# DSL



## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

We have Windstream DSL, and it is OK, but never near what they advertise. Anything above 20 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up you have to pay for at a premium. Make sure Frontier isn't advertising "up to" in their contract. We only pay about $90 a month for unlimited long distance and DSL, but I'm not sure about the international calling.


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## stick\shift (Mar 23, 2015)

Apparently there is no such thing as modern wiring to my house, as my DSL provider claims I have their best possible service at 15 mbps down. I consistently get about 12 when I do a speed test. If they claim 50, I would just make sure they're going to get close to that number.


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

As a former employee of a company taken over by Frontier with many friends still working there, run don't walk away. The service itself is terrible and the customer service is worse. Almost impossible to get tech support if you have a problem and out of service problems that last for days. Not worth the problems to save a few bucks.


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

DSL is better than nothing. The biggest complaint I had was it is load dependent. If a lot of people on your node are on it slows down to handle the traffic.
You still have a land line? I gave mine up 15 years ago. I thought I might still need it. But I found that there are free fax services which goes over the net. 

No contract would be attractive. Do you have to purchase a new modem? Be sure to factor that in.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

DSL comes in via the phone lines copper pairs. I have to believe the contract somewhere uses the words 'up to'. DSL degrades the farther you are from the switching hub - maybe you'll get that speed if you live next door to it. I don't know what it's like in the US but up here landlines operators long ago stopped caring about their copper network in favour of fibre, coax and wireless. We used to be on DSL and were reasonably happy with it for our needs but the speed and customer service steadily got worse. I think when we left the speed was down to 2M.


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## Thisiseasy (Aug 3, 2017)

We really only use our landline to talk to family. My wife and I talk to our kids and grandkids and like the ability to both just pick up a receiver. We also channel our non-urgent calls like doctor's offices etc to the landline so we don't get reminder calls on the cell.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

Thisiseasy said:


> We currently use Comcast for Internet but they can't come close to the price. They quoted us 18mbps down, 3mbps up plus phone and calling to the UK for $155.


Where are you located? 

We have Comcast and can get up to 200 Mbps download for a regular price of $95.95. For $5.00 more you can get up to 400 Mbps download.


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## turbo4 (Jan 30, 2021)

I changed from DSL to Cable ,like going from a skateboard to a Ferrari.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

I"m still waiting on FIOS. Installers say everyone will be getting it, but not in my lifetime !!


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## turbo4 (Jan 30, 2021)

chandler48 said:


> I"m still waiting on FIOS. Installers say everyone will be getting it, but not in my lifetime !!


Iv heard the lines were installed yrs ago where i live but the cable people were paying them NOT to fire it up. I guess its like the Govt paying farmers NOT to grow food.


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## Thisiseasy (Aug 3, 2017)

I asked my neighbors what they use at our block party this weekend. It was slightly in favor of Comcast. We had a major slowdown when the work from home orders were issued on Comcast. Those on Frontier didn't experience that.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

turbo4 said:


> Iv heard the lines were installed yrs ago where i live but the cable people were paying them NOT to fire it up. I guess its like the Govt paying farmers NOT to grow food.


Are you saying the cable company was paying Verizon not to activate the FIOS lines? That does not track as they are competitors.

It is highly unlikely Verizon would invest millions in putting those lines in if they did not intend to make money off them. Furthermore, unless the cable company was making a one time payment to buy the territory (utilities wise), I seriously doubt they could afford to continuously pay what Verizon was losing in customer revenue to keep FIOS out..., unless they are essentially double-billing the customers in the region. If that was the case it I do not think it would go unnoticed for long and the local PSC would have something to say about it.


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## diyorpay (Sep 21, 2010)

If comcast can offer you internet that is not over the old copper lines, get it. All offers however will be time limited. Attractive price up front, not so good over time. Then get own modem, own router for internet. 

Watch for monthly usage limits as comcast is least generous of 'the cable companies'. Taxes will not be as high as AT&T and Verizon due to bad government treatment as telecoms with many surcharges.

A VOIP phone system like ooma plugs into a port on router and you then have an independent phone that is not billed monthly by comcast. Typical prices for an ooma phone are about $5 per month includes all domestic unlimited calls. Their overseas prices are extra but I believe are reasonable and on an ooma account that you can fund to level you decide.

I believe (in major cities at least) that the deal was cut between Verizon and its competitors that Verizon would not roll out new FIOS fiber to new territories and only develop new customers where fiber was already in the area (as in up on the poles or compiled at major hubs). In apartment buildings they will not wire a building unless they have customers interested first to break even and then make money over time. Their equipment install (ONT), gateway is very costly and rental fees are very high. Their fiber concept is still highly reliable but no longer revolutionary with the onset of 5G over the next 5 years.


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## Old Thomas (Nov 28, 2019)

I had Frontier DSL for years. A couple of years ago it started freezing up and kicking us off line. Frontier came out and replaced everything to no avail. Then a Frontier guy said he determined that there was a problem in the junction box down the road and he put in a repair ticket to get parts and get the fix scheduled. I waited a few weeks and called about it. They said there was nothing wrong, they cancelled the repair ticket and what we had is what we get. I said good bye to them.


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