Last week, 90-year-old Aaron Epstein quotes quarter page ad in the Wall Street Journal hoping to convince AT&T to slow downas-molasses DSL internet to fiber. It allegedly cost Epstein $ 10,000 to take it out. advertisement, but apparently it worked. The residents of North Hollywood, California, are getting very fast speeds today, and we love it.
According to Ars Technica, na Epstein’s story went viral and landed him interviews with TV networks and a brief discussion The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, AT&T arrived at his home this week and installed fiber internet for him and his wife, Anne. The couple now gets more than 300 Mbps speed instead of 3 Mbps they got before.
It was not a simple undertaking for the technicians, but they connected Epstein and his wife with better internet in just two days. Epstein’s neighbors two or three blocks away AT&T had Fiber, but for some reason Epstein’s house was not wired for it. Epstein told Ars Technica AT&T said the extra wiring installation cost the company “Thousands and thousands of dollars.According to Ars, there was confusion about whether AT&T would completely wire Epstein’s environment. AT&T does not mention whether its immediate neighbors would get fiber internet somewhere in the future now that the lines have been installed in their street, which is just a few blocks further on the fiber lines in the same area.
Not everyone has $ 10,000 to drop on a newspaper ad, nor do they have to force ISPs to provide cheap internet service. Even Epstein says that the media spurred the story of AT&T to take action, not necessarily the ad. But if AT&T can wear fiber with a hat someone’s house in two days even though it allegedly costs them thousands of dollars, it seems the ISP should be able to do the same for more neighborhoods – especially areas where residents’ only option is AT&T DSL.
G / O Media can get a commission
Epstein, however, was happy in this regard. He has a choice – if you can call it that – between AT&T and Spectrum, but wanted to switch completely to AT&T because his phone service is done by them.
Last October, AT&T has announced that it will no longer offer DSL as a new service. Those who already pay for DSL, like Epstein, could keep their service, but the company would no longer sell DSL plan. This is a big problem, because for many Americans, AT&T DSL is their only ISP option.
A joint report of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the revision of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDLA)lshowed that AT&T connected newer and more affluent neighborhoods with fiber and laid only fiber in some unserviced foundations and underserved areas. Epstein’s case appears to be an example in the textbook.
An AT&T spokesperson previously told Ars that its investment decisions are based on the capacity needs of [its] network and demand for [its] services. However, you do not have to place an advertisement in one of the country’s largest newspapers for your claims better service to be heard.