looking for alternative interneting ?

[vhelp]

long story short, i have no phone and no internet at home.

basically, i want to be able to use my netbook (windows xp) for interneting. (maybe through its usb and i can disable the internal wifi with Fn+F1) i am not looking to max speed, just basic DSL'ish speed if possible, but hopefully, unlimited.

what are my options ?

thank you.

.

the long story, for those curious of my stubborness..

i had a problem w/ my phone not working, no dial tone, just interneting. for over three months (that i discovered the problem when i needed to use the phone) i had the problem. for all i know i had the problem since i received the high speed (DSL) internet in my house. anyway, i called for several months to get help, but always got their automated help system, which told me that my phone was fine. so i finally dug deeper and story short, i spoke to someone. they told me that it was the box outside my apt (i do not have access to it, and we are restricted from that area) and that it was their fault and they would fix it. so, yesterday, they called, said they were fixing the problem and that i would have phone service back up and running in aprox 2 hours. i get home 4 hours later, picked up the phone, and still no dial tone! this is 7:30pm. however, now i have no internet service either. they disabled high speed internet until i pay them the full amount, (service is aprox $20 plus tax for the phone, and $25 plug tax) and they would turn it back on the next day. now, the "it" i assume is the high speed internet and not the phone. i don't see how they disabled the phone too since it still gives me the same indication of no dial tone--i have to assume they didn't fix the problem) so i can not make any outgoing calls. i tried calling into the phone, to leave a message, in case that service is working, but that is still dead too, another guess that the problem was not fixed. so, i'm thinking they never fixed the problem with restoring the phone's dial tone. i have considered (w/out discussing with them) just giving them $30 a month in the mail until my debt is paid in full and be done with them - verizon - since i now have no service.

[enim]

i have no phone and no internet at home.

I will address only one. Internet is a medium for absolute FuN, No Serious Business. And, I never had a problem using something called OPiNet for FREE forever and as long as I want.

[TreeTops]

No phone, then no DSL. But you can investigate satellite delivery. I don't know if a phone line is required but you can check it out. Some plans have a cap on amount of data you can receive or send.

[vhelp]

i have directv (SD, not HD, price was too high for my smaller needs) for 10 years or more now. they require a phone line for various functions. also, verizon is associated with directv, according to the last rep i spoke to.

i thought about this last night, while watching tv. i am so glad i did not join in any triple play, because then they have you when you are late on a payment, because they (as my experience (above) shows) they shut everything down. so, theres not a total control thereof!

[jman98]

If you have payment problems, that is beyond the scope of what we can really help you with here.

The "phone companies" (AT&T and Verizon basically) want to get customers off of old tech DSL lines, so as we've had mentioned recently in another thread, they let their old infrastructure decay deliberately to force customers to move to their newer offerings, which are much easier to take care of. I'm a long time AT&T customer and I can tell you that Uverse is so much better than their old DSL offering that I would not go back if they offered me the DSL for free.

Cable companies generally have recently built infrastructure but as far as I know they still have bandwidth issues where if everybody in your neighborhood is on at the same time, your response sucks. They get you by offering a theoretical higher bandwidth than the phone companies can offer, but there's no guarantee that you will really be able to achieve it. The phone companies are more realistic about what they can offer you in reality and what kind of upload and download speeds you will really get. Also, cable companies often go to remote areas where the phone companies don't find it economical to build out next gen internet. Cable companies are notorious for having techs who are incompetent whereas my experience with AT&T is that most of their techs really do know what they are doing. It's not unheard of for a cable company to have to send out a different tech on a different day when the first one is too dumb to get you hooked up correctly.

I am not sure, but someone told me recently that DirecTV no longer offers internet to consumers.

If you want to try wireless, in some large metro areas Clear might be a worthwhile option that could get you what you want, although I have no personal experience with them.

[usually_quiet]

long story short, i have no phone and no internet at home.

basically, i want to be able to use my netbook (windows xp) for interneting. (maybe through its usb and i can disable the internal wifi with Fn+F1) i am not looking to max speed, just basic DSL'ish speed if possible, but hopefully, unlimited.

what are my options ?

thank you.

.

the long story, for those curious of my stubborness..

i had a problem w/ my phone not working, no dial tone, just interneting. for over three months (that i discovered the problem when i needed to use the phone) i had the problem. for all i know i had the problem since i received the high speed (DSL) internet in my house. anyway, i called for several months to get help, but always got their automated help system, which told me that my phone was fine. so i finally dug deeper and story short, i spoke to someone. they told me that it was the box outside my apt (i do not have access to it, and we are restricted from that area) and that it was their fault and they would fix it. so, yesterday, they called, said they were fixing the problem and that i would have phone service back up and running in aprox 2 hours. i get home 4 hours later, picked up the phone, and still no dial tone! this is 7:30pm. however, now i have no internet service either. they disabled high speed internet until i pay them the full amount, (service is aprox $20 plus tax for the phone, and $25 plug tax) and they would turn it back on the next day. now, the "it" i assume is the high speed internet and not the phone. i don't see how they disabled the phone too since it still gives me the same indication of no dial tone--i have to assume they didn't fix the problem) so i can not make any outgoing calls. i tried calling into the phone, to leave a message, in case that service is working, but that is still dead too, another guess that the problem was not fixed. so, i'm thinking they never fixed the problem with restoring the phone's dial tone. i have considered (w/out discussing with them) just giving them $30 a month in the mail until my debt is paid in full and be done with them - verizon - since i now have no service.

Without a phone your only options for a data plan in the US are cable TV Internet access, some kind of wireless data plan (4G LTE) or satellite data link. Cable is likely to be the least expensive and have the highest limit for data caps.

I'm less than happy with Verizon myself at the moment. I lost my DSL service on August 6. Verizon said I needed to install FIOS because Verizon no longer wants to repair their copper lines in my area. Rather than pay a significantly higher price for FIOS service and speeds I do not need, I went with my cable provider's economy plan to save some money. Today I changed my telephone to Vonage's VOIP service because I got a call from Verizon today informing me that my existing telephone service would soon be discontinued as well.

Here's the best part: I called Verizon to discontinue my DSL service on the day I lost it. After a very miserable experience with customer retention during which I told them repeatedly that I did not want FIOS, they agreed to cancel my DSL service, but did not follow through. Yesterday I went into my Verizon account to check on my services, and they now have me listed as a FIOS Internet customer. I called again yesterday, and they told me I am not in fact a FIOS Internet customer and promised again to cancel my DSL service. As of today they still have not done so, and have billed my credit card for next month's DSL service. I fully expect that they will give me grief over transferring my existing number to a new telephone service provider as well.

[vhelp]

what is Vonage's VOIP service ? i never heard of it. i'm in new york.

my monthly veriszon bill for phone/internet was aprox $50 dollars. i was hoping to reduce that with them before this issue with the phone service started.

the last rep i spoke to over the weekend said basically the same thing.. the copper wires and such. but the tech that came over to do the repair said, basically, "it was the wiring and needed to be replace, two hours and phones should be back up" but that never happened when i got home. it was the same no dial tone but this time, no internet also. so, late this morning, someone from verizon (an automated, very lousy digital female voice that crackled and went blank many times) saying that my service was repaired but that if i have.. and that was about it for the message. so i guess they fixed me. sort of, if you get my drift! they probably replaced my wiring with that new fios you mentioned and will attempt to force me to go with it.

i just got finished writing a letter that basically said, to terminate the services. i've been paying $20 or more dollars (tax and other unclear service costs) for many years and in all honesty, i may have used the phone 4 times. i'm tired of being their rental storage block.

so what this Vonage's VOIP ?
and last i checked, cable doesn't offer DSL. only their 5m and up speed.
i don't understand all that 4g and 5g buisness.

[usually_quiet]

My new service is a bit over $60 for phone and Internet, including fees and taxes.

The Internet service plans and your local cable company policies may well be different since we live in different states, but I have Comcast Economy Plus Internet service to replace my $25/month Verizon DSL. Economy Plus has been giving me ~3Mbps (megabits per second) download, ~1Mbps upload. Economy Plus service costs $30 per month with cable TV (or $40 by itself), plus $7 modem rental. The modem rental can be avoided if you buy your own modem from their list of approved models, which I did. I also did a self install since I already have cable, but since you do not already have cable service, you would have a tech come out and hook you up.

VOIP = voice over IP. Basically, VOIP uses your high-speed Internet service for telephony, similar to what a cable company does for their telephone service. Price varies according to plan. I ordered unlimited local and long distance for the US & Canada for $24.99/month and bought the Vonage telephony box at Best Buy for $40 because I wanted to get my service switched over ASAP. However, Vonage may send a box to you free of charge depending on your plan if you order directly from them. I went for month-to-month service because I am not sure how it will work out, and there is a $99 cancellation fee if you cancel service before your contract is up.

[vhelp]

update.. i resolved the matter with the internet, i'm back up and running. the phone is another issue and needs more work. i won't know more until next week. but thank you to all who shared their advice and experiences, appreciated. usually_quite, i hope all works out for you.

[usually_quiet]

update.. i resolved the matter with the internet, i'm back up and running. the phone is another issue and needs more work. i won't know more until next week. but thank you to all who shared their advice and experiences, appreciated. usually_quite, i hope all works out for you.

I am glad your service issues are partially resolved, but eventually you will be in the same boat I'm in, and probably sooner rather than later. Take it from someone who has already been there...

Verizon may or may not offer a ~$55/month (the non-promotion price, I think) 3Mbps down/1Mbps up FIOS Internet plan to you as a former DSL customer, which they do not advertise or offer under other circumstances, to keep you as a customer. Make sure you keep researching who your new Internet service provider might be before you have service issues again in case Verizon's retention offers do not please you.

[jagabo]

update.. i resolved the matter with the internet, i'm back up and running. the phone is another issue and needs more work.

Get an Ooma (VOIP). It costs more than Vonage up front but it's cheaper in the long run because there are no monthly fees (for basic service). You may have to pay taxes (911 fee. etc.) though.

We got an Ooma several years ago, before it was ruled you still have to pay taxes/fees on VOIP. Ooma grandfathered in their original "free" claim (ie, they pay the taxes and fees) so our phone service is completely free.

Or get a Tracfone prepaid cell phone. We got a phone and a year of service (600 minutes) for US$50.

http://www.amazon.com/Tracfone-LG-LG800G-Service-Minutes/dp/B00A028N5W/

When the year is up, get a new phone. It's cheaper than paying for another year ($100) of service. You can even roll over unused minutes from the old phone. That's what we've been doing.

[TreeTops]

Can you keep the same phone number when you discard the old phone and use a new one?

[jagabo]

Can you keep the same phone number when you discard the old phone and use a new one?

Yes.

[usually_quiet]

Can you keep the same phone number when you discard the old phone and use a new one?

Ooma charges a one-time $40 fee for each number they port for you. Some other VIOP providers charge less or do it for free, but the monthly rate for service is higher.

Oops, I misunderstood which product was being discussed. I am not sure what Tracfone and other similar wireless companies charge for porting an existing telephone number.

[vhelp]

i have a trac-one one i purchase many years ago, little black lcd screen, no texting. it helped me a lot when i needed it. i have 52 minutes left on that unit. but the phone went dead when my area was no longer supported. its in a box somewhere, battery is probably dead by now, was three years ago last i checked it. well, that was the history. anyway.

i was thinking of getting another trac-one if all else fails with my scheduled phone survice next week. i've had it for 15+ years.

has anyone any record of being able to transfer your land line phone number to a trac-one phone ?

[jagabo]

Tracfone charges nothing to transfer numbers. From a landline to a Tracfone (I've done this) may take several days. Tracfone to Tracfone is faster (I've done this too). Don't activate the new Tracfone before starting the number transfer or they'll have to mail you a new SIM card. And don't cancel your landline before transfering the number to the new Tracfone, or you'll lose your number.

Of course, there's no guarantee you'll find a $50/1year phone next year. The previous Tracfone I got was $80/1year/1200 minutes. Just buying another year of service and 400 minutes (1200 with triple minutes) currently cost $100. It amazingly stupid that you can get a new phone and a year of service for half that amount.

Transferring your contacts may be an issue too. In the worst case, you'll have to type them in. The LG800 has a touchscreen and handwriting recognition that works pretty well.

Keep in mind that with all the prepaid cell phones you buy a combination of talk time and service time. For example, with the phone I linked to earlier you get 14 months of service and 600 minutes of talk (text, internet, whatever) time. If you use up all 600 minutes in the first month you'll have to buy more talk/service time. If you don't renew your service (or transfer to a new phone) after 1 year you will lose your service, any remaining talk time, and phone number.

[vhelp]

i won't. but i sure would miss my long time number, especially since a few important people have it since 15 years ago though they call anymore but you never know if they might decide to call too late.

i wonder if verizon would get anything out of it or they would probably struggle with me to go with a different plan. they are relentless. i mean, i'm the last person on the block and apt that refuse to go complete with them. i am fine with DSL and fine with my directv (family, SD) packages. i am also relentlessly stubborn.

[usually_quiet]

i wonder if verizon would get anything out of it or they would probably struggle with me to go with a different plan. they are relentless. i mean, i'm the last person on the block and apt that refuse to go complete with them. i am fine with DSL and fine with my directv (family, SD) packages. i am also relentlessly stubborn.

Yes, relentless is the right word. I have been dealing with phone calls, salespeople knocking at my door, and weekly or twice weekly personalized mailings for about 2 years.

However, at some point, Verizon will decide there have been "too many" calls reporting a service problem on copper phone lines in a particular FIOS service area, and will refuse to try to figure out what is causing the customer's DSL or telephone problem let alone fix it. They just tell the customer that the only way to restore their service is to switch over to FIOS. That is precisely what happened to me.

Even worse, when my father died and I tried to get the name on the account switched over to my mother at her home, the Verizon customer service representative I had to deal with, told me, that in order to change over an existing account to a different name, they would have to shut down the DSL service for a few days, and I would have to schedule a service call in order to restore Internet service. I said "Why? There is nothing wrong with it, and I originally did a self install here." Finally, it comes out that they were switching her to FIOS after I already told this witch that my mother was not interested when she tried to sell me a FIOS package first thing. I then demanded to talk to a supervisor who told me that changing the name on an account required closing the old account and opening a new one, so Mom had to install FIOS or keep the service in my father's name. That's right, they attempted to switch a very elderly widow's service over over to considerably more expensive plans without her knowledge or consent. Crooked bastards...

[redwudz]

I have Tmobile here for phone. I don't have a landline phone, but I do have a DSL landline. I elected not to have a phone on it.

In the past I used a WiFi distribution from my subdivision internet provider. Very unstable and speeds ranged from 0 to maybe 1.5 Mbs. It sucked and was about $60/mos. I then went with a microwave setup, but a couple of large trees in line of sight made it unreliable. It was also about 2 Mbs and $60/mos. But it was steady (Are you seeing a trend here as in price fixing?) We have Cox cable internet, but NOT in my subdivision. The subdivision owns the cable in the ground. I don't know Cox prices, but doesn't matter, not available. The local DSL was also, surprising, $60/mos and at 1.5 Mbs. Then they offered HS DSL at 12 - 100 Mbs. I opted for 20 Mbs. Works well, but still about $60+/mos. Can't win.

I had looked into satellite in the past. One, you need a dish and usually have to pay for a setup/dish install and a long term contract. And the speed is often about 1.5 Mbs down and very slow up and about $60 or more a month.

[vhelp]

now i get it. regarding the phone issue. sitting here at work, thinking about this and the scheduled tech. appointment.

you see, several months ago, i received a phone message, but the message was all staticy. no voice. i received two or three of this type of message over several days. then, a few days after that, i got curious and picked up the phone to call someone and thats when i realized that it was not working--no dial tone. but at the time, i did not realize what was truely going on. it wasn't the line or answer machine that was failing. it was verizon staging a problem to induce me to contact them with a problem. all this to get them into my house, to switch from their copper wire to their fios (fiber) latest plan, and at a higher price. so they would have to come in and rewire things. which, they did, and that explains why the phone was never fixed, and is still not fixed. because (i'm guessing--but correct me if i'm wrong) they will have to run a *new* wire? from the main box in my building to my apt. what sneaks!

but what i don't get is why do i have full internet access ? the connection is in the same wire. maybe i'm still wrong.

it was the static noise that was the clue. but i didn't catch on, until now

[usually_quiet]

now i get it. regarding the phone issue. sitting here at work, thinking about this and the scheduled tech. appointment.

you see, several months ago, i received a phone message, but the message was all staticy. no voice. i received two or three of this type of message over several days. then, a few days after that, i got curious and picked up the phone to call someone and thats when i realized that it was not working--no dial tone. but at the time, i did not realize what was truely going on. it wasn't the line or answer machine that was failing. it was verizon staging a problem to induce me to contact them with a problem. all this to get them into my house, to switch from their copper wire to their fios (fiber) latest plan, and at a higher price. so they would have to come in and rewire things. which, they did, and that explains why the phone was never fixed, and is still not fixed. because (i'm guessing--but correct me if i'm wrong) they will have to run a *new* wire? from the main box in my building to my apt. what sneaks!

but what i don't get is why do i have full internet access ? the connection is in the same wire. maybe i'm still wrong.

it was the static noise that was the clue. but i didn't catch on, until now

You may or may not have FIOS. Your next bill says you have FIOS Internet instead of High Speed Internet or DSL, then you will know for sure. If you still have DSL, maybe one of the telephone line filters they gave you when you had DSL installed is not working, or maybe there is a problem with the inside wiring or the telephone that is causing your telephone issues.

They don't have to rewire your home on the inside when they install FIOS, although they may do that if something is wrong with the inside wiring, but you will have to pay extra for repairs to phone lines inside the home, and give them access to the inside.

Customers with copper wire service have something called a Network Interface Device or NID for short, which connects Verizon's copper cable from the street to their home's internal phone wiring. When Verizon installs FIOS service, they replace the copper service line from the street with a fiber cable and replace the NID with an Optical Network Terminal, or ONT for short. The ONT is connected to the home's existing internal phone lines and household electrical service, which supplies the power for operating the ONT and older corded telephones which depend on a phone line for power. The ONT also gets rechargeable battery backup for 8 hours connect time, or 4 hours talk time with one telephone. You are responsible for replacing the battery when it wears out.

[Edit]I just remembered something... DSL modems aren't used for FIOS. FIOS uses a router that connects via coax or Ethernet rather than a phone line. You still have DSL.

[vhelp]

. resolved .

some of it is comming back to me now.....our entire complex/comunity was converted to newer Cable and Fois wire technology (rewired in all buildings underground to replace old slower wiring, 4 years ago--cable 6 years, fios 4 years ago) and everyone had to have their apt accessed. i remember that issue for both. and they offered everyone a special 2 year promotional plan. most took the fios offer, but some stayed with cable since they did the same rewiring job. fios was sneaky to wait two years (for the Cable contract to expire) and offer their 2 year special contract plan. now, every year, fios has a cookout on our complex to thank everyone who signed up and also to entise anyone who is not signed up. they were right outside my window this cookout. they have no shame, will do anything to get the last signature. anyway.

but you are correct, i have a DSL. a small black box (4 port router unit) that connects directly to a plug in my wall. i have a phone splitter outlet, 1st outlet for direct connect to my router/dsl box, and the other outlet to connect their dsl filter to my telephone.

also, they actually fixed my phone today. didn't have to come into my apt. it turned out to be a box/console on a pole in another street had failed. i guess it carries the voice line, hence interneting-only service i was getting at the time of this discussion.

but now have both and am happy again

[usually_quiet]

also, they actually fixed my phone today. didn't have to come into my apt. it turned out to be a box/console on a pole in another street had failed. i guess it carries the voice line, hence interneting-only service i was getting at the time of this discussion.

but now have both and am happy again

I'm glad both services are working for you, but for your own sake make preparations for when Verizon curtails them. They are serious about eliminating their copper network completely. Some Verizon service areas using mainly copper lines where Verizon does not plan to expand FIOS have been sold off to smaller telephone companies, while others are being switched to wireless to wired adapters for their corded and cordless phones.

Your telephone and DSL service both share the same physical wires, although DSL utilizes different frequencies than voice. That is why you need to install a for filter for the split to your phone, to keep the DSL frequencies from being sent to your phone where they might cause noise.