So ATT takes over SBC and raises rates!

[sooner n houston]

I was at my parents house this weekend, in Tulsa, and they got a notice from ATT that they had till april 1, nice choice of dates huh, to change plans. ATT is discontinuing the plan my folks had with SBC which was basically $50 per month for phone service and long distance. I have (had) the same plan in the Houston area. So now it is time to find a new plan.
Called COX in Tulsa. They offer basically the same plan SBC had for $40 per month. Any better plans out there?
I hate ATT and would have changed plans anyway just to get out from under them. Now I will do it even sooner.

Again anyone have suggestions on land line service? TIA! :D

[Widescreen]

I don't understand all the telecomm consolidation. Wasn't ATT broken up once already? Geez.

I use Comcast cable Internet with Vonage. Works great but does have some drawbacks from conventional landlines. But it's cheaper than landline.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

I don't understand all the telecomm consolidation. Wasn't ATT broken up once already? Geez.

I use Comcast cable Internet with Vonage. Works great but does have some drawbacks from conventional landlines. But it's cheaper than landline.

man, its just the opposite in seattle. verizon land + dsl is $40. cable modem is $50/month alone.

[jeremy885]

Had that happen to me when they took over SBCHE (home entertainment) last month. They raised my bill 4% due to "higher channel costs".

[sooner n houston]

I don't understand all the telecomm consolidation. Wasn't ATT broken up once already? Geez.

I use Comcast cable Internet with Vonage. Works great but does have some drawbacks from conventional landlines. But it's cheaper than landline.

What are the drawbacks? I need to know so I can make better choices. TIA!

[OUstudent4life]

Actually, SBC bought AT&T, and figured out that people liked the AT&T brand name better than SBC.

But that's a whole other discussion.

[Widescreen]

What are the drawbacks? I need to know so I can make better choices. TIA!
e911 may not be available and if the power goes down, you'll likely lose phone service. Otherwise, it has more features than I could afford to pay SBC.

[Stoop Dawg]

man, its just the opposite in seattle. verizon land + dsl is $40. cable modem is $50/month alone.

BellSouth is going down. You can bet Verizon won't be far behind. Enjoy your low rates while you can, the monopoly is coming......

[jrsooner]

e911 may not be available and if the power goes down, you'll likely lose phone service. Otherwise, it has more features than I could afford to pay SBC.Another Vonage person here....Basically what Widescreen said. You have to fill out a notice with your address and all for their "911" alternate service right now. Vonage states that they are going to be rolling out the e911 service soon. We love it right now. We are in an area of Katy that a small phone gestapo company has a monopoly on us. We told them to take a hike and went with Vonage. Our phone bill was cut in 1/2!

[SoonerBorn68]

Ding dong the witch is dead...at least for me. I told SBC they could shove my home phone straight up their...well, I am no longer stuck with a land line.

[Stoop Dawg]

The FCC has mandated that VoIP providers have E911 capabilities by April 1st, I believe. So that won't be an issue in the near future.

Service quality, however, may be. Several VoIP providers have accused the huge monopolies of intentionally dropping their packets in order to lower the service quality of the competition. Wouldn't surprise me.