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TelMex changes their Internet packages... again


ComputerGuy

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Hot on the heels of their latest price and package changes, TelMex has done it once more. Gone is my $599 package (I assume I am grandfathered in), and gone is the $299 package recently introduced. Now it's $389, $499, $699 and $999.

One noticeable change: previously the $599 package got you unlimited local calls. No more; that has been reduced to 100. This is traveling backwards in time and is pretty much unacceptable as far as I am concerned. http://telmex.com/web/hogar/notmx_paquetes

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I never got to see the old packages but isn't this at least an "upgrade" on the internet side of the package? I thought I remember the $299 package being 3-5Mbps and the $599 package being 10Mbps?

If my memory is roughly correct this might save people that are more interested in the internet than the phone. While I'd love to believe some of the speed tiers above the new $389 package are legitimate, I don't have much hope.

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ryanv, it is definitely a speed upgrade for Internet (assuming you can get it where you are), but a downgrade in terms of telephone service. Since TelMex was initially a telephone service, one would expect them to keep that part of the service up and improving. Perhaps they are more than a little annoyed with the now-free long distance, and this is a legal-loophole way of getting back at everyone.

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I just switched to IUSCell- they are now open at Laguna Mall and I get free long distance cell phone calls in MX, US and Canada. They are an AT&T company that is a big competitor to Telcel! I have a 1 year plan with 2 Gigs/month for data and free data on Facebook! The cost was $1795 for the year. About $8.30 US per month.

maw

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Your best bet would be to call tech support in the CDMX and ask them. They will be able to tell to one extent or another right over the phone; then a day or two later you will see the difference. The notable thing here? If you do get a higher speed, call back and tell them to drop your rate again but leave the speed alone. Proof in the pudding.

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Our $389 package consistently only delivers 3 Mb and I have no hope that switching plans would make it faster. The new plans say we should be getting hasta 10 Mb. Hasta la vista baby.

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ryanv, it is definitely a speed upgrade for Internet (assuming you can get it where you are), but a downgrade in terms of telephone service. Since TelMex was initially a telephone service, one would expect them to keep that part of the service up and improving. Perhaps they are more than a little annoyed with the now-free long distance, and this is a legal-loophole way of getting back at everyone.

I worked for a company that started out as a telephone company and later moved into the traditional ISP and Cellular markets. As time went on, the majority of their customers had landline service only because it was an absolute requirement for a DSL connection set by our company. Landline service was only required because the company received grant money for each land line service contract we had. Customers begged for years to be able to drop their landline service that they never used while still being able to keep their DSL connection.

With the cell plan pricing I've been reading about, I'm guessing that the majority of the non expat Telmex customers are moving more toward cell only or cell/DSL only, and away from landline services.

I personally haven't had any form of landline service since 2002 (my current rental did come with a landline service , but it wasn't something we asked for).

I don't know it for sure, but I've seen it happen in other markets before. There's a decent chance this is a market driven change and not a dark motive.

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Well, a good theory, but we will have landline service for a long, long time... at least until there is something better to replace it. Many reasons: first, you cannot get DSL with telephone lines, be they copper or otherwise. Two, that infrastructure is pretty much universal, even in places where there is no cell phone service. Three, that infrastructure will never go away, not while federal governments the world over subsidize and demand it. Fourth, all major phone companies are forever upgrading that infrastructure, which means better service. More reasons: cell service is iffy and spotty, and subject to all kinds of distractions. WiFi is much, much worse, no matter how much Google would like you to believe it's the answer. Most tellingly, cell phone service is far more expensive than landlines, in particular when it comes to data. Businesses will never give up their landline service, no matter how much they rely on their own cellular system. I could go on forever.

There is no evidence to suggest anything other than profit motive for any POTS company to drop back to lower caps on landline use.

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We're still getting billed $599, the same for at least 5 years even though the service has improved greatly. Compared to what my brother pays in east Phoenix it is a big bargain. It worked so well I was able to stream the Super Bowl in high def instead of watching the game on our rather poor cable service.

Frankly, I'm surprised it has stayed the same for so long.

We'd be very hard put to make 100 local phone calls per month.

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Well, a good theory, but we will have landline service for a long, long time... at least until there is something better to replace it. Many reasons: first, you cannot get DSL with telephone lines, be they copper or otherwise. Two, that infrastructure is pretty much universal, even in places where there is no cell phone service. Three, that infrastructure will never go away, not while federal governments the world over subsidize and demand it. Fourth, all major phone companies are forever upgrading that infrastructure, which means better service. More reasons: cell service is iffy and spotty, and subject to all kinds of distractions. WiFi is much, much worse, no matter how much Google would like you to believe it's the answer. Most tellingly, cell phone service is far more expensive than landlines, in particular when it comes to data. Businesses will never give up their landline service, no matter how much they rely on their own cellular system. I could go on forever.

There is no evidence to suggest anything other than profit motive for any POTS company to drop back to lower caps on landline use.

Your first point:

Sorry, I might not have been clear. I'm very well aware that DSL uses the physical land line, and that isn't going away in this area any time soon. I'm saying that the calling portion of that service is likely in low demand and getting even lower if the market is anything like the US. Here's a quick graph:

https://d28wbuch0jlv7v.cloudfront.net/images/infografik/normal/chartoftheday_2072_Landline_phones_in_the_United_States_n.jpg

Your Second and Third point:

Eventually (I realize this will be a while in this area) the physical POTS lines will "go away" simply by being abandoned. They simply won't have the performance capabilities that people have come to expect from Cable or Fiber connections.

Your Fourth point:

Phone companies in the US really aren't investing in POTS lines. They're moving on to Fiber or at least a better copper transmission medium. There are some that are putting better DSL tech on the end of existing POTS lines and occasionally "cleaning up" POTS lines to try to remain competitive with the Cable and Fiber companies, but there is no "future" in it, and they know it.

Numerous businesses in the US have already given up on traditional calling landline services and moved to phone service over a data connection through cable or fiber companies. While they want reliability, they don't know or care that their landline calling services are not provided over a traditional POTS call setup system. Even the cell companies are moving away from calling services as a POTS based system in 4G/LTE and are moving to data based calling like VoLTE and similar.

Your Final Statement:

I've worked for a POTS company doing network and cellular work. I understand the systems, business models, and customers very well. Landline calling is not a profitable or desirable business to be in. There is a reason they have, or are moving their focus to internet services.

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I agree with most of your points, but stats don't change things. Time does. Landline calling is not a losing business; the infrastructure is there, the switches are digital, and it is the most reliable source of communication on the planet. We have miles and miles of underwater transoceanic cable to prove it. All other forms of communication are subject to EMPs and cloud attack, and the simple telephone that does not require any other power will prevail until well past our lifetimes because it will continue to work. It's just that other forms of communication are a burgeoning business.

And I must reiterate I'm really focusing on Mexico anyway, and TelMex. Their efforts to replace copper with fibre are almost non-existent at lakeside, and throughout the country, except for large urban metropolitan areas. Carlos Slim is not known for investing in new technology (he really missed the boat on VoIP, as only now do his new modem models incorporate the tech, and in the meantime he lost his stranglehold on long distance).

I do agree that it will happen (as I said, long after we're dead), but the only reason for his change in policies concerning capping local calls is financial. It costs his system nothing to deliver unlimited calls.

EDIT. I pay $599 and am now getting a consistent 20 Mbps speed in Riberas.

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I agree with most of your points, but stats don't change things. Time does. Landline calling is not a losing business; the infrastructure is there, the switches are digital, and it is the most reliable source of communication on the planet. We have miles and miles of underwater transoceanic cable to prove it. All other forms of communication are subject to EMPs and cloud attack, and the simple telephone that does not require any other power will prevail until well past our lifetimes because it will continue to work.

And I must reiterate I'm really focusing on Mexico anyway, and TelMex. Their efforts to replace copper with fibre are almost non-existent at lakeside, and throughout the country, except for large urban metropolitan areas. Carlos Slim is not known for investing in new technology (he really missed the boat on VoIP, as only now do his new modem models incorporate the tech, and in the meantime he lost his stranglehold on long distance).

I do agree that it will happen (as I said, long after we're dead), but the only reason for his change in policies concerning capping local calls is financial. It costs his system nothing to deliver unlimited calls.

There is still a big difference between landline calling and landines. Landline calling is a dead or dying breed. Even if the infrastructure is there, there is almost no business model to support landline calling in the medium to long term future. "Calls" will occur and are occurring over data connections. When Vonage, Google, Skype, magic box, and hundreds of other providers can give you calling services for fractions of pennies, the traditional calling model is dead or dying.

Even with POTS based digital switches, companies are tearing out their traditional POTS based calling equipment. (During my time in telecom we tore out all kinds of antiquated tech) Only a very small minority of people care about EMPs or cloud attacks, and just want reliable service at lower costs.

I am certain that traditional POTS will not prevail well past my lifetime as you say unless I have an untimely demise (I should live at least 50 more years). It may still be around for extremely rare mission critical situations, but will primarily be a "around" at the end of my life like telegraphs, ham radio, Morse code, and record players and horses are now.

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I like landlines and I like "$%&/()" telephones that need no electricity. I've even got an $%&/() telephone with big numbers that I can dial in the dark.

When you've lived in Mexico for 20 years with the unreliability of electricity being a part of everyday life here, you'll like landlines too. My neighbours on the coast certainly did when they all filed down to our house to assure their friends and family in the U.S. and Canada that various hurricanes hadn't done them in.

Everyone make sure that you're not being charged for a plan that no longer exists on your next phone bill. You certainly can't assume Telmex to do it. Been there, done that.

edited to add...I didn't swear...I typed "I.D.I.O.T." telephone

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I agree with most of your points, but stats don't change things. Time does. Landline calling is not a losing business; the infrastructure is there, the switches are digital, and it is the most reliable source of communication on the planet. We have miles and miles of underwater transoceanic cable to prove it. All other forms of communication are subject to EMPs and cloud attack, and the simple telephone that does not require any other power will prevail until well past our lifetimes because it will continue to work. It's just that other forms of communication are a burgeoning business.

EDIT. I pay $599 and am now getting a consistent 20 Mbps speed in Riberas.

And we pay 599 and are lucky to get 5mbps in Ajijic above the carretera.

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I also pay $599 and am lucky if I get 3 mbps in West Ajijic below the carretera....and I used to get 5 and I used to never suddenly have no service at all. All living in the same house and nothing has changed.

So, can I have 3 of your 20 Computerguy? I'll give ya 100 pesos for 'em.

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I was paying 599 and getting 6mbs. I went into the Telmex office and said that I either wanted higher speed or a lower price. The young lady looked up my account and said that in my location I couldn't get more speed, so she would lower my price to 389.

The result was that my bill went down to 389, and my speed increased to 7.2mbs.

Fact is, the speed quoted in the packages is what you are guaranteed never to exceed and will in fact be limited by your local infrastructure and distance from the nearest network access point (DSLAM).

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  • 3 weeks later...

AGAIN. Just checked, and TelMex has changed their packages back to the old three-tiered price system. Wow, must have been some public backlash. I imagine it was dropping the unlimited local calling that did it, as opposed to the speed differences.

Just talked with TelMex Mexico City, because they failed to deliver the promised replacement modem for my friend. Now I'm told there are three models: Technicolor, Huawei, and Arcadyan (PRP9519). A search reveals that Arcadyan is a Mexican company that is simply re-labelling the current Huawei model. I can find no info on the PRP9519 anywhere. In any case, the guy I talk to frequently in Mexico City tells me they are much happier with the stability of all the current models, compared to those from the last few years. Meanwhile, the local office is still trying to offload used and refurbished older Huawei and Technicolor models. (The new ones are obvious because they are much bigger.)

And in case anyone missed it, the uptick in speed to 20 Mbps is made possible by TelMex upgrading some of their services areas to VDSL, as opposed to ADSL. This is something I am told by an expert that can be done in software at the central office and does not necessarily require new hardware in the neighbourhood. (I checked from Los Olivos the other day, and speed was about 8 Mbps. ADSL is provided there for now, according to tech support, so 10 would be the very max in that area.)

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Meanwhile out in the "Internet Dessert of El Tempisque"......average is .75 download/.35 upload.   We are at 66.5 km milepost, then about 900' up on the hillside.  When we moved here 4 years ago average download was 1.75.  Now its .75.

Last week I made my annual trip to Telmex, put in a service request....call a call from Telmex that they were readjusting our settings.....immediately got 2.0 download, it was like Christmas!.....a week later we are averaging .81 download/upload is less than before.  

The main issue is that we are 1.2 km from the nearest "extender", where as the standard is 800'.    Telmex Ajijic told me that 2.0 dowload was the most I could expect.

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