My connection is as follows: I use Dial-Up Networking under Windows (wvdial under Linux) to dial though my BT line to Freeserve. In total, this costs me UKP60 per quarter, and with that I get some free minutes for if I ever used my phone to talk to anyone (That’s what my Mobile is for). And the question I ask myself is Why?
Not why do I pay for it, 24/7 free internet is a TANSTAAFL situation, and There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, but why do I pay those two companies to fail to get me connected. Because as I type I am listening to my modem, Not ringing the happy tones of a modem who has found a friend to talk to, but the standard BT Voice telling me that “This is a BT Annoucement, The Telephone Network is busy at the moment, Please try again later”, in the same way it’s been yabbering on for the past half an hour, and the only reason for that is because half an hour ago i got off the phone to a friend, before I got that call I had been trying for > 1 hour to get though, to no avail. I’d complain, except I don’t know who to complain to. The annoucement is made by BT, but the only network that is broken appears to be Freeserve. Netscape Online works perfectly.
And, as I type, my modem has just dialed in. *grin* Threatening to complain seems to work after all!