Changing my ISP

["Robert G. (Doc) Savage" <dsavage@peaknet.net>]

I've been bugging AT&T about offering serious data service to my home
since 1992 (!!). Lately I've never missed an opportunity to rag on AT&T
reps about unbundling their U-verse Internet service from their VoIP and
TV combos. I'm very happy with my DirecTV and POTS services, and didn't
want to trade them away just to get fast Internet service. AT&T must
have been listening because their U-verse Internet is now available
unbundled from their other services.

Background: For reasons not really their fault, the quality of service
from my present ISP has deteriorated badly over the past couple of
years. As I write this my connectivity is going up and down like a short
wave radio voice channel at sunrise/sunset because the "final mile" to
my house is, well, radio. This has concerned me greatly because my home
is 23,500 cable feet from the Edgemont (235-xxxx) central office. That
means DSL was impossible: Not no way. Not no how.

My ISP used to charge $120/mo for 1Mbps service with one static IP
address. Last year, under competitive pressure from Charter, they
lowered that to $49.99. They provide a pure pipe without blocking any
ports or services. I've been free to use BitTorrent whenever I wanted,
to stand up my own e-mail system, and connect to my home server using
SSH, OpenVPN, or VNC from anywhere in the country -- all with no monthly
limits. 

If all goes according to plan on Friday, my new U-verse Internet service
will be 12Mbps, *five* static IP addresses, *no* port/service filtering
or blocking, and no monthly caps -- all for for $60/mo. AT&T's local
installation supervisor came by the house this afternoon and we did a
pre-installation survey. He wants to bury the line from the back yard
pole to a new NID box on the side of my garage. After that awful ice
storm in December 2006, burying the new line suits me just fine.

For a true geek the best part is an optional setting for their
terminating router, setting it to "DMZ" pass-thru mode. My internal
WRT-54GS router will handle all firewall tasks. No Big Brother messing
with me.

I told Steve Pritchard "I have an almost uncontrollable aversion to
anything named AT&T. I may have to get over that." Steve told me to
think "Ameritech". :-)

--Doc Savage
  Fairview Heights, IL


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