Your correspondent had to move to a new house just 30 km from Helsinki and install an optic fiber internet connection, receive new credit cards because he thought that the old ones were stolen, and buy a new smart phone because the three-year old one was playing up and not working as it should.
First the new house… Mobile operators have effectively carved up the regions for themselves and are able to arrange monopoly pricing if the site of a house is situated behind a hill that stops the nearest mobile masts from reaching the house. I such cases you are forced to turn to the only possible supplier of an optic fiber internet connection. That is was happened in our case and Elisa, on of these large mobile operators here in Finland has a virtual monopoly in our area. The installation took months, and consumed ten hours on the phone, five weary visits to their shop where staff are well trained to sell the most expensive solutions to the unwary.
Luckily your correspondent is street wise and understands something about the NET, but still the process was like plodding through a muddy field in the rain! After three months we now have a solution that costs some €150 each month for 600 mps for WiFi, full and fast access for two smart phones and one iPad, with two remote units for controlling mobile internet access and for our home’s heating system. Elisa’ customer service was awful, the costs dreadful, and we still only get between 60 and 80 mps access speed for WiFi!
The credit cards requires verification, and that needs a verification app, which requires an operating phone and a verification code that can’t work before the credit cards arrive…
… and without that verification you can’t install the apps on the phone…
5 hours later after three visits to the bank and their IT specialists a solution was found last week – but for some reason one credit card still does not work! It turned out that you correspondent was using his old card which his partner had found under the car seat!
Do not underestimate the impact of forgetfulness on your time and daily life. You just cannot live today without any of these wonderful digital solutions.
Be patient and careful if you want to have new credit cards, don’t lose them or have them stolen; do not buy a new phone unless you really need one, and never install a new internet connection!
Finally make sure that someone in the family has plenty of cash to cover the costs of travel and the monthly subscription… and it is preferable to have an engineering genius in the family…
