in direct opposition to the FCC's mandate to make the internet available .  In this application, a child is penalized for watching a streaming webcast from his school, because the internet connection on his new wireless internet device has a 50 mb Tier Cap, and the webcast used 0ver 100 mb of bandwidth.  In addition, ATT network traffic caused interruptions in his data stream, because of dynamic resource provisioning reducing data rates.  Just wait 'til little Johnny's parents get that bill, with everything over 50 mb being charged at a premium per megabyte rate!  Don't bother cancelling your service, because you'll face that multi-hundred dollar "early cancellation" contract clause.

What is Network Neutrality?  Network Neutrality is keeping the internet free of control by corporations and their "policies" (megabyte caps, Speed Tiers, surcharges, access fees, having to pay for an unused phone number on an aircard for a laptop computer, blocked ports, etc.).

In brief, ATT is rewarding itself for mediocre network management by applying and trapping customers with long-term contracts and sub-standard service.  Case in point:  A 1.5 megabit rated DSL line (download speed) need only meet a speed of 769 kbps, which is one kbps above the preceding 768 kbps Tier.  This is according to ATT Senior Vice  President, Robert Quinn Jr., during a televised FCC Media Hearing on 7-21-08, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  

---

Wireless internet 4G phones, data cards, and other devices will soon deliver 100mb speeds!

"According to the GSM Association (GSMA), the deployment of LTE technology should be able to deliver real world speeds of 100 Mbps in Japan and South Korea by 2010, Europe by 2012 and the U.S. by... well, later. "Tests show LTE can produce speeds up to 186 Mbps," said GSMA director Dan Warren. "But obviously you never get the top speed and they vary with distance from the base station and interference." Both AT&T and Verizon have decided to embrace LTE as their 4G wireless broadband flavor of choice, with trials starting this year. You can be fairly certain the speeds you see from either of those carriers at first won't be anywhere near 100Mbps."

SOURCE: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/100Mbps-Wireless-In-Two-Years-97137

---

 

Comparison of Internet prices (ISP charges) for Japan and the United States (U.S.)

Japan=100 mb fiber connection=$16.49 per month

Untied States=excuses  &  overcharges for poor service

Currency Converter (yen to USD)

In Japan, the average household has a very fast connection to the internet.   The speed of this internet connection is 100 megabits download, and 100 megabits/second upload.   The price per month is 1780 yen, which is the equivalent of $16.49 as of June 19, 2008.

You can also buy internet telephone service (VOIP) through this same Japanese ISP for an additional 380 yen, which is equivalent to $3.53 U.S. Dollars per month.

In the United States, in a suburb of Fort Lauderdale Florida, ATT can offer us only DSL service, at 3 megabits down, and several hundred kilobits up.   That is because ATT owns the lines and the routers, and has no leasing agreements in this area, ie: a monopoly.

Because ATT has a monopoly, the charge for internet service is $30.00 ----  BUT WAIT!  YOU MUST PURCHASE TELEPHONE SERVICE! .... so you pay an additional $19.99 each month for service that you can get through your interconnection (SKYPE) for $2.95 per month for unlimited calls in the U.S. and Canada ($9.95 for unlimited calling worldwide).

The United States of ATT is the land of opportunity to fleece your customers - if you happen to be ATT.

In June of 2008, ATT advertised telephone service and internet service bundled together for $99.95, about $30.00 more than purchasing these services separately.