U-Verse and Me

Some might remember that almost a year ago I wrote a post about receiving an email from AT&T informing me that they were reserving the right to at anytime drop my current DSL internet service and switch me over to their U-Verse service. I also complained about the vast amounts of U-Verse related junk mail I receive every week.
We'll I finally succumbed.
Thankfully this was on my own terms for my own reasons and not directly the result of mountains of unwanted solicitations. For the past few months I've been tempted to switch over to the U-Verse internet service for far faster download speeds. Currently, I'm at the top of the DSL that AT&T offers in my area. It tops out at 6Mb/s... if I'm lucky. For the most part I probably average around 4Mb/s. Which is fine for the most part.
Problem is that I've begun doing a lot more video and music streaming than I used to using Amazon's Instant Video and Cloud Player as well as a host of other streaming media like YouTube and Pandora. I also have a whole host of internet connected devices from desktops, TV's, Kindles, Chromebook, notebooks, desktops, blu-ray players, smartphones, tablets and more... all tapping into the same bandwidth. Granted I'm not using all these devices simultaneously but I am using a lot of them at the same time. Uploading videos on a desktop to YouTube, streaming Pandora, checking my Google+ stream on my phone, writing this blog post with the Chromebook.
So I started to think about the future and how much more of what I do will be cloud based. Then I got to looking at my current bill. Currently I pay over $100 for my DSL connection and phone line combined. I rarely have need or even use my phone which is at least half of the bill. I keep it for emergencies, billing/banks, and an alternative in the event my cell phone isn't functioning. Nobody but telemarketers, family and some official business bothers to call my land line. But that being said, I don't want to give it up, just wished it didn't cost so much for what use I get out of it. If I'm keeping a phone line then I also needed caller ID as I screen calls to root out the telemarketers.
I decided that it would be wise to combine both internet and phone using AT&T's U-Verse internet and voice. I'm tripling my internet download speed, still getting phone with caller ID and cutting my monthly bill nearly in half to boot.
After all these years I've finally succumbed to U-Verse and I was able to do it on my own terms for my own reasons.
The installation is scheduled for next month, so it remains to be seen if this was a good decision or not.

RIP DSL?

Something like 8 years ago, I made the plunge and upgraded my dial up service to "high speed". This was my first foray into high speed internet access.
I'd heard a number of bad experiences from friends and co-workers with cable modem service and at the time it required you to also pay for basic cable TV service as well... I couldn't afford both.
That left DSL. After a little delay waiting for DSL service to be available in my fairly new neighborhood, I signed up for DSL service through Southwestern Bell ( now AT&T...again). There were a few hiccups in the beginning due to heat frying out components in SBC's "C.O." boxes. But those were all resolved and the service has been reliable pretty much ever since
Then about 5 years ago, AT&T started to experiment with a new high speed service called U-verse that combined TV, phone and Internet all in to one cable. Just so happened to be that they were testing it in my area. I researched a little on it and was considering trying it out. I was already a Dish Network customer for TV and obligated to a contract, I didn't need the TV part of U-verse. Much to my dismay, I discovered that they didn't offer just internet access by itself. So I ultimately decided against it.
Few years later U-verse was released to a wider public. I started getting, 3 or 4 pieces or more of junk mail a week from AT&T encouraging me to switch over to U-verse. Everything from postcards, catalogs, brochures, letters, sneaky letters with "important information" or mysterious no-name return addresses. And that's in addition to phone calls and emails. All of which point me to distrust the service. Now almost out of principles, I've been avoiding U-verse. They must be pushing their service so hard because it is advantages to them and not necessarily me. Otherwise, why all the sneaky techniques and barrage of collateral material?
So that brings me to today. AT&T just sent me an email regarding updates to their Internet Terms of Service. If you've been reading tech blogs lately or seen Sprint's latest TV ads, you may know that AT&T and other internet service providers are adding provisions to throttle internet access for abnormally high usage. They claim this only affects 1% of their subscribers. Curious for the details, I read through this email to find this: Conversion from DSL to U-verse High Speed Internet
I quickly pull up the referenced Terms of Service on AT&T's site:

Conversion from DSL to U-verse High Speed Internet. When AT&T is able to provision Service to you via our U-verse High Speed Internet at your location, we may, in our discretion, discontinue your DSL service and make available to you AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet at the then applicable rates, terms and conditions, which may differ from your previous DSL Service rates, terms and conditions (including bundle discounts). If you are on a term plan and your price will increase as a result of this conversion, you will not have to pay any applicable ETF if you elect to cancel service. Your new AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet will require different customer premises equipment ("CPE"). When you are selected for conversion, we will provide at least thirty days' notice of the discontinuation of your service via e-mail. Thirty days after such notice, we may at our sole discretion, either disconnect your service or temporarily suspend your service for up to fifteen days before we permanently discontinue service.

In other words, they are reserving the right to forcible switch me over to U-verse, whether I like it or not since U-verse is available in my area. I'm assuming that maintaining the older DSL technology is too costly for them so the are phasing out DSL in favor of a cheaper for them U-verse. And this is their way of saying "we asked you nicely to switch...you didn't so now we're forcing you to."
I don't think any consumer likes to be told what choices to make..or in this case, not being given a real choice at all.
The irony is that I've been considering switching since they now offer just an internet service and offer speeds of up to 24Mb/s (my dsl is capped at 6). Another advantage is that they will allow me to keep my current "sbc" email address. Less hassle for me.
At this point I'm not sure what to do. Wait it out and wait to be forced to switch, which could be inconvenient for me. Switch now so that I have some semblance of control over the situation. Or go a different direction and try a completely different ISP. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of other choices.
Anyone else been through a conversion from DSL to U-verse? Do you currently have U-verse high speed? Got any other suggestions?