They know how to correct the problem. I guess that's the thing that ticks me off. The culprit turned out to be new network equipment that the company had just installed in his neighborhood. That equipment no longer supported his high-speed modem. But switching to ISDN, a troubled technology, would effectively triple his monthly phone costs.
Consumer advocates say it's time for a change.
Some say the Bells are behaving like monopolies. Others are taking a more collaborative approach. Following workshops held over the last three weeks, the state utility commission of Washington is looking into mandating a minimum 28.8 Kbps speed limit on the state's phone lines. The modem performance issue emerged unexpectedly when the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission sought to collect public comment on universal voice service. When asked about Coy's problem, Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America alleged that Sprint likely throttled back his connection to cut costs.