ATT final chapters? Maybe not. DSL reconsidered

I got my first bill from ATT. It was for $103.17! WHAT? Back on the phone, wait, hold, "This department can't help you. We have to get billing on the phone." geez.

Bottom line, they never cancelled the DSL portion of my bill. She made the adjustments, applied my $25 "we screwed up" credit, and I paid her $40.47.

She asked why I canceled DSL. I told her because I was worried about speed and because I couldn't get web space. I explained I tried to find that out one day, spent two hours on the phone, went through 6 departments and nobody knew, said there was no web space for a webpage.

She said she has the elete plan that I was going to get and because she is close to the terminal or whatever it is, she gets 11 MB speed Internet connection, even though they say 6 MB. She said I was the same distance as she is, and that I should get the same as she does. Wow! If that's right, that's really some smokin' speed! "Okay. Then what about the web page space?"

She put me on hold, came back, asked me to hold again, she wanted to verify and be absolutely sure, came back and said I would get 20 GB webspace! "That cannot be right," I said. You mean, 20 MB?"

"No," she says. "20 GB. I'm sure. I doublechecked. ATT wants you to be able to have a nice webpage!" Holy cow!!!

I really do not believe this!! But I decided to once again sign up. I will get my modem Monday. No techs this time. I can do it myself. She also explained I will not have to use my Linksys router for my laptop, that their modem will also serve as the wireless. That's a nice plus. They also provide free dial-up for emergencies.

I will have to pay about $100 for the modem, but it will be mine. I will get $50 back, but it might take a few weeks. I'll also get 3 months of Internet free. However, she says, the way that works is you pay for those months, then the 4th month you get the money back. I'll also get $50 back for the phone, but that, too, will take about 3 or 4 months! Kinda pathetic they make you wait so long, but whatever.

I do have to sign a contract for one year. However, I have 30 days to decide with no penalties. I can keep Roadrunner and just unplug/plug the prospective modems for comparison until I decide for sure which is better before I disconnect one or the other.

The DSL is a little cheaper than Roadrunner, but the ATT phone is more than Roadrunner. Between the two, I think my bill will be about the same, maybe $5 more or something. It shouldn't be much difference.

If she's right -- 11 MB speed and 20 GB webspace ----- well, we shall see!! I'll give it a chance. The modem should be here Monday, or possibly Tuesday.