I’ve been with AT&T DSL for several years at the 6.0Mbps tier, which wasn’t bad at first. However, now that software is distributed almost entirely by Internet, I just got tired of the waiting. I could have switched to AT&T U-verse, which offers downstream speeds up to 45 Mbps, but I hate the introductory pricing with the one-year commitment.
Instead, I went with Sonic.net and their Fusion service for $39.95 per month, which is not an introductory price, but also not an upfront price either because of the convoluted taxes.
| Rental Modem Router Combo | $6.40 |
| Fusion Service | $39.95 |
| Federal Subscriber Line Charge Fee | $6.50 |
| Property Tax Allotment Surcharge | $0.26 |
| Voice Regulatory Recovery Surcharge | $0.52 |
| Federal Universal Service Fund Fee | $1.69 |
| FCC Interstate Telecom Service Provider Fee | $0.04 |
| FCC Telecommunications Relay Service Fund | $0.00 |
| Property Tax Allotment Surcharge | $0.00 |
| Voie Regulatory Recovery Surcharge | $0.00 |
| California Lifeline Telephone Service Surcharge | $0.19 |
| California Deaf and Disabled Telecom Program Surcharge | $0.03 |
| California High Cost Fund-A Surcharge | $0.03 |
| California High Cost Fund-B Surcharge | $0.05 |
| California Teleconnect Fund Surcharge | $0.10 |
| California Advanced Services Fund Surcharge | $0.03 |
| California 911 Emergency Surcharge | $0.08 |
| California Public Utility Commission User Fee | $0.03 |
| Palo Alto Utility Users Tax | $0.82 |
| Total | $56.82 |
From browsing various forums, I already knew about the modem fee. So, in addition to the $46.35 service + rental fee, I was dinged for $10.47 (or 22.6%) in fees, surcharges and taxes. The number of fees, surcharges and taxes is almost comical. Imagine dining at a restaurant and ordering a $25 steak, but being billed for a seating surcharge, utensil service fee, dining table allotment, and lighting surcharge.
Anyways, the transition was surprisingly smooth, which has never happened before. My download speeds have roughly doubled from 5.09 Mbps to 10.70 Mbps, according to speediest.net.
