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Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Are you answering the cable phone call?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This summer Charter Communications became the Paul Revere of Lawrenceville.
“The new phone service is coming!”
“The new phone service is coming!”
This message rang through the streets of Lawrenceville and surrounding Gwinnett cities when Charter, one of four exclusive Gwinnett cable providers, added telephone to its cable and internet residential service bundle.
During the last two months, Charter ads blasted across televisions in Lawrenceville living rooms. Cable boxes overflowed with service-selling text messages. Inconvenient computer-generated phone calls begged current Gwinnett subscribers to make the switch now.
What’s not mentioned in all these advertisements is that bad weather could leave you without a phone. That’s right, the one downfall of cable-driven phone service is a Mother Nature-driven downpour.
Like the weekend before last when thunderstorms rolled into Lawrenceville causing Charter cable and internet service to evaporate for 24 hours. No flipping to the Weather Channel for an extended forecast. No sending “S.O.S. I’m bored!” email messages. Plus anyone already using Charter telephone service sat at home on a cell phone screaming, “Can you hear me now?”
I’m all for saving money though. Signing up for Charter telephone would save me about $25 per month since it includes free long distance to 48 states (plus Canada and Puerto Rico). Rates are $39.99 plus tax and the usual universal junk fees ($29.99 for existing customers for the first three months). I’ll get the same BellSouth features like caller ID, call waiting and speed dial, and Star 69 for whenever I need to ring back a phone cranker.
Looks like BellSouth is no longer the ringmaster of telecommunications. Competition from cellular, cable and internet providers has made long distance calling a free-for-all.
Have you hung up on traditional phone service to save money? Or are you particular about which company provides your dial tone?
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