I am now in the process of switching over my last few customers to Telmex. I offered to do this for my clients who were forced to switch providers due to me closing down Lagunanet.
When I am out and about I have had a few people come up to me and it’s always the same old shit. I am usually greeted with.
Hi Rod how are you?
Me: “fine thanks”
Them: Hows everything?
Me: “great”
And then there is a brief pause, and then silence as if I should be showing some sign of despair or maybe sadness, but the truth is I am so fucking happy I shut down Lagunanet. I started this business back in 1996. Yep (22 years ago) I lived for this shit” I still do.
I am proud to have been the FIRST person to deliver internet access Lakeside, yes, long before Telmex, and I was the first to offer high-speed internet. And I am damn proud of it.
I had a lot of fun the first few years, it was new and fascinating, it was something no one else had done, but like many small ISP’s I saw the writing on the wall and knew exactly how long the business would last. I could see small ISP’s in the U.S and Canada closing their doors due to big companies giving their service away.
Telmex did the same thing, they came in with cheap prices and offered service that I or no other small company could compete with.
When Telmex started offering service they knew who their competition was and because of that, they were effective and fast. If you contracted Infinitum or phone service it was usually installed that same day or at the latest the next day.
I milked Lagunanet for as long as I could but after about 2012 competition got tougher and customers became more frugal (and complained about everything). There was a lot of bragging on some of the local forums about how much better Telmex was, plus it was cheaper.
But anyway, I rode this shit out the best I could and began looking into other business options and settled back into what I do best (if it involves technology I’m good at almost all of it).
An eye opener
My eye-opening experience has been while helping customers switch over to another Internet service. What I am seeing is that that the Internet service that Telmex and Telecable are offering sucks!! But hey that’s all there is. (At least for now)
It seems that those once blazing fast speeds that Telmex used to offer in Ajijic and other areas lakeside have dwindled and slowed to a crawl in many areas. Yes, Telmex does offer good service in selected areas but not in all.
I have just recently contracted a few new Telmex services for my customers, instead of same-day installation those customers have been put on a 4-6 week waiting list until new service is available.
Telmex used to offer speeds of at least 10 Mb in most areas, what I am finding out is that in many areas customers are lucky to get 5Mb. If you need service from Telmex you have to call an 800 number and talk with someone who walks you through a step by step process (like a retard) that usually knows nothing about technology, at the end of that process you end up with a report number and a promise a technician will visit you soon.
Telecable is not any better and their support is nonexistent.
There is the promise of fiber optic Internet coming to Lakeside “Yeah right”
I hear there is a new Internet company coming to town, but before they do, they want your money up front and a signed contract. This will be fun to watch from the bleachers. At the end of the day, they will still use Telmex infrastructure Oh boy, a new fiber optic Intenet provider, “if I recall correctly that’s what Telecable originally offered”.
I am very fortunate that I do not have to use either service providers. The one bonus I have after so many years of being in the Internet business is that I still have the original E3 connection that I first contracted when I began offering Internet service Lakeside. It’s not cheap but the service is awesome. No shared bandwidth and it is a solid, plus my bandwidth is equally as fast for upload and download.
I am proud to have offered top notch service to my customers
One thing I can honestly say that provided service to my customers was the ability to help everyone on an individual basis. A service that will probably not be available from the other ISP’s but that’s just the new way of doing business.
So the next time I see you out and about “I’m doing fine” and this Internet Chapter of my life is over. “Yeah, Buddy” So, instead of answering the phone and listening to people complain about their Internet connection. People can complain to big the BIG companies who really don’t give a fuck about how your service is performing.
For those of you who stuck with me for all the years, I give you a sincere thank you!
Best wishes to all of you
Sincerely
Rod Collins
