Qwest
Spirit of Service
This
website is to help those like myself who are trying to get some straight answers
about Qwest Spirit of Service. My reasons are to save those the time trouble
who are new to the frustration they are experiencing with Internet issues regarding
Broadband options or the lack of them. It is also my way of informing the
public that not only is Qwest Spirit of Service merely a slogan but if their is
any spirit to do anything, it has been in the spirit of the telecoms to defraud
you and everyone else in this country.
Having said that, let me also add that while you are not alone in your discontent, they are not alone in their effort to continue stealing your money and the future of America's standing in the world of technology and education.
I sound like a fanatic who is just whining that I can't get my porn, warez, or music mpeg's as fast as people living in the city who already have broadband you think?
If only it was that trivial but the fact is I have found out just what little chances we have in making a difference in this country anymore. To put it it bluntly,, I am at the point where If I had the means, I would move to Australia or Canada as I am done feeling like an American. I feel more like a victim where everyone in Government and Business has taken this Nation apart piece by piece and I am just prey . Eight years of the Bush administrations failed foreign AND failed domestic policy in addition to big Corporations whose greed has plundered the pensions of so many and derailed what could have been this country's lead in so many areas of technology and education. Just getting to the bottom of this issue would have cost me so much more in the way of time and travel had it not been for the internet. The world wide web has become more and more an avenue for rich information and resources for the fortunate few. How to videos or step by step videos on how to make virtually anything abound on websites hosting such rich content from "YouTube" to Google's own website. They can range in size from a megabyte to several hundred megabytes and more. They are usually downloaded in streaming video format and seen without breaks or buffering by anyone on a faster connection while those in rural areas or areas still without broadband just have to pass them by as too slow to see.
What about Satellite?
I will guarantee you that if you ask ANYONE why they are using Satellite for internet, they will tell you it was the only choice they had moreover it is the last choice you or anyone else would want for faster speeds on the internet.
Satellite knows this and is why they charge so much for so little. They have you by the cahonies so to speak and they know it. To go into more detail, since this is one of the many alternatives I have researched I will give you the reasons you might want to try it if you have no other alternative but for me,, it just isn't worth the money.
The pricing is outrageous especially considering
all the flaws. They are just taking advantage of people that have no other broadband
choices.
Pricing, base package:
Hughes net: $400 upfront fee + $79.99/month 700 kbps* down
Wild Blue: $330 upfront fee + $69.95/month 512 kbps* down
Gaming? Forget about it! I'm not the best FPS gamer to begin with, I don't need
another hindrance of being seconds behind everyone else, if I can even connect.
Ping:
Hughes Net: 1000ms+/-
Wild Blue: 700ms+/-
Alright after years of waiting I've finally got broadband. Now to download some
long needed updates, movies from netflix, some music from itunes, some games from
gametap and maybe try a Linux distro or 10. Not so fast, I've been capped! I'm
back down to dial-up speeds. Could be for a day, could be for a month. It depends
on the policy.
Fair Access Policy, Cap, Ball breaker:
Hughes Net: 200 MB per 24hrs
Wild Blue: 7500 MB per Month
So, what do satellite ISPs have to offer? Faster surfing?
Maybe, it depends on the site and the content as many video sites depending on the format may come in then buffer every few milliseconds. That doesn't seem very long but it IS aggravating nevertheless especially when you consider you are paying as much as three times what cable or copper offer. As for FPS Gaming, skype or VoiP forget about it. It simply won't work unless you like your conversations to come out sounding like you are on a HAM Radio.
So Back to Qwest
It is quite obvious to the casual observer that Qwest seems to think they are doing people a favor and that customers are such a bother that they give it back to us through a gauntlet of telephonic politics and high tech red tape. Just to finally get a person with an actual heartbeat takes twenty minuets on average. Then, that person will give you another department that you are to assume is the RIGHT ONE. As we all find out sooner then later, it is one of many where not only do they NOT connect you leaving you a another number to call yet another customer service person who can't answer typical questions about when if ever you will have the broadband service promised to us by President George Bush.
"What
we're interested in is to make sure broadband technology is available in
every corner of America by the year 2007. I mean, all over the nation is
what we're interested in. (Applause.) … On a per capita basis, America ranks
10th amongst the industrialized world. That's not good enough. We don't
like to be ranked 10th in anything. The
goal is to be ranked 1st when it comes to per capita use of broadband technology.
It's in our nation's interest. It's good for our economy. (Applause.) The
spread of broadband will not only help industry, it'll help the quality
of life of our citizens.
They tell me they have never heard of such a promise
and that Qwest is under no obligation to provide me anything more then a phone line
capable of carrying voice data. As for when I could ever get Broadband internet,
they could not even give me a ball park estimate within a five year time frame IF
EVER! So since then, I have gone on a mission of sorts to learn
all I can about "Net Neutrality, WiFi, Broadband, Cable, the Telecom industry in
general. I wanted to know why the most powerful country in the world
with the strongest economy and most modern technology couldn't service me with anything
better then a 33k connection speed to the internet. When I called the tech rep asked me to hang up
and he would call me back and as I waited about two minuets I answered the promised
call. He asked, "Can you hear me" I said "yes I can" he followed
with "test complete" and told me nothing was wrong. I said as anyone
would, "are you being a smart ass" ? He assured me he wasn't and that was all the help
he need to give me. When I said I may as well be talking on two tin cans and
some string. His response,,, Don't tempt them! How could anyone get away with pulling this stunt
on a paying customer without the arrogance of Qwest's "whatcha gonna do about it"
attitude. So I went on a research mission What I found out will astound you if you haven't
been through what many of us forgotten Americans are thought of by Corporations
like COX CABLE and Qwest. My journey has been an arduous fact finding mission
from my first calls to request the service over nine years ago to present.
Questions from asking when if ever went un-answered as I was obviously put on terminal
hold. If I can't have it,, then when? They continue to say
they are always opening up new areas for DSL and we pay for that advertising too.
Yes I have seen the so called introductory offers to the service in my mail box.
What I DON'T understand is why they spend so much money delivering mass mailed flyers
to entire zip code areas they don't service now and have no intention of servicing.
Cox Cable does the same thing and YOU AND I PAY FOR IT. With the help of my Father who is a Retired Chief
Investigator for the Illinois A.G. Office now working as a volunteer for Arizona's
A.G., in consumer fraud I was able to take my problem straight to the Governor to
get assistance in addition to the Arizona Attorney General. You would think at the very least I would get
some answers right? No and of this writing, I am still having
no faster a connection then 37k . I had written letters suggesting the benefits
to servicing my area would have going door to door with a neighbor getting signatures
of everyone living here stating that they too wanted the service. Qwest wouldn't so much as say "don't call us,
we'll call you." It seems the FCC has been cheating about this
issue also as they fudge numbers making it look like Americas standing in broadband
internet penetration is looking better so they don't have to do their job forcing
Qwest to do theirs. The FCC has been called out
repeatedly by the GAO for
fudging
the numbers on broadband penetration in the US,
so it's no surprise at all to hear they're doing it again with the latest
report. They're still using the highly questionable (and often questioned)
method of assuming that if a single household in a zip code can be served
by a broadband provider, then all houses can be served by that provider.
Tell that to the folks sitting smack dab in the middle of Silicon Valley,
but who
can't get DSL from AT&T. They also define
broadband as anything over 200 kbit/s, which is increasingly not really
broadband these days. However, even worse, is that they're hiding the
growth of broadband connections, by
suddenly lumping in cellular broadband accounts --
which seems quite a bit unfair, since the companies
providing such services, such as Verizon Wireless, are quite clear that
the service
is not
to be used as a DSL replacement. Hell, it's
barely supposed to be used at all (despite the big "unlimited" claims in
their ads). Rather, mobile broadband is only allowed for very limited
applications (no video, no streaming, no downloads, no VoIP, etc.), and
the providers are quick to cut you off if you violate any of their
unstated rules. It seems a bit unfair to lump that in as a full
"connection," but apparently that's the only way the FCC can convince
people that broadband growth rates in the US are as high as they had hoped
http://techdirt.com/articles/20070205/165735.shtml#comments Why must a people be forced to sue Qwest for what
the Telecommunications Act of 1996 say's is legally ours. That was my first
thought as I learned of the coop
subscriber network at ruby ridge. As you read the story, you see Qwest fighting
them at every turn and losing every law suit and why? They lose because they
have no legal leg to stand on and twelve ranchers who took them on and beat them,
have proven once again that rural areas not only want broadband too, are willing
to pay for it, not only that but it is OUR RIGHT TO HAVE IT! It isn't that there is just an envy over those
that have broadband as I have marveled over the difference my fathers internet connection
has. The point is that with the entire country "thinking" we are all getting
faster connection speeds, average websites are adding richer content too.
Flash animations, slow loading gif images, streaming video and various types of
rich content are all over the web these days. Unless you have DSL, or Cable
connections you may as well have a "KEEP OUT" sign much like those online games
that also kick you off the game because you don't have a fast enough connection
to participate. I have seen many arguments regarding rich content and most
I laugh at when those saying no one will make websites so slow to load simply just
don't know what they are talking about.
It is just an idea or opinion I have but I believe the biggest
competition Television might have isn't the other networks or cable TV but that
which we spend time researching, reading, listening to or viewing on the internet. I know for me, the computer is numero uno if I
was given a choice between the two, television doesn't even come close . The
Television News Networks have figured this out and are at a loss as to what to do
about competing with Blogs, various News Forums where people get online to get there
News. The telephone "POTS" internet service is OBSOLETE as is the copper
wire being used to communicate voice messages let alone web content. We have
cell and Voip , even cable competing with what is an antiquated medium for communicating
web content on 56k connection speeds. Using "Plane Old Telephone Service" simply just
doesn't cut it anymore but if you are like me, on a dial-up connection, you know
as well as I do the frustration and utter hopeless feeling you get trying to get
anything done about it. You won't get any sympathy from Americans that are
in the city moreover they seem to think it is what we get for living in rural areas
and deserve to be shut out. I got news for them too, as many have mentioned
on the myriad of complaint forums where millions of disgruntled Telecom customers
are asked by city dwellers, "why should we pay for your DSL"
I have read many posts like that with words to
that effect and many more regarding "Net Neutrality". The debate in congress
and the Senate was concluded with the Republicans voting it down. What concerns
me is that senior Senators like Ted Stevens of Alaska are shaping the future of
our internet when it is quite obvious they don't even know the current technical
vernacular in terms of how the internet works. Listen to the speech Mr. Stevens
gave and I am sure you or your kids will agree, this guy is an idiot.
One would think it a scandalous bit disingenuous
of Mr. Stevens to speak on behalf of his constituents when his biggest contributors
are the
Telecoms lobby Here is an editorial by the Arizona
Republic. "Mr. and Ms. Consumer are starting
to demand a lot from their Internet. They want on-demand movies. Voice-over-Internet
telephone service. Streaming live video. And, very soon no doubt, a lot of
data-rich services that we haven't even heard of yet. Those sorts of services
will require Internet providers - like, yes, the telecoms and the cable firms
- to invest enormously in expanding the pathways for that coming flood of
data. If we want movies (and we do) and if we want streaming video (and we
do), then someone must pay for the huge infrastructure improvements necessary
to deliver those innovative services into our offices and homes. Government-enforced
"net neutrality" would stifle that innovation. It would temper the consumer-driven
imperative to make the Internet work faster and better."
- "'Net Neutrality' Would Stifle Innovation,"
editorial, ARIZONA REPUBLIC, June 26, 2006 What most of these articles
fail to realize is that WE HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE! Not only that but WE CONTINUE TO PAY FOR IT IN
HIDDEN FEES AND SURCHARGES.
President George W. Bush,
June 24, 2004"
FCC Continues To Fudge Broadband Numbers
from the nice-try-there dept
http://media.publicknowledge.org/stevens-on-nn.mp3
In a recent televised video on PBS, Bill Moyers Journal on Net Neutrality the question is asked whether or not we can trust the Telecoms for attempting to control the internet. It is my opinion they have already proven they can't be trusted moreover I believe the entire reason they challenge Net Neutrality in the first place is JUST THAT.
They want to control it.
Knowing the FCC has not done a damn thing for us in enforcing the laws and agreements or promises they have broken already, I see this as nothing more but a way for them to hide even more money that seems to just disappear without punishment. When the FCC lies about broadband penetration I often wonder are they doing that to cover their ass or are they getting a pay off? All I know is none of that money seems to build any of that infrastructure in my neck of the woods in over nine and a half years and it isn't like I live out in the boonies either.
For ten months they held up those Ranchers in litigation that they had no business even fighting. As far as I am concerned, they lost that law suit over the frivolity and arrogance they have that enrages the very customers they depend on for prophets. They do it because they enjoy a monopoly of sorts that has evolved into a spirit of service called "whatcha gonna do about it" because they don't have to do a damn thing this side of a lawsuit. Suing them isn't easy even when they lose to the same players over and over as you see that they fought over a few hundred feet of copper wire they weren't even using when FINALLY it could be used for something.
My intention for writing this should be obvious, when it comes to Qwest and their "Spirit of Service" ,, if you are getting what you want it isn't because they care about you. It is most likely you are just fortunate and that is all.
God help you if you have a problem or would want 21st century service that should be considered Basic Service regarding Broadband Internet. As the Ruby Ridge Ranchers discovered,, Qwest's spirit of service was more about fighting those that want it, rather then Offering it to those that have to fight them to get it. Qwest epitomizes why Americans are so cynical about Corporate America and the Politics of Government.
That leaves us with a choice about Phone Service and where anyone reading this for the reasons stated above must seriously consider that even if a cell costs a little more,,
Does Qwest deserve your business? Do they fight to get it to you, or fight you from getting it?
Have you ever been given a straight answer from Qwest about any questions regarding when you will get the only service they have that appeals to you? They aren't the only game in town when it comes to having a phone service.
When I first started writing about the gap between those having broadband internet and those who can't have it because they can't get it, I predicted some of the problems our nation would have to face. The paragraphs below seem to indicate that I was right as a recent report proves on the costs of getting further behind in broadband penetration in the U.S.
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"If the government continues to talk about education in this country while continuing to make it harder and harder to get that education then they must realize we cannot continue ripping off Americans while trying to sustain an economy with a populations tax base supported by ditch diggers. WAKE UP AMERICA! If there is ever a study done on statistics about such disparities between these areas, I would want this to stand as the first direction anyone should look as to who they should blame. Why our Government has not done anything about Rural Americans that will be in the dark about so much that is going on will be the reason for the following, mark my words. 1) Rural Area kids having lower SAT scores without the same advantages City children have using the information super highway for homework, research etc. 2) Rural Area candidates for computer related Jobs will be at a serious disadvantage to City people with better access to the internet. 3) Rural area programmers will be forced to leave the industry or move because of the demand for rich content in newer applications that are just too impractical to upload. I realize that Qwest's CEO has his head too far up his colon to see the ramifications that anyone with an iota of foresight already reading this,, is thinking "yeah that makes sense" Qwest I wish you and your greed driven, self serving, apathetic, arrogant company, all the worst the world has to offer. Whether it is by some act of congress or a class action suit by a benevolent group of patriotic lawyers or by websites like mine that people get informed of who you REALLY ARE. Your company is nothing but a blood sucking pariah whose greed will sap this country of its very future That isn't my adolescent immaturity wishing that on someone,, it is just a REAL POSSIBILITY. Shame on you Qwest, for you have no idea what kind of damage you cause people you have geographically discriminated against. If I can persuade anyone to choose some other service over you, it will be the best investment in what time I use in filling that void that you are to blame for as I am quite willing to pay for my DSL as anyone else you sell it too. There are many more like me and we will remember you and how you forgot about us. COUNT ON IT." - Kent Perry, AZ.
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I hate to say I told you so but,,,
Here is that report as of Oct 2007
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Costs of Failure to Achieve President's Goal of Universal Broadband by 2007 are "Staggering," Says New Report Hundreds of Billions of Dollars of Economic Growth and Over a Million Jobs WASHINGTON, October 10, 2007: The failure to achieve President Bush's 2004 goal of universal broadband access to the Internet "in every corner of America by the year 2007" has cost our nation hundreds of billions of dollars in added economic development and over a million newly-created high-paying jobs, according to a report by the nonprofit Center for Creative Voices in Media released today at the Brookings Institution. The Case for Universal Broadband in America: Now! finds that wide swaths of America have no broadband at all, or only "fraudband" that is so slow, unreliable, expensive and/or consumer-unfriendly that it cannot bring Americans the benefits of universal broadband that President Bush cited back in 2004, including:
• Increased Homeland Security and Public Safety • Better Health Care at Lower Cost • Enhanced Educational Opportunities • Greater Citizen Participation in Government and Communities • More Access to – and Participation in – Journalism, Culture and Entertainment. "Despite the President's 2004 call for 'Full Speed Ahead' deployment of universal broadband in America by 2007, Washington has moved at 'No Speed Nowhere,'" said Jonathan Rintels, Executive Director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media. "Since 2004, America has actually fallen in the global rankings in per capita use of broadband technology from The 1st to 10th in 2004 to 15th 2006 and 16th 2007. Why is it every time WE create something great, are the best or have the best, we let Government and Corporate Greed KILL IT. The report goes on to say the economic, social and cultural costs of this failure to deploy broadband to all Americans are staggering." The report details the overwhelming evidence that fast, affordable and reliable broadband access to the Internet often makes the difference between success and failure. This wouldn't be seen as anything to take serious if other countries weren't all ready using the Internet in ways the average American isn't even aware of. Here are examples of how it can make or break a business
• Failure. The Longaberger Company, one of the largest privately held companies in America, built its business selling baskets and crafts produced in its home state of Ohio, where it is a major employer and civic booster. But it was forced to locate its new data center in another state because fast, reliable, and affordable broadband did not exist in the northeast Ohio area where the company is headquartered. • Success. A regional effort to bring fast, reliable, affordable broadband to rural southwest Virginia has spurred the creation of so many high paying "knowledge-worker" jobs that to avoid a labor shortage, the state has established a "Return to Roots" program to lure back area natives who left before broadband arrived. • Success. In Japan, fast broadband enables pathologists to use high-definition video and remote-controlled microscopes to examine tissue samples from patients living in areas without access to major hospitals. • Failure. Japan has broadband that is eight to thirty times faster than the average speed in America. Here in the U.S., many innovative and cost-saving Internet-based applications are not available because broadband in so many sections of the country is too slow, costly and/or unreliable. • Success – If We Act Now! Researchers project that deployment of fast, reliable and affordable broadband across America could generate $500 billion a year in added economic development, and expand U.S. employment by an estimated 1.2 million new and permanent jobs. The bottom line is that in 2007, America is not even close to deploying fast, reliable and affordable broadband to all its citizens. Just getting caught up will take years and in that time we may never get caught up. The rate of Technology doubles too fast and the rate of it doubling is even faster. This will cost America in ways we will regret for a very long long time. Our federal government must undertake a concerted national effort to deploy universal, net-neutral broadband comparable to that which deployed telephone and electric service and built a vast network of superhighways. The economic, social and cultural benefits to all Americans of this investment will vastly outweigh its costs. Our nation will stop falling farther behind our international competitors, secure our leadership in global technology, enhance our homeland security and public safety, and provide all of our citizens with the opportunity to participate in the new, global, networked 21st Century world. In 2006, leading CEO and policy innovators launched the Horizon Project to address critical economic and trade policy issues in America. "From our work on Horizon, my colleagues and I are very aware of how America's deficiency in broadband deployment is costing our economy hundreds of billions of dollars in economic growth and over a million high-quality jobs," said Leo Hindery, Jr., chair of Horizon. "The Center for Creative Voices in Media has now done a marvelous job of making the case that universal, net-neutral broadband must become an immediate national priority." Now that all came true but not only that but MORE lawsuits and MORE attention to this issue is being given all the time. I am a HUGE fan of Teletruth and applaud what they are doing to get the telecoms to be above board and honest. Teletruth has done a superb job of exposing the telecoms for the swindlers they are and I hope they keep up the good work. I want to personally thank Tom Allibone, tom@teletruth.org and Bruce Kushnick bruce@teletruth.org 1-800-780-1939 for the work they have done for so many in this country http://www.teletruth.org/
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If Qwest wants to impress anyone with the idea that they go out of there way to service customers,, then that's where they should start, by actually practicing in service what they preach in their sales pitch. THEY SAY THEY GO OUT OF THEIR WAY to service us when Coming Out My Way IS not only out of their way, it is OUT OF THE QUESTION! Coming out MY way, YOUR way and the Ranchers at Ruby Ridge's way. The places where they, like me, are just not profitable enough. Qwest like all the other telecoms, continues to fudge numbers and statistics to put up false claims they are increasing broadband penetration and that people like myself are merely crying about not being able to afford it as the real reason I don't have it. The fact is, no matter what side of the fence you may be on regarding Net Neutrality and whether or not I can afford something we already pay for the bottom line is I don't have it because they CAN'T SELL SOMETHING THEY HAVEN'T GOT SO WHY NOT STOP THEM FROM STEALING ANOTHER DIME.
Waiting to see whether or not we need Net Neutrality laws protected from the
telecoms wanting to control the internet should be as obvious as the laws we
have to keep people from walking around naked.
Not because you would but INCASE you do.
Don't talk to me about trusting them, when what we need to do,,
is start busting them
- Kent Perry, AZ