LITTLEBLACKDOG.COM

Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 8:23 am Post subject: SBC/Yahoo DSL Service

Hey guys, I've got a bit of a strange question for you, but it's not for me, but rather for some friends of ours (who live two houses down from us, probably not more than 100 yards from our house).

We currently have SBC/Yahoo DSL Service (ADSL), using their 3.0MBit service. Note: for the longest time we couldn't get any DSL service (other than 144k IDSL), because we were too far from the CO. But then about a year ago they (to my understanding) installed some new hardware extending the range so that now I can get (and utilize) the full 3.0MBit service that they offer.

Here's the strange thing (and the reason for the post). Our friends/neighbors (two houses down - in other words, there's only one house between theirs and ours, and the total distance between the two houses is probably 100 yards) called SBC/Yahoo and were told that DSL isn't available for them.

How is that possible? I mean, how is it that I can have full 3.0MBit DSL, and yet 100 yards down the street (even on the same side of the street) they cannot get anything?

I'm tempted to call SBC/Yahoo and talk to them about it, since I *DO* have the service, and see if they can explain why our friends cannot.

Should I bother calling them (on behalf of our friends/neighbors)?

Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 3:21 pm Post subject:

It could be possible that thier wires travel a different path and/or may be routed to a different CO.

Additionally the CO may be maxed out and cannot serve any new users.

Your best bet would be to contact a person higher up and mention that neighbors have DSL, or to offer a technician you see working in your area a 6-pack or etc to have them check the line.

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 5:14 am Post subject:

Extreme wrote:
It could be possible that thier wires travel a different path and/or may be routed to a different CO.

Additionally the CO may be maxed out and cannot serve any new users.

Your best bet would be to contact a person higher up and mention that neighbors have DSL, or to offer a technician you see working in your area a 6-pack or etc to have them check the line.

The thing I'm wondering about, is that I'm the "neighbor" that already has the DSL, and I am debating about whether I should call (as an existing "customer") and relay the information about a potential customer who really WANTS their service, but is told it's not available (despite being only 100 yards from my house).

The thing that gets me, is that I thought that DSL worked in such a way that as you get farther from the CO (or in my case the repeater/router/whatever they call it), you can still get service, it's just at a slower speed.

If I'm getting 3.0MBit service, it seems like a no-brainer (at least to me) that my neighbors 100 yards down should be able to get at very least the 1.5MBit service, even if the wire goes to my house before theirs.

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 5:22 am Post subject:

Sounds like a perfect opportunity to provide service to your neighbours, then.

How much do you think is a reasonable monthly fee for them to share your DSL connection?

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 5:31 am Post subject:

Toxin wrote:
Sounds like a perfect opportunity to provide service to your neighbours, then.

How much do you think is a reasonable monthly fee for them to share your DSL connection?

Except for two little problems:

1) We're trying to sell our house and buy another one across town (hopefully within the next 6 months to a year)
2) Since there's one other neighbor's house between theirs and ours, running a wire (to share the service) just ain't gonna happen, and I'm not sure that the 802.11 wireless signal would reach quite far enough either.

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 6:13 am Post subject:

Alphi wrote:
Extreme wrote:
It could be possible that thier wires travel a different path and/or may be routed to a different CO.

Additionally the CO may be maxed out and cannot serve any new users.

Your best bet would be to contact a person higher up and mention that neighbors have DSL, or to offer a technician you see working in your area a 6-pack or etc to have them check the line.

The thing I'm wondering about, is that I'm the "neighbor" that already has the DSL, and I am debating about whether I should call (as an existing "customer") and relay the information about a potential customer who really WANTS their service, but is told it's not available (despite being only 100 yards from my house).

You can try to call...but they probally wont release any information unless the neighbor is around or etc.

Alphi wrote:

The thing that gets me, is that I thought that DSL worked in such a way that as you get farther from the CO (or in my case the repeater/router/whatever they call it), you can still get service, it's just at a slower speed.

If I'm getting 3.0MBit service, it seems like a no-brainer (at least to me) that my neighbors 100 yards down should be able to get at very least the 1.5MBit service, even if the wire goes to my house before theirs.

The thing is though, he may be only 100 yards from you as the crow flies...but his wiring could take a different path that has him going over the 15-30K foot mark as to where they can provide service.

Heres some info from broadbandreports.com:

Quote:
Q: My neighbor has DSL, why don't I? (#1393)

A: DSL is a technology where distance really matters.

Most Telcos limit ADSL lines to 15,000 ft from the CO (not as the crow flies, but how long the actual circuit is). If you're lucky, it may be 18,000 ft.

If your neighbor across the street has DSL and the phone company will not qualify you, there are several possible reasons why.

* Your neighbor may have gotten lucky and he caught the loop before it went around the ENTIRE block.

* The Telco's records may be out of date.

* Your telephone service could be served out by a different CO than your neighbor's. (This is rare but it is possible, especially in metropolitan areas where the COs are overcrowded).

In any case, if your neighbor has DSL, odds are you'll get it soon.

Theres also this quote which could affect his ability to get DSL:

Quote:
Q: Why can't I get DSL even if I'm only one foot from my CO? (#8467)

A: If you have a bridge tap, it will make it hard for you to get DSL access unless your ISP runs a new line over to your place. If you have a load coil installed, it surpresses the high-frequency used for DSL. It may make phone conversations sound clearer, but it'll make DSL sound a LOT WORSE.

Concerning the above...did your neighbor have any phone issues previously that a tech was out to fix...they may have installed one of the offending devices at this time. (Or maybe while a previous homeowner/renter was at the residence)

One thing that might help is to run both of your #'s and address through the broadbandreports.com prequalifier. It will tell you approximatly how far that # is from the CO (Not necessarily the point you need to connect to as thier may be Remote DSLAMS and etc) as well as what CO your being served out of.

Take note of any differences between numbers and see if this info can help him get service...e.g. see if they can move him to another CO or etc.

As a side note, isn't cable HSI available and priced competivly in your area, or how about fiber?

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 6:16 am Post subject:

Alphi wrote:

2) Since there's one other neighbor's house between theirs and ours, running a wire (to share the service) just ain't gonna happen, and I'm not sure that the 802.11 wireless signal would reach quite far enough either.

Slap two routers in place that support WDS (I think thats what its called) and essentially it would connect thier residence to yours, and your DSL connection.

The signal should be strong enough between the routers to cover this distance.

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 6:33 am Post subject:

Extreme wrote:

One thing that might help is to run both of your #'s and address through the broadbandreports.com prequalifier. It will tell you approximatly how far that # is from the CO (Not necessarily the point you need to connect to as thier may be Remote DSLAMS and etc) as well as what CO your being served out of.

Take note of any differences between numbers and see if this info can help him get service...e.g. see if they can move him to another CO or etc.

As a side note, isn't cable HSI available and priced competivly in your area, or how about fiber?

Hmmm, very interesting... According to the prequalifier you mentioned, the best DSL that *I* can get is IDSL... Don't tell SBC/Yahoo that they really CAN'T supply me the 3.0MBit service they're supplying me. Smile

As for cable, yes, that's available in the area, and I'm not 100% sure why our friends/neighbors aren't just going with that. The only thing I can think, is that I think they have a satellite dish for TV, and cable providers usually require you be a subscriber to their TV service in order to get the discounted rate for internet service.

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 8:17 am Post subject:

Alphi wrote:
Extreme wrote:

One thing that might help is to run both of your #'s and address through the broadbandreports.com prequalifier. It will tell you approximatly how far that # is from the CO (Not necessarily the point you need to connect to as thier may be Remote DSLAMS and etc) as well as what CO your being served out of.

Take note of any differences between numbers and see if this info can help him get service...e.g. see if they can move him to another CO or etc.

As a side note, isn't cable HSI available and priced competivly in your area, or how about fiber?

Hmmm, very interesting... According to the prequalifier you mentioned, the best DSL that *I* can get is IDSL... Don't tell SBC/Yahoo that they really CAN'T supply me the 3.0MBit service they're supplying me.

As for cable, yes, that's available in the area, and I'm not 100% sure why our friends/neighbors aren't just going with that. The only thing I can think, is that I think they have a satellite dish for TV, and cable providers usually require you be a subscriber to their TV service in order to get the discounted rate for internet service.

If thats the case then it may be thier database hasn't been updated...in which if you get the right person on the phone with your neighbor around so they can authenticate his account and release details...they may just send a tech out to verify if he can get dsl or not, if so then he could be setup for an install.

Depending on the prices they get for a phone/dsl it may be comparable to voip/cable/cable fee. I don't have the extra cable fee since I have cable...but I'm saving 30-40 bucks a month by having cable HSI and voip...over having a basic phone line with just caller id and no LD with the low end dsl. Depending on thier setup they may see the same results and it would be enough to cover the cable hsi fee since they are not a cable customer.