Xref: utzoo comp.dcom.modems:3162 news.admin:4461 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-ncis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ames!hc!pprg.unm.edu!unmvax!gatech!mcdchg!ddsw1!karl From: karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems,news.admin Subject: Re: FYI -- PC-P Price "Increase" Summary: Check costs on PC Persuit carefully - Telenet will now charge for BUSY! Message-ID: <2639@ddsw1.MCS.COM> Date: 5 Jan 89 22:06:57 GMT References: <437@marob.MASA.COM> <2625@ddsw1.MCS.COM> <442@marob.MASA.COM> Reply-To: karl@ddsw1.UUCP (Karl Denninger) Organization: Macro Computer Solutions, Inc., Mundelein, IL Lines: 83 In article <442@marob.MASA.COM> cabreu@marob.masa.com (Carlos Cabreu) writes: >In article <2625@ddsw1.MCS.COM> karl@ddsw1.UUCP (Karl Denninger) writes: > >>They are still making money off their PC Persuit service I'd bet -- but now >>they want to make more money -- a whole lot more. > >That's the American way. Any of us in their shoes would do the same thing. Yep. And if they hadn't promoted PC Persuit as a "unlimited use" service _for small businesses_ right up until the announcement of fee upgrade, and had delivered what they did promise when they promised it (2400 baud access, for one) I wouldn't complain at all (but I'd still cancel my subscription as economically indefensible). >>If thousands of people do the analysis I've done, though, they may lose >>all their subscribers instead and be back to where they were before PC >>Persuit at night (fixed leased lines cost $, regardless of use!) :-) > >You're speaking Net-traffic here. The bulk of their subscribers are >individuals. To the individual it's a great deal. Not really. If you use less than 4-5 hours you should buy it long-distance -- it's cheaper. If you use more than 30 you're again cheaper on the long-distance lines before long. Only if you fit between 5 <> 30 hours a month, every month, and DON'T PAY LOCAL ACCESS FEES is PC Persuit a good deal. For everyone else it's a very poor buy at the "updated" rates. This "everyone else", by the way, means the entire Chicago area (with a few lucky exceptions right downtown on the lake) and I suspect most other major metro areas (where Telenet makes money on this service) as well. The entire argument also goes out the window if you stay connected for hours trying to get through to the target city. We attack-dial (smart dialer scripts) and it still fails to some areas after more than 30 minutes of trying. Under the new system we will be metered for that half hour, and it will count towards the "30 hours" allotted. I can easily see spending half of your 30 hours on busy signals and "BUSY"s from the network (no outdial ports). No other network I pay to use has ever tried to charge me for a "busy". >>Not if you have more than a 1200 baud modem it isn't. Tell you what -- >>let's look .... (figures and rationalization here). (entire argument is pointless if you pay local access charges or with congested outdial ports, see above) >>Telenet also took advantage of the PC Persuit subscriber base in their quest >>to block the recent FCC action -- regardless of how you slice it, without >>PC Persuit there would NOT have been that massive letter campaign to the >>FCC offices and Congresspersons! > >Did you write a letter? Were you protecting YOUR interests, or Telenet's? I wrote a letter. As for who's interests I was protecting, mine, of course. Or so I thought. What actually occurred is that I (and several thousand others) were misled by Telenet on this issue. The impact that was predicted for this "electronic cottage" may hit after all..... but Telenet will receive the revenue under this alternate plan instead of the BOC's..... IF people stay connected. I suspect that for the Usenet people, Telebit (Not Telenet!) will end up a major beneficiary due to increased modem sales. :-) The real losers will be the heavy individual users (who can't afford the up-front cost of a Telebit) and the less-well funded individual networks -- Fidonet being one. How convenient a twist from what would have otherwise been a business disaster for Telenet, and what a wonderful example of manipulating the populace (mainly the Fido people) to their own detriment. Note that we're dropping the Telenet service, but the change is very close to cost-neutral for us (we'll just talk LD at 19200 only, 'tis all). For some others it won't be that simple. -- Karl Denninger (karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM, ddsw1!karl) Data: [+1 312 566-8912], Voice: [+1 312 566-8910] Macro Computer Solutions, Inc. "Quality solutions at a fair price"