On Feb 18, 12:26*pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:58:25 -0800 (PST), klem kedidelhopper
wrote:
Well I finally dug a path through the snow out to the interface and
plugged my laptop directly into into it using a 6 foot cable and guess
what? A 26.4K connection! So I called the phone company to complain,
and (it was Saturday) but the rep told me that she would run it by the
technician on Tuesday and get back to me, disturbingly adding that she
"wasn't sure if they could do anything about it". Then she further
disturbingly added the usual cover their asses statement that if it is
determined that there was no problem with the telephone company's
lines, "a service charge would apply".
They are required to inform you that charges may apply, even if they
are unlikely, just in case you want additional work done when they
arrive. *That's because someone sued and won claiming that Ma Bell
didn't warn them that they would be charged for on premesis work.
Strictly speaking, if the telephone tech even steps into your house,
you could get a bill. *I also know of one local tech that would claim
he did inside work, when the owner never let him in the house or was
away when the tech arrived. *The solution is simple... don't let the
tech in the house if you don't want to pay.
Well this really ****ed me off, and I told her that as far as I know
if I plugged into their interface and duplicated my problem then the
trouble is NOT premises related, it is THEIR's and therefore I cannot
be charged for a service call which they might make of their own
volition or of my request. Did I imagine that or is that a fact? I
added that if they sent a tech over I could easily demonstrate at the
interface that I can get a 45K connection on one line and only a 26.4K
connection on the other. I would take that service charge if I ever
got one to the PUC if I had to
Nice try. *I don't know how it works in your area, but in the Peoples
Republic of California, the PUC (public utilities commish) has
separated the voice monopoly and data portions of the operation. *You
are guaranteed by the monopoly to have acceptable voice service. *You
are NOT guaranteed to be able to use the line for data at anything
faster than 2400 baud. *AT&T will make an effort to get it working to
V.32 (9600 baud), but no higher. *The reason is not crappy wiring.
It's the large number of SLC, pair gain, and remote terminal systems
that have saved AT&T considerable expense by not requiring a metallic
pair back to the CO (central office). *These are good for voice, but
will generally limit your modem connection to about 26Kbit/sec because
of the reduced bandwidth. *If you want faster dialup, you'll need a
metallic pair. *The only way I've found to guess if it's an SLC, Pair
Gain, or metallic pair is the frequency response test from the USR
modem that I previously mentioned.
What actually are my rights here?
It depends on your state public utilities commission rules. *What
state or country are you in? *The rules might be available online.
This is a business line. Is the
phone company "required" to provide me with a line that I can get full
dial up bandwidth on?
Not in California. *Business lines actually have less "rights" than
consumer lines, even though you pay more.
Can I legally push this issue with them?
Are you a lawyer? *Do you have a large bank account? *If not, I
suspect you may be tilting at windmills.
Or can
they really turn around and say "sorry Charlie but we're providing you
with voice communications and we *can't do anything about your dialup
speed issue.
Yes, they can probably do exactly that. *In California, if you
complain to AT&T about data speeds, they will instantly suggest you
buy their new and improved U-Verse data service (ADSL2+) and generally
ignore all modem complaints. *This has been an occasional problem with
older credit card machines, that use dialup lines and internal modems.
The result is that the business owner gets burned for a new terminal
that does credit card verifications over the internet instead of
dialup.
--
Jeff Liebermann * *
150 Felker St #D * *http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann * * AE6KS * *831-336-2558
We're in New Hampshire. I don't know what the PUC rules are here
either except that it seems like the utilities, telephone as well as
electric have always seemed to have the PUC in their pockets. I think
that I might have an idea as to how to approach this problem though.
Several months ago I complained to the phone company about a strange
random "Boing Boing" sound on my lines that would come and go during a
conversation with someone. The noise was unpredictable, would usually
last about a minute, was almost deafening at times and could only be
heard by me and never by the person on the other end of the line. They
never could verify my complaint, I'm certain that they never fixed it
and it hasn't happened for awhile now. Perhaps I should remind them of
this "continuing" problem that I've been living with that has
apparently affected my dialup speed as well. Lenny.