How much is your Century Link bill?

[Stephen Tashiro]

I'm curious how my monthly Century Link bill compares to other peoples'.

My most recent monthly bill is $73.17 for internet and local phone service. Century Link provides the internet connection (DSL)but I prefer to pay another company to be my ISP - in the sense of providing the name service and email.

Some locations in town have Century Link ADSL lines, but there is only DSL in my area.


The itemized bill:
Internet - Connect silver $30.00
Local Phone Service $18.41

Internet Cost Recovery Fee $3.99 (It's well known that this is a charge invented by Century Link and named to sound like some governmental fee, which it isn't.)

Federal Access Charge $6.50
Access Recovery Charge $2.40 ( Another charge invented by Century Link ?)

For Internet Service:
State Sales at 5.125% $1.74
County Sales at 1.25% $0.43
City Sales at 1.9375% $0.66

For Local Phone Service
State Sales at 5.125% $0.97
County Sales at 1.25% $1.67
City Sales at 1.9375% $0.41

State 911 at $0.51 per access line $0.51
New Mexico Universal Service Fund $1.22

[Jim Becker]

Trust me...you have ADSL. The "A" stands for Asymmetrical which describes the fact that your download speed is different than your upload speed. Sadly, that's rather expensive given the speeds that DSL provides compared to areas where similar costs provide substantially higher throughput using other technologies. I hope that this gets "fixed" someday as IMHO, broadband (which currently is a minimum of 25mbps) is an essential service in this day and age.

[Bruce Wrenn]

as IMHO, broadband (which currently is a minimum of 25mbps) is an essential service in this day and age.

25MBS is 36 times faster than our DSL. We only have the choice of dial up, or ultra slow (690KBS) DSL. Across the creek from us, Spectrum is offering starting speed of 200 MBS. With "Ting" , also offered across the creek from us. Specturm looks like a Model "T" at the Daytona 500 when compared to Ting.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Trust me...you have ADSL.

Perhaps. But I took a working "DSL" modem from my house to another house and it wouldn't work. To get internet at the other house, I had to get an "ADSL" modem.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Just out of curiosity, why are you paying for "name service" and email? By "name service", do you mean DNS? If so, how is any one provider better than any other?

[Stephen Tashiro]

Just out of curiosity, why are you paying for "name service" and email? By "name service", do you mean DNS? If so, how is any one provider better than any other?

I pay a separate provider (La Tierra Communications) for name service because they have good technical support (staffed by local residents) and a local brick and mortar office - unlike Century Link which has no local office open to customers and whose technical support people are also in sales.

[Bert Kemp]

I pay $45 a month for very slow CLink DSL only like 2 mbps. Which is highway robbey considering other areas get like a 100mbps for 20bucks a month grrrr

[James Waldron]

I pay a separate provider (La Tierra Communications) for name service because they have good technical support (staffed by local residents) and a local brick and mortar office - unlike Century Link which has no local office open to customers and whose technical support people are also in sales.

Wait! What kind of services does this ISP provide you that you need support services for? The DSL connection works or it doesn't and has to be provided and maintained by these Century folks; your ISP isn't free to muck about in the Century system and/or hardware. Other than that, all you need is to direct your router or computer to a free public DNS server and you've got your internet service. Google U can lead you through that. If you want e-mail service, you can get it free from Google's G-Mail and others. Sounds to me that you are wasting your money on the local ISP.

As an aside, it is notable that using a free public DNS server rather than your ISP's DNS server can do a lot for your privacy on the internet. And using it through a personal VPN does even more. If you are worried about such things, there is a lot you can do to keep Zuckerberg out of your life. Cancelling Facebook isn't enough.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Other than that, all you need is to direct your router or computer to a free public DNS server and you've got your internet service. ...

...or just use what CenturyLink provides...

That said, the OP is not alone: there are something like 3M people still subscribing to AOL because they apparently don't understand that they don't need "AOL" if they have broadband from elsewhere.

OP, the logical way to reduce the cost of your internet service is to stop paying for duplication: the product offered by La Tierra is internet access. You get that from CenturyLink. You do not need to pay La Tierra. DNS service is part of what CenturyLink is providing, and it's also available for free from any number of sources (frankly, this is a case of being "too smart for your own good": most internet users have no idea what DNS service is, and they don't need to know - it's just part of the package; you don't need to worry about it). If you REALLY like your @latierra.net email address or something, fine, but most people use gmail (or whatever) to avoid this expense.

[Jim Becker]

Dan, I'm wondering if the OP has "both" CenturyLink DSL and a separate subscription to La Tierra for "over the top" DNS and mail services or if La Tierra is setup as a CLEC that's just using the CenturyLink copper infrastructure. There are still some areas where CLEC services remain a presence since access is mandated for regulated infrastructure that was originally put in place long ago. (CLECs are independent ISPs that get last-mile DSL connectivity by the local carrier infrastructure for folks not familiar with the term) This kind of thing has gone the way of the dodo bird with new infrastructures, like VZ's FiOS, because the access mandate doesn't apply to privately funded infrastructure.

[Stephen Tashiro]

; your ISP isn't free to muck about in the Century system and/or hardware..

The ISP does control its own name service hardware. When the internet connection has a problem, I can call my ISP and find out if it's Century Link that's having the problem - without hearing "Please listen carefully as our menu options may have changed..." The ISP knows about Century Link's problems. Should I need to talk to Century Link technical support, the ISP can contact Century Link support for me or set up a 3-way conference call between the ISP, Century Link, and myself.

People assign different monetary values to time. I perceive time as my most limited resource, so I'm willing to pay to save time. There are other people who prefer the game of getting things for the least possible cost and they expend time to do that.

[Stephen Tashiro]

OP, the logical way to reduce the cost of your internet service is to stop paying for duplication:.

I'm not paying the ISP for the duplication of Century Link, Open DNS, and the ISP's name service. I'm paying the ISP for convenient technical support - which is not duplicated by Century Link or Open DNS.

It's interesting that nobody has has answered the question in the OP - i.e.What is your monthly Century Link bill?. (I didn't ask "How can I get the cheapest possible internet connection? - although that's a topic of general interest.) Perhaps not many members use Century Link for anything.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Up until a year ago, I had centurylink and paid $40/mo. There's an answer to your original question.

I only offer this in an attempt to be helpful: I understand the willingness to spend money to save time, and do it myself whenever possible (within reason), but your 2-ISP solution is really odd. Has calling the local tech support ever solved a problem? I recall the days of dial-up where calling a local ISP was often needed, but these days with broadband, the reliability is so high, and the network status automatically checked, that I can't imagine that a phone call actually gets anything fixed.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Up until a year ago, I had centurylink and paid $40/mo. There's an answer to your original question.

Was that for DSL internet alone? - or did it include local phone service?

Has calling the local tech support ever solved a problem?

It has always informed me about the problem - usually a cut cable somewhere in AZ or northern NM that disrupts Century Link service. That saves me the trouble of investigating my own equipment.

When the problem was something that I or the ISP could control, it has always been solved.