Re: Local ISP's v.s. National ISP's

In article <977029642.274501_at_news.bluegrass.net>, Jon Yarden <jyardenNOSPAM_at_bluegrass.net> wrote:
>
>I am surprised at the negativity and apathy people have towards buying DSL
>service from local ISP's rather than large national DSL ISPs (Telocity,
>FlashCom, Speakeasy, etc.). Knowing that the local ISP does not have the
>economies of scale to offer $39.95 DSL service, is price all that seems to
>matter to people when getting DSL?

Good point. Many of us _are_ willing to pay more for quality service and we also realize that $39.95 is an impossibly low price for anyone who actually provides decent service.

I am normally a big fan of "local" ISPs and have never used any of the national dialup providers.

However, the issue with DSL is that most of the so-called "local" providers are really just re-selling capacity from other providers. The problem with this is twofold: first, the price goes up, and second, the support isn't any better and, in fact ,can be worse, since the users are now one step removed from the company which is actually providing the service. If I could deal with a local company that actually provided its own DSL service, however, I would jump at the chance to do so. Maybe if I lived in a larger town, I would have that chance. For now, though, I'm in a small town where all of the "local" DSL providers are just resellers, anyway, who don't actually provide the service themselves... Received on Sun Dec 17 2000 - 03:26:03 PST