[wplug] OT: Free service "upgrade" from Consolidated

[Janos Dohanics]

One of my customers received a letter today from Consolidated
Communications announcing a network change for February 26. The network
change includes "More secure Internet...", "Improved reliability...",
"Better... support", "Lower maintenance...", and "Possibility of faster
speeds".

If you are not salivating already, you will, when you find out that
this "free service upgrade" will also replace your current static IP
address to DHCP!

Unless "for some reason you do not wish to take advantage of this free
service upgrade".

Those of you who remember Pinnatech and Nauticom probably also remember
that a static IP address was standard part of their service (yes, also
home service). I believe that customers who maintained continuous
service with the successor company Consolidated Communications could
keep their static IP addresses (probably not if they moved within the
Consolidated service area).

A Consolidated representative today confirmed that a business customer
with a current static IP address can keep having a static IP address
without incurring additional cost (although a new static IP address will
be assigned). It seems that a business customer must request to not be
switched to DHCP. I wondered if a residential customer has the same
option.

I guess most of their customers will find "dynamic" sounding better
than "static", but that doesn't change one's impression that
Consolidated's letter is at best misleading, and possibly fraudulent.
Switching from a static IP address to a dynamic one is not a service
upgrade, but a downgrade, even if those customers never took advantage
of the static IP address.

Here is the letter:

http://wwwr.3dresearch.com/consolidated_free_service_upgrade.pdf

-- 
Janos Dohanics