# problem with phone company



## charley (Jun 8, 2001)

hi i got a question for anyone who might have had the same problem. there was a problem with a phone line about a quarter mile away. i have 2 phone lines one for my computer. i went 3 days before i finaly got my service back. before this happened i was connecting at 44000 and now the best i get is 29333. i called (sprint) and they said they could not do anything unless it was a 
9 or less. can anyone belive this. i had nothing to do with the problem and it was not my line problem. my whole area was without service for 2 days. i have connected at 44ooo since 97. are there anything ligal i can do. to go from a 44 to a 29 is a big difference to me. does any one have a suggestion or do i have to live with there screw up.

[email protected]


----------



## SavvyLady (Oct 14, 2001)

Harrass them daily that you are experiencing random static 

that way when they say I don't hear any static you can honestly say well its not doing it right now!

( for those that don't understand a joke when they see one... this was )

Savvy 

check w/ others if you know who they are and see if they too are having the same problem


----------



## Max19 (Jul 31, 2001)

Harassment is illegal. I guarantee if you harass your phone company daily, eventually, they'll just disconnect you. They have no obligation to provide you with any service. 

If you've already called several times and sworn at them, harassed them, or were rude to them, call and apologize. Talk to them like you want them to talk to you, like a rational adult. Tell them what the problem is, that you used to connect at xx speed, and now you connect at xx speed. Ask them what happened. Ask what you can BOTH do to resolve the problem.


----------



## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

I have moved to the Moderator's forum several posts to this thread which had nothing to do with the issue posted by the thread starter. Please, no more of them!


----------



## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

charley,

Yes, I understand exactly what the problem is. 
First and foremost you are the customer and your dial tone provider whoever that is mine is Verizon and I also work Tech support for Verizon.......I deal with this quite a bit sometimes more than I want to, but here is the whole enchilada.

You call me and you are my customer you pay your bills on time and you are now a valuable customer....are you with me so far? Good!!!!
When you call me you tell me that you have problems with your phone lines, you do not want to mention computers or PCs, only that you have a problem with your line. 
I will pull up everything I need in the way of information on you right down to how many lines when and where the number of "physical drops" to your home and I will even see that you have a "wire maintenance contract" (few people do not) once I verify this I will say........

......."I'm sorry Mr. Charley we will back ring your line in a few minutes and conduct a continuity test I will then call you back and verify with you that indeed there is or there is not a problem with your lines. (The PUC mandates we provide the dial tone service that you are paying for. whatever it takes, and expense is not an issue)
I call you back and say Mr. Charley there is a problem with that line and I apologize profusely then I say "sir we will have a repairman out to your home to check the "physical lines" by 12:00 noon tomorrow, Is there anything else that I can be of assistance with at this time?" and you get my name Mr. Charlie, Okay?.....ask for it if I do not give it to you Okay?

Oh, and Charley, complain all you need to call it harrass or bug me or continually call me if you like until we provide you with the excellent service that you are entitled to receive, and if I can't help to your satisfaction Mr. Charlie you need only speak to my supervisor who will see to it that you receive the service that you are entitled to.

Believe me Charley you do not know just how important it is to us to make sure that you are a happy customer we have the PUC to answer to and they are the ones that approve or deny our requests for rate increases and the last thing we want is Charlie telling them that we did not provide him excellent dial tone in all lines at all times. Were going to trip over ourselves to be sure that Charlie is happy no matter what it takes, that is what our job is Charlie.

So call us ask us check back on us call us back and harrass us if that is what it's called, bug the s**t out of us until we get it right because you are entitled to have the quality of service that you pay for.

BTW, we cannot discontinue your service for any reason other than non-payment it is the law mandated by the PUC and we have to adhere to it. 

DS


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Dark Star,

I have Pacbell as my ISP and had lots of trouble getting online and get speeds down a low a 400 and every time I called I got no where.

Then I called Pacbell but for the phone and a man came out and fixed the line and all was ok after that. What gets me is when I called Pacbell you are really just talking to a computer and it ask you what phone number you have trouble with and it ask you to wait as it test the line. Then if it finds trouble it ask if you want a repair man to come out. Then if you say yes it gives you a date. If you don't want that date them you get a real person to talk to so you can set up a repair date.

So why could my ISP have not run the same test on my line that I did when I called Pacbell on the phone when they are both the same company?

Now it SBC (Pacbell)

Does not SBC own Verizon now?


----------



## SavvyLady (Oct 14, 2001)

Thanks guys... that was my point even though I said harrass as a joke. 



Savvy


----------



## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

hewee,

We were little 'ol GTE (Get Tired Everyday LOL) then came the mergers first we merged with Contel then with South Bell Atlantic it is one merge after another my e-mail is @GTE.net some are @ Verizon.net.

We've converted some systems and still use other systems the old GTE prehistoric stuff is gone now, but I saw an old GTE service van last week, I did a tripple take on that beast. It's all about Verizon now but things are sorta kinda in different levels or phases of merging together.

WE refer to it as " Oh he is an ex-Con (ex Contel employee LOL) while I've not met anyone from the Mothership.......yet. They don't tell us much because they don't know much. We are talking about three major service providers under one banner and while that works on paper the Bell Atlantic people have their agendas and so on and so on.

In the field of comunications things move at light speed, I always suggest that with an automated "press this if you want this, press this if you want that" situation you best think of your phone as an old rotary phone (R-80) stay on the line and don't press anything is your fastest way in to a live human being......
the moment you start pressing buttons you go into "the loop" and then you and your call get routed accordingly, you can bypass the wait by staying on the line and waiting for that live voice that will save you a misrouting or a long wait.

They'll probably kill me for telling you this but do it while you can because just as soon as the powers that be allow it (The PUC) there will be no choice but to play the push #1 for yada, yada, push #2 for whatever and #3 for whatever else.
When you get thru to a live person get a name and state your concern if you don't get the help you feel you are entitled to receive then ask to please speak to a supervisor..........it should not be that way but it is sometimes.
Once you have a supervisor you get what it is you ask for the phone Companies answer to the PUC and they are best served when you are a happy camper..........You are the customer do not loose sight of that fact.

DS


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Well the you are NOT part of SBC if your under South Bell Atlantic. 
SBC are the other BELLS.
http://www.sbc.com/

So what is up with them being out here?
You ask me the Bell break up of the 80's that made all these smaller companies are that are or have gone under are being taken over again by the Big Boys that had it all 20 years ago.

I have done as you said when calling and just not press any numbers so you can get a real person.
But what you say that later we will not be able to do that sucks. You know I had to call AT&T and I think they do that now. I had a very very hard time wanting to make a change in the service.
Press buttons can be ok and fast but if the choice you get to pick from is not what you need then you go no where. Plus I had to wait to hear Languages before I could hear it in English so I knew what button to press. I have had them cut you off and you have to start over again too. What a pain


----------



## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

hewee,

You are right about AT&T they got permission or approval from the PUC to bypass having to provide you with a live human being.
I might be wrong about this but as a trade off for them they have to give you the ability to:

1) Make your own payment arrangements pushing buttons
2) Deduct calls from your bill you claim not to have made pushing buttons
3) Generally take care of your own wants and needs by pushing buttons

This is costing them big time, but they figure it cuts on payroll and that saves them even more, It won't be long before they we everybody has that system......Live people to talk to are quite expensive to provide.

Like I said I'm not too sure about the details but I do know they had gave up something to not have that live rep.

DS


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Dark Star,

I knew it but wish I knew what 246 buttons I pressed last time so I could do it again the next time. 
But then again the first thing you get is "the menu has changed please listen to the new changes" ........and so on.

*1) Make your own payment arrangements pushing buttons*

Get this with the Pacbell bill.

*2) Deduct calls from your bill you claim not to have made pushing buttons*

Cool I can get other to push the button and the tell them I never called. Only did the talking but hey they (the computer) will not ask me that.

*3) Generally take care of your own wants and needs by pushing buttons*
They did a bad job of taking care of my wants and needs on this one here.

They are saving lots of money from this and using it to buy up the cable companys and on top of that up the rates. No lost on there end.


----------



## deuce (May 26, 2001)

I guess this is way off from Charlie's question... whatever. 
Charlie I would suggest you look into broadband. It is very cheap nowadays and often not much more (if at all) than dailup... and should you choose to go that [broadband] route then you will a.) save the trouble of trying to gain your 15kbps back b.) enjoy the benits of increasing your connection by more than 14 times (at least) and pay little or no more $$ for it c.) enjoy not needing a second line (which can sometimes pay for the broadband itself and then come back and pay you a few dollars each month) d.) is just worth it because broadband just plain kicks butt. Even in Argentina this is true where everything is expensive and taked over 50% and you still can money off of this deal. If you are only using your second line for internet then go for it. Dialup with a second line is an average $20 for your ISP plus an average $20 for your line. That amounts to $40 per month. The going rate for DSL is anywhere between $14.95/month and a few hundred/month.

Hewee I'm sure if you claim you didn't make those calls many times (like more times than you can count on one hand) than they pay attention and will figure out you really are making those calls and prosecute you and make some more money. The reason the company might not lose a whole lot of money on that is because I figure the only people who will use it won't take advantage of it because they are the ones it is directed toward. (the ones who actually didn't make the calls) Since for it to save you any real money you have to do it numerous times and they will figure it out.

DS... what do you think of this experience (since you are tech support for a phone company) that happened when I was trying to find out why they accedentally cancelled service, still charged me and supplied no service, then 2 months later fixed the problem and credited for the amount charged and then revoked the credit. (the very last is what we wanted to find out) This was with quest and excell (long dist. not NSP) communications and after speaking to a supervior from billing, supervisor from some customer service and the some head hancho guy for about 2 hours and counting, (all on the same line, all from quest) then all four of us decided to call the long dist co for the third time and put them on the line. We got a hold of a cust. service rep who spoke in slight slang and broken english after waiting 15 min and the quest people explained everthing that was going on and asked that he help out and that we didn't care why everything happened at this point but just wanted to reinstate the credit... and he got confused and hung up. (he new who he was talking to and didn't ask us to repeat... just said "uhhh... ummm... duhh... click") The cust. service rep from quest got really pissed off and said she wasn't going home that day until she made sure a recomendation to review his performance and fire him was in place, and so we called back and waited 15 min and finally got to talk with a supervisor whom of course didn't really care at all and blew us off as well, only he didn't hang up right away. The quest people then said they would hang up with me and work it out and call back when they solved the problem so then I was off the line. Well I guess that shows a lot for each companys' PR skills, respectfully. Are they allowed to do that? (hang up when they get confused) Did I have anything to go to PUC with? It was a little while ago and so I don't care about it now but was just curious should the situation arise again.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

deuce_mn ,

I would never do that. I am the only one that even uses this line here so.
Years ago when it was easier to get to real person I did call about a call to Canada and said I never called anyone there. 
I then had it so ni call could ever be made outside the USA. Guess what? Later I was looking at info. on my ATI video and seen a phone number and you know ATI is in Canada and I did make that call. So I called AT&T and said I did make the call and I wanted to pay for it but they said no that once they take it off then they can't put it back on and to forget about it but thank you for telling us. I found out to call Canada is the same as making calls in the US and you don't need to dial any added numbers to get out of the USA witch I thought you did.

So I am a good boy really.


----------



## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

deuce,

I believe that your credit due was lost in the shuffle, that is most unfortunate what is very weird there is that you got it and then they took it back...........never seen that happen before.
As to PUC complaints it ain't like you can just refuse to pay and call the PUC and say "AT&T or whoever is messed up and they did this or that" 
#1 you must pay whatever charges AT&t or whoever says that you owe and is not willing to budge on.....
#2 you must document with date and times and names your calls and attempts to resolve the issues
#3 be willing to wait for the resolve, this can take months

Now having said that I can tell you that customers that loose their cool are usually way off base in their reasoning. Your local "dial tone provider" will go the extra mile to see to it that you are a happy camper, however when we pull up a bill and start to see a pattern of "late pays" "billing arrangements" write offs for "calls claimed not made" and an overall pattern of continued "working the system" adjustments and continious customer abuse, it really then depends on what kind of mood you catch the rep in when you call in for more "adjustments" to your bill.

I hate the fact that we've all moved into the "sell, sell, sell" era and that is counterproductive when a customer is calling in to complain about a charge on their bill and you see that they are justified in their claims and then whithin the scope of the conversation with the customer "The Company" demands that the rep attempts to sell a service or an additional feature to this customer who is already POd to begin with..............
............great! lets further add more charges to Mr, Smiths bill so we can further bury him into debt why don't we?

Kinda like............ yes I'd like the 99cent cheeseburger and a small order of fries please, would you like to have a #3 that comes with a drink? Okay fine.....Would you like to supersize that?.......errr Okay fine, Okay that's a #3 with a Coke that'll be $ 4.57 at the window please.............Geeeeeeeeeez $2 bucks just went to $5 bucks what did you get extra here? a Coke with a ton of ice and 8 more french fries..........Oh, I gotta get that #3 again what a good deal that is.

Sorry I just got on my soap box again........Point is Mike just to be fair here as far as a dial tone provider goes your local carrier can only do so much for you as far as long distance charges that is a whole different enchilada, and on top of it all we have 800# that are not toll free because they convert to 900# and add to your long distance charges...........Deregulation, some good some bad.

DS


----------



## littlemar (Jul 12, 2001)

Calling for phone repairs and getting only an automated answering thingy. Please press 1 for yes and 2 for no. Was asked can you make calls from the phone with the problem "2". Can you receive calls from the phone with the problem "2" again. The very next question - are you using this phone to make this call? Duh, let's see I can't receive or make calls, what do you think. I started laughing since I just couldn't believe this after the no answers. Are machines great or what????  

How's this for customer service?


----------



## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

littlemar,

I know what you mean, thing is many times people are disconnected for non-payment and the only place we let them call is the service center or repair.
"Can't you just flip the switch thingy, I just mailed my payment this AM"...... is quite popular, as is "Let me talk to a supervisor" 

The push button thingy....LOL I know what you mean there however there is so many cell phones in use and yes people call on their cells when their land line is not working. Repair can't back ring a cell# so the system is trying to determine if in fact you are placing the call from a land line that may have a physical problem in it, as well as a "tricky" way to find out if you were disconnected for non-payment.

Different "dial tone providers work their system differently" so nothing is uniform there yet, we're different from state to state because of other regulations mandated by the PUC and we've no control over that or the state tax rates etc.
Deregulation, automation, cell phones, new L/D carriers. 900# call blocking (what for?), 800#s that convert to 900#s, calling cards, caller ID, state rules and regulations, corporate mergers.......ain't it fun?

DS


----------



## littlemar (Jul 12, 2001)

Okay, now that I got a crash course in phone procedures, can I get a job? Just kidding, I realize that the systems aren't always going to work for everything. Life has way too many variables. So if the tech support is slow do you go out and help out with customer service?


----------



## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

littlemar,

Shhhhh, don't say that too loud now. 

DS


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Dark Star,

You know the lady I talked to with said she was from back east and Caller ID was free back there.
She did don't know they charge you because it does not really cost them anything. It like getting ping online.


----------



## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hiya Charley, 

About your connection speed. I have pretty much
the same problem. I also had a 44k connection....

I have Southwestern Bell, about 6-8 miles from
the nearest town. They started laying new fiber
optic cables out here and I was excited because
I thought my connect speed would hopefully go to
56k. WRONG. My speed dropped to 24k.

I learned they laid the new lines so they could
put more customers on less bandwidth. I called.
I complained. I kept on until their data group
ran tests on my connection twice. Finally they
did something which raised my connection to 28k.
I called again and they happily informed me that
they are only required by the FCC to provide
"voice" service at a minimum of 28k, and if I
wanted faster data transfer I would have to get
DSL.

But guess what... DSL isn't available here! So
now I'm stuck with 28k.

If you (or anyone else) happens to find a solution
to this very frustrating problem, PLEASE let me know.

Cheers, Mac


----------



## Max19 (Jul 31, 2001)

It's not possible to achieve actual connection speeds of 56k. The highest possible speed under perfect conditions is only 53k. 44k is very, very good.


----------



## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

I'd be very, very happy to have my 44k again...


----------



## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

Mac,

I sorry to hear that you've lost your 'better than you now have' connection speed. I assume you are now connecting at 28k
because you stated prior that.......

"Finally they did something which raised my connection to 28k. 
I called again and they happily informed me that they are only required by the FCC to provide "voice" service at a minimum of 28k, and if I wanted faster data transfer I would have to get DSL."

I'm not gonna tell you that you'll ever see 44k ever again from Dialup bur since you mentioned that they just started laying fiber in your area that would explain the sudden drop.
I'm not sure how they work their's but our guys tell me that whenever that happens here they have to get the flow down to a trickle because as they inplace fiber they also have to make additional allocation for 911 etc. so while that is going on you would feel a change.

You might want to think long and hard about DSL service for all the right reasons as it has come down to pretty reasonable price levels. Sorta like gasoline prices I suppose. lol

If you don't then know that there is hope that indeed once fiber is in place that you will once again connect at 44k maybe even 50.667k is a posibility. I havent seen much of you lately and I think it's because your service has you kinda bummed out at the time. If not then what is it?, cause we do miss you.

DS


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

MacFromOK,

That's sad that the phone company put in a better line so you could have a better line but they then doubled up on the line to save money and tell you that we have DSL id you want something faster.

I get 45.333 all the time on mine.

Is there any way for you to try another modem?
I know so modems are better then others at getting higher speeds. My sister went tru this.


----------



## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

thread,

I believe that 60 minutes will be doing a story on why it is that speaking to a live rep at the telephone company is becoming a thing of the past.

Should air this Sunday 12/16 check your local listings.

DS


----------



## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

> _Originally posted by Dark Star _
> * I'm not gonna tell you that you'll ever see 44k ever again from Dialup bur since you mentioned that they just started laying fiber in your area that would explain the sudden drop.
> I'm not sure how they work their's but our guys tell me that whenever that happens here they have to get the flow down to a trickle because as they inplace fiber they also have to make additional allocation for 911 etc. so while that is going on you would feel a change.
> *


Hiya DS, 

Yeah, that's what I hoped for a while, but
it's been several months now. They were
already through with the lines when I began
contacting them. The technician told my wife
that the old copper lines were faster, apparently
because of this new "para-gain" (spelling?)
system they're now using. More people on
less bandwidth... 


> *
> You might want to think long and hard about DSL service for all the right reasons as it has come down to pretty reasonable price levels. Sorta like gasoline prices I suppose. lol
> *


Severe problem. DSL isn't available in my
area... 


> *
> I havent seen much of you lately and I think it's because your service has you kinda bummed out at the time. If not then what is it?
> *


Been kinda under the weather lately, and
doing a little readin'... Thanks for askin'. 


> _Originally posted by hewee_*
> Is there any way for you to try another modem?
> *


Hi hewee, 

First thing I did was to buy a brand new
56k USR external modem, which I tried on
two different computers. I disconnected
every phone in the house, disconnected
the phone line to my shop, etc. Still got
the same connect speed (28k now).

Thanks for the input guys.
Cheers, Mac


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

MacFromOK,

I think that what your ISP has done is very low.
Have you been to there web site to see if they say they support higher speeds? If so I would get together with others and call the news paper about it.

My ISP says this. " We support 56 Kbps speeds downstream (from the Internet to your computer) and 33.6 Kbps speeds upstream"
I take this to mean I should get close to what it says not 50% of my modem speed like you have.

http://dialup.pacbell.net/CustomerSvc/support.html#modems

http://dialup.pacbell.net/help/56k/56K_faq.html#reprogram


----------



## rhettman5 (Dec 3, 2000)

Cheer up Mac !

I have never been able to connect faster than 26.4 , I have a external USR modem which I had hoped would help, and while I seem to get better results with it, occasionally in stormy weather, the hsp micro-modem that came installed actually works better !

Guess my point is someone is always worse off, sucks to have had a faster line and lose it though. 

There is always Direc PC, or Starband, I am considering this as a option, still hoping the price drops . I am sure it will...1 day after I buy all the hardware .. .....Rhett


----------



## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hi rhettman, 

Yeah, I guess I should just be glad I can still
connect. But you're right, it wouldn't seem so
bad if I had started out with 28k. It's just that
dropping from 44k to 28k makes a LOT of
difference. 

I also checked into a satellite system, but the
cost is outta my price range, plus there's a
constant real time lag of a few seconds which
makes it unacceptable for online gaming.


Hey hewee, 

Just to clear up a point here, the problem is
NOT with my ISP. It's SOUTHWESTERN BELL's
new phone system here locally.

And I don't think a petition would help. I'm
about 6-8 miles from the nearest city, and it's
population is less than 800 (no, I didn't
leave off any zeros... lol). There may not be
20 computers within a 5 mile radius of my
place. Plus SWBell already told me they're
only required by the FCC to furnish a 28k
connection.

Cheers, Mac


----------



## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

Mac, Rhett,

You guys just be sure to hold them to that 28k commitment because they have to give you that all the time they have no choice about it.
If and when it drops below that call em and tell em and remember you are the customer.

Do not cut them any slack on that 28k is what you pay to get and if youre gonna have to settle for that than so be it, but just put them on notice that 26.4 will not do and it aint the modem.

Make sure you're getting what it is you're paying for.

DS

Mac, glad you're feeling better!!!!!


----------



## SavvyLady (Oct 14, 2001)

If you have two phone lines in your house you can hook your comp on both lines to increase your speed

( a different kind of networking system )
I can't recall the particulars about this though... may need more than one connection to an ISP as well.





Savvy


----------



## Whinyguy (Dec 8, 2001)

MacFromOK: Unfortunately I also have Southwestern Bell out here in Texas and have always suffered from not getting higher than 28k. After years of frustration, and not getting any solution to the problem from the phone company, I've ended up converting most of the computers in my house to Broadband. I haven't yet cancelled my 28k ISP, which was a good thing when Excite.com went bankrupt and the AT&[email protected] broadband service temporarily went down. But aside from that issue, the cable has been reliable overall.


----------



## charley (Jun 8, 2001)

> _Originally posted by charley _
> *hi i got a question for anyone who might have had the same problem. there was a problem with a phone line about a quarter mile away. i have 2 phone lines one for my computer. i went 3 days before i finaly got my service back. before this happened i was connecting at 44000 and now the best i get is 29333. i called (sprint) and they said they could not do anything unless it was a
> 9 or less. can anyone belive this. i had nothing to do with the problem and it was not my line problem. my whole area was without service for 2 days. i have connected at 44ooo since 97. are there anything ligal i can do. to go from a 44 to a 29 is a big difference to me. does any one have a suggestion or do i have to live with there screw up.
> 
> [email protected] *


----------



## charley (Jun 8, 2001)

> _Originally posted by charley _


 hello i had posted a problem i had with my computer line connection a while back. they cut my phone line off and also my computer line . after trying to have it fixed they refused. The company sprint. I called my internet service to see what they had to say about it and they suggested i download my latest modem driver at 56k.com. before the line was cut to my computer i was at 44000 and after they finaly fixed it after 3 days it was at 29333. after downloading my newest modem driver im now at 49333 most of the time. my brother-in law who also had his service off for 2 days was at 12000 and after i put his newest driver on he also is at 49333 so i hope all will do this it might help

[email protected]


----------



## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Been there, done that...

It doesn't help to have a V.93 modem
when SWBell's Data Group informs ya
that your line is only capable of V.34... 

But hopefully your solution will help some
other folks.


----------



## deuce (May 26, 2001)

Thanks for the reply DS way back there on page 1... I guess I forgot to come back and check.  I wasn't all that upset about it just confused why it happened and why it took so long to sort out on the phone... and couldn't figure out why that one guy just hung up when he didn't know what was going on. I do understand that the local carrier can't control the long distance people... and that is why I was so greatful that the local people were so helpful and went above and beyond what they needed to trying to help me. (kinda reminds me of a few poeple at TSG )


----------



## deuce (May 26, 2001)

Oh yeah... forgot to mention...


> Deregulation, some good some bad.


Yes it seems that is a big problem with our government. Anyone remember the savings and loan crisis, for example?


----------



## combsdon (Jan 4, 2001)

> _Originally posted by deuce_mn _
> *Oh yeah... forgot to mention...Yes it seems that is a big problem with our government. Anyone remember the savings and loan crisis, for example? *


can you say ..B.....U......S.......H ?


----------



## deuce (May 26, 2001)

Yes I can... but... (forgive me for challenging when I was not very old and you might have been) wasn't Regean who was Pres. for the first part?


----------



## tes3 (Sep 7, 2000)

I was talking to the line repair guy in our area for Pac-Bell complaining that I was only getting 23K. The Pac-Bell guy told me that it is not uncommon and the phone company only has to guarantee 300 baud. 

Upon getting a new computer and new modem I am now getting 49.3K or 52.0K using the exact same lines.

You may want to consider looking up your modem online and see if there is a driver update. A number of years ago I had a similar problem and it was the ISP modems and the upgrade on mine cured much of it.

Go figure!


----------



## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

The USR 56k was v.92, and I downloaded the v.93
upgrade. And I tried it on 2 computers.

The problem is in the phone lines. New fiber optic
cables, more people, less bandwidth. SWB's data
group ran a test straight to my computer two
different times, and said the line only shows v.34
capability.

BTW, I also checked into ISDN (which is available
here), but it's $87.50 per month IF they don't have
to modify their local equipment. Additional $75.00
PER MONTH if they do... Outta my price range either
way. 

The good news:

I can still connect to the internet at a blistering 28k...


----------



## deuce (May 26, 2001)

Hey... I forgot all about this thread. Mac that is pretty expensive for ISDN. And ISDN isn't all that fast. Have you looked into DSL satillites yet? I hear they have some pretty good prices. BTW... I see you made in addition (maybe awhile ago??) to your sig. Now people won't mistake you for a mac user!


----------



## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Lol deuce, I almost forgot about this thread too,
just now read your post. 

I did look into satellite service, but the one I
checked warned ya that while it's fast for data
transfer, there's a constant time lag (signal travel
to the satellite and back) which is unacceptable
for online gaming. Seems like it was $50 or $60
per month, but I really don't remember, it may
have been more. I'm not all that much of a gamer,
but I play TFC (Team Fortress Classic) occasionally.
It's just not as much fun at 28k.

And it's been a while since I changed my signature... 

Cheers, Mac


----------

