Message-ID: <20220819135615.GA120857@telecomdigest.us>
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2022 13:56:15 +0000
From: Bill Horne <malaQRMssimilation@gmail.com>
Subject: [telecom] OH: AT&T participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)
Cut your broadband costs
With the start of a new academic year, having access to affordable,
reliable internet has never been more essential. AT&T is enhancing
connected learning and reducing home internet costs to ensure students
get the digital resources they need.
The Aug. 9 article, “Can’t afford your internet bill? Subsidies help
Ohioans get broadband,” offered assistance to make families aware of
efforts to reduce home internet costs, including the federal
Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). AT&T is participating in the
Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides eligible households a
benefit of up to $30 a month to reduce the cost of broadband service.
https://www.dispatch.com/story/opinion/letters/2022/08/19/letters-how-to-cut-your-internet-bill-by-30-secret-service-goofed/65407854007/
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Message-ID: <20220819181557.GA121797@telecomdigest.us>
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2022 18:15:57 +0000
From: Bill Horne <malaQRMssimilation@gmail.com>
Subject: [telecom] Verizon want to give me a free phone, or maybe not
I have, for the last few months, been talking about Verizon's "3G"
network being retired, and how my wife's "4G LTE" phone isn't
acceptable to Verizon's vision of the future, and how Verizon keeps
telling me I have to spend a whole lot of money to earn the privilege
of continuing to pay them for cellular service.
The latest missive arrive a day or two ago, and I'll quote the
relevant passages FYI:
One or More of Your Devices Will Stop Working on January 1,
2023. We're Here to Help.
In order to make way for more advanced and reliable cellular
services, older 3G networks are being decommisshioned by
U.S. wireless carriers. At Verizon, our 3G network will be shut
down by December 31, 2022.
This means that beginning January 1, 2023, any Verizon device
(and network externder) that does not support our newer network
technologies will lose the ability to call, text, or use data,
including the ability to make 911 emergency calls.
We don't want to see your service disrupted. We have many options
to keep you connected, including free phones.
Now, I'm as anxious as the next guy to retain the ability to dial 911
if the occasion arrises, although I am kind of miffed that Verizon
chooses to try to shame me with the fact that they're willing to risk
the loss of life or limb in order to make more obscene profits.
I like relizble cellular networks, too, although one is about as
reliable as any other, or about one-tenth as reliable as a copper pair
from the Central Office to my home. What happed, Verizon, to the
copper pairs?
As for "any Verizon device," well, my wife has a device that says "4g
LTE" AND "Verizon" on it, so I think that qualifies it as a "Verizon
device." I don't know why a phone labelled "4G LTE" would be unable to
work after the end of this year, just after the Novemeber elections in
the U.S., but I'd guess that it has something to do with generating
more income for Verizon.
A few weeks ago, Someone commented that some phones are labelled "4G"
but only have "4G" data capabilities, and only "3G" voice capabil-
ities. My wife's phone, IIRC, is an LG 930 AT - what Verizon calls an
"LG Spectrum 2" in the lists of devices I own that are going to stop
working at the end of this year, right after the elections in the U.S.
As for "network externders" stopping, well, that's kind of weird: you
see, I own a network extender, which is a tiny cell site sitting on my
shelf next to my Internet cable modem and my router, and it converts
whatever kind of cell signal my wife's phone puts out into IP packets
that are routed to Verizon over the Internet connection that I pay
for, so it seems really odd to me that the network extender would stop
working at the same time Verizon's cell towers stop offering "3G"
service. After all, the network extender is still working, at least
within a few feet of my home, and my wife's phone could stil use it if
both were left alone. I assume is has something to do with generating
more income for Verizon.
THose are topics for further debate, but the biggest item on my list
of things-they-are-getting-wrong is the claim that Verizon has many
options available to keep me connected, including a free phone. You
see, I called Verizon's customer service department, and I told them I
was interested in having the privilege of paying them $73 pre month if
they would provide me with the 'free phone' their letter mentions.
I spent over 15 minutes on hold, and endured endless claims that
"someone" would be with me, and an offer to sell me a new cellular
phone for "only five dollars a month," but I never, even once, heard
anything from anyone who could supply me with a free phone to replace
the "4G LTE" phone my wife has.
Message-ID: <20220819134521.GA120781@telecomdigest.us>
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2022 13:45:21 +0000
From: Bill Horne <malaQRMssimilation@gmail.com>
Subject: [telecom] AT&T’s boo boo and text scams alert
Watchdog Dave Lieber shares consumer tips about battling phone bill
increases and why some gasoline stations put large pending charges on
your credit or debit cards.
The Watchdog has a lot of interests, including secret meetings of
power brokers, AT&T customer disservice, text scams and getting action
from federal regulators. Here’s what I’ve studied in the past week:
...
AT&T error
AT&T made a boo boo. Shocking, I know. That’s like saying cows eat
grass. They do.
Granted, AT&T customer service has vastly improved from a decade
ago. But here’s one mistake that caught customers off guard.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2022/08/18/electricity-power-brokers-work-in-secret-plus-atts-boo-boo-and-text-scams-alert/
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