Qwest is going to MSN....

In My Humble Opinion
1

… the bastards (That’s my humble opinion, anyways).

Why companies are so gung-ho on the merger, acquiring, or otherwise disappearing thing is beyond me. Just recently, Qwest (Formerly USWest, formerly Northwestern Bell, etc., etc…) was getting good. I could connect and stay connected for long periods of time. Their E-mail service, while often crappy, was getting better. Usenet works fine.

But now-- because of somebody’s infinite (Gaufaw!!) and highly paid opinion-- they’ve decided to switch over the MSN.

Errrrrr… I don’t want this to be a pit thread. I don’t want this to be a pi…

Now what do I do?

I need to go through Qwest for the DSL line, but I don’t want MSN for the internet access part.

A quick search popped up about five hundred different providers, none of which I’d heard of before.

That’s not good.

I don’t want to do cable because I hate cable companies too.

I talk to friends and they say, “Huh? It’s changing? Oh well.”

I know there must be a number of people out there who use Qwest and have had this issue come up. What are you, or did you, choose?

As always, thanks!

2

Cnote,

Yes, US West does have to “provide the line” but you can try Earthlink, I use them for my dial up access (can’t get DSL in my neighborhood yet) and from looking at your profile, they offer service in your area. I have pretty good luck with their dial up, can’t see why they would be any different with a DSL line.

https://register.earthlink.net/cgi-bin/wsisa.dll/broadband/main.html

That is the sign up page but at least you can check it out, not sure if they include the line charge though, if US West does it that way, that’s pretty screwed up.

Hope this helps, and YES even though I am Microsoft trained I find their internet services to be inferior, even AOL is better than them, IMHO.

3

Thanks, I’ll check them out.

Right now I’m using the review section from DSL Reports as a starting point and a guide to what’s out there.

I know I’ve heard of Earthlink, but what I recall hearing about them isn’t good.

Now, I can’t refer to anything in particular, but haven’t they been getting railed on lately?

4

Cnote,

I am going off dial up experience so it’s hard to say what’s up with their DSL service and support.

If you go through the recent past and look for a thread on AOL in the Pit, you will find several people (myself included) that think that Earthlink is a decent company. I was flipping though their website and it looks like you get 20 hours of dial up service included in your account each month.

This would be good if you own a laptop and require access outside your home or office. Also, if your DSL line is freaking out, you can switch to your dial up (I’ve done it with my dad’s @home cable connection) and look up the status of your area before calling tech support.

Since you already have the equipment (assuming your contract is as such) they state you should be able to use the existing modem you have.

5

My advice is to find some local computer geeks and ask them who they use. I’m going to be using a small local company recommended by friends of mine in the know, as soon as I get hooked up (1 more week! WOO!).

6

Well, at home my family uses a local DSL provider. They have great service, and it’s afforadable (less than $30 a month.) I would recommened looking for a local provider if possible, if not, I say Earthlink, I’ve heard good things about them.

7

Did they just announce this?

I signed up for Qwest DSL about a month ago with MSN as the provider (as I had been told they had POP3/SMTP mail access). When I found out that MSN expected me to use web-based e-mail, I scoffed and canceled the MSN immediately (why, when they make Outlook, would Microsoft want me to use Web-based mail? Idiots!) - so I then signed up with US West (aka Qwest) for their ISP for a quick fix and am waiting for the arrival of my DSL modem, etc. Does this mean I will soon, like it or not, be part of MSN AGAIN? Should I call Qwest and cancel the US West account before they charge me?

I’ve heard that Front Range Internet in the Denver area is good - so I guess I might be giving them a call.

8

We also have Qwest and we decided to sign up with Juno.

Unfortunately, Qwest doesn’t have DSL lines in our neighborhood (ironically, there’s DSL 1/2 mile away).

The switch was announced some time ago, but it may be that because we were already subscribers that we knew about it.

9

Right. I doubt that Qwest is pushing the fact that they sold out to MSN in their sales literature right now. Because from the looks of it, Qwest will be losing some serious customers as a result of this stupid move.

Just looking around at the DLS Reports site, you can see the anger and outrage people are having over this switch–DSL Reports - Qwest Forum.

Again-- stupid, stupid, move Qwest.

Anyrate, I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, so the switch we’re undergoing now (Actually, it happens on January 21, 2001. Here’s the memo on the move-- Qwest Residential Notification) may not be affecting you just yet, super_head. Maybe you’ll luck out, I don’t know.

Since two people now have recommended Earthlink, I’ll check them out. But remember, I have to keep Qwest for the connection-- they’re the only game in town- and simply need an internet access provider.

Still, I’ll check them out. Thanks!

10

super_head We’ve used Front Range Internet for a while, since they bought Verinet, which we had had for a couple of years. Never had a problem with them, except when they were getting knocked offline by the Code Red worm. They have since upgraded their equipment. I’d recommend them to anyone in our neck of the woods. Here’s their homepage http://www.frii.com/

11

Cnote,

First off let me say “I LOVE YOU” – your inquiry about DSL made me call Qwest today to see if I qualify for DSL, and I do!!!

In talking to them, they still have regular Qwest DSL access, it’s a few dollars more a month but it’s month to month and not requiring a 12 month contract like with MSN…

Anyway, call Qwest and talk to them about your service, you are NOT required to use MSN.

12

I just called Qwest and if you’re a PC user with their qwest.net or uswest.net DSL service, you will be transitioned to MSN in January at the latest. This was confirmed to me by the representative and I had her cancel my pending qwest.net ISP order. So, let’s recap:

  1. First, Qwest gives me wrong info about MSN so I sign up with MSN as my ISP and Qwest providing DSL. Wait time: 10 business days

  2. I find out MSN doesn’t offer what I want, that Qwest guy was wrong, so I call to cancel. Qwest guy says “Hey, try Qwest.net as an ISP!” - I say “OK!” and the order is placed for the new modem and DSL service. Wait time: 10 business days

  3. I read SDMB and find out that Qwest.net will be MSN by January 2002. I call Qwest to check. My worst fears are confirmed. I’ve ended up going full circle into MSN Hell if I don’t take action now. I call Qwest and cancel Qwest.net and tell them I will find my own ISP now… expected wait time: 10 business days.

So, just to get a simple damn DSL connection, Qwest’s incompetence is keeping me waiting for 30 business days - that’s on the order of 40 calendar days. Yes, I’m so pleased they’ll be my local phone and DSL provider - what can they screw up next???

13

Thanks - my neighor recommends them as well. My only concern is their 20GB limit on monthly data transfer - anyone know how much data an online game like Unreal Tournament will transmit and receive per hour? I don’t. Such limits will influence my ISP decision.

Thanks!

14

I just have to add that trying to get my Qwest DSL line hooked up has been far and away the most horrific customer service experience I’ve ever had. Thus we learn why monopolies are Bad Things.

15

Just MHO, but I’ve had MSN dial-up for a couple of years now and I don’t have any problems with them. I also get my e-mail through them, so why they told you that you need to use a web based e-mail, I have no idea.

16

When I called MSN to ask about POP3 e-mail, they said that dial-up users who transitioned to MSN DSL would be able to keep their POP3 accounts, but that new users (like me) would be stuck with web-based e-mail - and they sell it like it’s some brilliant feature. Yes, fabulous, I can now check my e-mail from any internet-capable computer in the world but at the expense of speed, flexibility, and features. That’s quite the selling point, isn’t it? :frowning:

So, it looks like it might be Front Range Internet or possibly Mile High - the only thing I don’t like about FRI is the traffic quotas, which I imagine I might exceed with my online gaming.

17

First-

I feel your pain.

But get this- when I first moved into my current apartment, I called to get DSL. I’d checked with my neighbors and all that and everyone I talked to said it was available. I was excited, to say the least. I’d seen the speed difference between dial-up and DSL, and I wanted the DSL, baby!!

I called and was told that DSL was available in my area, but for some reason, not on my floor!!

I’m on the third floor of a three story apartment building and every floor but mine got DSL. You don’t know the pain and anguish I went through. It was something like four months later before they had the problem worked out.

I’ll never forget that feeling of being completely left out, however.

Second-

What can I say, I knew I’d rub off on ‘ya.
Thirdly, and most importantly- *You don’t need to switch to MSN!!! *

If you like Qwest—which I do—you can stay with them.

I had read conflicted reports concerning this matter but couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the people were talking about. Some would say you need to ask them for it, some said it wasn’t an option—it was, and is, confusing.

But I just got off the phone with Qwest-- to get the lowdown on all this-- and figured out what the others were talking about. When I first asked about having to make the switch, the representative guy said, “Yeah. You need to switch to MSN by January 21.”. “No I don’t”, I said, “I heard you didn’t have to.” “Well, yeah, you’re right. What you can do, if you like, is stay with Qwest and go under the starter pack.”

The starter pack package thing was what I had read about over on DSL Reports, but I couldn’t make sense of it.

What it is, according to this guy, is a stepped up version, or business version, of what I (And many others out there, presumably) already have- a DSL connection through Qwest as well as having them be the access provider too.

What the ‘starter package’ thing does is bump you into the business category. For four bucks (I know, there’s always a charge for trying to keep things the same) extra a month, you keep the qwest access provider part as well as the connection part through them too. You also get webspace and a static IP address as well.

Cool! I’ve always wanted that. I can make my e-mail whatever the hell it is I want it to be.

So, for four bucks extra a month, you can keep what you already have. More importantly, you can avoid having to switch over to MSN. Hell, I’ll pay to avoid those fuc… well, you know.

On top of that, you get some extra bells and whistles with the added service.

So, again, don’t ask them for anything, tell them what it is you want (If, of course, that’s what you want.)

Ahhhh. Much better now. Hope this has helped.

*(Interesting aside- as I was talking to the sales guy, I was also typing up an e-mail to a friend. The guy was nice all the way around at first. But I think he heard my typing after he spoke because he got even nicer. Maybe he thought I was ‘spotter’, I don’t know. All I know is that at one point when I asked a techie question about static IP’s he said, “Listen. I just set this stuff up. Please don’t quote me on any of this. I’m sorry, but it’s my first time setting this kind of order up. Here’s ‘x’ number, ‘y’ number, and ‘z’ number if you have absolutely any problems.” Cool.)

18

< giggle >

I hope it was my information that helped you get the guy to understand that you know you don’t have to use MSN. I hope other people realize that too.

So for a few more bucks a month, you get a good product and if Qwest ever becomes not a worthy service, you can switch at any time without having a $145 fee assessed on your account (with the MSN Account – it’s a one year contract.)

I got the package without the static IP at the moment, I want to ensure they have fast and good service in my area before I go that route and launch a server on my connection. It will save me about $50 a month when I do get my domains transferred to my own server. I did go ahead and order the router though, I didn’t want an internal connection.

Anyhow, whoo hooo for you, you got a package that is better than you currently have only for a couple of extra bucks a month!