I used to have a problem with Earthlink dial-up service in Maryland.
Server-side initiated drops apparently were in proportion with the net usage
statistics. I complained that this practise severely limited my "unlimited"
service. They gave me some story about not have a strong enough modem. I
explained that, as a telecommunications engineer with over 17 years
experience (at that time), this was utter nonsense--especially given my
proximity to the DCO (dial central office) and the quality of the cables. I
explained how the coding and noise-mitigation schemes work and that I had
measured the signal levels and found them to be in the upper side of the
allowed range. I also included quotes from the service contract and sent a
courtesy copy to the attorney general's office. Server-side disconnections
stopped with no change in any hardware or software on my end.
I can see where it's just good business sense to try to weed out the
unattended connections to get better grade-of-service numbers during peak
usage without adding any more lines. However, until they have an economic
reason not to do this to you they will continue to do so. I agree with Carl
that it pays to complain.
I seldom use dial-up connections (one comes with my DSL account for at least
some kind of connectivity during outages), but I've noticed that more
service agreements now come with language limiting what "unlimited" means.
Your mileage may vary...
--Ross
[snip]
I also had a technical problem recently with earthlink in Santa Fe:
for a few hours my connection was repeatedly dropped. After contacting
earthlink technical support, they determined the problem was due to low
signal strength & somehow boosted the signal somewhere on the chain to my
house, eliminating the problem.
-- all very mysterious to me with my limited EE technical
knowledge/understanding, but it appears to have worked !!
Joe
-----Original Message-----
From:
[hidden email] [mailto:
[hidden email]] On Behalf
Of Carl Tollander
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:57 AM
To:
[hidden email]; The Friday Morning Complexity Coffee Group
Subject: RE: [FRIAM] Broadband Bandwidth .. and Higher Bandwidth Options
It sometimes pays to complain. Ocasionally the Qwest DSL customer database
gets screwed up. After complaining to my ISP (CNSP) last month, my DSL
speed doubled back up to what I actually bought.
carl
[snip]
Locked
