The time has finally come for my household to upgrade to broadband. I know, it's almost shameful from someone in my field, a Web programmer, to have dialup at home. While just about anyone else I know has been on broadband for years, I am just beginning to toe in to the speedy connection.
Why have I waited so long to make the move? The simple answer is finances. For years I explained away my reluctance to switch as lack of availability in my wooded area. But that excuse has been a lame one for over a year or two now. I have had a choice of Cable or DSL for a long time, but to pay nearly $50 per month for the service has been out of the question. It's not that I couldn't afford the outrageous prices, it's the ethical question of allowing myself to be fleeced by the big business. And so I was determined not to be dazzled by broadband so much that it would blind me to the thievery that has been going on in this business.
Well, mo more. When my local phone company started to offer DSL at prices on par with dialup (around $20 per month), I decided that the time was finally right to jump in. I dropped my basic Cable TV service completely (we haven't watched TV in my home for over six months now anyways), and with the money saved, I could pay for the fairly priced DSL service.
The basic DSL service is supposed to arrive next week and usher my home into the era of broadband. The jury is still out on whether I'm going to like it. We'll see if it'll make for happier online experience. The other unknown is whether the price will rise after the one-year term is completed.
Meanwhile I am delighted to hear that google has invested a decent sum in a company that is involved in Internet-over-powerline technologies. The added competition should be music to the ears of throngs of broadband users who've been shackled by their ISP's for so many years. Free broadband may still be a pipe dream. I'm fine with cheap broadband for now.
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