Misadventures on the Net

I have just returned from a much-needed family vacation in London and Paris. It is the one true benefit of being part of the mobile business class. 

I can report that London is ridiculously expensive. Paris, on the other hand, for the first time in my adult memory, is a relative bargain. The conversion rate was an almost unimaginable 8 Francs to the dollar. 

What I really want to report, though, is the sad state of communications from overseas back to the U.S. It was a real adventure attempting to connect to the Internet. It highlights an interesting phenomena/reality for those of us who are in the small office/home office market. Voice is still the only reliable choice for universal communications. The caveat being that fax is also an option since you dial telephone numbers to use it.

So here is my story and I am sticking to it.

In anticipation of traveling to England and France, I contacted my Internet service provider, AT&T WorldNet to ask a simple question: Is there dial-up service to WorldNet in Europe? 

Their answer: NO!

“So why do you call it WorldNet; isn’t that false advertising?” I retorted to a not-so-friendly customer service person. 

“We are not responsible for making corporate policy," I was told. "You will have to call a manager at WorldNet to get an answer, but thank you for calling WorldNet and have a nice day!” 

Don’t believe all the hype about inexpensive, anywhere/anytime communications unless all you want to do is make a voice phone call from a wired phone. The everywhere, anytime world Net does not yet exist for either broadband or narrowband.

Undaunted, I download my wife and kids’ AOL information and AOL 6.0. I was informed that when I got to my foreign destination, I could go into the access information part of the AOL software, which would dial a number in that country and would download the local access numbers.

“This is great,” I thought to myself, even though there was an additional $4.00 for foreign access. If I could get to AOL, I could get to my AT&T WorldNet mail and my other e-mail accounts. It seem well worth the additional expense.

When I got to the Marriott in London, I opened the AOL browser and was connected to a local number that downloaded a bunch of “Freephone” numbers to dial to access AOL. I activated the dialer. It dialed and connected. It told me what speed I was connected at and then threw me off. The message said that I could not access AOL from this number. I tried several more times and got the same message.

I took out my calling card and dialed the local access number and then dialed the AOL customer service number. “The Hotel is obviously blocking you,” I was informed. 

I called the front desk,  and was told that that explanation was “pure rubbish.” I called AOL back  and was told, “It can’t be us; it must be them. But, thank you for calling AOL and have a nice day.” 

The next morning, I noticed an Internet Café down the street from the hotel. I went and asked how much they charged. “One pound (about $1.45) for 45 minutes,” I was told. “How fast?” I asked. “ISDN basic rate.” Sounds like a deal.

I flew through my mail and went on AOL customer service chat seeking help. 

“AOL has different software versions for different countries. It is possible that if you do not have the U.K. version, you might not be able to connect,” I was told. 

“So how do I download that software if I can’t get on your network?" I asked. "I am not allowed to attach my PC to the Internet at this cafe."

“I am not familiar with how to do that," the customer service person replied. "This is technical support, but thanks for contacting AOL and have a nice day.”

A funny thing happened when I tried to access AOL in France. It was expensive, but it worked like a charm. 

Before this experience, I always wondered who actually used Internet cafes. They seemed so silly. I even wondered who would buy an 802.11b card for their PC so they could connect to expensive wireless LANs in various public places. What an overpriced waste. Now I know better. Forewarned is forearmed.

The moral of this story is simple: Don’t believe all the hype about inexpensive, anywhere/anytime communications unless all you want to do is make a voice phone call from a wired phone. The everywhere, anytime world Net does not yet exist for either broadband or narrowband. 

One last travel tip. Remember the American Express Card ad, “Don’t leave home without it?” The Visa ads mocking them were right. Why leave home with it if nobody overseas takes it as a form of currency?

Why can’t vendors give us what we need instead of what they think we need? After this trip, WorldNet and AOL seem like a perfect team--www.nowhere@notime.com.
Peter Bernstein is President, Infonautics Consulting, Inc. He can be reached at pabernstein@worldnet.att.net.