On The Phone

[den]

Caller: I'm calling about the broadband survey you filled out.
Me: yes?
Caller: I was wondering if you were still interested in connecting to wireless broadband. A company wants to set up in Dubbo--
Me: well, when I filled out the survey last year I was interested in wireless broadband, but I have a satellite connection now.
Caller: Oh.
Me: I got it through the Telstra HiBis subsidy.
Caller: Oh. Uh... You're- But you're in Dubbo.
Me: Yes.
Caller: but you're in Dubbo.
Me: Yes.
Caller: But you're-- uh...
Me: about 3km from the exchange.
Caller: But-- But HiBis is for remote areas.
Me: Apparently I live in one.
Caller: In Dubbo?
Me: 3km from the exchange. Yes.
Caller: Um.
Me: And no ADSL.
Caller: Oh.
Me: See, if you'd set up your wireless system 4 months ago I'd be customer No.1. In fact I would have been beating your door down DEMANDING to be customer number 1. I would have been jumping up and down on your desk screaming at you to sign me up. If you tried to stop me I'd be hanging from the ceiling fans of your office, screaming "SIGN ME UP NOW YOU BASTARDS!" But now I'm locked into a contract with Telstra so I can't afford a second contract for broadband even if it is true broadband and not the jedi mind-trick ADSL broadband.
Caller: *long pause* Bugger
Me: yeah. Sorry.


He's sending me all their info anyway, but I can't afford to sign up. Bugger.

Comments

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

It's a 12 month contract, and if I break it I have to pay full price for the satellite hardware ($700) and installation costs ($150). There is still no alternative at the moment. The wireless mob are still trying to determin if there is enough of a market to set it up, and there is no wired ADSL here until Telstra upgrade the lines in this end of town.

[jim-lane.livejournal.com]

Eh... I don't blame you for not wanting to break it at this point.
It's not yet a "bugger", but once the new service is up and running
(IF it ever gets up and running, that is...) if you stick with the
sat. service beyond the manditory contract time---

Yeah, then it'd be a BIG "bugger"...

DSL (regardless of varieties) is not without its own "bugger" factor.
After years of fighting with it both at home and at work, I finally
went with cable modem service, and it's WAY faster than DSL, and *so
far*, it's been far more reliable, too.

Ciao!

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Cable companies only did a cable rollout in the major cities. Outside those you have to rely on wireless cable (ie local microwave transmitters) or satellite. So no cable modems for me.

Living in The Bush does have disadvantages, especially when you're at the arse-end of the world as fare as technology goes.

[jim-lane.livejournal.com]

Agreed about the tech. issues, but---

Living where tech "stuff" is plentiful also means that a whole
lot of OTHER "stuff" is also plentiful, and THAT "stuff" is
often a bigger "bugger" than not having tech toys...

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

What could be worse than not having shiney things?

[jim-lane.livejournal.com]

Having scumbag, roachy "things" prowling the streets...and the neighborhood.

Had a major drug distribution operation next door to my house for 1.5 years. The local cops knew all about it, but wouldn't DO anything about it because they wanted to nab the BIG DOGS in the business.

Never mind that it nearly drove my elderly mother and me crazy. In fact, last summer Mom had a major heart attack (and triple bypass surgery 3 days later), and I'm now on blood pressure meds.

The "distribution center" finally collapsed from internal problems (sure was tense around here while that was happening, too!) shortly before Mom had her heart attack, and the main resident got a year in the local jail.

Came home from work today and--- ...yay... ---the jailbird was sprung a month early, evidently for "good behavior". I have bets placed as to how long it'll be before his "buds" are back, and he's back in business...

Sure, you can have criminal elements anywhere, but they seem to flourish where the population is dense and the "disposable income" is available. Funny how those two things seem to go hand-in-hand with "high-tech living"...