[GeoStL] Re: NGR-DSL/Cable

-
I'm not sure of the technicalities of what  I'm talking about here .. 
because my girlfriend took care of this for me .. but.. for a while she 
suspected our line was "capped" after I drew attention to myself by having 
problems! (She makes the big bucks for knowing what she's doing when it 
comes to computer technical things ) She told me  enough so I could weasel 
my way into a "technical" support area instead of the regular customer 
service area and to discuss with them checking to see if our line was 
capped.  I don't remember all the details, but I knew enough then to 
convince them to get me out of the first and second line cs to where they 
must not get to talk to enough real people and were much more helpful. The 
guy I talked to said our speeds should be better. Then said they would be 
better.   They WERE better...   we used to get the "Dude, you rock the 
universe" speed results on DSLreports -- now we fall into the  1300-1400 
"Good -- but there are better" category -- with Earthlink always being the 
one first recommended.

Being somewhat of a conspiracy theorist, she has explained to me that while 
*I* am paying for my DSL connection, that since there is so much "room 
available" that they could sneakily be putting someone else (like my 
neighbor) onto the same "line."  I know these aren't the technical terms and 
someone (maybe a Mike?) out there will be able to explain it better -- but 
essentially they have the ability to charge for 2-3 "lines" and use only one 
and might not notice until someone asks. Her theory is that in cases like 
ours where it's possible we and our neighbor were on the same line until we 
"noticed."

Also, when this same friend lived in far northeast north county in a 50+ yr 
old subdivision she was also one of the first ones to sign up. However, she 
soon discovered that she could not get DSL even though other people on her 
street could.  Finally, they came to  find out that the line to HER house 
did not take the most direct route from the local substation or whatever 
they call nearest phone hub thing. Through the years, as repairs had been 
made, the lines to her house zigged and zagged an extra 1000 feet or so --  
putting her out of the  DSL range -- while houses on the next street  or 
down the street  and seemingly further away, had no problems as their lines 
came in a different and more direct  way.

Is there a difference between SBCglobal and swbell.net? If you have one and 
ask for the other would it make a difference or can you even do that? Our 
swbell.net has been rather reliable and we literally were the "first on the 
block" to get it. The only problems we have now are the need to occasionally 
make an email change without warning! We also dutifully ignored those 
"Switch to SBC YAHOO" emails and warnings and never downloaded the software 
for that and have not had any problems.

We also had some problems when we bought a Dell Laptop with XP and went 
wifi. The Dell wifi modem and router  was not compatible with the DSL router 
that came from SWBELL because the swbell stuff was too old and Dell did not 
support it.  We had to buy a Linksys router in order to continuously stay 
connected.

As for cost ..  we started at the initial $49.99 rate and after a few months 
of reading "SBCYAHOO DSL 24.99/Month" pop-ups we called and asked, "Why are 
WE, the GOOD customers paying $49.99 when you are advertising 24.99?" And, 
the reply, "Well, would you like to pay $24.99?  We can put in a rate change 
for you if you'd like."   NOW they are advertising 19.99 ...  So, I'd say DO 
NOT go for any more $$ a month.  I'd call back and complain some more. No 
one wants to be the customer service rep who puts in the "Cancel" order --  
at least ask for the lower rate.

While, not a technically accurate response -- perhaps it will give someone 
something to think about and perhaps offer further suggestions.

Nancy




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bernie" <happykraut@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 2:05 PM
Subject: [GeoStL] Re: NGR-DSL/Cable


> -
>
>  Mike, really haven't noticed any slowdowns under certain conditions. It's
> just slow all the time. The most I ever got was 405. My neighbor two 
> houses
> down gets up to 1.5 with the same provider. I've spent lots of time with
> techsupport, but since it meets their 385, they are not willing to do
> anything. I could go to the next higher service for $40/month and they
> guarantee 1.5 to 3.0. With my luck I would probably get 1.5. Is that worth
> another $10-I don't know. I have filters on all the phones and I have a
> Cat-5cable coming all the way to the computer.  Bernie
>
> Mike Lusicic wrote:
> - I had a lady that was getting really crummy DSL service too. They 
> finally
> called in someone who used to work for SBC but went independent. He had 
> them
> put the filters on all of the phones, and their problems seemed to have
> disappeared. Have you installed those filters they gave you on ALL the 
> phone
> connections (and fax connections) in the house? I have SBC, and right now 
> I
> am getting 1536 K in and 384 out. Do you notice it any worse after it 
> rains?
> Sometimes they have leaks in the insulation around the phone lines, and 
> you
> get crosstalk on the wires until it dries out. The crosstalk confuses the
> DSLdata, and it has to retransmit the data which means it takes longer
> (seemsslower). If there is water in the line, they can and should fix that
> upfor you. Bernie wrote: - I use SBC Global for my high speed internet
> service and I am very unhappy with the speeds I'm getting. I don't like
> Charter because they do not provideany hookup numbers while traveling. 
> What
> other broadband services are available to me that would also have free
> hookupwhile traveling. Bernie **************************************** Our
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