DEAR AT&T – What do I do if I only have DSL to choose from?

Life is hard if you’re still stuck with DSL for your home Internet and unfortunately AT&T seems bent on making it even harder for with their latest announcements about data caps. Obviously, if you have the choice, it’s much better to switch to fiber, but what if that’s not an option?

Beginning August 21st, AT&T will increase the data cap of their U-verse service to 1TB per month, with the option to upgrade to unlimited data for $30 more a month. All customers currently signed up for their GigaPower service (1Gbps) will get unlimited data for no extra charge. The only other way to avoid their data caps is to sign up for AT&T’s DIRECTV service. This sounds all fine and dandy, but they’re leaving DSL users behind and capped at 150GB a month without the option to upgrade to unlimited data (unless they get U-verse options).

DSL users already have to deal with comparatively slow connections by modern standards, so having restrictive data caps is like getting kicked when you’re down. AT&T is notorious for enforcing data caps for their DSL services and earlier in the year added data limit tiers for their U-verse service, which many subscribers were upset about. With U-verse and GigaPower subscribers benefitting from these updates, DSL users are forced to remain at low data caps, with extra charges if they go over the limit. Depending on location, many DSL users don’t have the option to switch to other services.

Many rural residents have DSL lines because it is the only option in their area but AT&T is making it impossible for many users without TV service to receive a better plan. We guess AT&T is trying to force traditional TV services so no one can rely on streaming services altogether. But it’s 2016… Do we really need traditional TV services? We have written numerous blogs and user-spotlights about Internet services in rural areas and it has recently became very clear that all of these large ISP’s make it extremely difficult to rural residents to get out of a digital dark age.

At Speedify, our goal is to provide people with the means to better and faster Internet with our Speedify software. Speedify is the solution for AT&T customers who are stuck using their DSL services. Our Speedify Desktop app allows you to combine multiple Internet connections for one better, faster connection. Here are a couple of things you could do to speed up your Internet connection without going over your data limit:

1. Two DSL lines: You could call your DSL provider and see how much it would cost to add a second line. A lot of times, adding a second line can actually cost less than upgrading to a faster line. Speedify can combine the two DSL lines, potentially doubling your usual 5 or 10Mbps speeds. This is especially helpful when there’s multiple people in a household using the Internet.
2. Tether your smartphone: Many newer smartphone models allow you to turn your phone into a personal hotspot and share its Cellular connection either wired or wirelessly. In this case, Speedify would combine your DSL and your smartphone’s Cellular connection. Here are quick and easy tethering guides for iPhones and Android devices from our friends at HowToGeek.