MediaOne dns problems

[Chris Janicki]

> The point is, they are creating an /artificial/ demand for premium
> services by being jackasses about the basic services.  Which they can
> afford to do because they are a monopoly.  But they're not making any
> friends in the bargain, and if they ever face real competition ... well,
> I know where my money will be spent.


I don't follow your logic... "basic" service is simply plugging in and 
surfing.  MediaOne does a kick-ass job at that, IMHO.  Running your own 
services is NOT basic.  That's a "premium" service.

In fact the cable company is actually being nice by not canceling your 
service for breach of contract. Instead they're enforcing the agreement 
by the friendliest means possible... providing near-perfect basic 
service, while annoying your unpaid premium usage attempts till you go 
away.

And they already have real competition (in some locations) from DSL... 
but the prices are nearly identical, so obviously no one is getting rich. 
 In fact, ISPs are folding due to the low prices versus 
deployment/service cost.  (e.g. NorthPoint.)  That tells me prices are 
rock bottom.  And cable companies are notorious for running in the red, 
so I don't see them price gouging either.

Don't get me wrong, I'm generally no fan of monopolies, but sometimes 
they can work to the public's advantage.  For example, they lease T1/DS3 
lines from the phone company and connect to Tier 1 Internet providers at 
rates we can't touch.  I actually investigated getting a T1 to my home.  
It would have cost $800/mo for the T1, and $400/mo for the ISP.  And a 
crappy 56kbs frame relay circuit was almost $800/mo total.  Instead, I'm 
getting 1.4Mb download rates from a $39/mo cable modem.  I'm thrilled!  
Hail to the buying power of the monopoly!

Besides all that, you get what you pay for...  If you want better options 
or service guarantees, they ARE available.  You just have to pay for 
them.  Would you prefer communism, where everything is free, and it all 
sucks?

Sorry, I'm not trying to pick a fight.  I just get tired of poor-me 
attitude that plagues America lately.  If you think you can do a better 
job, while actually making some honest profit, then go for it!... there 
are investors looking for you.

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