The Hidden Cost of Embarq DSL

When you look for an ISP, you might some time consider Embarq. If you do, then you need to add a certain undisclosed installation fee when you compare Embarq’s prices with those of other providers. This might also be true for other providers too, so caveat emptor.

The extra amount to add in the case of Embarq is about $173.99, as of this moment. If you already use Microsoft Windows, then you have already paid the extra fee, and will continue paying it. But if you use MacOS, Linux, or any number of equally capable operating systems instead of Windows, then at the moment, you’d better factor in the extra $174 when you consider Embarq.

To be fair, it seems that this fee is not tacked on by Embarq itself, but by some other entity that Embarq uses to handle new account set-up. Nevertheless, when you attempt to use http://install.embarq.com, even in Mozilla Firefox, it won’t work. This is by design. The Embarq installation process requires Windows as a prerequisite. Here’s a bit of Ecmascript code from a relevant install web page to demonstrate:

var is = new Is();
if(!(is.win98 || is.winme || is.win2kSP4 || is.winxp || is.winvista)) { //alert(“You are using a VA UnSupported OS”); }

The good news is that Internet connectivity seems to work whether or not you have completed the Embarq DSL installation.

3 thoughts on “The Hidden Cost of Embarq DSL

  1. I can only guess what I’m missing at this point, but I have connectivity at least. The only thing I might want beyond that is the ability to send mail via Embarq’s smtp server. That could require a configured login. In the meantime, I can ssh into my regular environment.

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