I think this is a warm deal on Verizon DSL????

[forkd]

I put this here because I don't know but am considering it. I currently have Earthlink and am pleased with it. I believe Elnk is actually contracting to use VZN equipment/switches/wiring etc. Would it make sense to go VZN and get a free camera or is there something here that I don't see.

Flames not welcome

VZN link I got in my email

 

[xolus]

As I understand, some ISP DSL providers such as Covad, Northpoint, etc... go to your home and install a brand new dedicated wiring from the telephone pole to your home exclusively for your DSL line. Those companies usually use their own facilities, switches, and cabling, which is why they tend to be more expensive than the average (but then again, their main focus is on providing service to businesses and residence customers who cannot receive DSL from their local service providers [because they exceed a particular distance from their central office that DSL needs to work properly)

Then you have your Local Telephone service providers (i.e. Pacific Bell, Verizon, etc...), they provide their own service using their own telephone lines, and for the most part you have the advantage that if you happen to use their "filter" system for the rest of the phones sharing the DSL telephone number, then you can move your computer from one room to the next, plug in your modem to the line (without the filter of course) and you are connecting to the internet with DSL speed with no problem. Of course the phone company would own their own equipment.

Lastly you have your Third Party DSL providers (i.e. AOL, MSN, Prodigy, Earthlink, etc...), those providers tend to use the local service providers system, therefore being capable of giving you the exact same speed as the local service providers would give you. The only difference would most likely be the TECH support. However should you need technical assitance at your home, don't be surprise if your local telephone service technician showed up to your door step to troubleshoot your DSL problem. The key word is "capable" because these companies may ask to limit the transfer bandwith to 700kb/s or 500kb/s or whatever their breakdown is, simply to be more competitive in pricing.


P.S.
I am not aware of Third party providers contracting actual DSL providers such as Covad and Northpoint, etc... for service. So I assume they only provide DSL service to whomever would qualify under the guidelines that the local service provider has.

 

[Conscript]

not really that hot. when i signed up last october, they offered me first 3 months at 29.95, and a web cam + all that other stuff. But I will say that I am very happy with verizon dsl, and woudl definitely reccommend it.

 

[MisfitsFiend]

thanks for the info...i am currently trying to decide between dsl and a cable line for internet access...any preferences??

mf

 

[blahbooboo2]

It depends on a lot of factors, but overall I have noticed in the past 5 years that cable modem speeds are BETTER then dsl. Bang for the buck cable is the better deal.

I had Verizon DSL for 1 month, and got rid of it! Why? Because ADSL upload speeds SUCK!! The max you can get is 12k/second. As for download, annoying verizon gives you at most 75k/sec capabilities for the cheapest model.

I switched to cable and now I get up to 150k/sec downloads (time of day has NO impact on this, as my provider setup the network extremely well), and I can upload at up to 100k/sec. All for the SAME money as the crappy Verizon dsl.

Verizon also kept billing me after I called and canceled, and I had to call two times to get this fixed.

Yes, yes, in theory DSl is dedicated bandwidth. But, who cares? Cable pipes are HUGE! Additionally, this "dedicated bandwidth" s bull propoganda being perpetuated by the DSL companies, cable modems give you more speed from my experience. Check dsl reports if you want to see this proved. DSL companies just say that, meanwhile, once you get to the DSL company your bandwidth is shared anyway.

 

[wakeboarder]

How good your DSL is related to how close you are to a switching station. Further away = less bandwidth. I live about a block from a switching station so I get really good rates. Around 200k/s download. I think the max is 2 miles. I don't really care about upload speed, but it is pretty slow. First thing to look into is can you even get DSL where you live (you phone lines need to be copper) and how far are you from a switching station.

It is dedicated bandwidth, that's no BS. That's part of why the telephone system is inefficient. You call a friend and you use up a line. No one else can send their conversation over the same space even if neither of you are talking. They are working on a packet switching network for the phone system, so it would be a little more like the internet and have several routes it could take to get to the destination and if no one is talking, you won't use up bandwidth. But once you're connected no one else can use that space to your computer. Whether the information is getting to your "dedicated space" is a matter of how well they setup the network.

As for cable modems, if they set it up right and don't bog it down with to many customers you can't really tell the difference between cable and dsl and in fact cable would probably be faster. I do have friends that are on a system with to many customers and in the evening you can see the rates slow significantly. I would say do a little research on both and decide from there. It isn't really cable or dsl is better, more like which has a better setup for your location.

 

[oboeguy]

I have to agree with blahbooboo2. Verizon DSL, at least in NYC, *sucks*. Besides the speed issues, their service is pathetic. I had a month of downtime once. That's right, one month where it didn't work and they couldn't fix it. You have to wait on hold forever to talk to anyone, and, even then, you have to go through the low-level techs every time (imagine doing that every day for a month). About a year ago, it became realistic for me to get RCN (TimeWarner competitor) cable service (they set-up in my building, and I could afford cable TV along with broadband). They have had some issues, too, but there's no hold time, and they will send a tech at the drop of a hat.

On the other side of things, my parents have had Covad-based DSL (as someone mentioned, a company separate from the local telephone company) for years, and for the most part it's been very stable (both with a local ISP and Earthlink). The speed can't touch cable, though.

So, have I scared you away from DSL?

 

[macsrule]

I just switched over from Earthlink DSL (Covad) to Adelphia cable and am sorry I did. I got a great deal at $20 per month for six months, but after one week I've had two outages (one for half a day) with Adelphia and tech support is a joke. Hold times are over 30 minutes. With Earthlink I was only down for about an hour after using them for a year. Although cable is faster, the service you get with is also very important. Something to consider.

 

[Conscript]

<< I have to agree with blahbooboo2. Verizon DSL, at least in NYC, *sucks*. Besides the speed issues, their service is pathetic. I had a month of downtime once. That's right, one month where it didn't work and they couldn't fix it. You have to wait on hold forever to talk to anyone, and, even then, you have to go through the low-level techs every time (imagine doing that every day for a month). >>



Not to bring up bad memories, but I remember that period (used to live in NYC) and that was in september and october of last year, wasn't it? Think they had a pretty good excuse...

 

[kt]

<<
It is dedicated bandwidth, that's no BS. That's part of why the telephone system is inefficient. You call a friend and you use up a line. No one else can send their conversation over the same space even if neither of you are talking. They are working on a packet switching network for the phone system, so it would be a little more like the internet and have several routes it could take to get to the destination and if no one is talking, you won't use up bandwidth. But once you're connected no one else can use that space to your computer. Whether the information is getting to your "dedicated space" is a matter of how well they setup the network.
>>


Do you have any support for your claim? From what you are saying, if I call Joe Schmoe in New York from Los Angeles a dedicated line is being used to connect us? If so, that's the biggest BS I've heard. From what I understand, my phone is connected to a phone jack that is wired to the nearest CO. The CO is connected to the local phone company's main switch. Just to let you know, the only dedicated line is actually between your home to the CO. Once your call reaches the CO, it gets digitized and sent to the phone company's main switch along with many other calls that is using the same CO. If your call is to another person that is served by the same main switch, it creates a loop between you and the person you are calling (not a dedicated line). Otherwise, it gets sent down another line that is connected to a long-distance network. You, my friend is being brain-washed by the phone companies.

 

[Dan]

I had GTE/Verizon DSL in the Los Angeles area for a year and they were terrible. As soon as my contract was up I dropped them and signed up for cable modem service. I've had cable for 14 months now. All things considered, even the excite@home fiasco, I'd recommend cable over DSL. For me, at least, it's much faster than DSL ever was and I get better service from my ISP (now adelphia powerlink).

 

[oboeguy]

<<

<< I have to agree with blahbooboo2. Verizon DSL, at least in NYC, *sucks*. Besides the speed issues, their service is pathetic. I had a month of downtime once. That's right, one month where it didn't work and they couldn't fix it. You have to wait on hold forever to talk to anyone, and, even then, you have to go through the low-level techs every time (imagine doing that every day for a month). >>



Not to bring up bad memories, but I remember that period (used to live in NYC) and that was in september and october of last year, wasn't it? Think they had a pretty good excuse... >>



Bad memories, indeed. However, this was more like two years ago, right about now, in fact (I remember, because I badly sprained my ankle right around then, bad timing for no broadband!).

To be honest, I expect that Verizon has improved service quite a bit. I was an "early adopter", signing-up the first day it was available in my building.

OT: Verizon is raising local telephone rates (all over the news this AM). Bastards! :|

 

[xolus]

<< Do you have any support for your claim? From what you are saying, if I call Joe Schmoe in New York from Los Angeles a dedicated line is being used to connect us? If so, that's the biggest BS I've heard. From what I understand, my phone is connected to a phone jack that is wired to the nearest CO. The CO is connected to the local phone company's main switch. Just to let you know, the only dedicated line is actually between your home to the CO. Once your call reaches the CO, it gets digitized and sent to the phone company's main switch along with many other calls that is using the same CO. If your call is to another person that is served by the same main switch, it creates a loop between you and the person you are calling (not a dedicated line). >>



Actually, with DSL there happens to be a dual filter if you are getting your service from the phone company. The first filter from your home is the one that separates "voice" from "data" ("analog" from "digital" type of information) The second filter that most people don't know about is the one at the CO. In each CO there is a reverse filter that separates the voice information and sends it on it's way to the regular phone switches, and the "DATA" information is sent on it's way to the information superhighway.... (where you cable and his dial-up and her T1... etc etc etc.. all meet). Sorry to say: I don't see a loop. (and I'm not saying this to defend DSL because i do recognize the upload advantage of cable-modem service) But I did have a choice and my decision was based on the "dedicated" part of it:

With DSL, I don't have to worry about my neighbor, "the hacker", to hack into my computer because we do NOT share my phone line. Where as I would have worried a bit (not a whole lot, but some) with cable modem because since my building, most likely my block and maybe even my community is sharing the exact same cable line I use, then all they have to do is break into my firewall and have access to my computer and important files. I have a chance that I may be broken into anyways (but that will even happen with dial-up modem connections even), I just didn't need that additional worry. Ce la vie.

 

[forkd]

Thank you for all your input. I would switch to cable and disconnect my phone line completely but we love the Direct TV NFL Sunday Ticket and their receiver needs to be connected to a phone line. Oh well. I have learned a good bit from these posts so far and they are definately helping me get a feel for quality of service issues.

 

[yodayoda]

in my mind, here the relative things to consider:

DSL: very good download speeds if close to post, not so good download speeds, dedicated line, multiple IPs free (depends on service, we got 3 for free)

Cable: very good, but sometimes erratic, download speeds, good upload speeds, usually single IP, good tie-ins with other services (digital cable, digital phone).

for my apartment, i selected DSL because cable wasn't available and it was dedicated with multiple IPs. next year, we're moving into a house and would like to get cable. get that whole package deal of TV, data, and phone for a good price, put my router to good use and run some conduits around =)

end message: you are going to have to decide what you want and weigh the choices.

 

[Hoeboy]

i used to have GTE dsl (before verizon took over). it was fairly decent although down times were frequent. i pinged very well in quake 3. recently got charter cable modem and although download was good, packet lost was horrid. not sure if this is just an isolated case with charter or a cable modem thing. went back to verizon. no packet lost yet.