[[[ Excite@Home HAS gone dark !!! ]]] -- CableModem customers stranded!

12/01/2001 | Lazamataz

[Lazamataz]

I'm an @home customer, AT&T to be exact. At 8:15 CST, I no longer could access any pages. Not google.com, not cnn.com, none of the old standbys that ALWAYS work.

I've heard a lot about the poaaibility of @Home pulling the plug on 4.1 million customers. Did it happen? The only reason I can connect at all is that my lovely and gracious fiance also has a dialup account for when she is on the road, and I am calling in here using that. I am presently on hold on the AT&T@Home help line. I'll have more information.

Technically, the light is on but no pages are being connected. My Cable Modem is up and connected but nothing loads.

[Lazamataz]

Darkness Map

AT&T, Chicago, IL

AT&T, Greely, CO

AT&T, Denver, CO

AT&T, Grand Rapids, MI

AT&T, Dallas, TX

AT&T, Pittsburgh, PA

AT&T, Olympia, WA

AT&T, Vancouver, WA

AT&T, San Francisco, CA

[VA Advogado]

Yes this gentleman is right up their with Osama in my book. The economic damage this could cause might be in a class with the WTC. So much for the recovery.

Perhaps you dont understand the whole purpose for our bankruptcy system. Its to legally remove obligations such as this. The judge correctly indicated that the users of this service are not parties to this action.

[TomServo]

Geez Laz - I feel for ya buddy. Still up on Comcast in Nashville.

[Lazamataz]

What city are you closest too?

[Lazamataz]

Perhaps you dont understand the whole purpose for our bankruptcy system. Its to legally remove obligations such as this. The judge correctly indicated that the users of this service are not parties to this action.

That could change.

[VA Advogado]

My first modem was 300bps. I remember chatting on the bbs's thinking it was just pretty darn cool. Of course, then 14.4 compression came out and it was a flippin miracle. Seems I got a lot of work done then too. :-)

LOL Remember that? Amber screened monitors and HUGE 20MB hard drives.

[July 4th]

I won't see broadband for a long time.

Everyone can have broadband. It's pretty expensive, but two-way satellite high speed access IS available with Starband.

[Ramius]

LOL... oh yeah! Those big drives were awesome! I remember when they came out with that nifty new "floppy" disk technology and I could finally put away the cassette tapes. hehehe... There's nothing the world quite like booting from a panasonic cassette recorder... :-)

[LTCJ]

Comcast's hotline report's that as of 1000 Eastern they so no outages nationwide. Looks to be an ATT thing only. So far.

Wish I used ATT long distance so I could cancel 'em. Used them years ago until they ticked me off.

Seems I'm an astute judge of character.></Puffing up>

Sorry for you ATT-types, though.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I'm in Montpelier

God, the people's republic of Vermont, the state where Bernie Sanders is a moderate. How do you stand it. Nice scenery though, I hear, especially when the leaves change.

[meyer]

Laz - my condolences. It seems very strange that AT&T would go dark while other @HOME services (such as my Cox connection) are still hot? I hear you about maybe my time is coming, and I have ALWAYS had a dialup backup. But I always understood the squable to be that @HOME was the one threatening a shutdown, and that the cable companies were doing everything withing THEIR power to keep it up. However it could forbode that AT&T is going ahead and throwing in the towell, and will NOT renogotiate with @HOME, and the others would therefore be inevitable, because without the financial partnering of AT&T they will not be able to consolidate a satisfactory offer.

I think that AT&T walked away from the negotiating table because they have their own bargaining chip, Worldnet internet services. They don't need @home to sell broadband. Unfortunately, they cannot switch over without disrupting the customers' service. And, when and if they get their network transferred over to worldnet, everyone will need a new e-mail address.

This will give AT&T a black eye as far as reputation goes. But, in the long run, I don't think it will hurt the company. Yeah, there will be a few that will stop buying ATT products, but there are many that won't change a thing. And, with the growth of broadband, there are plenty of potential new customers out there that will choose ATT internet services.

[Ramius]

Everyone can have broadband. It's pretty expensive, but two-way satellite high speed access IS available with Starband

Not necessarily the case. The satellites are pretty low on the horizon for me, and I've got an island in the way of most of them. Once you point real low then they start being interfered with by weather. My neighbors have had no joy getting it to work reliably, so I'm gonna wait for the next thing... whatever that is.

[revtown]

Seems like AT&T is the only cable company that pulled the plug on @home. Cox and Charter (mine) are still cranking. AT&T wants to put pressure on @home so they get to steal them for $304M.

[Don Myers]

"NOTHING has happenned in Sioux Falls since Crazy Horse bit the dust."

And that makes it a very good place to live.

[Loyalist]

Rogers, Shaw and Cogeco here in Canada not only saw this coming months ago but actually did something about it by building their own servers and migrating their customers...as a result, nobody with @Home service (myself included with Rogers) in Canada got cut off, but we all had to change our e-mail addresses.

My condolences to anyone south of the border who got done over by their cableco.

[capt. norm]

Tried the test and got:

** Speed 3421(down)/1113(up) kbps ** (At least 68 times faster than a 56k modem) Finish.

This is on Comcast@home service. I love it!

[VA Advogado]

There's nothing the world quite like booting from a panasonic cassette recorder... :-)

Yes, that was the heyday of radio shack. What I find amazing re:20mb hard drives is that kids today wouldnt believe that Microsoft actually made an operating system that fit it!

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I called comcast and told them that netzero only gives 10 free hours of service a month,

The only thing Juno gives away is email and web service prior to 4 AM!!. I pay them 9.95 (discounted) for fairly reasonable dial-up service.

[VA Advogado]

But, in the long run, I don't think it will hurt the company. Yeah, there will be a few that will stop buying ATT products, but there are many that won't change a thing.

You can always get even by cashing their "Switch to AT&T long distance" checks and then switching back.

[prisoner6]

Instant access-your connection is always on, which means no more dial up

Just went to www.broadband.com and got this.^

-Prisoner6's son(this post is really to everyone who reads it not me)