As I opened my Frontier statement for our cabin phone, I was shown an ad for High-Speed Internet for "$19.99 No Contract, 3-year price guarantee". The tiny, grey, fuzzy print is "per month with qualifying phone service". I have yet to find "qualifying phone service" explained in detail.
Fine print on another page states "Limited time offer to new or current Frontier customers who subscribe to a qualifying package of Frontier local service with features, long distance and new High-Speed Internet with speeds up to 6Mbps."
Ah! When I clicked on "bundles" then I got a list of packages that include high-speed internet. The minimum bundle is "Digital Phone Essentials" which includes 30 minutes of long-distance per month, caller iD, and call waiting; all features we do not have and do not need. The price is $47.98; taxes are not mentioned. Our basic dial-up service is $18.00 including extended area service* and $16 taxes and other charges. So, we would be paying at least $64/month for internet and phone we use only one or two nights a week.
I think I'll stick with the poky 25kbps dial-up.
But I may have no choice. Last time I knew, the faster phone cable hadn't been laid as far as our cabin. Even faster Frontier service is being provided in the area with fiber-optic cable, but it ends about 1-1/2 miles from our cabin. I assume any extension of that cable will continue on the main paved road and not come down our gravel road.
* Surprisingly, we can make a local call to our house in Duluth that is 46 miles away, but we can't make a call to Two Harbors about 35 miles away.
