Last week, 90 years old Aaron Epstein pulled one out quarter page ad to the Wall Street Journal hoping to convince AT&T to upgrade itshow-Fiber DSL molasses internet. It allegedly cost Epstein $ 10,000 to get him out announcement, but apparently it worked. The North Hollywood, California resident today is getting extremely fast speeds, and we love that for him.
In accordance with Ars Technica, after Epstein’s story went viral and hit the ground running interviews with TV channels and a brief mention of him The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, AT&T showed up at his home this week and installed fiber internet for him and his wife, Anne. The couple is already over 300 Mbps speeds instead of 3 Mbps they got before.
The technicians weren’t an easy company, but they connected Epstein and his wife to the Internet better in just two days. Epstein’s neighborTwo or three blocks away was AT&T F.iber, but for some reason Epstein’s house was not connected by it. Epstein told Ars Technica AT&T said the additional wiring installation cost the company “Thousands and thousands of dollars.According to Ars, there was some confusion about whether AT&T would completely connect the Epstein neighborhood. AT&T did not mention whether its immediate neighbors would get fiber internet at some point in the future, now that the lines are installed on its street, which connects with the fiber lines in the same neighborhood just a couple of blocks away.
Not everyone has $ 10,000 to advertise in a newspaper ad, nor should they force ISPs to provide them. equitable internet service. Even Epstein says it was the media that picked up his story that caused AT&T to take action, not necessarily the announcement. But if AT&T can, at the drop of a hat, put fiber someone’s house in two days, even though it supposedly costs them thousands of dollars, it looks like the ISP should be able to do the same for more neighborhoods, especially areas where the only option for residents is AT&T DSL.
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Epstein has been lucky in this regard, however. He has a choice (so to speak) between AT&T and Spectrum, but he wanted to switch completely to AT&T because his phone service is through them.
Last October, AT&T announced it would stop offering DSL as a new service. Those who already pay for DSL, such as Epstein, could keep their service, but the company it would no longer come DSL plans. This is an important issue, because for many Americans, AT&T DSL is your only internet provider.
A joint report of the Workers’ Communication of America (CWA) and the Revea National Alliance Inclusion Alliance (NDLA)lstated that AT&T has been connecting newer, more affluent neighborhoods to fiber and only laying fiber foundations in some unused ones and underserved areas. Epstein’s case seems to be a textbook example of this fact.
An AT&T radiohas been said before Ars that their “investment decisions are based on the capacity needs of [its] network and demand for [its] services. “But you shouldn’t have to put any ads in one of the big papers in the country for your demands. best service to be heard.