Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2009 > August > 12
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
ISPs talk up their services at Mac User Group meeting
Last night, the Capitol Mac Users Group invited me to check out an ISP forum for its members. Internet providers including AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Verizon (which only has broadband in a limited area of Austin) and Grande Communications were invited to come to talk to the group about their broadband services and pricing and to answer questions.
It all sprang from the the April kerfuffle over Time Warner Cable’s plan to introduce tiered billing for its Road Runner service in Austin and San Antonio, among four test markets. After a strong and sustained public outcry, the company shelved the plan, but it still left a lot of questions about how the company and its competitors are going to be expanding their services and dealing with pricing in the future.
Before the evening’s event even started, there was behind-the-scenes drama: representatives from AT&T and Grande agreed to appear, but, according to the Mac User Group, Time Warner Cable backed out of the event Tuesday afternoon. Michael Sidoric, one of the directors at large of the group, said he was told the company was “having trouble locating an appropriate person to appear.”
Jason Cardwell and Michael Pace from AT&T touted the company’s wide broadband availability, AT&T’s 100,000 Internet hotspots worldwide and the availability of AT&T 3G service in 350 markets and 3G roaming in 80 countries.
They stressed that DSL Internet connections are not shared among users they way they are on cable Internet service and that they provide a free copy of McAfee security software to customers. For those eligible for U-Verse TV service bundles, fiber optic service allows for up to 18 Mbps download speeds. The company also offers 24/7 live tech support, even on holidays.
Grande representative Roberto Chang said that while Grande is limited in the areas it covers, it is rapidly expanding and takes seriously requests through its Web site for coverage in new areas. Grande has about 145,000 customers currently and offers high-speed Internet plans that start at $15.96 (when paired with TV service).
The company also offers online backup services and “Bolt,” a service that speeds up Internet downloads significantly for the first 20 or 30 seconds, a good feature for downloading files like photos and short videos.
Verizon, which offers FIOS service, was invited to participate, but did not attend. Time Warner Cable was much-discussed. Although AT&T has tested tiered broadband service in some test markets, the representative said there are no plans to roll such pricing in Austin. Grande said, as it has in the past, that it does not base its prices on Internet usage.
AT&T also touted its expanding 3G service, beefed up in Austin, which will at some point soon offer speeds as high as 7.2 Mbps to iPhone 3GS users (the older iPhone 3G is not capable of reaching those speeds). When asked about 4G (or LTE) networks, the reps said that although that’s definitely in AT&T’s future plans, there’s still plenty of headroom in 3G, which is capable of speeds of up to 20 Mbps.
Questions from Cap Mac members mostly focused on customer support (some expressed frustration with AT&T’s phone support; one member gushed about a positive experience with a Grande Communications support experience).
iPhone wireless issues were brought up — one member said he desperately wants an iPhone, but refuses to get one until it is offered through another wireless carrier. Some in the audience said they don’t live in an area where Grande service or AT&T’s U-verse is available. Both companies said they are working to expand their coverage and serve more Austin customers.
I asked about stimulus money and whether some of that might be used to reach more areas. AT&T didn’t have an answer for this, but Chang said Grande has looked into this and that many of the areas they want to reach are not considered “Rural” and don’t qualify for some of those funds.
The biggest faux pas of the night was that both companies sent representative to a meeting of Mac users equipped with Windows laptops. I’m not a marketing or PR specialist, but this would seem to be a very bad case of not playing to your audience. Several more questions from the audience focused on the perception that tech support reps often blame the Mac computers for the Internet issues the users may have. The consensus seemed to be that companies need to do a better job supporting Mac users and making sure their tech support reps are trained in Mac OS.
The Cap Mac User Group meets monthly and has a variety of SIGs (Special Interest Groups) in areas including iPhone tips, photography, audio/video and other areas.
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