Old Dog learns New Trick (On HIM)

At age 75 I am pretty much a turn it on and use it guy.  Never had much to do with things such as "data plans" but I was given an abrupt lesson a couple of days ago.  Last summer we converted all TV and Internet to Dish (possible mistake).  Even put a receiver and Tailgater in the motorhome.  When we signed up and waded through all the golly gee stuff in the brochures we had to select a data plan  (10, 20 or 30 gb).  The office guy said with our type of internet usage we should get the 20GB plan because that would be plenty for our purposes - and it was until a couple of days ago when, at 9 am in the morning, the internet stopped working.  Then I got my lesson on the data plan.

I hardly know what a GB is - never had the need - that's what I have a smart wife for.  Anyway, it seems that I had run out of "anytime gb's" and would have to wait until my "bonus gb" time kicked in.  So I now know (after several heated calls to Dish and the local dealer) that I did not really buy 20gb service but rather 10gb anytime and 10gb bonus time.  I also know that my "bonus gb" 10 gb can only be used between 2 AM and 8 AM (when I am writing this tale of woe).

To me it was very deceiving to be told I was buying 20 gb data and then find out later it was actually split in half where one half was available while I was sleeping (after I used up the first 10gb).  I can sense that Dish and I will split the sheets very soon if they do not return FOX to my package (which is one major reason I even signed up with them).  Of course, they kindly offered me an extra 10 gb (split 5 and 5 between anytime and bonus) for "only $20" per month.  In 10 years of use I never ran out of gb on my cable internet  - in fact I did not even know if I had a limit but I will soon find out when I inquire about going back. So this old dog is learning new hi tech tricks (on him) every day.  Keep me in your prayers.

It's an old story, "What the big print giveth, the fine print taketh away." Cable companies have far more latitude in setting usage allowances and speeds, since they're not as restricted by the available technology and costs as satellite companies. Satellite Internet is generally not recommended when other sources are available, such as cable or DSL. Cable and DSL are nearly always faster, with much lower latency (important for online gaming and auction "snipers"), and rarely have usage limits that affect average users.

Also, with the exception of the older HughesNet technology, satellite internet isn't portable, so it's not suited for the RVer.

Moved my question.

Many cable companies do not impose limits on data use but some telephone companies have been taking lessons from their Cell Phone compatriots and now sell data use by gigabytes/month. (At least my DSL provider back home does now, since I switched to their Fiber Optic service. The cable company here in FL does not (yet!!!).

I can explain GigaBytes to you very easily

You have a water tank on your Motor home,, It holds fresh water you can use for cooking, cleaning, drinking, showering and flushign.. Let's say it's 90 gallon

Each 10 gallons is a Gigabyte.

When you run out, of water (Normally in the middle of a shower) you are out of water

When you run out of Gigabytes you are out of data,, normally in the middle of doing something.

And it's that simple.

Eventually you re-fill your water tank

And your Gigabyte tank.

OH, and this is why we recommend you NOT stream videos over the net... Sucks up a lot of water it does.

John From Detroit said:

I can explain GigaBytes to you very easily

You have a water tank on your Motor home,, It holds fresh water you can use for cooking, cleaning, drinking, showering and flushign.. Let's say it's 90 gallon

Each 10 gallons is a Gigabyte.

When you run out, of water (Normally in the middle of a shower) you are out of water

Click to expand...

Oh I understand GBs very well John.  It's just that I am not used to buying something and then finding out that only half of it is available between 2am and 8am.  Like opening a big box of cookies and finding it only half full.  As soon as the penalty price gets down to a couple hundred dollars (10 months penalty - I currently have 16 months left on that fabulous contract) I intend to go back to the old dog-on-the-treadmill technology - cable.  Thanks for the comments folks.

Update:  The old dog learned a new trick.  Abandoned Dish and went back to local cable company who were having a "Dish Switch Fest."  Super low prices convinced me I could recoup my penalty fee in 7 months and save $70 per month for at least the next two years.  Cable company is coming this morning to do the switch.  Bye Bye Dish.  Will keep the Tailgater and 211 receiver in the RV for the Dish Pay-As-You-Go service in the summer months.
Edit: Removed white space.

Update #2:  Mother always said "if you can't say anything nice about something, then say nothing"
When it comes to cancelling Dish service I will definitely say nothing beyond that they are the most inept people I have ever dealt with.  Mom has passed so maybe I can add a few more nothings.  After no less than 12 phone calls, I think  (emphasize the think) I am done with Dish but with them, nothing is for sure.  About four of those calls were ones I had to terminate simply because I could not understand the rep - usually a young lady chattering in a monotone and sounding like an auctioneer.  I actually was happy to pay nearly $ 500 in early termination fees (TV and Internet) and then had another rep tell me that I was erroneously charged a termination fee for the TV service when "the president" (Obama????) had waived that fee resulting in a reduction of $331 in fees.  But I will believe that when I see it.  After I returned all their equipment in boxes they sent to me, they acknowledged receipt earlier this week.  After I had supposedly paid every dime I owed them (and then was told I had a refund coming), they sent me an email telling me that "per our conversation a return fee has been added to your Dish account for each box required to return your equipment." HUH?  There was no such conversation.  No use beating a dead horse.  Just a warning that if you have to deal with Dish on financial issues, be prepared for mass confusion or at least long waits while they consult with every other person in the office as to what procedure they should be using that day.