First thing Monday morning, I get rid of AT&T

[burythehatchet]

After learning about their willing complicity with the NSA and providing unfettered access to customer phone calls and internet traffic, I say that this company needs to be punished. My cancelling my AT&T telephone service won't put them out of business but it will make me feel a hell of a lot better. I recommend you make yourself feel better as well.

[Duer 157099]

1. Me too

I have an internet account with them that is going buh-bye

[burythehatchet]

2. Good for you

this is absolutely outrageous.

[shaniqua6392]

3. They are my long distance carrier.

I will have to figure out who else I can switch to before they get any more of my money.

[burythehatchet]

5. Long distance service is the easiest to replace

EVERYBODY provides long distance. Have you considered a VOIP account like with Vonage?

[shaniqua6392]

27. I will check into that.

Thanks for the advice!

[tabasco]

57. Use a dial-around or something like PNG.

You don't have to have any "plan" from the phone company.

I used 101-5335 for a long time till they raised int'l rates.

Now I use PNG:

longdistance.com/default.aspx

I talk to Germay a lot for 6 cents a minute.

In USA is 3.9 cents I think.

[paul_fromatlanta]

4. There is no reason to think ATT is different

All major phone and internet providers cooperate with the government.

Time Warner, for example has an FBI office insinde their AOL Virginia compound.

[burythehatchet]

8. I wouldn't dream of AOhell being my internet provider

but that too is sad.

[stepnw1f]

11. I Haven't Anything of the Sort

Buh bye AT&T!

[SammyWinstonJack]

70. I have Time Warner digital cable, broadband and digital phone.

I think I need to seek out other sources.

[TexasProgresive]

6. So, are you going to quite making phone calls?

AT&T is part of a huge telecommunications network that the World Wide Web is a part of. There is no way to hide from the NSA or the FBI for that matter. They have their ears and eyes everywhere and this is no tin hat theory. Just wait 'til the majority of people have video phones- that will make 1984 a full reality.

[burythehatchet]

16. Of course not.

But I will say this: I have strated to gradually identify the tracking points that are collected, like credit card and check card payments, and altering my habits to leave as minimal a trail as possible. I have nothing to hide but I am sick of this big brother bullshit. I've actually started writing letters again - 3 every week. I pay cash whenever possible. Believe it or not, every little thing I do makes me feel a bit more liberated, as illusory as it may be.

[iamahaingttta]

61. Me too...

I try to pay cash for most things.
I owe no interest to anyone for anything, and haven't for many years.
I've got a very short paper trail...

[file83]

17. OMG - Are you the "Borg"? Next thing you'll say is that...

"Resistance is futile."

"Prepare yourself for assimilation."

[stepnw1f]

34. lol

must feed the corporate machine... or maybe the person has stock in the company?

"Who knows....?!"
- Donald Dumbsfailed

[file83]

38. He may not "quite" making phone calls, but he may "quit".

:eyes:

[file83]

7. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to do that, Dave."

"That would jeopardize the mission."

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

12. I'm sorry, Hal.

Can you sing for me?

[file83]

24. "Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer do...

...I'm half crazy, all for the love of you..."

"Like that, Dave?

[flpoljunkie]

9. AT&T not the only telecom company that rolled over for Bush.

You might want to check out Working Assets--an offshoot of Ben Cohen's (Ben & Jerry's) who also founded True Majority. http://www.workingassets.com

MISSION

Working Assets was established in 1985 to help busy people make a difference in the world through everyday activities like talking on the phone. Every time a customer uses one of Working Assets' donation-linked services (Long Distance, Wireless and Credit Card), the company donates a portion of the charges to nonprofit groups working to build a world that is more just, humane, and environmentally sustainable. To date, over $50 million has been raised for progressive causes.

The company also serves as a strong political force, dedicated to giving its customers the opportunity to speak out on critical public issues through its Web site and monthly phone bill.

[Whoa_Nelly]

15. Ahhh..YES! Working Assets!

But I thought WA was in place before True Majority, and he teamed up with them... :shrug:

[flpoljunkie]

28. You may well be right.

[Whoa_Nelly]

31. Took a minute to look up WA history--began in 1985, I think

http://www.workingassets.com/aboutwa.cfm

<snip>
DONATIONS
Since 1985, Working Assets has generated over $50 million for progressive nonprofits, including Greenpeace, Doctors Without Borders, Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International and Project Vote, among many others.

[flpoljunkie]

68. Then it definitely precedes True Majority.

[flpoljunkie]

USA Today: "Telecoms Let NSA Spy on Calls"

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-05-nsa-telecoms_x.htm
Telecoms let NSA spy on calls

By Leslie Cauley and John Diamond, USA TODAY

The National Security Agency has secured the cooperation of large telecommunications companies, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, in its efforts to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls by suspected terrorists, according to seven telecommunications executives.

The executives asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the program. AT&T, MCI and Sprint had no official comment.

The Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings today on the government's program of monitoring international calls and e-mails of a domestic target without first obtaining court orders. At issue: whether the surveillance is legal, as President Bush insists, or an illegal intrusion into the lives of Americans, as lawsuits by civil libertarians contend. (Related: Committee chief says program violates law)

In domestic investigations, phone companies routinely require court orders before cooperating.

A majority of international calls are handled by long-distance carriers AT&T, MCI and Sprint. All three own "gateway" switches capable of routing calls to points around the globe. AT&T was recently acquired by SBC Communications, which has since adopted the AT&T name as its corporate moniker. MCI, formerly known as WorldCom, was recently acquired by Verizon. Sprint recently merged with Nextel.

more...

[annabanana]

71. Working Assets = MBNA

not always the best guys....

[flpoljunkie]

72. You are right. I checked their credit card application. MNBA bought out

by Bank of America, too, right? So few companies controlling the credit card business cannot be good. Thanks for pointing this out.

[Whoa_Nelly]

10. Am one month away from the 1-yr. contract ending w/SBC aka AT&T

And am moving to another state in about three months. Once I'm outta here, am going to be very careful ISP to use. (Am moving to OKC, OK)

:hi: Replies welcomes comments on:

earthlink
comcast
vonage (does Vonage have ISP connection?)
Your best recommendation for ISP...

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

20. I started with Vonage and switched to Packet 8. Much better!

If you go to them, let me recommend you so I get a free month!

They're cheaper and very up front. I'd suggest the uniden 5.8 gig whole house set up.

[burythehatchet]

22. Yes, do it. What do you need. PM me.

[MelissaB]

30. Question:

We have Direct Tv and use their tivo. Do you know if the tivo will still work? I've read enough to know that I can wire the house so that my other phones work with our outlets.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

33. I have DirectV as well

6 months later, I still have my Tivo without the daily calls.

Only difference is I have to call for a PPV.

[MelissaB]

36. Thanks! That's exactly what I needed to know.

The only other holdback is that I can't keep my current number. I'll be assigned a new one. :( Got to work on hubby with this one because we'd save a lot of $$.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

39. Chances are, you can keep your current number.

Packet 8 seems to have a better coverage than Vonage. I had to have a different area code with Vonage, but not with Packet 8. I could have had my old number if I wanted it.

[MelissaB]

41. I can't. I even called them. The guy I spoke with didn't know why

I couldn't. I'm wondering if it's because I'm with BellSouth.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

44. Sorry to hear that. Can you get the same area code?

[MelissaB]

46. Yeah! Same area code and same first three digits (I think).

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

50. Bet you a buck that's more you can get from Vonage...

Sounds as if BellSouth/ATT is trying to be a dick here.

[burythehatchet]

45. Yes, that's it. Bellsouth claims to own the numbers

[MelissaB]

47. I could switch services and then change.

:evilgrin: That's the only thing keeping me from going with Packet8 at this point. Hubby wants to keep our own phone #. I guess it's time to surf and look for a temporary company so I can keep my pnone #. Thanks so much for the info.

[burythehatchet]

43. How do they decide on portability?

I just checked with Packet8 and my land line # is portable.

[MelissaB]

51. I'm not sure. I hope somebody else can answer this one.

[MelissaB]

37. Another ?

Is packet8 the only phone service you have? You got rid of your land line, right?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

42. Yep. No land lines here at all. Just my VOIP and cell.

I'm going to get a UPS to make sure the VOIP can still work during a power outage.

[Left Turn]

76. Yeah

Vonage isn't as cheap as people think it is. Some friends of mine considered Vonage, but went with SunRocket, which is apparently $100 cheaper a year.

[Kerry fan]

25. We just signed up with Vonage a few days ago.

Getting Local and unlimited long distance for $24.99 per month. No, they don't have ISP. My ISP is Comcast Cable.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

35. My ISP is Knology....

Packet 8 is $19.99 a month and spends more on sevice than adverts.

[MelissaB]

13. Well, I think we need a list of options.

I have Bell South, but am unhappy about them. I've had to call the last three months because they've sent me the wrong bill. I'm looking at VOIP, but there seems to only be one in my area with 7 digit dialing. Packet8 seems to have great rates. I think it was $19.99 for unlimited calling in the US and Canada

For those interested in VoIP SunRocket seems to get good ratings, too. Some people at FatWallet are getting $8.25 month. Link: http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/600250/

[burythehatchet]

19. Thanks for info

It seems that the smaller the company the more likely they can remain free of the NSA's tentacles.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

49. I used to have BellSouth as well.

I switched to Knology before I switched to Packet8. I'm in North Alabama and the closest Vonage got me was Mobile's AC.

I think I made my decision on a Tom's Hardware review, rates and the AC availability with 911 capabilities.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Every journey starts with one step. If everyone who feels as you do

does the same, it WILL make an impact.

[Tinksrival]

18. I switched just Thursday

W.O.W or Wide open West. Got a great deal on a bundle. DSL, cable, and phone. I hope they are a good company. I was tired of paying through the nose for a phone I hardly use.

[Mend]

21. we cancelled our AT&T a month ago and all the static is gone

from our telephone line. We knew it was tapped and we are nobodies, except for being liberal Democrats.

[burythehatchet]

26. I read your post and it gives me a sick feeling in my stomach

I know I'm on every list they have, so even though I have nothing to hide, it makes me sick.

[TexasProgresive]

73. I doubt anyone will read this but

that is so 1930's. If the Government is tapping your line you will never know. There will be no clicks, static or other noises; it's all digital. There are no bored people in a room full of tape recorders. Forget what you see in movies. The call records. voice and data are likely monitored and recorded from a site near or in DC. And forget VoIP that is probable less secure then any phone calls except for cell calls (anybody with the right scanner can get your cell calls).

[burythehatchet]

75. All the more reason to use creativity

and try to go off the grid. As impossible as that may seem, I believe that as long as we realize that we live in "The Matrix", we will be far better off than if we simply ignore the tether attached to us by this fascist regime.

[951-Riverside]

23. I'm stuck in a 1 year DSL contract *sigh*

[yy4me]

29. Check this out as a long distance carrier:

For many years, I had a long distance carrier plus a local carrier (Verizon). Rates for long distance were high plus you have the monthly fees etc. A friend told me about the company PowerNetGlobal. I now use them for my long distance carrier and am charged only for the minutes I use, no monthly charge or any other baloney. THey offer a couple of plans but mine is .049 cents a minute. I have never come close to the monthly charge I was paying with AT&T. I don't know about their politics but the economics works for me. I have also never had a single problem with them. I just called to sign up, they did the rest. I did, however, place a lock on my local service so some company could not switch my carrier without my knowledge. That did happen to me years ago. Our local service is really a no-choice situation but there are many long distance carriers out there. Compare them at www.calling-plans.com

[liberal N proud]

32. did it one month ago.

[seabeyond]

40. me too. got them about two months ago. i have wanted to get

rid of them since they took over southwestern bell. at & t immediately missed up my account, cost me money by their error, they are impossible to rectify the mistake and service gals have hung up on me twice. they have become a horrible company anyway and i was going to walk. but just sent the post about this company to my husband and told him the second reason i want to leave. os monday i will be telling them i wont be with a company that turn over my private records to bush.... right along with you

[paul_fromatlanta]

48. If you change carriers, who does your new carrier buy from

Either they are lerge enough that they have to cooperate with the government or they buy from someone who does.

If the governmnet wants to monitor your calls or internet they have the capability to do so no matter what carrier you use.

[mwooldri]

67. Does the Govt. have to have equipment in every exchange for this?

As an example, here in GSO we have no choice but BellSouth to provide actual phone lines (BellSouth soon to be part of the 'new DeathStar'). I have no service with them anymore, I have Sprint for wireless. I also have Lingo operating over Earthlink Cable, in partnership with Time Warner Cable, to offer a 'landline' service (ok, it's voip but still).

I mean, they could monitor my calls if they really want to but there might be a time I want to communicate 'company secrets'. I want that to be secret. I don't want some eavesdropper who might be moonlighting for my competitors to know about a competitive advantage I might have. I might want to get involved with The Samaritans - I don't know if they exist over here but in the UK they're big on crisis management. Imagine that you're on the phone as a Samaritans' counsellor and that you've learned that the caller on the other end of the line has just shot someone dead. Your job is to counsel them, not be worried whether you'd be turned over to the authorities for learning about a crime because someone else is listening in.

Now at the local level, there are the wires that lead to the exchange... but in the exchange is what matters next. I had phone service from Birch Telecom, but all they did is lease BellSouth equipment. Hence I paid Birch, they paid BellSouth. I had BellSouth service under a different name. There are companies (and I don't know which ones do) who install their own equipment in the telephone exchanges and switch the traffic over their network - away from the incumbent operator. In this example if Company X offered the service, BellSouth would still have the lines from your home to the exchange, but at the exchange your line would be unhooked from BellSouth's equipment and then hooked into Company X's system. That line would then technically be owned by Company X, not BellSouth. Company X and BellSouth might still have a contract where BellSouth would fix any faults in the physical line itself but BellSouth wouldn't have any control or say-so over the actual line.

In my own case it gets complicated. I have Earthlink cable, but in reality it's RoadRunner, and they use AOL's backbone. Lingo is really Primus Telecom - my phone traffic goes locally from Greensboro to Atlanta, to Primus's leased lines with Qwest... and then to their network.

Mark.

[paul_fromatlanta]

69. I don't know about every exchange but my understanding is that Bell South

south is carnivore compliant. now, in olden times Bellsouth required a court order before allowing tapping but who knows these days...

[TallahasseeGrannie]

52. My situation is more complicated

because I have a lot of AT&T stock I inherited and I have no idea what to do with it. It's already split into so many little companies I can't keep track of them.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

53. I'd see if I could dump them now for a healthy profit and look at

some good Dem friendly stocks that are conservative investments.

(Love 'ya, TG!)

[TallahasseeGrannie]

54. Good advice

and I need to deal with it. For so long I ignored them because they were like dud bombs..nothing happened. Especially the Lucent ones. They tanked lower every week. But Lucent has now been sold. I've never been a stock investor but my father in law worked for Bell Labs for 40 years and got them with his paycheck, I guess.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

55. I haven't researched it, but my gut says "sell high" and I have a feeling

that ATT's high might be sometime around now.

[iamahaingttta]

56. While you're at it, why not...

Stop paying your taxes, stop using your credit cards and stop using any petroleum products that are not absolutely necessary.
Seriously!

It's time for a revolution, friends, if we are to stop these people from their murderous path of world domination. They must be stopped, and the only way for US to do that is to stop the conversion of stolen oil into profits. Profits that go directly to the top. They cannot do anything without the kind of consumption that WE provide, and "the market" will not magically fix this.

Stop feeding this beast, it's the only way we will survive.

I'll start...

[burythehatchet]

58. See post 16

:)

[Bumblebee]

59. WORKING ASSETS. THEY ARE GREAT, AND CHEAPER TO BOOT!

We have been usung them for several years now, and it actually makes me feel good to write a check... I even round it up all the time since it goes to good causes. Highly recommend it!

[MelissaB]

62. I wish they offered local service...

[MelissaB]

60. List of some VoIP companies and websites for those interested

Vongage is probably the best known and for $24.99 you get Included Features you get
911 Dialing
Voicemail Plus
Caller ID with Name
Call Waiting
Call Forwarding
3-Way Calling
In-Network Calls
Take Vonage With You
Area Code Selection

Call Transfer
Click-2-Call
Call Return
Caller ID Block
Repeat Dialing
International Call Block
Ring Lists
Call Hunt

Vonage: http://www.vonage.com/?type=PaidSearch_Google_Search_2958

Packet8 is one that I'm considering because I can have a local number in my area. I'm in north Ala. and the pickings are slim. Packet* gets great reviews, though, and here is what is offered for $19.99 a month.

All Packet8 plans include unlimited in-network calling, voicemail
caller ID
call waiting
three-way calling
call forwarding
caller ID blocking
online account management.
In addition to unlimited local and long distance calling in the U.S. and Canada, Packet8 subscribers benefit from some of the most competitive international rates available.

Packet8: http://www.packet8.net/

SunRocket also gets great reviews. Their website says $199/yr. and 3 free months, but you can call and get $8.25 a month though today. Here's what you get:

3-Way Calling
7 Digit Dialing
Call Forwarding
Caller ID with Name
Call Logs
Call Return
Call Waiting
Call Waiting ID
Click to Call
Contacts
Distinctive Rings
Do Not Disturb
Find Me
Speed Dial

SunRocket: http://www.sunrocket.com/

Here's the FatWallet thread on getting the $8.25: http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/600250/

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

63. Great work, Melissa! Thanks!

[MelissaB]

66. I've been looking this week, and I thought I'd share.

I think what I'm going to try to do is switch from BellSouth to MCI and then to Packet8. I called MCI a few minutes ago, but they are out for the weekend. I'll call Monday and switch if I don't have to stay a certain time and there are no fees. I'll then switch to Packet8 so that I can keep my current number.

Also, I'll send you a PM when I'm ready so that you can refer me. :)

[wordpix2]

64. "Dilbert Quotes" Contest yields AT&T funny quote- hahaha- LOL!

A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life Dilbert-type managers. These were voted the top ten quotes from the Dilberts we work for in corporate America, circa 2004: (See thread for more in GD)

"We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees." (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

65. LOL. That is priceless! n/t

[dusty64]

74. Cingular just

got bought out by at&t, I have a contract as soon as its over.......

[Xenotime]

77. Skype is the only way to talk