Re: high speed internet carbondale

[Ken Hagan <ken@alacrity-it.com>]

Quoting bob@evilkat.com:

> On Tue, Aug 31, 2004 at 06:20:12AM -0500, Steven Pritchard wrote:
> > On Mon, Aug 30, 2004 at 03:38:48PM -0500, Ken Keefe wrote:
> > > I have heard very good things about Neon DSL.
> > 
> > I have a client in Chester using them.  The connection seems solid
> > enough, and they definitely don't seem to be Linux-hostile, although
> > that client is paying for business-class service with a static IP...
> >
> 
> actually we found something interesting out from one of the techs at 
> poof (love the name hehe), since verizon is not allowed to offer dsl in 
> murphy (due to a rather backward city council) they tack on an extra 40
> bucks
> a month to your phone bill when you use another provider that can offer it, 
> this makes the poof dsl's smallest package, $20 a month, into $60 a month 
> total cost which is as expensive as 3 Meg cable for 768 dsl.
> 
> how this all came about . . . 
> 
> some friends in murphy were setting up phone service with verizon, well GTE
> err
> verizon offered them a dsl package with really good rates without any notion
> that they weren't allowed to offer dsl due to the city ordnance (how do you
> not know these things if your in that business), instead of calling their
> customer they just decided to silently cancel the dsl order.  After
> calling to see why no dsl equipment had shown up and being transferred a
> dozen
> or so times they finally found out the order was canceled and there would be
> no dsl which prompted the search for an internet service.  They decided on 
> mediacom cable access because of suggestions I forwarded from the list and 
> other people they talked with in the community that had service.  Thanks for
> all the help and input.
> 
I work for a place that provides DSL in Murphysboro and have never heard of any
40 dollar alternative carrier fees or anything like that.  I would classify
that as apocryphal at the very best and hogwash at the most likely.

Verizon does not do their own DSL in all markets currently.  They do carry the
local loop/dial tone for competitive providers (such as Poof, Neon, and
ShawneeLink in Verizon territory).  Verizon charges the other providers a fee
for the DSL service which all of the providers build into the total DSL package
price for customers.  That's pretty much standard operating procedure.

The Poof person might have been referring to the amount that Poof pays Verizon
and saying that Poof's internet access costs 20.00 but the DSL fees are 40.00
but I am extremely confident that there is no local ordinance that dictates
additional fees based on providers.  Verizon also doesn't tack on fees to
users' bills when they get DSL.  The DSL bill goes directly to the provider.

That would be in the domain of state regulatory bodies and the FCC rather than
something a town council can get together and regulate. 

I'm not saying it's impossible that I'm wrong here but I've worked as a system
and network administrator for providers in a couple of states and have never
heard of local ordinances in small towns dictating telco rates and providers.

Then again, I have a vested interest in everyone getting ShawneeLink DSL so I
can hax0r all of 5outhern 1ll1n0yz.

Oh yeah, the mystery cancellation of the DSL circuit is also something that
happens a lot in Verizon turf.  People will at first appear to be qualified and
then the provider will order the circuit.  Verizon will then mostly silently
cancel the order due to distance from the CO, capacity at the CO, premise
wiring issues, or something else like that.  If the provider is not terribly
attentive to pending orders, customer orders just fall into limbo forever.  We
try really hard to catch all of those at ShawneeLink and let people know.  It
is definitely hard and a pain that I know all providers feel.  After lots of
prying and pleading from the provider, Verizon usually discovers that they can,
in fact, provide the DSL circuit.

Ken Hagan
Technology Consultant
Alacrity-IT, Inc
http://www.alacrity-it.com/
618.499.0108

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