I must be nuts putting myself through this again. Moving offices two years later. I call it my green plan to move closer to home and reduce my carbon footprint. I just needed a change. What I didn't need was a reprise of the Telco saga that amused some of you in earlier blogs, transferring voice and data lines over to a new location with B-B-B-Bell.

With all the great choices available since deregulation, here were my options:

Allstream does not service the new location.
Telus does not service the new location.
Rogers, everybody swears off Rogers for business.
VoIP? Excuse me but through a tin-can my voice sounds even more bland.
Primus was a candidate.
B-B-B-Bell still lives in Castle Spendalot.

The requirement:

4 voice, hooked up to a Meridian Centrex box with rollover, one data/fax high speed dsl. Not a major power-plant.

After I triple-pledge my ISP, network installer and the phone company into a streamlined workflow, I shoot for Primus, on a three year contract (saves Bell activation fees and cost $20/mth per line less). But I can't port my numbers. One week before move date I find out that it will take up to two weeks to get the line numbers in, plus 6 days for my ISP to get the dsl switched over at the D-SLAM (whatever that is). And by the way, Primus can't move my Centrex box. That I have to do myself.

Peta-Lee, my calm centre in the storm of managing this move, is now frizzling her bangs.

Next comes a bigger shock. Bell offers to wave $585 in activation fees, to get the numbers ported in 4 days or less, and a 50% reduction in the cost of the data line. What can I do? I rip up the Primus contract and, before reason can rhyme with treason, I AM BACK WITH BELL!!

Now, the question is... will they deliver? Heaven only knows.

The real news is, in TelcoLand, nothing has really changed. The customer is still screwed. Just by more companies than before.