One of the things I hate most about moving is having to move my DSL connection. I hate being busted back down to dial-up. I hate having to wait for my DSL service to be moved. Right about now I’m wishing I’d spent the extra money to put a wireless card in the Mac mini. I could use the iBook, which has a wireless card, to connect to the unencrypted wireless networks nearby, but they’re not that dependable. They drop in and out all the time.
This time around, I made the mistake of actually allowing myself to believe that things might actually work the way they were supposed to. To be honest, I should have been skeptical from beginning, when Earthlink—my ISP&mdashcalled to tell me that my DSL connection order would be completed yesterday and that I should check my connection today. They even called today to tell me that the order was completed and that my new DSL modem was delivered today. Sure enough, the modem was here when I got home I figured I’d try it out, so I hooked it up.
No connection.
I doublechecked all the connections, and made sure all the phones had DSL filters on them.
No connection.
I cycled the modem. No connection.
I turned off the modem, shut down the computer and unplugged the wireless router. I connected the computer directly to the DSL modem, removing the wireless router from the equation.
Nothing. No connection.
So then I call tech support. The tech support guy proceeds to tell me that I need to put a filter on the phone. I tell him that I used the dual filter that earthlink sent with the modem, which has separate outlets for the phone jack and the connection to the DSL modem. He tells me it’s not a filter, it’s just a splitter. I read him the instructions that Earthlink sent, in which it is thrice referred to as “the dual-jask DSL filter.” He tells me that it’s not a filter, no matter what the instructions say.
Fine. I put a filter on the phone, check the modem. Nothing.
He has my cycle the modem a few more times, then has me move it to another phone jack and turn it back on.
Bupkus. Zip. Nada. Goose egg. Nothing. No DSL signal.
So now he has to do what he calls an “escalation.” file a trouble ticket, and contact the phone company. They’re supposed to call me tomorrow and let me know the status. They may have to send someone out to check the junction box. It’s out back. That means I’ll have to be at home when they come. Stuck. With nothing but a dial-up connection. Makes working from home a real joy. (Not.)
In the meantime, I have a number for my “trouble ticket, ” and no DSL.
I’m giving them a week, and if they can’t get me hooked up I’m switching to cable internet service. DirecTV offers sattelite internet sevice, but I’m not sure how dependable it is. Sure, it’ll be a bitch to change my email address, but not having a high speed connection is an even bigger bitch.
OK. I’m done venting now.
Sorry you’re in DSL Hell.
We’ve used both DSL and cable internet over the years, and we are far happier in general with cable–depending, of course, on the vaguaries of the ISP’s in question.
Switching to cable might not be a bad option.
Sorry, but here in Seattle I had cable and switched over to DSL and I’ll never go back. I’m sure it has something to do with uploading. Cable downloads fine but doesn’t up load very well. I spend a lot of time uploading pictures to my site. In fact I think I upload MORE than I down load. And because of that cable sucks for me.
Pay attention to upload and download speeds and pick the service that fits your style of computering. Switching from DSL to Cable because DSL wasn’t hooked up right away is not the right reason.
And yes I know how you feel, not only did they have to send a man out to rewire my box, (it didn’t work) I had to wait longer for a man to come out and climb the pole and rewire the connection up there too. But I have been rewarded for my waiting and now I transfer large bolcks of photographs every weekend without a snag. Something I never did with cable which during peak hours was as slow or slower than dial up.
Like I said, you can always come on over to my house and use my connection.
Cable vs DSL is one of those things that depends on where you are. When I lived in DC I heard horror stories about cable from many people, but my Earthlink DSL worked well. Here in TX my DSL from SBC blows, but people I know with Time Warner cable connections seem to have much better luck.
Earthlink’s a good company, but it sounds like you’re in one of those hellish “it’s Verizon’s faults / it’s Earthlink’s fault” battles that seldom end well. Or quicly. Good luck.
I’d steer clear of the satellite service, I’ve heard a lot of nastiness about it. Interestingly, here DirecTV offers high speed service… but it’s actually DSL from a third party.
I actually tend to bounce back and forth between cable and DSL about once a year, to take advantage of the introductory rates. I learned a long time ago never to use an ISP’s services (especially not the email address), just their connnection, so I’m entirely agnostic.