Update to the update, sorry if it's a bit off-topic.
I rechecked the "Fast Web" offer and it's not 5 Mbit but rather 10 Mbit/sec.
They advertise it as 20 times faster than ADSL and the support person I
spoke to on the phone said it's a fiber optic line that they install and
hook up to a special proprietary "box" (usually near the TV, if you want to
see the cable channels using their "decoder"); they bypass regular phone
lines altogther.
Unfortunately they seem to be "rushing" their product to market as the phone
monopoly ends here in Italy; for the time being, the offer in my city will
only be 1024k/sec Internet and unlimited phone calls in Italy, no cable TV,
as they haven't had time to perfect the full service package for new
markets. To sweeten the deal for the time being, they are offering 2 months'
service for free and free installation. They also "guarantee" the full
service - i.e. 10Mbit/sec Internet and cable TV over fiber optic - will be
available in "early 2002". Uh oh. They seem to be starting to hedge already.
They also said that pricing will remain unchanged; or to look at it another
way, at the beginning I'd be paying the original price for a lot less
service.
One nice point was that they clearly state that it's Mac-compatible (OS 9 or
higher) and already "Mac-tested" (!). You couldn't imagine how many DSL
companies I've contacted who said they weren't Mac-compatible.
So, to sum up: it's $55/month for unlimited 10Mbit/sec Internet access,
telephone service, unlimited local and long-distance (within Italy) calls,
and full-service cable TV (one of the only two offered in Italy) - add
$8/month for the basic "decoder", or $12/month for a decoder/DVD player
combo (DVD players start at $200 in Italy).
Sorry if this is all ot, but it seemed a good opportunity to discuss and
compare the various high-speed options available in different countries.
Also a good lead in to any problems and solutions, as per your experience.
Chris H
> I just checked the offer that the Milan-based company sent me and it does
> state that it's a 5Mbit line that completely bypasses the telephone company
> lines (unlike the other new companies, who install their lines inside your
> house but then hook them up to the phone company's lines outside). It does
> sound like a pretty good deal at $55 a month, with free installation: always
> on DSL, all the local and long-distance national calls you want (!), and the
> cable TV channel (though you have to rent the unit that allows you to see the
> channel on your TV, costs around $8 a month if you want it).
> I will definitely have to wait and see the other offers, but the above
> mentioned service is already active in Milan (I'm in Rome) and customer
> feedback so far has been fairly good. I'll let you know.
>
> Chris H
>
>> And I have to pay my regular phone costs besides that too.
>> Can you use that fiber optical line to use the phone too there? If not you
>> mustn't forget that you have to pay the costs for regular phone use also.
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