Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it took him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it. Got rid of the hum.

On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it took him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it. Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother? Only a luddite would want slow DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


In our area, AT&T chose not to replace their old slow copper lines with fiber so Comcast ate their lunch. I expect AT&T will abandon their lines here in a few years.

On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it tookÂ* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.Â* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?Â* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


In our area, AT&T chose not to replace their old slow copper lines with
fiber so Comcast ate their lunch.Â* I expect AT&T will abandon their
lines here in a few years.

I have Comcast plus a FIOS land line from copper replacement. It still
gets billed like a land line and you have to pay extra for long distance
carrier and things like caller id. I bill it out to a consulting client
otherwise would cancel it. AT&T still has that old telephone company
mentality where they act like the only game in town.

On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it took* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


If you lived in an area plagued by frequent and/or seasonal power
outages that last more than a few hours, you would feel differently.
We've lived in the same urban/suburban area and served by the same
electric company's infrastructure for more than 30 yrs. Until a few
years ago, we would frequently (at least monthly) experience power
outages of 8 hrs or more, even on a beautiful clear day without wind.
Spring thunderstorms and winter ice storms occasionally produced outages
lasting many days. Although our neighborhood had fiber optic service
installed early in the phase-in, we kept our POTS service. The only
time we lost phone service was when VZ "accidentally" cut our phone line
while excavating in our easement to run their fiber optic cables past
our house. (They promptly repaired the cut when I brought it to their
attention even though they denied knowing that they did it.) A "backup"
battery on a digital phone line only provides about 8 hrs of standby
service and 2 hrs of talk time. After that, the phone company takes no
responsibility.

Don't tell me I could get a generator or jury rig my own supplemental
batteries to keep the digital line alive longer. Many of us live in
multi-unit condo or apartment homes where portable generators are not
allowed and are not feasible to use safely and where it would be both
unsafe and unsightly to install enough rechargeable battery power to run
the modem for a week or so. It shouldn't fall on me to compensate for
the deficiencies that the phone company foists on us without our
permission. Especially given their astronomical rates and profits. As
is so characteristic of modern technology, when it works right, it's
great. However, there's often features present in older technology
that's not preserved when the newer technology takes over.

In our area, AT&T chose not to replace their old slow copper lines with
fiber so Comcast ate their lunch.* I expect AT&T will abandon their
lines here in a few years.

On 2018-12-27 6:09 a.m., Peter wrote:
On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it took* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


If you lived in an area plagued by frequent and/or seasonal power
outages that last more than a few hours, you would feel differently.
We've lived in the same urban/suburban area and served by the same
electric company's infrastructure for more than 30 yrs.* Until a few
years ago, we would frequently (at least monthly) experience power
outages of 8 hrs or more, even on a beautiful clear day without wind.
Spring thunderstorms and winter ice storms occasionally produced outages
lasting many days.* Although our neighborhood had fiber optic service
installed early in the phase-in, we kept our POTS service.* The only
time we lost phone service was when VZ "accidentally" cut our phone line
while excavating in our easement to run their fiber optic cables past
our house.* (They promptly repaired the cut when I brought it to their
attention even though they denied knowing that they did it.)* A "backup"
battery on a digital phone line only provides about 8 hrs of standby
service and 2 hrs of talk time.* After that, the phone company takes no
responsibility.

Don't tell me I could get a generator or jury rig my own supplemental
batteries to keep the digital line alive longer.* Many of us live in
multi-unit condo or apartment homes where portable generators are not
allowed and are not feasible to use safely and where it would be both
unsafe and unsightly to install enough rechargeable battery power to run
the modem for a week or so.* It shouldn't fall on me to compensate for
the deficiencies that the phone company foists on us without our
permission.* Especially given their astronomical rates and profits.* As
is so characteristic of modern technology, when it works right, it's
great.* However, there's often features present in older technology
that's not preserved when the newer technology takes over.

In our area, AT&T chose not to replace their old slow copper lines
with fiber so Comcast ate their lunch.* I expect AT&T will abandon
their lines here in a few years.

where did you find condos in a urban/suburban area and served by the
same electric company's infrastructure for more than 30 yrs

On 12/27/2018 5:58 AM, Frank wrote:
On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it tookÂ* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.Â* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?Â* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


In our area, AT&T chose not to replace their old slow copper lines
with fiber so Comcast ate their lunch.Â* I expect AT&T will abandon
their lines here in a few years.

I have Comcast plus a FIOS land line from copper replacement.Â* It
still gets billed like a land line and you have to pay extra for long
distance carrier and things like caller id.Â* I bill it out to a
consulting client otherwise would cancel it.Â* AT&T still has that old
telephone company mentality where they act like the only game in town.

Â* Out here in the woods 12 miles from the nearest town DSL is all we
can get . And Yelcot really is the only game in town unless you want
satellite . That said , I recently changed our telephone/internet plan ,
got a faster internet connection , caller waiting , free unlimited long
distance all in addition to our original service . They call it a
"residential bundle" and when we changed our bill went ... down a few
bucks .

--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crochety - and armed .
Get outta my woods !

On 12/27/2018 8:17 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 12/27/2018 5:58 AM, Frank wrote:
On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it tookÂ* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.Â* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?Â* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


In our area, AT&T chose not to replace their old slow copper lines
with fiber so Comcast ate their lunch.Â* I expect AT&T will abandon
their lines here in a few years.

I have Comcast plus a FIOS land line from copper replacement.Â* It
still gets billed like a land line and you have to pay extra for long
distance carrier and things like caller id.Â* I bill it out to a
consulting client otherwise would cancel it.Â* AT&T still has that old
telephone company mentality where they act like the only game in town.

Â* Out here in the woods 12 miles from the nearest town DSL is all we
can get . And Yelcot really is the only game in town unless you want
satellite . That said , I recently changed our telephone/internet plan ,
got a faster internet connection , caller waiting , free unlimited long
distance all in addition to our original service . They call it a
"residential bundle" and when we changed our bill went ... down a few
bucks .


We're lucky I guess in having choice of Comcast or FIOS. Neighbor
across the street switches services every two years or so to get the
cheaper entry bundle. We do not want to put up with this disruption and
just a week ago renegotiated our bundle for 2 years. It costs less than
what our bill was going to be and increased internet speed to max and
now includes all the premium movie channels. It is a PITA for all of us
to get a service at a certain rate to not know what the cost will be
when the entry package expires. I've equated it to buying a car with a
monthly payment known for the first year but not for subsequent years.

On 12/27/2018 7:09 AM, Peter wrote:
On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
....

But if FiOS is available, why bother?* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


If you lived in an area plagued by frequent and/or seasonal power
outages that last more than a few hours, you would feel differently.
....

+1

When it's 30+ mi from the substation and 50+ to the nearest service shed
and you're on the last leg and also happen to be the only farmstead (of
three on that branch) on a particular phase if can't call, there's a
very high probability they may not know we're out, particularly if it's
just the one phase that doesn't reset as has happened.

Losing the phone _with_ the power is just not kewl...

--

On Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 8:09:44 AM UTC-5, Peter wrote:
On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it tookÂ* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.Â* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?Â* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


If you lived in an area plagued by frequent and/or seasonal power
outages that last more than a few hours, you would feel differently.
We've lived in the same urban/suburban area and served by the same
electric company's infrastructure for more than 30 yrs. Until a few
years ago, we would frequently (at least monthly) experience power
outages of 8 hrs or more, even on a beautiful clear day without wind.
Spring thunderstorms and winter ice storms occasionally produced outages
lasting many days. Although our neighborhood had fiber optic service
installed early in the phase-in, we kept our POTS service. The only
time we lost phone service was when VZ "accidentally" cut our phone line
while excavating in our easement to run their fiber optic cables past
our house. (They promptly repaired the cut when I brought it to their
attention even though they denied knowing that they did it.) A "backup"
battery on a digital phone line only provides about 8 hrs of standby
service and 2 hrs of talk time. After that, the phone company takes no
responsibility.

Don't tell me I could get a generator or jury rig my own supplemental
batteries to keep the digital line alive longer.


A cell phone solves the phone problem during a power outage for the
majority of people who have them. Many homes have more than one today.
If the power outages are that bad, are you and the rest of the community
complaining to the public utility board? The power utility is the real
root of your problem.

On 12/27/18 8:09 AM, Peter wrote:
Don't tell me I could get a generator or jury rig my own supplemental batteries to keep the digital line alive longer.* Many of us live in multi-unit condo or apartment homes where portable generators are not allowed and are not feasible to use safely
and where it would be both unsafe and unsightly to install enough rechargeable battery power to run the modem for a week or so.* It shouldn't fall on me to compensate for the deficiencies that the phone company foists on us without our permission.

Seems like your beef is with the power company for not maintaining the power grid.

My annoyances when the power goes out is lack of water to bathe, flush toilets, loss of food in refridgerators/freezers and then loss of heat if during winter months.
I could care less that the telemarketers can't call me.

But if you really got to have a phone, get a Tracfone and charge it in your car.

On 12/27/2018 8:13 AM, % wrote:
On 2018-12-27 6:09 a.m., Peter wrote:
On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it took* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


If you lived in an area plagued by frequent and/or seasonal power
outages that last more than a few hours, you would feel differently.
We've lived in the same urban/suburban area and served by the same
electric company's infrastructure for more than 30 yrs.* Until a few
years ago, we would frequently (at least monthly) experience power
outages of 8 hrs or more, even on a beautiful clear day without wind.
Spring thunderstorms and winter ice storms occasionally produced
outages lasting many days.* Although our neighborhood had fiber optic
service installed early in the phase-in, we kept our POTS service.
The only time we lost phone service was when VZ "accidentally" cut our
phone line while excavating in our easement to run their fiber optic
cables past our house.* (They promptly repaired the cut when I brought
it to their attention even though they denied knowing that they did
it.)* A "backup" battery on a digital phone line only provides about 8
hrs of standby service and 2 hrs of talk time.* After that, the phone
company takes no responsibility.

Don't tell me I could get a generator or jury rig my own supplemental
batteries to keep the digital line alive longer.* Many of us live in
multi-unit condo or apartment homes where portable generators are not
allowed and are not feasible to use safely and where it would be both
unsafe and unsightly to install enough rechargeable battery power to
run the modem for a week or so.* It shouldn't fall on me to compensate
for the deficiencies that the phone company foists on us without our
permission.* Especially given their astronomical rates and profits.
As is so characteristic of modern technology, when it works right,
it's great.* However, there's often features present in older
technology that's not preserved when the newer technology takes over.

In our area, AT&T chose not to replace their old slow copper lines
with fiber so Comcast ate their lunch.* I expect AT&T will abandon
their lines here in a few years.

where did you find condos in a urban/suburban area and served by the
same electric company's infrastructure for more than 30 yrs

The Silver Spring/Bethesda/Rockville area of Montgomery County, MD,
served by PEPCO.

On 12/27/2018 9:31 AM, trader_4 wrote:
On Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 8:09:44 AM UTC-5, Peter wrote:
On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it took* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


If you lived in an area plagued by frequent and/or seasonal power
outages that last more than a few hours, you would feel differently.
We've lived in the same urban/suburban area and served by the same
electric company's infrastructure for more than 30 yrs. Until a few
years ago, we would frequently (at least monthly) experience power
outages of 8 hrs or more, even on a beautiful clear day without wind.
Spring thunderstorms and winter ice storms occasionally produced outages
lasting many days. Although our neighborhood had fiber optic service
installed early in the phase-in, we kept our POTS service. The only
time we lost phone service was when VZ "accidentally" cut our phone line
while excavating in our easement to run their fiber optic cables past
our house. (They promptly repaired the cut when I brought it to their
attention even though they denied knowing that they did it.) A "backup"
battery on a digital phone line only provides about 8 hrs of standby
service and 2 hrs of talk time. After that, the phone company takes no
responsibility.

Don't tell me I could get a generator or jury rig my own supplemental
batteries to keep the digital line alive longer.


A cell phone solves the phone problem during a power outage for the
majority of people who have them. Many homes have more than one today.
If the power outages are that bad, are you and the rest of the community
complaining to the public utility board? The power utility is the real
root of your problem.

There were LOTS of complaints, the State government got involved, fined
them, threatened even more fines and the power company suddenly started
a tree-trimming project, burying cables, replacing aging cables, etc.
and reliability has greatly improved. Of course the power company then
took those costs to the public utility board and promptly got a rate
increase to reimburse the power company. Of course we ended up with
higher rates just because the power company was forced to adhere to
expected standards of reliability. Utilities have a real racket going.
No matter what they do, the customer ends up paying and the
stock-holders get richer.

On 12/27/2018 10:26 AM, Peter wrote:
....

There were LOTS of complaints, the State government got involved, fined
them, threatened even more fines and the power company suddenly started
a tree-trimming project, burying cables, replacing aging cables, etc.
and reliability has greatly improved.* Of course the power company then
took those costs to the public utility board and promptly got a rate
increase to reimburse the power company.* Of course we ended up with
higher rates just because the power company was forced to adhere to
expected standards of reliability.* Utilities have a real racket going.
No matter what they do, the customer ends up paying and the
stock-holders get richer.

We'll they're not a charity...who else is there to pay the bills?

You, too, can be a stock holder if you choose...if you have a 401(k),
probably already are...

--

On Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 11:46:01 AM UTC-5, dpb wrote:
On 12/27/2018 10:26 AM, Peter wrote:
...

There were LOTS of complaints, the State government got involved, fined
them, threatened even more fines and the power company suddenly started
a tree-trimming project, burying cables, replacing aging cables, etc.
and reliability has greatly improved.Â* Of course the power company then
took those costs to the public utility board and promptly got a rate
increase to reimburse the power company.Â* Of course we ended up with
higher rates just because the power company was forced to adhere to
expected standards of reliability.Â* Utilities have a real racket going.
No matter what they do, the customer ends up paying and the
stock-holders get richer.

We'll they're not a charity...who else is there to pay the bills?

You, too, can be a stock holder if you choose...if you have a 401(k),
probably already are...

--

You can't make some people happy. Sounds like the power utility was holding
costs down, not doing necessary tree trimming that would give better
reliability. So, people complained, they increased the tree trimming.
Somebody has to pay for it. I wonder what the electric rate there is?
Here in NJ, which isn't known for being low cost, we're paying ~13 cents
per KWH. And we have a very reliable system, plus money from that rate is
subsidizing solar.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 27 Dec 2018 11:26:18 -0500, Peter
wrote:

On 12/27/2018 9:31 AM, trader_4 wrote:
On Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 8:09:44 AM UTC-5, Peter wrote:
On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it took* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


If you lived in an area plagued by frequent and/or seasonal power
outages that last more than a few hours, you would feel differently.
We've lived in the same urban/suburban area and served by the same
electric company's infrastructure for more than 30 yrs. Until a few
years ago, we would frequently (at least monthly) experience power
outages of 8 hrs or more, even on a beautiful clear day without wind.
Spring thunderstorms and winter ice storms occasionally produced outages
lasting many days. Although our neighborhood had fiber optic service
installed early in the phase-in, we kept our POTS service. The only
time we lost phone service was when VZ "accidentally" cut our phone line
while excavating in our easement to run their fiber optic cables past
our house. (They promptly repaired the cut when I brought it to their
attention even though they denied knowing that they did it.) A "backup"
battery on a digital phone line only provides about 8 hrs of standby
service and 2 hrs of talk time. After that, the phone company takes no
responsibility.

Don't tell me I could get a generator or jury rig my own supplemental
batteries to keep the digital line alive longer.


A cell phone solves the phone problem during a power outage for the
majority of people who have them. Many homes have more than one today.
If the power outages are that bad, are you and the rest of the community
complaining to the public utility board? The power utility is the real
root of your problem.

There were LOTS of complaints, the State government got involved, fined
them, threatened even more fines and the power company suddenly started
a tree-trimming project,

Not only that, the trees are ugly now.

burying cables,

We've had buried phone and electric cables from the beginning, but a
month ago, the delivery man dropped off a half-dozen 6-foot boxes and
about 200 45-foot 4-inch plastic pipes, and some spools of wire. The
delivery-man said it was for upgrades. I think it's for some other
area but they store it on our land because it's convenient. They've used
4 of the boxes and about 80% of the pipe, but because I'm not out there
watching and following them, I don't know where. However they also did
some digging, with mini-excavators, at two spots in the n'hood. One of
them is on the island in the middle of the parking area, as far from any
house as is possible. That's strange because afaik the electric power
runs through a tunnel right under the sidewalk that runs right in front
of the houses, not 30 feet out into the parking area.

For the last 3 or 4 days, even during working hours, the excavators have
been sitting there unused.

Another interesting story from 10 years ago. During a rain/wind storm a
big branch fell off a tree in the wooded area that surrounds the stream.
The branch landed on the phone cable that goes from the street outside
the n'hood into our n'hood where the cable goes down the pole at the
edge of the wooded area, and is buried from there on. When the branch
landed on the cable, it broke the phone pole, and the phone cable came
down, lying in the stream.

Even though the phone and the internet still worked, I dutifully called
the phone company to report this. Automated message line took the
message, but no feedback that they had the message, so a month later, I
called again. Three months after that, I called again. The cable was 3
or 4 inches under water most of the time and 3 or 4 feet under water
when it rained hard. After my 3rd call I gave up, and 3 years later
they came and fixed it. The phone, etc. worked fine the whole time.


replacing aging cables, etc.
and reliability has greatly improved. Of course the power company then
took those costs to the public utility board and promptly got a rate
increase to reimburse the power company. Of course we ended up with
higher rates just because the power company was forced to adhere to
expected standards of reliability. Utilities have a real racket going.
No matter what they do, the customer ends up paying and the
stock-holders get richer.

On 12/27/2018 12:40 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 11:46:01 AM UTC-5, dpb wrote:
On 12/27/2018 10:26 AM, Peter wrote:
...

There were LOTS of complaints, the State government got involved, fined
them, threatened even more fines and the power company suddenly started
a tree-trimming project, burying cables, replacing aging cables, etc.
and reliability has greatly improved.* Of course the power company then
took those costs to the public utility board and promptly got a rate
increase to reimburse the power company.* Of course we ended up with
higher rates just because the power company was forced to adhere to
expected standards of reliability.* Utilities have a real racket going.
No matter what they do, the customer ends up paying and the
stock-holders get richer.

We'll they're not a charity...who else is there to pay the bills?

You, too, can be a stock holder if you choose...if you have a 401(k),
probably already are...

--

You can't make some people happy. Sounds like the power utility was holding
costs down, not doing necessary tree trimming that would give better
reliability. So, people complained, they increased the tree trimming.
Somebody has to pay for it. I wonder what the electric rate there is?
Here in NJ, which isn't known for being low cost, we're paying ~13 cents
per KWH. And we have a very reliable system, plus money from that rate is
subsidizing solar.

We're paying 14.3/kWh when you take our total bill (supply cost +
delivery cost) including numerous taxes, and divide by total kWh. (I've
taken extensive care to find the best price for Supply.)

On 12/27/2018 11:55 AM, micky wrote:
....

For the last 3 or 4 days, even during working hours, the excavators have
been sitting there unused.
....

Not surprising given time of year. The contractor probably shut down
for the entire week for holiday.

--

On 12/27/2018 5:17 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 12/27/2018 5:58 AM, Frank wrote:
On 12/27/2018 6:14 AM, devnull wrote:
On 12/27/18 5:15 AM, micky wrote:
Despite the stories I've heard about Verizon not wanting to fix coppper
lines, when I called last Wednesday afternooon, they came out on Friday
afternoon and it tookÂ* him 2 hours and he had to go back 90% of the way
to the exchange but he fixed it.Â* Got rid of the hum.


V repairs copper lines in areas where FiOS is not available yet.

But if FiOS is available, why bother?Â* Only a luddite would want slow
DSL/POTS over old copper lines.


In our area, AT&T chose not to replace their old slow copper lines
with fiber so Comcast ate their lunch.Â* I expect AT&T will abandon
their lines here in a few years.

I have Comcast plus a FIOS land line from copper replacement.Â* It
still gets billed like a land line and you have to pay extra for long
distance carrier and things like caller id.Â* I bill it out to a
consulting client otherwise would cancel it.Â* AT&T still has that old
telephone company mentality where they act like the only game in town.

Â* Out here in the woods 12 miles from the nearest town DSL is all we
can get . And Yelcot really is the only game in town unless you want
satellite . That said , I recently changed our telephone/internet plan ,
got a faster internet connection , caller waiting , free unlimited long
distance all in addition to our original service . They call it a
"residential bundle" and when we changed our bill went ... down a few
bucks .


For a year or 2. Then the sky's the limit.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 27 Dec 2018 13:51:26 -0600, dpb
wrote:

On 12/27/2018 11:55 AM, micky wrote:
...

For the last 3 or 4 days, even during working hours, the excavators have
been sitting there unused.
...

Not surprising given time of year. The contractor probably shut down
for the entire week for holiday.


YOu're right. A subcontractor, not the phone company itself.

I wanted to hotwire and drive the mini-excavator, but I'm chicken.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 27 Dec 2018 14:42:08 -0500, Peter
wrote:

On 12/27/2018 12:40 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 11:46:01 AM UTC-5, dpb wrote:
On 12/27/2018 10:26 AM, Peter wrote:
...

There were LOTS of complaints, the State government got involved, fined
them, threatened even more fines and the power company suddenly started
a tree-trimming project, burying cables, replacing aging cables, etc.
and reliability has greatly improved.* Of course the power company then
took those costs to the public utility board and promptly got a rate
increase to reimburse the power company.* Of course we ended up with
higher rates just because the power company was forced to adhere to
expected standards of reliability.* Utilities have a real racket going.
No matter what they do, the customer ends up paying and the
stock-holders get richer.

We'll they're not a charity...who else is there to pay the bills?

You, too, can be a stock holder if you choose...if you have a 401(k),
probably already are...

--

You can't make some people happy. Sounds like the power utility was holding
costs down, not doing necessary tree trimming that would give better
reliability. So, people complained, they increased the tree trimming.
Somebody has to pay for it. I wonder what the electric rate there is?
Here in NJ, which isn't known for being low cost, we're paying ~13 cents
per KWH. And we have a very reliable system, plus money from that rate is
subsidizing solar.

We're paying 14.3/kWh when you take our total bill (supply cost +
delivery cost) including numerous taxes, and divide by total kWh. (I've
taken extensive care to find the best price for Supply.)

Just adding the lines that are per kwh, I get 11.93c/kwh

Dividing the entire bill by 477kwh, I get 13.69c

The only 2 items that are not per kwh are Maryland Unversal service
program, that I think brings electricty to those who can't afford it,
and that's 36c, and the customer charge of $7.90.

On 12/27/2018 1:42 PM, Peter wrote:
On 12/27/2018 12:40 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 11:46:01 AM UTC-5, dpb wrote:
On 12/27/2018 10:26 AM, Peter wrote:
...

There were LOTS of complaints, the State government got involved,
fined
them, threatened even more fines and the power company suddenly
started
a tree-trimming project, burying cables, replacing aging cables, etc.
and reliability has greatly improved.* Of course the power company
then
took those costs to the public utility board and promptly got a rate
increase to reimburse the power company.* Of course we ended up with
higher rates just because the power company was forced to adhere to
expected standards of reliability.* Utilities have a real racket
going.
No matter what they do, the customer ends up paying and the
stock-holders get richer.

We'll they're not a charity...who else is there to pay the bills?

You, too, can be a stock holder if you choose...if you have a 401(k),
probably already are...

--

You can't make some people happy.* Sounds like the power utility was
holding
costs down, not doing necessary tree trimming that would give better
reliability.* So, people complained, they increased the tree trimming.
Somebody has to pay for it.* I wonder what the electric rate there is?
Here in NJ, which isn't known for being low cost, we're paying ~13 cents
per KWH.* And we have a very reliable system, plus money from that
rate is
subsidizing solar.

*We're paying 14.3/kWh when you take our total bill (supply cost +
delivery cost) including numerous taxes, and divide by total kWh.
(I've taken extensive care to find the best price for Supply.)

* As with telephone , there's only one game in town here , Entergy
Arkansas in this case . I can't complain though , at 10 cents per kw/hr
including all taxes and fees . And considering most of the power lines
around here run thru heavily wooded terrain it's remarkably reliable .
Our biggest fear is if we get a really bad ice storm , those lines can
only hold so much weight . Fortunately , I live in a clearing out in the
woods and CAN and do have a generator .

--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crochety - and armed .
Get outta my woods !