Internet

It's been a long time since I posted, but I'm happy to announce: We Have Internet!

When we initially signed up for the service, we received a box and a USB mobile stick. The stick basically provided a wireless hotspot in our apartment until the actual line for the internet could be connected. This feature worked fine, although a bit slow for video calls. But we were happy to have anything at all, considering many people wait months for service.

Our scheduled appointment for the service technician to come connect the actual internet line was originally set for August 6. I stayed home all day waiting for the technician to arrive. Around mid-day, someone buzzed the main door to the building. I answered the call, he said he was with Telekom, and I buzzed him in. When he didn't arrive at our door a few minutes later, I ran down the 4 flights of stairs to search for him. No one was there. No truck. Nothing. He was gone.

That was a moment of extreme frustration and confusion. I called our salesperson, and he was helpful to call the company using his other phone and provide translation so that we could set up another appointment for the technician. There was no explanation for the service technician leaving without completing his duties. The next available appointment was for a week later.

Sometime shortly after this incident, the reliability of the USB stick began to diminish greatly until we basically had zero internet connection. It may be that the device had reached its expiration.

Finally, the day arrived when the technician was scheduled to reappear. This time, Mr. Bloomsbury was home and ready for the technician and greeted him at the entrance of our building. The technician appeared to do some work in our apartment and also worked on a "spaghetti" of lines in the basement. After a while, the technician informed Mr. Bloomsbury the line works and then left.

At this point, the box we have still showed no signs of life. Our first thought was that this technician had done nothing and we were still without internet. However, Mr. Bloomsbury started piecing translations together and called customer service. After almost an hour-long phone conversation with someone who did not speak English, Mr. B was able to figure out what he needed to do to get things connected. Persistence paid off! And I have some blog catching up to do!