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Qwest's "Not-so-fast" Fiber Optic Internet Rollout

For some time, Qwest has been deluging us with those damn "Get in the Loop" TV ads touting the "quality, mobility, high-definition and high-speed that Qwest technology provides." All we're really after is the 12-20 Mbps speed from the new fiber optic lines, so we signed up for an email alert of when they'd go live. Last week we got that email. Huzzah! This week, we got this one: "Qwest is working hard to expand the availability of our higher Internet speeds. Unfortunately, we sent you an e-mail last week saying that our higher speeds were now available to you when, in fact, they are not. We sincerely apologize." Then there are some linguistic contortions about "confusion and inconvenience." The email doesn't include any ownership or explanation of Qwest's mistake in sending it or any estimation of when the service can be expected. Which just makes us wonder if Qwest could have more profitably spent all that ad money on speeding up the implementation of their faster service in the first place. Nothing advertises like word of mouth.

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Comments [rss]

  • Why is this so damn difficult?!

  • Simonian

    There's been a sign on the junction box down the street from us that says DSL is coming to our neighborhood -- north city, near Broadview -- soon. It's been there for FOUR YEARS. We still have no DSL. Comcast being evil, we have no desire to sign up for cable. Ditto Clearwire. And cell reception sucks. So any suggestions?

  • MvB

    Simonian: Short of moving, you mean? You can sometimes call your cell company and agitate for better service. It can take a few months, but I managed to talk AT&T into pointing an antenna more my way. At one point I was going to go back to Comcast despite my better judgment, but then the subcontractor they sent for the install tried to jack me for $100 on the spot, claiming a fictitious "drilling" fee. So I stuck with my poky 1.5 Mbps DSL line. You might check with Qwest and see if they plan on doing any fiber optic work out your way. That might be why they haven't bothered with the DSL.

  • rjh

    DSL???

  • MvB

    Thanks for the catch, I changed it. Fiber optic! Not DSL.

  • bpm2000

    OR you could be stuck in an all-broadstripe/millenium area/building and be even worse off.

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