DSl and line rental

Aardvark

Originally posted by LFCFan
This is a topic that has been debated many times with mixed reaction. You will still have to pay line rental no matter what DSL product you get (unless you can get Esat's LLU service????). Some people think this is an added burden on the already high price of ADSL(me included) and others see the ADSL charge as an add on and as such don't count it as part of the cost of ADSL. What group would you fall into?

I very definitely fall into the former group.

I assumed (naively) that 50 euro a month would get me IP and voice. The only reason I have a fixed line in my apartment is for the internet. And there's no way I'm paying 32.40 (+VAT) line rental a month, plus 50 for DSL, plus overuse charges (what a scam), just for net access.

There goes DSL for now...

Calibos

The only reason I have a fixed line in my apartment is for the internet. And there's no way I'm paying 32.40 (+VAT) line rental a month, plus 50 for DSL, plus overuse charges (what a scam), just for net access.

While I accept and agree with your remark at the end of the quote about the scam of caps, I have to say I am sick and tired of people moaning about the line rental and if this takes the thread off topic and gets deleted by the mods then so be it because they too are sick of the line rental arguement whichever side off it they are on.

Wouldn't we all love not to have to pay line rental whether our line is for voice and internet or internet alone. The fact is we have to pay for it and always have. You are paying it right now on your internet only line. You are also paying a huge phone bill on dialup. You could easily save money by getting DSL(unless you are a very light user and if you were a very light user why would you put a dedicated line in in the first place.) Your line rental remains the same and you cut your phone bill. Whats your problem?? Do you expect to get DSL and suddenly stop having to pay line rental.

At the moment you are paying- Line Rental + Are using a 56k/ISDN line + Are paying Variable call charges based on your time online.
With DSL you are paying- Line Rental + Are using a Fast DSL line + Are paying a fixed monthly amount(probably less than you are paying now if you are a medium to heavy internet user) no matter how much you are online(provided you don't go over tha cap)
I really fail to see your problem excluding the cap issue.

Lets for a minute imagine that your phoneline is a road and your phone/PC is a car. I use my car to go shopping in (voice calls) and to go to work in (Internet). You only use your car for work (internet). We both pay road tax(Line Rental) and always have. We all like to moan about road tax but we know we have to pay it to use the roads(Lets pretend those cyclists who pay nowt dont exist!!). Getting DSL is like me getting a bigger faster engine for my car and dumping the old 56k engine. This new engine also happens to be more fuel efficient(cheaper to run) than my old engine. I'm still paying road tax like I always have but I've saved a packet on fuel/running costs( Call charges) and have a faster engine to boot! In this scenario you would be moaning that you still had to pay road tax on your car because you put the new engine in!!:D To continue the analogy, putting download caps on is like putting toll booths all over the road network ,which as I agreed with you earlier is the real scam.

sceptre

Originally posted by Calibos
and if this takes the thread off topic and gets deleted by the mods then so be it because they too are sick off the line rental arguement whichever side off it they are on.

Ah we probably wouldn't do that (yet:)). Thread split though

Calibos

Which side off the arguement would you be on Sceptre??:D You can cut and paste your opinion on the subject from one of your earlier responses in the oh....300 threads this arguement has infected and taken off topic!:D

PS I promise I won't take a thread off topic again by arguing this line rental thing. Its only my second time. Isn't there a 3 line rental strikes and your out rule or something??:D

sceptre

Ah you're fine discussing it - it does take over threads though as neither side of the argument ever really convinces the other.

As for which side of the argument I'm on, at this stage I'm something of a fence-sitter. Anyone with only one phone line, almost exclusively for the Net is going to think of the line rental as being "extra". Anyone with two lines (second line just for Net) is going to deduct the rental cost of the second line from the DSL cost (as they can get rid of their extra line) and think of it as a bargain. So I can see both extreme sides. On a purely nosey level, I'm wondering what people with one line used both for voice and Net think.

To answer the question (finally), I've one phone line. I usually make or receive under three calls a week. I got the line purely for the Internet and being a poor student I think of the total cost (line rental plus NoLimits sub at the moment) as the total cost of my Net use per month. At this stage I regard the line rental as a monthly sunk cost - the decision of whether to get DSL is as easy as comparing the monthly DSL cost with the monthly NoLimits cost, ignoring the line rental charge. At the moment with a 5gig cap, the price difference is too wide in my own view to justify my getting it in. Given the choice though, I'd happily get DSL in and get rid of the voice capabilities on the line.

Dustaz

When Mods Disagree III !!!

I firmly come down on the "line rental is extra" side of the argument, and unless someone can show me any telco that includes it in the price of DSL i wont change my mind.

Calibos made a very good analogy. I look at it slightly differently tho.

When you get a phone line its like any other service, you pay for it. This line rental charge allows you to make and recieve phone calls and access the internet. You dont have to do these things, but you do have to pay for the oppurtunity to do so (same with a TV licence)

ADSL is a seperate service. You dont just stop paying for one because you pay for the other.

I think what everyone is starting to see now is the ludicrous price of line rental. Once you realise that you dont use the phone for voice AT ALL (like lots of us dont) you begin to wonder why your paying one of the highest line rental charges in europe.

dahamsta

When Mods Disagree III !!!

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Once you realise that you dont use the phone for voice AT ALL (like lots of us dont) you begin to wonder why your paying one of the highest line rental charges in europe.

Something IrelandOffline should be tackling heavily, since it's blatantly obvious that it was allowed solely as a sop to Eircom. ComReg shouldn't be pandering to Eircom's whining.

adam

Boston

Originally posted by Aardvark
I very definitely fall into the former group.

there's no way I'm paying 32.40 (+VAT) line rental a month, plus 50 for DSL,

Thats good, because you don't. Before you moan about something you might want to find out how much your pay for it. Heres a hint its bi monthly you pay.