North Hollywood man, 90, shames AT&T into upgrading his internet through newspaper ads

Want faster internet? All it takes is a $10,000 ad in the Wall Street Journal

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Saturday, February 13, 2021
North Hollywood man, 90, shames AT&T into upgrading his internet
A 90-year-old North Hollywood man was so irked by slow internet at his home, that he took out two newspaper ads to shame the CEO of AT&T into fixing it.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A 90-year-old North Hollywood man was so irked by slow internet at his home, that he took out two newspaper ads to shame the CEO of AT&T into fixing it.

And it worked.

Aaron Epstein paid $10,000 for the ads to run in the Wall Street Journal, accusing AT&T of short-changing residents who need fast internet service.

A day later, servicemen showed up at Epstein's door.

"At noon time I'm eating my lunch, the front doorbell rings," Epstein recalled. "There's two men in AT&T uniforms wearing boots that you climb poles in. Saying we're here to install the fiber optics line behind your house."

"I thought well, bingo."

To his delight, less than a week later Epstein's home now has AT&T fiber service with blazing-fast internet speeds.

AT&T said in a statement: "Earlier this week we completed our planned expansion of AT&T Fiber in this customer's neighborhood, and we were pleased to provide him the upgrade he wanted."