I’ve been wanting to get broadband for the longest time. The problem is that I’ve been under contract to MSN for three years. Now that the contract will be up in November, I figured I would start looking for the best broadband deal to get in my area.
Imagine my frustration when I found out that its not available in my area! The big problem I have with this is that I don’t live in a remote area at all. I live in a fairly populous suburb in the Cleveland area(Parma to be specific). So why is everybody and their brother advertising broadband if it’s not available. Also no one seems to have any idea WHEN it will be available, but they will be happy to put me on the mailing list “When further information becomes available”.
AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!
How about it kids? Anybody know a way I can get dsl or adsl:
1)Without paying a small fortune
2)without having to wait on the tender mercies of the phone/cable/whatever company
I don’t know what the specific problem is in your area, but in my footprint (Potomac/Mid-Atlantic/New York/New England) many people can not get DSL regardless of their proximity to the CO because their communities are service by a fiber trunk.
In the initial DSL rollout, only direct copper-fed loops with very restrictive length limits qualified for DSL. This was concentrated around the more heavily populated metropolitan CO’s where loop length was not a problem. The DSLAM has to break out towards the end user on copper, not fiber, and subscribers that were connected to SLC-fed CO’s were not eligeble, but soon will be (see below).
We are starting to implement something called PARTS (packet at the remote terminal service), where in we will add an optical concentrator (basically a mini-switch) at the remote terminal.
Until something like that happens in your area, you can look into cable modems.
You could always drop me a e-mail with your information. I work for SBC Communications - Advanced Soulutions, Inc. Man, that’s a long company name. What that means is I work for the DSL division of SBC who now owns Ameritech. I can pretty much get anything done if it can be done with regards to DSL. My e-mail addie is in my profile and I do my best to answer within the hour. It might just be an issue of inaccurate loop readings but I make no promisses.
I’ve got it through my dish (I do live in an isolated area). The gear cost me about $500 or so (maybe more, I’m blanking) and the monthly fee is about $50. We also networked our machines so Lady Chance and I both have access to it.