Re: Ameritech.net

[Janina Sajka <janina@afb.net>]

John:

I hope I didn't come across as anti-DSL. I love my DSL. There are 
certainly good providers out there--folks who provide quality and service. 
And, maybe the telco's are even right for some people. I suppose my point 
is to consider what one is buying. All providers are not equal.
 On Fri, 7 
Sep 2001, John J. Boyer wrote:

> Hello,
> We have had DSL from TDS Metrocom for about three months and have never had
> down time. I think they us HPCH or some other bit of alphabet soup, but it's
> not PPOE. It supports our entire office with five computers. We only had
> tweak Windows' network settings to make it work.
> Just a positive note amid all the negative ones.
> John
> 
> Computers to Help People, Inc.
> http://www.chpi.org
> 825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Janina Sajka" <janina@afb.net>
> To: <blinux-list@redhat.com>
> Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 09:29
> Subject: Re: Ameritech.net
> 
> 
> > I was a Verizon DSL customer when the company was still called Bell
> > Atlantic and when consumer DSL service was still very new beginning in
> > February 1999. In those days, DSL customers were assigned static IPs. My
> > personal experience was that the service was great when it worked, which
> > wasn't quite enough of the time. I had long periods of down time--about
> > two weeks every three months or so. Calling tech support was a nightmare.
> > First, I would sit on hold listening to the same clip of Vivaldi for tens
> > of minutes. A half-hour wait was common, and the Vivaldi never
> > changed--always the same snipit from the first movement of Spring. Once I
> > got first level tier support my problems only got worse. Clearly, it was
> > my fault because I wasn't in Windows. Clearly, when I rebooted into
> > Windows, it was the screen reader. Once I pushed up to second, and even
> > third tier support, it was, of course, never my fault. At least twice they
> > moved me to ppoe without even telling me they were doing it. Mostly, they
> > just couldn't explain it--system upgrades at the CO, please call back if
> > the problem persists.
> >
> > I will not be a Telco DSL customer again, mostly because of their terrible
> > track record with me, but also because they've moved away from DSL
> > technology I care to buy. They have indeed found ways to provision DSL in
> > ways I don't fully understand--and don't care to. It's more than dynamic
> > IPs. I was surprised recently when a friend was installing Verizon DSL on
> > his Windows computer--surprised to learn that the install added an icon to
> > his Dial Up Networking program group.
> >
> > In essence, I suspect the telco's judge ip space and general network
> > resources insuficient to support the millions of customers they want to
> > sell. They want the customers money, but expect they will not use
> > persistent connections any more than they use dial up connections. My
> > friends DUN based DSL would disconnect on inactivity. Voice phone service
> > network capacity is based, as I understand it, on the expectation that the
> > average phone call will last four minutes. I'm sure they also have a
> > number of calls per month in mind as an average. Of course, they have to
> > make those kinds of predictions in order to build out adequate
> > infrastructure. But, I have no desire to be part of a broadband service
> > that expects casual and occasional web surfing. So, no more telco DSL for
> > me.
> >
> > My advice is to seek a quality provider. My answer, for myself, was
> > speakeasy.net for two crowning reasons:
> >
> > 1.) They actively support linux. In fact, I believe their servers run
> > Redhat;
> > 2.) They actively have no problem with home networks;
> >
> > Most providers have problems over linux even if their technology doesn't,
> > and have fine print that prohibits multiple machines accessing the
> > service. So, I choose to go with the provider that supports the OS and
> > features I want and support.
> >
> >
> >  On Thu, 6 Sep
> > 2001, Karl Dahlke wrote:
> >
> > > For what it's worth, and it isn't worth much,
> > > I used Ameritech dial-up service for almost a year,
> > > and was very happy with it.
> > > I left only because I wanted a cable modem.
> > >
> > > Of course I was happy because everything worked for me straight away,
> > > and I didn't have to ask their technical department for help.
> > >
> > > I'm a bit confused by this whole thread.
> > > I thought dsl was a static always on connection.
> > > Why ppp?
> > > Why pppd?
> > > Why ppp0?
> > > Don't they give you a box that looks like a cable modem,
> > > with a nic interface,
> > > and don't you just plug into that, like an ethernet?
> > > Don't you just set up for an ethernet connection and go?
> > > I guess I don't know much about dsl,
> > > so I'll stop talking now,
> > > before I do more harm than good.
> > >
> > > Karl
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> > > Blinux-list@redhat.com
> > > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
> > >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Janina Sajka, Director
> > Technology Research and Development
> > Governmental Relations Group
> > American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
> >
> > Email: janina@afb.net Phone: (202) 408-8175
> >
> > Chair, Accessibility SIG
> > Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
> > http://www.openebook.org
> >
> > Will electronic books surpass print books? Read our white paper,
> > Surpassing Gutenberg, at http://www.afb.org/ebook.asp
> >
> > Download a free sample Digital Talking Book edition of Martin Luther
> > King Jr's inspiring "I Have A Dream" speech at
> > http://www.afb.org/mlkweb.asp
> >
> > Learn how to make accessible software at
> > http://www.afb.org/accessapp.asp
> >
> >
> >
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> 
> 
> 
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-- 
	
				Janina Sajka, Director
				Technology Research and Development
				Governmental Relations Group
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

Email: janina@afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175

Chair, Accessibility SIG
Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
http://www.openebook.org

Will electronic books surpass print books? Read our white paper,
Surpassing Gutenberg, at http://www.afb.org/ebook.asp

Download a free sample Digital Talking Book edition of Martin Luther
King Jr's inspiring "I Have A Dream" speech at
http://www.afb.org/mlkweb.asp

Learn how to make accessible software at
http://www.afb.org/accessapp.asp