#cell/Internet service

[johnschneiderblog]

Bar-hopping

Temperature: 44 degrees. Winds speed: 22 mph. Cell phone service: 4 solid bars.

Trumpets, please ....

On Wednesday, as we entered the home stretch in our first trip to the cottage this year - 10 miles of U.S. 23 - Sharon gave me continuous rolling reports: "three bars ....two bars ... three bars ... one bar ... two bars ... "

So it went, a real cliffhanger, but when we pulled into our driveway, we had four beautiful bars on our phones and speedy access to the Interner.

As I wrote Monday, we parted ways with our long-time cell/Internet provider (AT&T) and took up with T-Mobile for cell service, with a portable Wi-Fi hotspot.

With the AT&T hotspot, our service at our cottage near Cheboygan was pretty good, but at home it was barely functional. The T-Mobile guy got out his map and assured us that the switch would yield better service at both places.

Here's to you, T-Mobile guy ...

#John Schneider #Sharon #cell/Internet service #AT&T #T-Mobile

[awkward-teabag]

Love (cannot emphasis how much sarcasm there is in that word) that an official Canadian government response to high cellphone rates is to switch carriers.

Switch it to what? We basically have three companies since one was allowed to eat the forth (with the government saying it wasn't anti-competition and the company eating the other pinky promising they wouldn't jack rates up). Even the smaller companies have to rent infrastructure from the Big Three so there's only so much they can do if that rent costs an arm and a leg.

And that's not touching on how many "small companies" are actually just subsidiaries of the Big Three. You may save $5 but you're still with Telus/Rogers/Bell.

Or that the actual small companies tend to have shit coverage because they don't have the infrastructure available to them and are prevented from getting it. Or their traffic is throttled in favour of the Big Three's customers. Or both.

Or that they're extremely regional thus aren't an option for a huge chunk of Canada's population.

We have no true options and the government has shown time and again that they're fine with monopolies, in multiple industries, and don't care when said monopolies jack up prices to make shareholders and the c-suite more money at the expense of everyone else. At most there will be a verbal slap on the wrist and a giftcard for $25 that people have to register for, for a decade and a half of price gouging.

It's not talked a whole lot about outside the country from what I've seen and heard but Canada is a country of monopolies. A handful of companies own nearly everything, every province has a family or two that owns a hell of a lot (Nova Scotia is basically owned by one family at this point), and our government ignores it. Even the branch that is supposed to be against monopolies is fine with mergers and takeovers in most cases.

Because, you know, the company said it totally wouldn't use consumers' lack of options to increase prices.

#canada #so much of our infrastructure and critical construction such as housing #has been pawned off for decades to private companies #and i forgot to mention one (1) family owns the bridge that is a major international corridor between canada and the us #which is apparently fine even though they fought tooth and nail to stop a bridge they don't own from being built #like our housing crisis can be traced back to the government deciding to stop building public housing in the 90s #because they figured private developers would pick up the slack #affordable apartments don't bring in much money so we got decades of cheap-ass 'luxury condos' instead #and once airbnb became a thing we got entire buildings with units <300sqft #and of course when the party in charge rotates between conservatives and neolibs nothing changes and that can gets kicked down the road #and keeps getting kicked until something collapses and they see the chance to fully privatize an industry #something similar is happening to our healthcare system too #it has been left to languish for years/decades with funding freezes and cuts #and private companies are quick to jump in and get the government stamp of approval to do [thing] that the public system clearly can't do #when [thing] would absolutely be possible if it was actually funded and/or staffed #so many communities were cut off when greyhound closed up shop because there's no government inter-city transportation #we lost internet/banking/cell service/etc nation-wide because one of the big three decided to push an update to live without redundancies #and it bugged and took the entire company's network down #even the government agency that demands major companies have a backup on a different network was taken down because they ignored that #and they got a deal if they kept their backup with rogers while their main network was also rogers #so they couldn't even make an emergency statement or anything about it #half my province also lost all digital infrastructure because it's a private company and making a redundancy line would mean smaller bonuse #it's just so bad #joke all you want about how canada is nice and friendly #but you are wrong and it's hell if you actually live here #the only reason canada is seen as nice is because it's hard to not seem like the better option when the us is your neighbour #and because of decades of pr work to make canada seem friendly and nice and not at all problematic #in some countries you actually have to try to hide you're canadian because of how much we colonize and the damage we do to other countries #yes these tags have derailed from the post but ugh #i take major issue with people who insist canada is nice and has never done anything wrong

[spicyraeman]

Back from the void, got the power back on and the internet immediately went out ripp

#also found out some slightly scary facts about our internet from the woman who came to fix it #like if the booster on the hub goes out they're not allowed to replace it #which would leave 10+ people without internet #in a dead zone with no cell service #or an affordable and reliable internet alternative #fuckin musk rat's starlink would actually be the only worthwhile alt to use honestly #which is just so fuckin sad..

[lynne-monstr]

I don't know why it drives me so intensely crazy every time my mother texts me to ask the exact time of my doctor appointments. like, we live two thousand miles apart why do you obsessively need to know this information every time

#lol i think i still have issues from that tome in college when i decided to do some homework in the computer lab after an evening test #the computer lab was in the basement so i had no cell service #i was 20 years old and my mother jad a panic attack and called the phone company to get all the phone numbers i called #(this was pre widespread internet) #and called all my contacts asking if i was with them #to this day i still give her shit about this completely unhinged behavior #random text post silliness

[homenecromancer]

quick PSA: i will be mobile-only for about a week, and during that time may or may not have cell service

so if you're wondering where i went, i am touching grass (in another country)

#personal #i mean not like im as relentlessly on tumblr as i was a decade ago #but like. even if i do have cell service the goal is to stay off the god damn internet for once lmao #please try to not destroy the site while im gone lmao xx

[himbeaux-on-ice]

if you want a measure of how completely and utterly under a rock i have been all summer in terms of social media, i have just learned that apparently they released good omens season 2 in july and i have been completely oblivious to this fact until about five minutes ago. mentally i have been on mars

#its been discord youtube ao3 and like three specific twitter accounts most of the summer honestly #this is what an outdoor boat job with shitty internet and cell service will do to you #well except for the erik karlsson trade i was PLUGGED IN for that shit

[feraecor]

internet has been out all day :/

#{kei babble} occ #~we just got home from grocery shopping and work #~and the internet is /still/ out and we don’t have the best cell service either #~we’re stuck in primitive times #~even the radio is angry cause it keeps cutting out weirdly

[landwriter]

as someone who thrives on deadlines there's this special thrill to a scheduled power outage for line work especially when it starts in the morning and your sleep schedule is a bit fucked so you end up having only fifteen minutes to cook breakfast and you're watching the clock and there's five minutes left and you turn up the heat so the potatoes will be done faster and then you bustle upstairs to load up Some Good Reads On The Internet in case you get desperately bored and then back downstairs to refill your water and reply to emails and messages because you won't be able to for another three or four hours and say things like 'this is my last transmission before The Darkness'

this is my last transmission before The Darkness

#only happens like a few times a year so not bothersome at all #and they phone you and let you know #and this one should have started #(checks watch) #ten minutes ago #the reason it's actually significant is because i'm on a well and the well pump is ofc on the power grid #and there's no service here #so no power to ur house means no internet no cell phone no water #now to curl up in front the fire and do embroidery like my ancestors #it's really the perfect kind of petty little stricture that makes my brain go brrrr #i probably wouldn't have made a decent breakfast at all if it wasn't for the fact i knew i wouldn't be able to after 09h30

[risingsunresistance]

wifi's been out at my house

#greetings from walmart #gonna go back home and be miserable JGDKDH #no phone no internet and i've never had cell service where i live #my parents are mad about it too they're not one of those You Kids And Your Phones people #chat

[imitormusa]

me and luna are talking you know what that means!! sets down two aus. 1) Paulie becomes the strawhat shipwright because that was a debate back in the day and it seems just ripe for hilarious interactions. & 2) usopp stays in water 7 and Paulie is like ‘well damn’ and all of galley la gets a new lil bro/son. Paulie and usopp both being the friend who stays/gets left behind. Parallels.

#manager had an emergency and was off for a while so had to pick up slack at work #then my internet has been going in and out for days and I live in the middle of the woods we don’t got good cell service in my county 😔 #but I should be back soon thanks for y’all’s patience #ooc | out of character

[tothechaos]

canNOT stop thinking about my boyfriend emailing me a meme. nothing like opening my email and seeing the subject "look at this meme i found"

#he was in a place that famously doesnt have cell service but DOES have internet #i love that guy very much

[arthur-r]

hi is everybody doing okay today?

#i just want to check in and say hi. i feel a little strange and isolated #and i’m going out of town tomorrow also!!!! #(for the weekend and coming back sunday night) #(and will sort of still have internet but in a middle of the woods unreliable cell service way) #things are just creeping up on me and confusing me and things don’t feel entirely real #is everybody doing okay? let me know if there is something good and special going on in your life for being happy #(​mine is that i’m listening to hey you by edu) #anyway i just want to say hi and see everybody cause i’ve been kind of quiet and weird so i wanted to say hi #i hope everybody is doing well i love you #me. my post. mine. #friends only #delete later

[kink-tomato]

I miss her ;_;

#aol mobile communicator #aol #aim #2001 #this was all the internet I needed in my pocket back then #nobody remembers but me #they discontinued service after only two years and I’m still salty #I couldn’t afford a cell phone with QWERTY for years #not tbx

[goldensunset]

i feel like i’m fighting for my life here

#context: our cell service provider is straight up down. #i can’t connect to the internet at home #mobile data works .. sometimes??? not usually. idk #i can hardly receive a message on discord much less do anything on this already broken app #peach rambles

[peaceblank]

What’s worse than having nothing to do at work, it’s the wifi being out while you have nothing to do.

#peace works #for some reason the lab is like a lead box #absolutely no cell or internet service inside without the wifi #thankfully next week I'll have more stuff to do

[chiefmilesobrien]

Btw, despite Canadians paying the most for internet, one of Canada’s three telecom companies has been down since about 5am EDT this morning, meaning that debit and banking has been down all day (and people can’t work and have no cell service), and they refuse to give an ETA on fixing it.

This company is currently trying to merge with another of the big three. You can imagine how thrilled people are at the idea of going to two companies with the scale of this nationwide outage.

Also, since 2017, all phones are supposed to be able to call 911 regardless of their service or if they have a SIM card, and they’re not currently working. 911 in most large (Ontario) cities seems to be working, except for rogers customers.

Also this happened last year in April for about 4 hours.

#I’ve seen a few other claims here or on Twitter that I haven’t read in news articles and don’t feel like I want to repeat it #work was hell if you wanted to know #rogers outage #canadian politics #i have cell service but no wifi #we also had this with Rogers last week though so I upped my data for this month #gotta love paying $80 for cell and 5gb of data #rogers is shit and always has been but we get internet from a company that buys from them bc there’s only two companies with cables here #and bell sucks in this neighborhood