ATT/SBCYahoo/Pacbell DSL

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: BoomerD

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: BoomerD

Originally posted by: Fritzo
DSL has about 10-20% overhead, so if your line is provisioned at 3008/512 (standard 3.0 DSL for ATT lines), your throughput should be in the 2200/400 range.

You may want to see if you're actually in range for their 6.0 service though. You need to be under 8000ft from the telco central office or remote terminal to get that speed. A lot of times they flood a neighborhood with those offers and it's not available to everyone.

I don't know what point they are now measuring from, but in 99, when we moved into this house, we were about 3000 feet too far for DSL...then about 6 months later, they offered us "extended reach" DSL and we've only gotten faster ever since. I still use my "extende reach" modem.

Reach is a signal booster technology. It generally maxes out around 1.5mb. I'd be suprised if you can get much over that.

The tubes seem a little clogged today, but using Speakeasy's test, I get this:

Download Speed: 5140 kbps (642.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 653 kbps (81.6 KB/sec transfer rate)

Interesting. They probably put a remote terminal in your area that shortened your loop length- meaning you don't need to use Reach anymore.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Muse
I call AT&T today and the woman I talk to says the information they have for my account indicates I am eligible for the Elite service. I arrange it and she says the upgrade will happen on the 11th (2 days, Weds) by 8 PM. I start asking her some technical questions that occur to me and she can't answer and I have her transfer me to tech support.

The woman I get in tech support doesn't know the answers and says she's transferring me to someone who does. Instead she comes back and tells me that a woman in tech support told her that I already have the maximum speed! I ask to talk to them and eventually talk to someone else. I have an ADSL modem from 1999, the Alcatel 1000 Version 3.0, and am wondering if this can provide the throughput necessary. It's not clear. I'm wondering also if their lines will support the maximum throughput (up to 6.0 mbps). Nobody can speak to that at all. Since I can't get a straight answer from these people (even the ones in tech support don't seem to know squat), I canceled my upgrade. I am given Sales and a guy who tries to sell me a DSL modem:

$49.99 +12.95 SH, "2 Wire" is the brand. I ask him if he can provide any specs and he said he can't and he'll get that info for me, hold on...

He comes back:

ADSL device configured for att internet services
10/100 lan interface is single port ethernet
10/100 base T ethernet RJ-45
4 LED indicator
Model Number: 2210

I tell him I have to think about it...

I called tech support again and get a guy who I'm having trouble communicating with and get dropped from the line and he doesn't call me back. Man, ATT is a hassle to deal with. Very impersonal service, and nobody seems to know anything.

I'm wondering if I need another modem and what to get, where to get it. :disgust:

I can help you out here.

Almost any Ethernet based DSL modem will handle 6.0. If you have a USB 1.1 DSL modem, the throughput on the USB port is lower than the DSL speed, so you can only handle a 1.5 connection on those. If you start going above 6.0, you need a technology called ADSL 2/2+ built into your modem. Newer DSL modems will have that.

Keep in mind though that with a 10 year old modem, the contacts could be getting worn, so you may have signal problems introduced with the higher speed/lower tolerance connection.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: Nohr
My DSL service was working a full day before the install date so who knows..

I just checked (they said by 8 PM tonight) and my speed has almost doubled:

2 days ago DL was 2150
Right now DL is 4188 (at speedtest.net)

2 days ago Up was 432
Right now Up is 618


This is great. I'm wondering, though, if there's something that can be done to get me over 5000, maybe approaching the 6000 presumed possible speed.

You would have to call and see if your line stats look stable. Generally your want your relative capacity on your up and downstreams to be 80% or lower , and your noise margins to be 10.0 or higher. If the ATT tech sees them waivering, he may have you check your filter placement, then put you on an Interleave connection (which gives more signal but can add latency to the connection).