I finally found a place which provides DSL to my area!!!
HOOOO!! HAH!!!
DO THE MONKEY!!!
YEAH!!
Okay, calming down a sec…does anybody have any advice/stories about DSL? I’ve heard it can occasionally be problematic.
This would be in general questions, but assuming there isn’t any last minute backtracking on part of the provider’s techs (“Dude, you don’t have any phone lines.”), I’m already set on getting it.
Hey Slortar,
What state are you in and what company?
Oh my poor, dear naive slortar… be afraid. Be very afraid. You have my best wishes and mojo spells that it goes smoothly.
[sub]Sorry, I work for an ISP that is being royally shanked by the state of the DSL industry.**
Just got it myself, though I’ve been reporting on it for a few years. No huge problems for me yet, but the only real benefit I’ve seen is in downloading. Your browsing may not get any faster, since that’s more affected by amounts of traffic and similar issues.
Read about the horror that is ADSL
If you must know, I’m using my ISDN connection at the moment. My ADSL won’t log in. Again. And nobody knows why. More tomorrow.
Try dslreports.com
NOTE: My ISP offered me free DSL modem, installation, Etc, but the phone company said that I have bridges on my line, which would cost $199 to get rid of. I said forget it.
Two way satellite modems from Hughes look like a lot of fun as they also do cable tv.
There will be a qualification test(if you haven’t taken it already) If the lines arn’t good enough then you can’t get it. Also there are some problems if you’re Fiber loop (or there were when I last checked, they may have fixed the problems) It also can’t work if you have a UDC to give you two lines(or again it didn’t used to).
No problems here and I’m very happy with the results. Of course, it took over 4 months to install. Private company. I couldn’t get it through the phone company.
I only had problems with installation, or otherwise having to deal with the providers. That sounds massive and often, but it isn’t. Mostly I click the “connect” button and it just works.
My installation woes are available via link in post I put in Coldfire’s thread.
The service is better than the software drivers (God bless the users of MacOS X who don’t need software drivers for PPPoE). The service is WAY WAY better than the technical supporters (descended from athletic supporters I daresay) and the installation software packages.
Fast is nice!
Actually, I’m mostly interested in the extra speed for gaming and downloading. I do all of my serious web browsing at work, where time doesn’t matter. 
Jas Networks–a fairly new firm that operates out of Battle Creek. They’ve been around a year and they don’t require you to buy their equipment, so if they fold, you’re not totally screwed. I figure it’s a fair risk and they’re close enough that if they screw up, I can drive over and camp out on their front porch until they feel sorry for me.
It’ll take 'em about a week to do the checking and installation. I should be hearing more about it today or tomorrow. Good lord, am I sick of dial-up.
Good Luck,
I have heard lots of horror stories.
I got my DSL from Qwest. I have had it for nearly a year and have no complaints. I have moved the ‘modem’ to three different computers during that time. The instructions were clear and very easy to follow. The installation went perfect everytime. I click it and it works.
Compared to when I setup my office with a T-1 and had to set up the CSU/DSU, router, firewall, proxy, and DMZ and everyones’ machines to use them properly, DSL was a walk in the park.
It has already been mentioned. For assistance with anything go to http://www.dslreports.com.
I have Verizon DSL.
The problems were as follows. After signing up over the phone they told me they would e:mail me the date I would be able to start and mail my installation kit. (I had to di it myself, no big deal) I got the kit but the start up date was over a month away. Then it was postponed two more times meaning I didn’t get DSL untill 3 months after I agreed over the phone to it.
The Verizonmail totally sucks. Well except that I can’t log in, it crashes my system, I can’t read or send mail, or that it will sometimes throw away mail I was saving it works fine.
But the DSL connection is fast and reliable. I live a block away from the center that my line goes to so it’s great.
I do recomend Zone Alarm. It is a free download firewall. It hides your computer from crackers and it alerts you everytime something tried to get to your computer and everytime a programe on your computer tries to access the internet.
Also AOL was a bit snippy about me closing out that account and they actually called me AT WORK to try and get me to pay for their e:mail service. The nerve.
The biggest problem with DSL now is that none of the providers are turning a profit. We use to have DSL through a company called verio which was actually a subcontractor of Northpoint. Ooops.
Three months later, we had the choice of a subcontractor of Rhythms or Kovads (sp?). Chose Rhythms, but both are on their way to bankruptcy, etc.
Make sure that the company that you use isn’t merely a subcontractor for one of the omnipresent and omnilosingmoneyhandoverfist larger ones that are on the bubble financially.
So much better than a dial-up, though. Porn, I mean work related downloading has never been so quick and easy.
I hear that Verizon sucks.
Update: everything’s up and running great. I’m getting 60 kb/sec dl’s and uploads and it’s really, really freaking stable. Only problem on install was a crappy nic I had to replace (damn you, Netgear…). I’m pretty geaked.
My DSL is as stable as could be. It has never been down in over a year. On a good connection, I get 150KB/sec+ downloads and around 50KB or so uploads. (1.5MBsec down/512up) all for the great low, low price of $39 CDN per month (or something like that).
You would have to pry my DSL modem away from my cold, dead hands.
BASTARDS, the lot of you.
My ADSL (about a month old now) gets a correct logon in maybe 40, 45% of the times I tried so far. WHEN it connects, it’s flippin’ fast. 120kbs downloads and all that jazz. But the servers are down half of the time. So I use my ol’ ISDN a lot, too. Should be interesting when my next phone bill arrives: they charge local calls over here, and there’s no way in HELL I’m gonna pay for the variable costs of my ISDN line when I only use it as a backup for my dodgy yet USD 40/month ADSL connection. Gaaaaah.
Duuuude! I just called the 800 number at JasNetworks and they want $66 bucks a month? Is that what DSL is running these days?!? Must be a heavy commission to pay off all their “Ups”.
Seriously, is that everyone else is paying? Or can someone from Windsor toss me a copper line?
Paul
Anybody out there using Prodigy DSL? I’m thinking of signing up next month. They’re asking $50 a month and the purchase of a $175 DSL modem, and I can have all three of my PC’s on the net if I want to.
Have verizon dsl for $35/month because of other calling packages I have. I don’t think this rate is available for new subscribers though (at least $10 more).
If you have a microfilter setup (where you have to put microfilters on all non dsl phones) I recommend setting up your incomming phone line to run through a single microfilter and run a dedicated line before that microfilter to your dsl modem. This way you won’t need all those microfilters on everyphone and should improve your dsl signal.
Hey it you think ADSL is great just wait until VDSL gets out to you! It’s being offered out west somewhere and gets speeds much higher than ADSL.
If you wanna read about it just follow this link
Oh boy, oh boy!