One Man's Quest for $10 DSL: Revolutions

Update: 11:59 AM on 7/13/2007 - My wife confirmed receipt and delivery of the AT&T service and the DSL modem. She's hooking it up now, and she says it's working. As Engadget said... "Who has the last laugh now?" muahahaa!

Okay, this is the final chapter of the process, as I now have it ordered. Whether it will work is another story, but we'll talk about that once the activation date for the DSL has passed. For the other parts of the story, look here:

My Quest for $10 DSL (All Parts)

4:28: Went back to the web form like yesterday.
4:29: Called the customer support number, since the system requires me to enter a customer verification number I don't seem to have yet.

Enter your 3-digit
customer code, which
can be found in the
top corner of your bill.

Since I don't have a bill yet, I can't enter it. Hopefully AT&T will allow me to get it over the phone.
4:47: CSR Libby informed me that I need to set up my AT&T online account to get through the order form. To get this account, I need the three digit code from my phone bill, which I won't get until August. She can get fired for giving it to me over the phone, apparently, but the billing department @ (1800-585-7928) might be able to help me somehow.
4:53: Hold music playing jazz version of "Hey Jude"
4:55: Still on hold. Is it just me or is it absolutely ridiculous how disorganised this company is? I have lost count at this point how many different webforms and 800 numbers I've had to call. Maybe I'll tally it up when I'm all done.
5:01: The nice lady in billing gave me my code - notice I mentioned nothing about the $10 DSL, and I got much better service - I'm definitely noticing a trend here. That, and my three digit code... I won't say what it is, but I will say it's stupidly easy. I should have guessed it. We're talkin' Space Balls easy.
5:03: Going back to the web form. Again.
5:05: Ooooh, low blow. They make you pay for the router and then mail in a rebate, thus getting around the 'free' requirement in the merger agreement. I wonder if that's legal?
5:06: Selecting self install. Technician install is $200. Ouch. Self install is free.
5:07: My first available activation date is July 16th. A little long on the activation date, methinks, but then I suppose beggars can't be choosers.
5:08: Here's the service TOS on the DSL

I agree to maintain AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet (Downstream speeds up to 768 Kbps/Upstream speeds up to 128 Kbps) or a higher speed, for twelve (12) months from the date of activation. I understand that this is a special offer for customers who order online and who have not previously subscribed to AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet (DSL) from AT&T. AT&T reserves the right to rerate to the appropriate monthly rate if this information is found to be false.

AT&T Yahoo! High speed is subject to the terms and conditions of the AT&T Yahoo! Internet Service Agreement ("Service Agreement"), provided at the time of service registration and activation. If I terminate my AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet, or if service is terminated for violation of the Service Agreement, prior to the expiration of twelve (12) months from the activation date, I understand I will be charged a $50 termination fee that represents a portion of the network activation and setup costs foregone as a result of such termination.

I acknowledge that I have read the foregoing term agreement, and I agree to the terms and conditions thereof, including, but not limited to, the $50 early termination fee.

5:10: I chose the $79.99 router (with mail in rebate making it free) because of it's wireless capabilities. There was a $49.99 router available as well (also with full mail in rebate making it free). They also charged the $10.00 for the first month, but I didn't need to pay for it up front - it is marked as "Bill to my account." There was also a non-refundable $12.95 charge for UPS delivery.

So, at 5:13 PM CST on Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 - I'm finally done getting this. Of course it's not all activated yet, and still remains to be untested, and they could also 'forget' to include the rebate coupon or information, and I could get stuck with a recurring contract for a year with AT&T over something that will end up not working.

But that's assuming the worst. Assuming the best out of all this, if you play your cards right, here's what you have to do to get yourself set up with the same thing I have in the shortest amount of time possible (learning from my trial and error).

How to get $10 $18 DSL:

1. Set aside $50.00 for activation of your phone service, and have handy by the end of the billing cycle another $95.00 or so for the DSL activation and modem fees.
2. Go to this web form and set up AT&T phone service.
1. Any time it asks you if you're poor, say yes.
2. Any time it asks you for a credit check, opt for driver license verification instead (unless your credit really sucks, and you really are poor).
3. Do not add any special services in the order process. Go with the metered local calling - remember, you're never going to use this phone ever. It's just for the DSL.
4. Don't have them come into your house to test stuff unless you're SURE they'll need to. It's $200 a pop every time they set foot in your house.
   
5. You'll end up with a $7.00 a month AT&T phone service with a $38.00 set up fee, and they'll make you prepay a total of $50.00 via credit/debit card.
3. Wait until your phone is activated. This shouldn't take more than a few days. I screwed up by starting on a Friday. You'll get better results if you start on a Monday.
4. After three or so business days have passed, call (1-800-585-7928) and ask to speak to the billing department. Have you're AT&T local phone number handy, as well as your home address.
1. Ask them for your three digit customer code.
   
2. Do not mention you're trying to get the $10 DSL - that always fouls things up with AT&T. Just say you're in a rush to get your code, and you haven't gotten a bill yet.
5. Go to ATT.com and create a web management account.
6. Go back to the SBC web form and sign up for your service. You don't need your credit card, everything gets billed to your phone account.
7. Voila! You now have cheap DSL service! Your monthly bill should be $18 a month for everything, according to the folks I've talked to over at AT&T. I won't know for sure till I get my first bill, however.
   

Still have questions? You been through this? Email me and we'll compare notes. This is a pretty exhaustive guide, and should get you through the process.

/rizzn

BTW: I'm selling podcast advertising on my show. Go here and bid on it via eBay.

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One Man's Quest for $10 DSL: Reloaded

In case you missed my live blog last week on ordering the alleged $10 DSL, I have found that it in fact exists and is theoretically possible to get. I'm well into hour five in terms of time spent trying to get it. Read here to see what brought me to this point, and pay attention to this page throughout the day while I work to see this through to completion.

3:20: Called (800-288-2020) to find out why they haven't installed my phone line yet. Learned from the automated system while I was on hold that you can't order an iPhone over the phone with AT&T.
3:24: For the industry leader in Voice Recognition systems, AT&T's VR really sucks.
3:27: Even though I picked the right department for checking the status of an order through the online prompts, I was given to a billing person, who tried to get me to hang up and call someone else. I went off on her like we were on Jerry Springer and she suddenly figured out how to transfer my call.
3:32: I apparently landed in the queue that tells you "Sorry about your luck." The message that repeats verbatim goes as such:

"Your call is very important to us, thank you for calling AT&T customer service. We're currently experiencing high call volumes and apologize for the inconvenience, please try your call again later today."

I'm not sure whether to be grateful that I don't have to listen to "I Want it That Way" repeat on the hold music anymore, or be irked that I just got ungraciously hung up on.
3:34: Decided to hang up and try using the web form to sign up for DSL. Maybe I'm activated enough to get it working.
3:28: Glory Hallelujah!

You selected Basic, but did you know that with our Express package you'll get... (marketing crap here) ...Yes, I want to order Express for $19.99 per month
No, continue with Basic for $10.00 per month

Gee... can you guess which one I picked?
3:40: Apparently I can't complete the order because my account is only sortof activated. Back to the phones. This time I called (866.602.4412), a number from the other activation email I got from signing up for phone service.
3:46: Posting what I have to the blog, and continuing to wait on hold. This is light jazz stuff, so it's doable.. better than the 70's hold music from last week.
3:52: Discovered a domain wide ASP error on rizzn.com - Fixed it. Doh! Still on hold.
3:59: Finally got someone on the phone. His name is Billy. He's pulling up my order data.
4:01: Apparently, I need to wait two more days before I order DSL - I need to circulate through the system or something. So look for my next update tomorrow or Thursday.

/rizzn

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