Just wondering if Anyone uses Speakeasy DSL...

I just started checking out all the options, with this one I can get rid of Qwest, and AT&T, and it would cost me 1.00$ more than all the others combined I don't know if you have to have a phone for other DSL offers. This is all new to me LOL
Glenda

You do not have to have Verizon phone service. But it would cost $45 per month without it. I already have 2 phones with Verizon service so as long as I keep one its $35 per month.

George

I just checked out Verizon, and like AT&T DSL it is not available in my area RATS!!
Glenda

I was thinking of going with just our cell phones. We are in the process of buying a new mobile home and I wanted to get away from Qwest for local service, AT&T for the internet and long distance! I checked all of the providers I was just given and I can't get Yahoo, Vonage, Or a lot of others out here in the boon docks
Like I said it will only cost another dollar than I am already paying so it sounded good to me Do you know if you have to use the DSL modem that Speakeasy provides or can I buy my own?
Thanks, Glenda

DSL service travels over phone wires. The copper portion of the phone wire ending at your house cannot be longer than 18,000 ft (on average, about 3 miles as the crow flies, but phone circuits are notorious for wandering all over town and back). The other end of the copper circuit must terminate in a location that has the proper DSL equipment in it. This could be the main central office or out in the boonies it could be a special equipment cabinet somewhere beside the road. Such a cabinet (remote terminal) would probably be fed by a fiber optic cable back the the central office but it would need to have a smaller version of the DSL equipment in it to convert the optical signals to the electrical DSL signal. Remotes that were installed long ago don't have the proper equipment for combination voice and DSL unless they have been upgraded recently - an expensive proposition that phone companies don't like to do unless they smell a good market at the other end. Newer ones are probably DSL-capable as the extra cost of that vs. a plain voice cabinet is minor. Those are the physical requirements that have to be met or else no DSL service is possible from anybody.

The physical issues are complicated by the business issues. Your local phone company (Qwest) owns the copper. Under deregulation, they are required to permit other qualified phone service providers offer service over their copper. Originally, that only applied to long distance, but now local service is up for grabs in some states. Since DSL is not a regulated phone service, but is an unregulated information service, the phone company that owns the copper may or may not allow other DSL service providers to use their copper. If your copper runs all the way back to the central office, it is probable that some other DSL company has equipment there that can be interconnected - but you'd have to research who they are, not every company with ads on TV has the necessary business relationship for service from your specific central office. If you are far enough out that your phone service passes through a remote terminal, it is highly UNlikely that Qwest would offer space inside that cabinet for a competitor's equipment. So then it would be Qwest DSL (with a requirement of Qwest phone service) or nothing.

The Speakeasy.net offer you showed up takes it a step further. They will take out a phone number in their name but running to your house. It won't work for phone calls if you plugged a phone into that jack, but they will send DSL over it. That's why it is $50-60 - their monthly phone bill is buried in the cost to you. However, you still need to meet the physical requirements above and Speakeasy.net has to have a business relationship with Qwest for the proper equipment in your specific central office.

dw

The term "modem" is not technically correct here, but it does give a reasonable picture of a little box that takes signals from the phone jack and turns them into data bits that your computer can use. DSL modems and cable modems are not interchangable like real computer modems. If your DSL provider is using one of the several common methodologies, you can use any modem based on that same methodology, though you may have to be able to get into its firmware to set it to the exact requirements of the equipment at the other end. All the providers will send you a modem with the proper settings, obviously, but some use equipment that they've purchased in bulk that cannot be reset to a different setting. Because there are several DSL methodologies, you probably won't be able to buy one retail in BestBuy like cable modems (for which there is only one main standard), but you might find them on eBay from people who have moved or changed provider and are selling their old one. This can be a cheap source, but be aware that it may or may not work. On the other hand, most of the DSL providers throw in the modem at no extra charge. You may have to send it back if you cancel sooner than one year, but there usually isn't the $5/month extra for modem "rental."

dw

I have had AT&T dialup for years and if I change my email addy, I didn't want some fly by night that would be gone in a few months Reliability beats out cost for me anytime I will have to check and see if SE has everything I need, but looks like this is going to be the one. Either this or Qwest, I have not got a lot of choices here It is hell living in the boonies
Glenda

dslreports.com? A very valuable resource.

Dan

also I have been told it is cheaper than a second phone line. The SE DSL says That I don't need local phone service for their DSL and I could cut that bill along with AT&T and just use our cell phones. Still just thinking about all of this, No decision yet
Glenda

I'm also on dail-up and the downloads are a pain, but don't do too much of it, so I can put up with a little slow loading of some sites for now anyway. I also have Firefox on 98 and Opera 7.5 on 2000. I find Opera faster than Firefox and of course much faster than IE. I don't even use IE anymore. Its loaded with junk. One of these days, if I ever get around to building a bigger PC I'll go DSL and XP.

George

"Service fee seems kindda wacked!"

but symetric upload and the QOS make it one helluva barnburner...

dw