1hundredsixty8

As often happens in life, results in any endeavor come through a pragmatic accommodation to circumstances.  In this light,   I dealt with my need for Internet access here at our part-time Florida residence by taking a slight step back in technology. CenturyLink had mailed me a solicitation which trumpeted  their offer of high-speed Internet for 5 years at $19.95 per month. The fine print, however, indicated that this offering was dependent of signing a contract for a "bundle"- the now-common package of Internet, cable TV and land-line telephone. Since I really desired only a reasonably-fast Internet connection with no data limitations, I trundled off  to the local CenturyLink office. 

CenturyLink was in some degree a more reasonable solution than either Verizon Wireless or ComCast. Data was truly unlimited for a price of $29.95 per month. Service could be suspended for 9 months a year (ComCast allowed only 6 months). Between local broadcast TV and NetFlix, we could reasonably satisfy our need to occasionally be distracted by (mostly) mindless entertainment. 

The accommodation? CenturyLink's service is DSL, an older technology. They do provide a high-speed version (10 meg). Unfortunately, this high-speed service is not available in our neighborhood, so we are relegated to the basic, 1.5 meg speed.

On a pragmatic note, it works.