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#1
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Phone service
I have a landline and internet from Frontier.
My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Andy |
#2
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Phone service
On 2/14/20 4:58 PM, A K wrote:
I have a landline and internet from Frontier. My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Andy 1. Can't you "unbundle"/cancel the landline from the DSL ? DSL only needs the wires, not the dialtone, etc to work. 2. Are there no other Internet providers in your area ? Search here based on Zip Code: https://broadbandnow.com/ |
#3
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Phone service
On 2/14/2020 4:58 PM, A K wrote:
I have a landline and internet from Frontier. My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Andy Depends on where you live. Chances are the cable company will give you a much faster internet for that or less, especially the first year. Fastest I ever got was 18 Mbs from DSL but Spectrum gives me 200 Mbs and the first year it was $44. Land line is another $10 or so with free NoMoRobo. |
#4
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Phone service
On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 4:58:48 PM UTC-5, A K wrote:
I have a landline and internet from Frontier. My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Andy I assume by landline, you mean VOIP over the internet, not copper wires? But it doesn't matter. You can likely drop the phone part of Frontier, just use them for internet and use any of the VOIP companies. I've used Ooma, for example. You buy the VOIP box, about $50, then the service is just about $5 a month, which is to cover the taxes and fees. It's worked great for me. The only thing stopping you would be if Frontier won't unbundle the phone and internet or charge you just as much without phone, but they probably can't do that. |
#5
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Phone service
On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:27:04 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 2/14/2020 4:58 PM, A K wrote: I have a landline and internet from Frontier. My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Andy Depends on where you live. Chances are the cable company will give you a much faster internet for that or less, especially the first year. Fastest I ever got was 18 Mbs from DSL but Spectrum gives me 200 Mbs and the first year it was $44. Land line is another $10 or so with free NoMoRobo. Wow - you live well ! I thought I'd died-and-gone-to-heaven when they ran fiber to our tiny rural hamlet - no complaints at all about the service, speed, or reliability but it's ~ $ 150. per month for phone, TV, internet. Plus it's a small local company to deal with - rather than a faceless mega-company. We have very poor rural cellular - hence the fiber phone service. ... and it's part of a " bundle " package. Prior to fiber, we had various separate sevices - - cellular internet being the most expensive - - forced into it when dial-up became totally useless. .. but I still use that free ~ 12 year old router ! John T. |
#6
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Phone service
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#7
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Phone service
On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 4:05:53 PM UTC-6, wrote:
On 2/14/20 4:58 PM, A K wrote: I have a landline and internet from Frontier. My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Andy 1. Can't you "unbundle"/cancel the landline from the DSL ? DSL only needs the wires, not the dialtone, etc to work. 2. Are there no other Internet providers in your area ? Search here based on Zip Code: https://broadbandnow.com/ Thanks for the idea. I talked with Frontier. I can not cancel my land line because the DSL requires it. At least that is what they said. I had call waiting which I did not know I had. Frontier does not break down a bill like they should. I cancelled call waiting and reduced my bill from $90 - $77. I am happy with that. They told me I am on a "promotion" for 12 months. So in a year, I get the fun of going thru this again. :-) Andy |
#8
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Phone service
On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 5:00:55 PM UTC-6, trader_4 wrote:
On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 4:58:48 PM UTC-5, A K wrote: I have a landline and internet from Frontier. My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Andy I assume by landline, you mean VOIP over the internet, not copper wires? But it doesn't matter. You can likely drop the phone part of Frontier, just use them for internet and use any of the VOIP companies. I've used Ooma, for example. You buy the VOIP box, about $50, then the service is just about $5 a month, which is to cover the taxes and fees. It's worked great for me. The only thing stopping you would be if Frontier won't unbundle the phone and internet or charge you just as much without phone, but they probably can't do that. My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. I found out that Frontier charges $6 each month for when they have to repair a phone line that someone digging cuts. I told the lady, "You mean customers have to pay when someone damages the phone line ?" I am praying for peace. :-) Andy |
#9
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Phone service
On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K
wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. |
#10
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Phone service
On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 8:30:16 PM UTC-5, A K wrote:
On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 5:00:55 PM UTC-6, trader_4 wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 4:58:48 PM UTC-5, A K wrote: I have a landline and internet from Frontier. My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service.. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Andy I assume by landline, you mean VOIP over the internet, not copper wires? But it doesn't matter. You can likely drop the phone part of Frontier, just use them for internet and use any of the VOIP companies. I've used Ooma, for example. You buy the VOIP box, about $50, then the service is just about $5 a month, which is to cover the taxes and fees. It's worked great for me. The only thing stopping you would be if Frontier won't unbundle the phone and internet or charge you just as much without phone, but they probably can't do that. My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. I found out that Frontier charges $6 each month for when they have to repair a phone line that someone digging cuts. I told the lady, "You mean customers have to pay when someone damages the phone line ?" I am praying for peace. :-) Andy Sorry, I screwed that up. I missed the dsl part. So, I assume no other internet service, eg cable is available? If not, then I guess you're stuck. Kind of surprised that you can't get just dsl internet without voice phone service. I would think regulators would require them to unbundled. You might want to check about that. Most people would have voice over copper, with dsl added, but no technical reason you can't have dsl without phone service. |
#11
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#12
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Phone service
On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 01:34:12 -0500, micky
wrote: In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 14 Feb 2020 22:55:14 -0500, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. So the box has a jack on the outside, or it's not even locked? It opens with a 5/16 socket. |
#13
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Phone service
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#14
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Phone service
On 2/14/2020 8:30 PM, A K wrote:
On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 5:00:55 PM UTC-6, trader_4 wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 4:58:48 PM UTC-5, A K wrote: I have a landline and internet from Frontier. My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Andy I assume by landline, you mean VOIP over the internet, not copper wires? But it doesn't matter. You can likely drop the phone part of Frontier, just use them for internet and use any of the VOIP companies. I've used Ooma, for example. You buy the VOIP box, about $50, then the service is just about $5 a month, which is to cover the taxes and fees. It's worked great for me. The only thing stopping you would be if Frontier won't unbundle the phone and internet or charge you just as much without phone, but they probably can't do that. My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. I found out that Frontier charges $6 each month for when they have to repair a phone line that someone digging cuts. I told the lady, "You mean customers have to pay when someone damages the phone line ?" I am praying for peace. :-) Andy Ditto here in western NC. No cable, although it is at the base of the mountain where I live. So, the only thing is slow DSL from Frontier. I'm beyond the 14000 foot limit, so they only allow 3meg, however, because I'm just outside and my line it clean, they allow it to ..... wait for it ..... 6meg. Woopie! The town has gotten some federal money to give high speed all over. I'm hoping it will come this way. |
#15
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Phone service
On 2/15/2020 8:46 AM, Art Todesco wrote:
On 2/14/2020 8:30 PM, A K wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 5:00:55 PM UTC-6, trader_4 wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 4:58:48 PM UTC-5, A K wrote: I have a landline and internet from Frontier. My bill is $70 plus $18 more of taxes. That's around a 25 % tax rate !!!! I am also not happy that Frontier has a monopoly on land line service. I could live without the landline, but I have to have it because I have DSL. Are there any cheaper options? Thanks, Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* Andy I assume by landline, you mean VOIP over the internet, not copper wires? But it doesn't matter. You can likely drop the phone part of Frontier, just use them for internet and use any of the VOIP companies.Â* I've used Ooma, for example.Â* You buy the VOIP box, about $50, then the service is just about $5 a month, which is to cover the taxes and fees.Â* It's worked great for me.Â* The only thing stopping you would be if Frontier won't unbundle the phone and internet or charge you just as much without phone, but they probably can't do that. My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. I found out that Frontier charges $6 each month for when they have to repair a phone line that someone digging cuts. I told the lady, "You mean customers have to pay when someone damages the phone line ?" I am praying for peace. :-) Andy Ditto here in western NC.Â* No cable, although it is at the base of the mountain where I live.Â* So, the only thing is slow DSL from Frontier. I'm beyond the 14000 foot limit, so they only allow 3meg, however, because I'm just outside and my line it clean, they allow it toÂ* ..... wait for it ..... 6meg.Â*Â* Woopie!Â* The town has gotten some federal money to give high speed all over.Â* I'm hoping it will come this way. We are lucky and I have choice of Comcast or Verizon FIOS. My Comcast triple play give me up to a gig. Wife complains about cost but will not do what neighbor across the street does and switch back and forth when initial offer expires and price goes up. I have both services to my house but gave up the FIOS telephone lines. Since I only had one business phone on it the charged me land line prices which did not include long distance, caller id, etc. |
#16
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Phone service
On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:56:12 PM UTC-6, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. I live 200 feet from a Verizon brick and mortar "main office." Andy |
#17
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Phone service
On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 11:50:50 AM UTC-5, A K wrote:
On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:56:12 PM UTC-6, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. I live 200 feet from a Verizon brick and mortar "main office." Andy Then aren't they an alternative for DSL/phone or just DSL and use OOma or similar for phone? |
#18
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Phone service
On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 06:34:03 -0500, micky
wrote: In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 15 Feb 2020 02:25:00 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 01:34:12 -0500, micky wrote: In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 14 Feb 2020 22:55:14 -0500, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. So the box has a jack on the outside, or it's not even locked? It opens with a 5/16 socket. I wish I could remember numbers. BTW, we don't have batteries here, outside of the local exchange, which is a building with a lock on the door. Once in Chicago I watched while the guy punched in the code to open the door, and I wanted to go in and wander around, and maybe connect another line to where I lived, but I figured they would really dislike my coming in. That's when I was 20. Now I'm too old to get away with anything, until I learn how to pretend that I'm senile. The days of the big 48v battery bank in the basement of a phone exchange with 3 floors of clicking relays and originating registers and your own dedicated pair going all the way there are long gone. The local phone company here was United Telephone with a #5 system in Ft Myers and an old "stepper" in Naples. They were my customer. When Sprint bought them the whole thing disappeared and they just had a computer console, a couple racks and the wire bays where the wires come in. Most of the wires coming in gave way to fiber. A lot of that switching was redistributed out to those little boxes I was talking about in neighborhoods, connected to the fiber. That was what allowed people to get DSL. You can only run DSL on copper for about a half mile or so. Then it has to get up on the fiber via a DSLAM. They call that "the central office" when they talk about DSL although it is really just the link to fiber. Those little boxes have their own 48v power supply and a battery. Next time I see the guys working on it I will try to get a picture of the insides. |
#19
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Phone service
On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 08:50:47 -0800 (PST), A K
wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:56:12 PM UTC-6, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. I live 200 feet from a Verizon brick and mortar "main office." Andy You should be able to get 100mb DSL then. We are still served by Century link/Sprint and there is only one office per county. Both are about 15 miles from me. |
#20
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Phone service
On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 09:05:58 -0800 (PST), trader_4
wrote: On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 11:50:50 AM UTC-5, A K wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:56:12 PM UTC-6, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. I live 200 feet from a Verizon brick and mortar "main office." Andy Then aren't they an alternative for DSL/phone or just DSL and use OOma or similar for phone? Once 5G rolls out I expect big mobile players to try to get everyone on it and abandon any copper that is still left out there. |
#21
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Phone service
On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 1:04:09 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 06:34:03 -0500, micky wrote: In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 15 Feb 2020 02:25:00 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 01:34:12 -0500, micky wrote: In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 14 Feb 2020 22:55:14 -0500, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. So the box has a jack on the outside, or it's not even locked? It opens with a 5/16 socket. I wish I could remember numbers. BTW, we don't have batteries here, outside of the local exchange, which is a building with a lock on the door. Once in Chicago I watched while the guy punched in the code to open the door, and I wanted to go in and wander around, and maybe connect another line to where I lived, but I figured they would really dislike my coming in. That's when I was 20. Now I'm too old to get away with anything, until I learn how to pretend that I'm senile. The days of the big 48v battery bank in the basement of a phone exchange with 3 floors of clicking relays and originating registers and your own dedicated pair going all the way there are long gone. The local phone company here was United Telephone with a #5 system in Ft Myers and an old "stepper" in Naples. They were my customer. When Sprint bought them the whole thing disappeared and they just had a computer console, a couple racks and the wire bays where the wires come in. Most of the wires coming in gave way to fiber. A lot of that switching was redistributed out to those little boxes I was talking about in neighborhoods, connected to the fiber. That was what allowed people to get DSL. You can only run DSL on copper for about a half mile or so. Then it has to get up on the fiber via a DSLAM. They call that "the central office" when they talk about DSL although it is really just the link to fiber. Those little boxes have their own 48v power supply and a battery. Next time I see the guys working on it I will try to get a picture of the insides. Generally agree. You can get a lot greater distance with DSL though. It is highly dependent on the actual wiring. If it's a straight run, that's good and will support higher speeds/longer distance. It it has bridged taps, gauge changes, is degraded wire, etc, then you're limited to shorter distances and/or lower speeds. Overall, it's only viable if you don't have something better for internet. |
#22
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Phone service
On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 10:37:41 -0800 (PST), trader_4
wrote: On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 1:04:09 PM UTC-5, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 06:34:03 -0500, micky wrote: In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 15 Feb 2020 02:25:00 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 01:34:12 -0500, micky wrote: In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 14 Feb 2020 22:55:14 -0500, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. So the box has a jack on the outside, or it's not even locked? It opens with a 5/16 socket. I wish I could remember numbers. BTW, we don't have batteries here, outside of the local exchange, which is a building with a lock on the door. Once in Chicago I watched while the guy punched in the code to open the door, and I wanted to go in and wander around, and maybe connect another line to where I lived, but I figured they would really dislike my coming in. That's when I was 20. Now I'm too old to get away with anything, until I learn how to pretend that I'm senile. The days of the big 48v battery bank in the basement of a phone exchange with 3 floors of clicking relays and originating registers and your own dedicated pair going all the way there are long gone. The local phone company here was United Telephone with a #5 system in Ft Myers and an old "stepper" in Naples. They were my customer. When Sprint bought them the whole thing disappeared and they just had a computer console, a couple racks and the wire bays where the wires come in. Most of the wires coming in gave way to fiber. A lot of that switching was redistributed out to those little boxes I was talking about in neighborhoods, connected to the fiber. That was what allowed people to get DSL. You can only run DSL on copper for about a half mile or so. Then it has to get up on the fiber via a DSLAM. They call that "the central office" when they talk about DSL although it is really just the link to fiber. Those little boxes have their own 48v power supply and a battery. Next time I see the guys working on it I will try to get a picture of the insides. Generally agree. You can get a lot greater distance with DSL though. It is highly dependent on the actual wiring. If it's a straight run, that's good and will support higher speeds/longer distance. It it has bridged taps, gauge changes, is degraded wire, etc, then you're limited to shorter distances and/or lower speeds. Overall, it's only viable if you don't have something better for internet. If Comcast could stay up more than 24 hours at a time, I might think of taking them back but my FIL still uses them and they suck. It wasn't really apparent to him until he got his echo. He wasn't on the computer that often but now the echo will have a red ring in top when the network is down and he sees it at least once a day. Their TV service is a little better but I am still over there every couple of weeks to "fix" his TV, to find out it is Comcast. Now I have him call them first and he usually gets the recorded message. "Yes we are sorry, we know we suck but what are you going to do? We hope to restore service in an hour or so". (or words to that effect). DSL may be slow (10mb) but it is reliable. We are just waiting for Hotwire to extend their fiber down here. It is a mile away now. |
#23
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#24
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#25
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Phone service
On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 3:22:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 10:37:41 -0800 (PST), trader_4 wrote: On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 1:04:09 PM UTC-5, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 06:34:03 -0500, micky wrote: In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 15 Feb 2020 02:25:00 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 01:34:12 -0500, micky wrote: In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 14 Feb 2020 22:55:14 -0500, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. So the box has a jack on the outside, or it's not even locked? It opens with a 5/16 socket. I wish I could remember numbers. BTW, we don't have batteries here, outside of the local exchange, which is a building with a lock on the door. Once in Chicago I watched while the guy punched in the code to open the door, and I wanted to go in and wander around, and maybe connect another line to where I lived, but I figured they would really dislike my coming in. That's when I was 20. Now I'm too old to get away with anything, until I learn how to pretend that I'm senile. The days of the big 48v battery bank in the basement of a phone exchange with 3 floors of clicking relays and originating registers and your own dedicated pair going all the way there are long gone. The local phone company here was United Telephone with a #5 system in Ft Myers and an old "stepper" in Naples. They were my customer. When Sprint bought them the whole thing disappeared and they just had a computer console, a couple racks and the wire bays where the wires come in. Most of the wires coming in gave way to fiber. A lot of that switching was redistributed out to those little boxes I was talking about in neighborhoods, connected to the fiber. That was what allowed people to get DSL. You can only run DSL on copper for about a half mile or so. Then it has to get up on the fiber via a DSLAM. They call that "the central office" when they talk about DSL although it is really just the link to fiber. Those little boxes have their own 48v power supply and a battery. Next time I see the guys working on it I will try to get a picture of the insides. Generally agree. You can get a lot greater distance with DSL though. It is highly dependent on the actual wiring. If it's a straight run, that's good and will support higher speeds/longer distance. It it has bridged taps, gauge changes, is degraded wire, etc, then you're limited to shorter distances and/or lower speeds. Overall, it's only viable if you don't have something better for internet. If Comcast could stay up more than 24 hours at a time, I might think of taking them back but my FIL still uses them and they suck. It wasn't really apparent to him until he got his echo. He wasn't on the computer that often but now the echo will have a red ring in top when the network is down and he sees it at least once a day. Their TV service is a little better but I am still over there every couple of weeks to "fix" his TV, to find out it is Comcast. Now I have him call them first and he usually gets the recorded message. "Yes we are sorry, we know we suck but what are you going to do? We hope to restore service in an hour or so". (or words to that effect). DSL may be slow (10mb) but it is reliable. We are just waiting for Hotwire to extend their fiber down here. It is a mile away now. All depends on the system. Here in NJ cable is fast, reliable, and the best bang for the buck. That's the only choice I have. Some places have choices, eg Verizon Fios as an option. That got close to where I am, but then they curtailed the deployment. That was maybe ten years ago, IDK what they are doing now, just that it ain't here. I had DSL briefly, before the cable company upgraded and had internet available. It cost more and was a few hundred Kbps. |
#26
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Phone service
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#27
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Phone service
On 2/15/2020 6:01 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
It must depend on the system, and maybe where you are at in the system. I am well pleased with Spectrum for the internet. I get the 200 mb service and it is almost never down. About 3 miles up the road and closer to the main equipment several are complaing about bad and poor service and being out much of the time. I also have the phone over the cable by their modem. Sometimes it breaks up vrey badly, but unpluging it for about 30 seconds and it is good to go for another week or more. I got Spectrum when we moved here 14 months ago. I was not happy for the first few weeks and three visits, but one properly set up, it has been perfect. When I wanted to swap out equipment I was amazed at how fast and easy it was too. Have you seen their commercials for cell phone service? I feel bad for Joey going for the pineapples. |
#28
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Phone service
I am out in the country so it is either cable or whatever Windstream (the telephone company ) offers. If I lived in the city I could get the fiber. It is a small town of maybe 30,000 people . The local government got on the band wagon at the start and the system is very fast or can be if you want to pay for it, the fastest in the state. I got a tour of the fiber building and it is impressive inside. They also have 2 big generators that can power not only their equipment, but if needed the emergency services of the county. ... small town of 30,000 ? Huh ? We got fiber ~ 2 years ago - ~ 75 homes .. en route to the town of 5,000. Yep. John T. |
#30
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Phone service
On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 21:16:01 -0500, wrote:
On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 16:42:09 -0500, Clare Snyder wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 13:08:52 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 09:05:58 -0800 (PST), trader_4 wrote: On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 11:50:50 AM UTC-5, A K wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:56:12 PM UTC-6, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. I live 200 feet from a Verizon brick and mortar "main office." Andy Then aren't they an alternative for DSL/phone or just DSL and use OOma or similar for phone? Once 5G rolls out I expect big mobile players to try to get everyone on it and abandon any copper that is still left out there. Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". The phone was noisy and DSL was as low as 1MB so I switched to Rogers (cable) and an OOMA box. Would have used the cheaper Magic Jack but I could not port my existing phone number. Ours are generally in the utility and road right of way and the utilities generally deforest that whole 66' swath here in Florida. There was a rumor 30 years ago that Sprint dropped fiber in the hole in front of my house with the copper but these days they only mark two lines. They used to mark 3 on a locate so I suspect the fiber may have been damaged or simply abandoned. They bored the line to my house 30 years ago when the overhead drop was removed. It is a 3 pair flooded cable. We have the gas, hydro, and water underground in the boulevard and first 3 feet of lawn. The telephone and cable run along the rear property line. Ours is all burried. In some areas it runs above ground -(even in some with burried power) - while where the power is overhead on the street, phone and cable sometimes share the poles. The power goes up to the house under the edge of the driveway- about 2 or 3 feet from the grass, while the water goes about 3 feet out from the other side of the driveway (with the drainage/sewer) and the gas is about 15 to 20 feet farther over - in line with the corner of the house. Gas meter on one end of the house, electric on the other end (on garage wall) and water meter in the center of the house undeer the front step (in the cold room) |
#31
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Phone service
On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 01:25:16 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 21:16:01 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 16:42:09 -0500, Clare Snyder wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 13:08:52 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 09:05:58 -0800 (PST), trader_4 wrote: On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 11:50:50 AM UTC-5, A K wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:56:12 PM UTC-6, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. I live 200 feet from a Verizon brick and mortar "main office." Andy Then aren't they an alternative for DSL/phone or just DSL and use OOma or similar for phone? Once 5G rolls out I expect big mobile players to try to get everyone on it and abandon any copper that is still left out there. Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". The phone was noisy and DSL was as low as 1MB so I switched to Rogers (cable) and an OOMA box. Would have used the cheaper Magic Jack but I could not port my existing phone number. Ours are generally in the utility and road right of way and the utilities generally deforest that whole 66' swath here in Florida. There was a rumor 30 years ago that Sprint dropped fiber in the hole in front of my house with the copper but these days they only mark two lines. They used to mark 3 on a locate so I suspect the fiber may have been damaged or simply abandoned. They bored the line to my house 30 years ago when the overhead drop was removed. It is a 3 pair flooded cable. We have the gas, hydro, and water underground in the boulevard and first 3 feet of lawn. The telephone and cable run along the rear property line. Ours is all burried. In some areas it runs above ground -(even in some with burried power) - while where the power is overhead on the street, phone and cable sometimes share the poles. The power goes up to the house under the edge of the driveway- about 2 or 3 feet from the grass, while the water goes about 3 feet out from the other side of the driveway (with the drainage/sewer) and the gas is about 15 to 20 feet farther over - in line with the corner of the house. Gas meter on one end of the house, electric on the other end (on garage wall) and water meter in the center of the house undeer the front step (in the cold room) The county owned right of way is 66 feet wide in front of my house, typical for a Florida residential street. 24 feet on each side of the 18' road is grass and that is where the utilities go. A lot of people are shocked to find out they don't own the first 24 feet of their yard. This is not an easement, the county just owns it. They can cut down "your" trees, dig up "your" grass and generally tell you what you are allowed to do there. Lawn sprinklers are always an issue. If they dig them up, tough ****. Legally all you can have is a mailbox and with a permit, a driveway across it. OTOH, you can make them mow it if you want. Just don't expect it to happen often or get a very good job. |
#32
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Phone service
On 2/15/20 3:42 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
[snip] Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". A noisy phone line was why I switched to phone service from the cable company. The phone was noisy and DSL was as low as 1MB so I switched to Rogers (cable) and an OOMA box. Would have used the cheaper Magic Jack but I could not port my existing phone number. -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/ "I can't activate two neurons simultaneously, and I vote" -- The theistic majority |
#33
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Phone service
On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 13:42:50 -0500, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 01:25:16 -0500, Clare Snyder wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 21:16:01 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 16:42:09 -0500, Clare Snyder wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 13:08:52 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 09:05:58 -0800 (PST), trader_4 wrote: On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 11:50:50 AM UTC-5, A K wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:56:12 PM UTC-6, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. I live 200 feet from a Verizon brick and mortar "main office." Andy Then aren't they an alternative for DSL/phone or just DSL and use OOma or similar for phone? Once 5G rolls out I expect big mobile players to try to get everyone on it and abandon any copper that is still left out there. Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". The phone was noisy and DSL was as low as 1MB so I switched to Rogers (cable) and an OOMA box. Would have used the cheaper Magic Jack but I could not port my existing phone number. Ours are generally in the utility and road right of way and the utilities generally deforest that whole 66' swath here in Florida. There was a rumor 30 years ago that Sprint dropped fiber in the hole in front of my house with the copper but these days they only mark two lines. They used to mark 3 on a locate so I suspect the fiber may have been damaged or simply abandoned. They bored the line to my house 30 years ago when the overhead drop was removed. It is a 3 pair flooded cable. We have the gas, hydro, and water underground in the boulevard and first 3 feet of lawn. The telephone and cable run along the rear property line. Ours is all burried. In some areas it runs above ground -(even in some with burried power) - while where the power is overhead on the street, phone and cable sometimes share the poles. The power goes up to the house under the edge of the driveway- about 2 or 3 feet from the grass, while the water goes about 3 feet out from the other side of the driveway (with the drainage/sewer) and the gas is about 15 to 20 feet farther over - in line with the corner of the house. Gas meter on one end of the house, electric on the other end (on garage wall) and water meter in the center of the house undeer the front step (in the cold room) The county owned right of way is 66 feet wide in front of my house, typical for a Florida residential street. 24 feet on each side of the 18' road is grass and that is where the utilities go. A lot of people are shocked to find out they don't own the first 24 feet of their yard. This is not an easement, the county just owns it. They can cut down "your" trees, dig up "your" grass and generally tell you what you are allowed to do there. Lawn sprinklers are always an issue. If they dig them up, tough ****. Legally all you can have is a mailbox and with a permit, a driveway across it. OTOH, you can make them mow it if you want. Just don't expect it to happen often or get a very good job. Here it's about 3.5 feet in from the sidewalk - about 15 feetfrom the kerb where there is both a sidewalk and boulevard. Hewre if you don't mow it they will - and add it to your tax bill- - - - - |
#34
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Phone service
On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 13:47:00 -0600, Mark Lloyd
wrote: On 2/15/20 3:42 PM, Clare Snyder wrote: [snip] Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". A noisy phone line was why I switched to phone service from the cable company. When sprint took over the mom and pop phone company here they replaced the whole "plant" and our lines were clean. I also knew the "data" guys well at the telco and had a way of getting a clean line if I made enough "noise" even on the old system. At the end of the day they are still a government regulated utility and you can push down from the top if you have to. It helped that I had better tools to assess their line quality than they did tho. |
#35
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Phone service
On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 17:22:20 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote: On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 13:42:50 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 01:25:16 -0500, Clare Snyder wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 21:16:01 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 16:42:09 -0500, Clare Snyder wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 13:08:52 -0500, wrote: On Sat, 15 Feb 2020 09:05:58 -0800 (PST), trader_4 wrote: On Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 11:50:50 AM UTC-5, A K wrote: On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:56:12 PM UTC-6, wrote: On Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:30:09 -0800 (PST), A K wrote: My landline is copper wires. I like having a landline because it still works when a hurricane hits which can knock out cell towers. Don't be too sanguine about that. I found out after Irma that my "central office" a mile from the house, that allows me to have DSL is a little battery operated box on the side of the road and you get about 30 hours out of that battery. Then your phone and DSL is dead. If they are kind enough to drop a generator there you are back ion business but that took them almost a week. Some folks who knew the score around here dragged a cord from their generator out to their box and recharged the battery every day. (It is just a regular NEMA 5-15) If it happens again, I am going to go up there and ask around. Unfortunately, the places around that box are usually abandoned all summer. I live 200 feet from a Verizon brick and mortar "main office." Andy Then aren't they an alternative for DSL/phone or just DSL and use OOma or similar for phone? Once 5G rolls out I expect big mobile players to try to get everyone on it and abandon any copper that is still left out there. Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". The phone was noisy and DSL was as low as 1MB so I switched to Rogers (cable) and an OOMA box. Would have used the cheaper Magic Jack but I could not port my existing phone number. Ours are generally in the utility and road right of way and the utilities generally deforest that whole 66' swath here in Florida. There was a rumor 30 years ago that Sprint dropped fiber in the hole in front of my house with the copper but these days they only mark two lines. They used to mark 3 on a locate so I suspect the fiber may have been damaged or simply abandoned. They bored the line to my house 30 years ago when the overhead drop was removed. It is a 3 pair flooded cable. We have the gas, hydro, and water underground in the boulevard and first 3 feet of lawn. The telephone and cable run along the rear property line. Ours is all burried. In some areas it runs above ground -(even in some with burried power) - while where the power is overhead on the street, phone and cable sometimes share the poles. The power goes up to the house under the edge of the driveway- about 2 or 3 feet from the grass, while the water goes about 3 feet out from the other side of the driveway (with the drainage/sewer) and the gas is about 15 to 20 feet farther over - in line with the corner of the house. Gas meter on one end of the house, electric on the other end (on garage wall) and water meter in the center of the house undeer the front step (in the cold room) The county owned right of way is 66 feet wide in front of my house, typical for a Florida residential street. 24 feet on each side of the 18' road is grass and that is where the utilities go. A lot of people are shocked to find out they don't own the first 24 feet of their yard. This is not an easement, the county just owns it. They can cut down "your" trees, dig up "your" grass and generally tell you what you are allowed to do there. Lawn sprinklers are always an issue. If they dig them up, tough ****. Legally all you can have is a mailbox and with a permit, a driveway across it. OTOH, you can make them mow it if you want. Just don't expect it to happen often or get a very good job. Here it's about 3.5 feet in from the sidewalk - about 15 feetfrom the kerb where there is both a sidewalk and boulevard. Hewre if you don't mow it they will - and add it to your tax bill- - - - - Sounds like communism. Why should I have to mow a government lot for free? People do it here, and maintain the grass, just for the illusion that their yard is bigger than it is. I do too but I also maintain about an acre of FPL right of way behind my house, just for my own enjoyment of having a good off leash place for my dog to run. It is also a sort of wildlife preserve for me. In real life if I didn't I could complain and they would have to do some minimal level of maintenance themselves. I don't because the resulting jungle north of me makes my little acre a private park, only I can get to. |
#36
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Phone service
On 2/16/2020 2:47 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 2/15/20 3:42 PM, Clare Snyder wrote: [snip] Â* Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". A noisy phone line was why I switched to phone service from the cable company. It was a fantastic day when I kicked the AT$T noisy phone line to the curb. These clowns are still trying to sell 6 Mb pewverse service that was barely adequate 20 years ago. |
#37
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Phone service
On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 22:14:38 -0500, Grumpy Old White Guy
wrote: On 2/16/2020 2:47 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote: On 2/15/20 3:42 PM, Clare Snyder wrote: [snip] * Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". A noisy phone line was why I switched to phone service from the cable company. It was a fantastic day when I kicked the AT$T noisy phone line to the curb. These clowns are still trying to sell 6 Mb pewverse service that was barely adequate 20 years ago. Up here Bell is "selling" high speed internet, TV and home phone - not saying what they are "delivering" |
#38
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Phone service
On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 22:36:55 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote: On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 22:14:38 -0500, Grumpy Old White Guy wrote: On 2/16/2020 2:47 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote: On 2/15/20 3:42 PM, Clare Snyder wrote: [snip] Â* Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". A noisy phone line was why I switched to phone service from the cable company. It was a fantastic day when I kicked the AT$T noisy phone line to the curb. These clowns are still trying to sell 6 Mb pewverse service that was barely adequate 20 years ago. Up here Bell is "selling" high speed internet, TV and home phone - not saying what they are "delivering" The Telco does OK here if you are on fiber but copper is pretty much stuck with 10-25mb internet only plus a POTS line that is virtually free ($15) and has all of the calling services. (free LD, call waiting, conferencing, caller ID, voice mail and a bunch of other stuff I never use) If you like to talk long distance a lot I suppose it is a great deal. |
#39
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Phone service
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#40
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Phone service
On 2/16/2020 10:14 PM, Grumpy Old White Guy wrote:
On 2/16/2020 2:47 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote: On 2/15/20 3:42 PM, Clare Snyder wrote: [snip] Â* Most have "effectivel abandoned" all the copper already. The "main trunk" runs along the back of my property and to replace it would require tunnelling through a LOT of tree roots (almost a mile, end to end across numeous properties) All the "spare pairs" have been used and they cannot provide me (along with numerous others) a "clean line". A noisy phone line was why I switched to phone service from the cable company. It was a fantastic day when I kicked the AT$T noisy phone line to the curb. These clowns are still trying to sell 6 Mb pewverse service that was barely adequate 20 years ago. I have a long term dislike for them too. Several years ago I had a billing dispute with them and it got so bad I almost took them to court. When it got resolved I dropped their long distance service and dropped their credit card. I did continue with them with a business land line replaced by fiber. In spite of it being a VoIP line they charged old land line prices without long distance service, caller ID etc which required extra charges. Verizon today with their FIOS internet still retains traces today of the old AT&T telephone company mentality of being the only game in town. |
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