Cities struggle with wireless Internet (AP via Yahoo! News)
A $3 million plan to blanket Lompoc, Calif., with a wireless Internet system promised a quantum leap for economic development:

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DSL Space

Is Free DSL Still Available?


If you look the question, 'Is the free DSL offer still available?' It actually should read, 'Was the free DSL offer really free?' Yes, though starting from 2000 on there have been a number of companies advertising free DSL offers, let us see how truthful these advertisements were.

Free DSL At What Cost?

When people hear of a free offer, they love it, as they love any freebie. They flocked to get free DSL and many did not even want to know the details. They just wanted to try it out because it was available and did not want to miss a chance of getting something new, free of cost. However, how free it really was came out later.

It was true that there were no monthly charges attached to the installations of the free DSL offers. However, there were other type of payments required which took the sweetness out of the deal.

For starters, installation fees and the cost of the modem and related hardware added to the 'free' price tag. There were long waiting periods for installation and cancellation fees were tacked on for those who decided to stop waiting. Finally, technical support was nearly nonexistent and the companies would slow down your DSL speed if you chose a low-cost plan without upgrading.

Some other companies would waive the monthly fee as long as the user would refer one customer every month. For the months when no customers were referred they would have to pay for the services they received via the satellite dish antenna.

Why Free DSL Failed To Capture The Market

Free DSL companies failed to capture the market for several reasons. The first and foremost reason was that the fierce competitiveness had brought the profits lower than the belly of a snake. What could actually have survived at $70 was 'given away' at $40, making the margins too low to make a sustainable business.

The fact that the margins became so low squeezed the life out of all the free DSL companies, one by one, making them extinct in just a couple of years. For those who know the phrase, "too good to be true", this seems to be a good example.

Maybe in the future this feature may come up again - but if it does, it will have to have some back up in terms of definite returns, without which the best of plans can be turned into abject failure.

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