AT&T Raises (small print) Fees

[digitalbitstream]

And you thought Sonic's mandatory equipment fee was bad:

On the heels of new rate hikes, AT&T is informing U-Verse users that they'll also be seeing several new fees on their broadband and TV bills... Those new fees including a "Broadcast TV Surcharge" of $2 starting in February, and an expanding $3 "High Speed Internet Equipment Fee" for some users. http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT- ... kes-123160

[dane]

These fees appear to be in addition to a base rate increase for broadband of $3 across all of the various Uverse tiers:

"For High Speed Internet customers effective as of the January 27, 2013 billing statements, the monthly price for Basic will increase to $28, Express will increase to $36, Pro will increase to $41, Elite will increase to $46, Max will increase to $51, Max Plus to $56, and Max Turbo to $66. If you are not currently paying a monthly high speed Internet equipment fee for the Wi-Fi-enabled Residential Gateway, a $2 monthly fee will begin with the January 27 billing statements."

For those playing along at home, here are the product speed limits for each of these named tiers:

Basic: 768kbps ($28)
Express: 1.5Mbps ($36)
Pro: 3Mbps ($41)
Elite: 6Mbps ($46)
Max: 12Mbps ($51)
Max Plus: 18Mbps ($56)
Max Turbo: 24Mbps ($66)

[Guest]

I didn't know they had anything like a 24 mbps plan. Unfortunately the fastest they offer in my neighborhood (Nob Hill San Francisco) is 3mbps, which is what I already have. I'm planning to switch to Sonic in the hope of getting a little more speed, plus being happy to get away from AT&T's general evil. However, even after those price increases, AT&T is a little bit less expensive than Sonic when you take the Sonic modem rental fee into account. Sonic has better voice features like free long distance calling, but I never use that and I'd frankly rather just have internet with no voice service.

[Dean]

If you're in Nob Hill, consider Monkeybrains.