The death of non-regulated ISPs?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Rodney Joffe <rjoffe () centergate com>
Date: February 13, 2007 4:39:07 PM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: The death of non-regulated ISPs?

Hello Dave,

For IP if you wish.

I think I finally have to admit that the smaller traditional ISPs  
have reached rock-bottom with respect to customer service and  
support. And if I (slightly more clueful and persistent than most of  
the mass market) am not able to force my way through a problem, I  
don't know how we expect the mass market users to do anything other  
than roll over and be abused.

I have had a Blackberry 957 for a number of years. I have 2 modern  
cellphones, and a Blackberry 8700, but over the years I have kept my  
957 because it is still the only device that works all over the  
country, in rural areas as well as urban ones, and when I am flying  
(general aviation). It uses the old Mobitex RAM wireless network. And  
it has been extremely reliable.

I got mine through Earthlink, and for 5 years now I have religiously  
paid my $49.95 - $69.95 a month, as their pricing has fluctuated. Its  
been worth it, just to make sure I got the urgent mail I've needed  
from time-to-time. Over the years I have had to replace the device  
twice, each time forking over almost $500 to Earthlink, because the  
batteries are not easily changeable. And besides, some keys have worn  
out.

Then 3 weeks ago, my 957 failed. It began getting network  
registration errors, and kept displaying the ominous "!Network acces  
denied." message. And the Blackberry then automatically turned its  
transmitter section off.

Here's where the offshore support blackhole comes in to play:

I have now called the support number daily for 3 weeks. Literally.  
Every session, I reach an incredibly courteous foreign-accented  
support agent, who apologizes profusely to me for the inconvenience,  
puts me on hold for 3-4 minutes at a time for the duration of each  
call (average now 58 minutes) as they "consult" then return with  
precisely the same suggestions, and then assure me that they have now  
escalated my case to third level support, who will call me within  
24-48 hours.

I have never had a return call.

When I have asked to talk to a supervisor, I have been told, on every  
occasion, that there is no supervisor for me to talk to. All  
extremely politely.

Better still, each week, the support agent has created a brand new  
"case" number as part of the escalation. So I now have 3 different  
case numbers.

So I decided to go the email route.

Every publicly identifiable support or technical role email address I  
have found has bounced the email with directions to submit requests  
via the website.

I have done this each time.

No response.

So I started attempting to reach someone via the US based corporate  
numbers.

No surprise, I have been transferred to the same support lines,  
manned by apparently the same support folks, with the same courteous  
blow-off. Attempts to reach someone who cares within Earthlink have  
been singularly unsuccessful.

I am loath to waste a $500 device which is seemingly branded to and  
tied to Earthlink. But it appears that I may have no choice.

Earthlink seemed to be one of the more professional, stable ISPs,  
despite their occasional market missteps. And when they reach the  
point that they can survive by creating an impervious support barrier  
that takes care of run-of-the-mill problems, but ignores unusual  
problems to the point that THEY have spent 14 hours of toll-free  
time, with a log of a 3 week old problem, and they cannot be bothered  
to solve it, I have to wonder if there is a future for an unregulated  
provider of ISP services.

When I have had issues with connectivity with traditional facilities  
based providers, I have had the option of enlisting the assistance of  
state and federal regulators. It would be a pity if this noose was  
forced around all of the smaller providers. And voting with one's  
feet and pocketbook is sometimes not an option.

Googling indicates that my situation is not isolated.

What does the future hold for users, with respect to providers?

Regards
Rodney
----------------------------------------------
Rodney Joffe
CenterGate Research Group, LLC.
http://www.centergate.com
"Technology so advanced, even we don't understand it!"(R)







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