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Review by jmaraia See Profile

  • Location: Burlington, Middlesex, MA, USA
  • Cost: $47 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 17 days
None
Intermittent connection
Go with a Cable Connection
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I have not had good success with pivot.net or their tech support team. I was blocked from forwarding email to other accounts. My connection routinely times out. I will look into time warner.

member for 16.6 years, 11 visits, last login: 11.6 years ago
lodged 15.8 years ago







Review by krispen0 See Profile

  • Location: Augusta, Kennebec, ME, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 30 days
It isn't Adelphia
Clueless scripted technical support, frequent lengthy outages, no servers
Given Adelphia and pivot, I barely choose pivot
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've had Pivot.net for over three years, since I moved into my house in early 2001.

It was expensive to start, but they've become realistic with their pricing of late. They also bumped up the speeds, which was nice. It is generally pretty usable, but when it sucks, oh boy does it suck.

Every couple of months there will be an outage to last all night. A couple times a year the connection will be down all weekend. Given they don't call in anyone unless there's a major outage, you're screwed for the weekend. Absolutely screwed.

Technical support was at least competent up until a few months ago when they decided to outsource to a company in North or South Carolina who can do nothing but read scripts. "Did you restart your computer?" "No, but I restarted the networking process." "You need to restart Sir." "No, I don't. " "Yes sir, you do." "Okay, fine, I just restarted. It's still broken" "Okay, let's try... " and they continue the script. Once they realize that they have completed the script and that no rebooting of anything actually helps, they say "we'll put in a service call for you... " "When will I expect a call back?" "Oh Sir, we don't know that." "I'm requesting a call back in two hours." "We can't do that Sir, we just pass it on to the local provider." "Well, pass on that I'm requesting a call back within two hours." "Sir we can't.... " blah blah blah.

Even management has been poor. I was promised a month refund and received about $3.85 instead of $38.50. I didn't bother to call to correct it. It simply wasn't worth my time.

I have a static IP, which always screws things up. Once I remind them of this, they go "Oh, ok... " and generally it magically gets fixed shortly thereafter. Most of my problems tend to be focused on authentication. DSL lines are fine, but I can't authenticate. Tech support rarely could help before, but now tehy can't do ANYTHING until they run their script and have me reboot everything.

There was a nice time when they cranked up my speed to 7 meg download (configured) and it was pretty damn fast, but that was an error they soon corrected.

I was shut off once because they thought I had an infected machine here. When I asked for the logs of what violating information they found, I couldn't get one. I asked for protocols, I couldn't get one. All I could end up getting was "there were connections to you from 64 different IP's all around the world... " Well, I do consult for people around the world, so that's not unusual. However, I moved some of my VPN things around and eliminated their sight of this issue.

I have a static IP, but it's close to useless without being allowed to run servers. I'm still waiting to hear on official permission to run some services. I asked a while ago and haven't heard, but my query is still in the loop AFAIAC.

My DSL CPE (customer premise equipment) recently stopped providing DHCP server to my network, so I finally replaced it with a Cisco 827. The previous one, the VisionNet ES200 (I think) was their answer to my previous issues with authentication. They threw hardware at my problem to fix it, which did nothing at all to fix it. The efficient networks CPE was okay, but they charged me $180 for it and now it's not even good enough to hold open my door.

It's not been great. Generally stable, but they also just posted that there's an upgrade window between 11 pm and 6 am, so not sure if this review will post or not. Which is another bother - WTF is up with these 11 pm maintenance windows?! That's what 4 am is for!

Sorry for the rantiness of the review, but it's been a difficult 3 and a half years under the thumb of this monopoly.

member for 19.3 years, 10 visits, last login: 17.9 years ago
lodged 19.3 years ago

indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

This is exactly why

Maine is among the worst states in the nation for broadband. It's sad that we're still sitting back in the late 1990s with our broadband speeds and choices while other areas are getting fiber to the home deployed, something that will never be in this state. Only solution is to move to another state.

astokes
join:2000-08-11
Bangor, ME

astokes

Member

Re: This is exactly why

Well Maine have Verizon DSL, GWI with speeds up to 8/1. Roadrunner, Acadianet DSL, Adelphia, plus a few other Cable and DSL ISP's, not forgetting wireless and Satelite.

Maine definately isnt one of the worste broadband states, only problem is that we have a low population here, and as far as Fiber to the home, hardly any states have it, yes Verizon is starting to deploy it now but even the states that allready have fiber are few and far between, plus its not mass deployed.
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: This is exactly why

Ok, in Verizon territory the broadband choices are decent, I admit. The problem is, the majority of this state is covered by rural LECs who either don't have DSL or have lackluster DSL like pivot's. It really sucks when your only choices are Adelphia or pivot.

astokes
join:2000-08-11
Bangor, ME

astokes

Member

Re: This is exactly why

I agree, the areas that are not serviced by Verizon do have little to chose from. I did try Adelphia up here in Bangor for a while, lets just say never again ;/
krispen0
join:2004-12-13
Augusta, ME

krispen0 to indigo31

Member

to indigo31
The majority of the state (calculated as land mass or population - your choice) are covered by Verizon, not the CLEC's.
xQim
join:2003-09-20
01234

xQim

Member

"Given Adelphia and pivot, I barely choose pivot"

You're crazy!(no offense) I used to have pivot and they were the worst isp I'd ever used. I switch over to adelphia; the premier package for 59.95/Month. For speeds I get about 6000K/Down (750K/s) and 990K/Up (123.75K\s). What do you get with pivot???? Not even close.
krispen0
join:2004-12-13
Augusta, ME

krispen0

Member

Re: "Given Adelphia and pivot, I barely choose pivot"

No, no I'm not crazy. Adelphia actively blocks a lot more. Adelphia has been a very very very very corrupt company. Adelphia will be getting purchased soon enough. Adelphia completely pooched the acquisition of a local ISP serving over 20,000 customers in Central Maine, causing people to leave that acquisition weekly.

In short, Adelphia sucks, on principle and technically. While their network has improved, I won't sign up with them, just on principle.

I don't even have a cable line run to the house anymore. It fell in a storm and I left it dangle. Eventually someone came and clipped it.

If Time Warner gets their act together and purchases the Adelphia properties in Maine, I'll consider switching.

Review by indigo31 See Profile

  • Location: Sebago, Cumberland, ME, USA
  • Cost: $80 per month
  • Install: about 60 days
Decent peering
Expensive bandwidth:price ratio, interleaving lag, PPPoA, servers banned, PPPoA outages
Get it if it's your only broadband choice
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

This is my final update. I changed over to a full T1 line on March 10th and haven't looked back. Good riddance Pivot. My 4 years of service with them can be best summed up with the phrase, "broadband exile."

That said, if you are a casual user the service is ok, although if you are a gamer you will probably run into problems. I'd wager that Adelphia would be a better choice, and that's saying a lot. Certainly roadrunner is, so if you live in an area where that's available go with them. Both RR and Adelphia are much less than what pivot charges for comparable download speed.

If you are a power user like me and like to run your own servers, you'll have to move out of Maine or get a T1 line. There's really no other choice. I ended up getting a T1 from AT&T.

If you decide to get pivot's DSL, be prepared for PPPoA outages. They seem to happen on average once a month. When they happen, you will be unable to access the internet. The outages last anywhere between 3 and 18 hours.

Pivot has also banned servers, even though they used to permit them. They say it is because they had to change the Maine telephone AUP over to the Fairpoint one. They also say a lot of morons on the service here are running unsecured web and mail servers, which spammers find and exploit, getting pivot in trouble. They feel allowing servers is too much of a liability. In addition, since pivot has their own webhosting business, allowing servers is a conflict of interest for them.

I used to give them a passing grade since even with all their downfalls servers were allowed, but at this point, the bad far outweighs the good.

As far as their prices goes, they certainly set double standards. They told me they could not charge any less than they were right now because they wouldn't stay in business. And yet, they are rolling out a new wireless service in Windham, and the prices are as follows:

$100 install fee.

PivotAir Port $34.95

Access rate up to 768k downstream/128k upstream

PivotAir Plus $42.95

Access rate up to 768k downstream/384k upstream

PivotAir Premium $79.95

Access rate up to 1.5M downstream/512k upstream

Those rates are 50% less than the DSL ones. These guys are unbelievable.

Here's a list of Pivot's DSL offerings (all speeds are kbps unless otherwise noted):

128/128:

This is a new package they recently added supposively to compete with 56k. Problem is, their price for it is $35 a month. If they really want to compete with dialup, they need to drop the price about $15-20.

768/128

It costs $43 per month. This would be a reasonable price if it were 1.5Mbps down and 128kbps up, but as of now it's still less for more when compared to most areas in the US.

768/384

It costs $80 per month. If it were 1.5Mbps down and 384 up it would be in line with most offerings in the US.

1.5Mbps/512 package:

It costs $150 a month. Still out of reach for most, and with the interleaving and NAT problems, mostly a waste of money. And if they ban servers, what can possibly be the justification for spending this much money a month?

All DSL packages have an interleaving lag and NAT problem. This means you will be getting a 20-50ms ping to your first hop. It also means that you will be unable to use your own NAT device to share your connection, you are forced to use the DSL modem's NAT, which is usually shoddy at best and lacks features. You can get your own NAT device to work with the service if the modem has PPTP relay and your NAT device has a PPTP client. It's pretty hard to setup and get working, however.

It should also be noted that all DSL packages require a DSL modem, either purchased from pivot, or elsewhere. If you buy a modem elsewhere you need to ask them for a list of approved modems so it will work with their service. They do run promotions from time to time where you can get the modem for free if you're a new DSL subscriber.

Business package:

There is a 2Mbps symmetrical connection that can be obtained from pivot. It costs $715 per month and is still applicable to the terms & agreements, so servers are still banned on it. I feel sorry for anyone who gets duped into paying for this. Bottom line: Get a T1, it costs less and you'll be a lot better off (SLA, QoS, 24/7 tech support, etc etc)

I've noticed that during extended power outages the service stays up and running, so they have a good backup power system in place at the central office, which is a plus.

Well, that's my final review of Pivot. I am keeping my previous reviews on file below so you can read about their humble beginnings, so do not take any information below here as fact..

---- Previous update from April 2003 ----

Pivot and Maine telephone recently got bought out by Fairpoint New England. On April 17, 2003, pivot announced a price drop.

First off, they got rid of the $32 surcharge for having a DSL line. Second, they upped the bandwidth on their packages. This brings them more in line with a conventional DSL provider. I give them points for this, but, really, this should have been done back when they started the service.

Interleaving and NAT problems:

If you are looking to run a UT or other game server, look elsewhere. The DSL interleaving lag will make sure to keep your server empty of players. Pings to the first hop average 23ms in the 768/384 package (round-trip min/avg/max/mdev = 22.216/23.351/24.016/0.433 ms), and when I had the entry package (256/96 at the time) pings were double that. If you want to run a game server, you need to be sure your pings to the internet are less than 10ms.

Playing games isn't a problem, I usually get pings in the 40-100ms range, the average being around 60 or so. I don't usually play many games online these days, however.

Bandwidth usage:

In the early 2003, there were couple of months where I downloaded over 30 gigs and uploaded nearly 20. I never got a peep from pivot about this, and that is the way it SHOULD be. If anything changes, this review will be one of the first places I update.

---- Pivot.net from October 2002 to April 2003 ----

Servers:

They banned servers in September 2002, but they decided to reverse their ruling and are now allowing servers, but only if they do not host porn, copyrighted materials(like mp3s), or are unsecured (like open mail relays). Apparently there was a lot of complaining about them banning servers (which is justifiable, for the prices they charge the least they can allow is for servers to be run).

Interleaving lag:

After upgrading to the 768 package in October 2002 I noticed the lag to the first hop dropped by 50%. I now get pings in the low 20s for my first hop. That isn't bad at all compared to the 40ms it was before. It's borderline on whether a game server would be viable with that extra lag, but you may be able to get away with one. The lower ping certainly helps with gaming. The only snafu with this is that the lag to the first hop should be the same no matter which service you have (256/96, 768/256, 1.5M/512). One would almost think they were doing it on purpose to make more people get the 768 or higher DSL package.

Forced NAT:

There is a way, using PPTP, that you can actually bypass the Efficient's NAT and use your own NAT device (as long as it has a PPTP client built in). I have gotten this working after much trouble, but I now finally have a bridge like connection again. This is very nice after being behind the accursed Speedstream's NAT for 2+ years. In my opinion, this is the way it should be to begin with, and it was very hard for me to accomplish this seemingly simple request. I still think they should find a way to allow users to run the DSL modems in bridge mode like most other DSL providers, but at the very least I have accomplished this now. It's the way most tech-savvy people like to have their connection set up, because that person usually has his or her own firewall/NAT device they want to hook up the DSL modem to. One shouldn't have to fool around with TWO NAT devices (if he or she wants to use his or her NAT device) or be forced to accept the DSL modem as his or her NAT/firewall.

---- Pivot.net from October 2000 through October 2002 (contains outdated information, but is here for a history standpoint) ----

In the summer of 2000, I moved to Sebago from Casco, ME, where Roadrunner is. Time warner is not in Sebago, so I had no choice but to look into other options. Maine telephone first started offering DSL service in October of 2000. They were originally supposed to have DSL available by June of 2000, but they had their coodination problems and it kept getting pushed back.

In order to get the DSL service, I had to pay $500 for the DSL modem and another $100 for the install. They refused to let me rent the modem or buy my own. I had to buy it from them. In addition, since this is G.lite DSL, filters needed to be purchased for the phones on the line. Not a good start. Installation was troublesome, the modem did not sync up but they managed to fix that in 8 hours. Maine telephone charged $40 a month just for the right to have DSL on the phone line. An additional $20 a month got the basic DSL internet service, which is 256kbps download and 96kbps upload. Roadrunner at the time was 3Mbps down and 1Mbps up for $35 a month. So this was a big downgrade.

I was also dismayed to find a 50ms lag to the first hop, induced by interleaving on the DSL line. I tried multiple times to get interleaving turned off, but they claimed it was not possible to do. In addition, their clunky way of authentication, PPPoA, required that the DSL modem function as a router with NAT. I was at the mercy of the competancy of the NAT firmware coding in the modem. I believe the least they could do is fix their DSL so users could have the option of using the DSL modem in bridge mode. Not only does the router cause unnecessary hassle, but I could not even do pings or trace routes because the NAT firmware in the modem would not support it.

At first, only the 256/96 package was available. By February of 2001, 2 other packages had become available: 768kbps down/256kbps up for $80 a month (plus the $40 for the DSL line, totalling $120 a month), and 1.5Mbps down/512kbps up for $200 a month(plus the $40 for the DSL line, totalling $240 a month). Both prices are outrageously high when you consider that this is ADSL, not SDSL, not to mention the interleaving lag forced NAT problems. Just compare these prices/service to that of speakeasy's SDSL packages and you know what I'm talking about. Better yet, compare it to other telcos ADSL and you will see that the bandwidth/price ratio is probably one of the highest (if not THE highest) in the US and Canada.

Connection reliablity: This was not as good as it should be. There were often mysterious unexplained outages that occured even when the modem was in sync with the Central Office. Thankfully these usually got fixed within 1 hour, but they shouldn't have happened nearly as frequently as they did (it averaged about 1-2 times per week). The best part about this was 9 times out of 10 when calling tech support, they were not aware there was a problem and used their standard "reset the modem and restart the PC" line (which didn't fix the problem course).

Tech support: The tech support people were not very well educated in the DSL service to start, I had numerous times when one of them told me that this wasn't "in their training" or that they wished Maine telephone would give them more info about the DSL. This was finally resolved by mid 2002, but it's inexcusable to have a service released in Oct 2000 and then finally train your techs on it almost 2 years later. Other than the lack of coordination between maine telephone and their techs, I found that in the areas the techs had been trained on they did a more than satisfactory job.

Mail, DNS, News: Mail service was for the most part rock steady and reliable. I think there was only 2 outages on the mail server in the last 2 years. DNS was somewhat flakey, as they were slow to update their cache which can cause problems when a site changes the IP their domain name points to. Other than that, the DNS server had good uptime. News server? Was atrocious to start with, until early 2001 when they decided to contract out to newsfeeds.com. Retention and selection of groups then became much better, but an advertisement gets placed on all outgoing usenet posts. Unacceptable.

In the spring of 2001 I was having problems with IRC locking the DSL modem up because of the shoddy NAT firmware coding in it, so Maine telephone offered me a newer model that "only" costed $250 instead of $500. At first they refused to take the old modem back, but after much hassling and bitching I got them to take the old modem AND refund me the difference in price between it ($500) and the new one ($250, a speedstream 5660), which is what they SHOULD have done to begin with. The new modem fixed the lockup problem, but I still had to use it in router mode because of the PPPoA authentication.

member for 24.6 years, 2717 visits, last login: 1.1 years ago
updated 20.1 years ago


qim
@pivot.net

qim

Anon

I know how you feel

I went from roadrunner to pivot dial-up. I get lighting fast speeds that never exceed 40k for 21.95/month! The speeds are usually in the 28.8k to 38.6k, Watch Out! Ok so I miss having broadband and I heard they had DSL in my area. I got a little excited and went to the pivot web page to check it out. I check out the pricing for DSL and I just about fell out of my chair. I couldn't believe how much money they wanted, an arm and a leg basically. I almost wanted to call them up and ask them how they can even expect that. The premium DSL 1500k/512k $200 a month, in my old neighborhood $200 DSL was 7100k/768k. Then I read your review and now I’m totally against their DSL. After that I checked out the 128k-ISDN, $55 a month I can deal with. It says additional charges may apply, uh oh! When I call about ISDN no one knows what I am talking about, it’s like I speak a totally different language. Just for a laugh I asked how much T1 was but they didn't know what that was either. I was thinking about DirecTV internet, but wait, $800 to install, and $100 a month for excess, and you can only download, upload so much in one day. If you exceed the given bandwidth they shut you off for 24hours. Then I moved on to Adelphia but wait, $3500 to install! I'm about as close to getting broadband as I am to hitting the power ball. Time Warner help us out here!
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: I know how you feel

What town are you in?

I asked them how much a T1 was too. I got farther than you though:

Basic T1 from maine telephone is $510 a month. Even if you get frame relay or a fractional T1, still $510 a month. But there's more. The $510 is just for the line itself. They don't supply internet service, so add an extra $600 or so to get that. Probably tons of long distance fees too since the closest PoP is a CO NOT in the Maine telephone service area.

Yes, DirecTV is a pathetic excuse for broadband. They basically want you to pay to not use the connection.

I am resigned to the fact that until I move out of maine, I won't get the broadband I want. I wish Governer King would do something about the terrible broadband situation in this state. There are only a handful of towns where you can get good broadband, and if you are not lucky enough to live in one of them, you're screwed.

qim
@pivot.net

qim to qim

Anon

to qim
I called today about ISDN. Of course they tried to persuade me to get DSL. They put me in the local loop, so hopefully I do qualify. ISDN 128K is 75/month unlimited access, DSL is, well you know, expensive. What do you think indigo, which one should I get if I do apply for these?
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: I know how you feel

When I asked them about ISDN a couple years ago they told me I would have to pay for both the ISDN modem on my side and theirs.

The DSL is highway robbery but they have NO competition (and never will the way this country's rural broadband situation is) and so can get away with it. Maybe they have different modems available now but I'm pretty sure it will be at least $410 for the first month of the slightly-faster-than-isdn package. $100 install, $250 for the modem, and another $60 for the $40 DSL line and the $20 256/96 package.

You might be able to find the modem cheaper somewhere else online. The one I have is an efficient networks 5660. The problem is, they explicitly told me that they will not setup someone on their DSL unless that person buys the modem from them. Maybe they have lowered their prices on the modems and/or have more brands of modems available, but based on Maine telephone's track record I doubt it. It doesn't hurt to ask em, at least they can't charge you for doing that.

If you do decide on the highway robbery route I would encourage you to post a review on here after you have had a chance to evaluate the service for yourself. It helps to get the word out about the sorry state of broadband here in pine tree land.

qim
@maine.edu

qim to qim

Anon

to qim
I go from this 2002-09-19 10:55:44 EST: 5756 / 6726
Your download speed : 5756593 bps, or 5756 kbps.
A 702.7 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 6726457 bps, or 6726 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier! to 28.8k everyday, it's terrible.
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: I know how you feel

Is that the connection where you go to work or something? I sure wouldn't mind that kind of connection. I won't get real broadband anytime soon but I am planning that whenever I graduate college and can get a job at a software company (I'm majoring in computer science/programming) I will make sure I live in an area where I can get a T1 (or at least Speakeasy SDSL) for a decent price. Until that day comes broadband won't be in the cards.

Unfortunately, we are right back in the stone age (pre 1996) for wanting to do liberal stuff on a high bandwidth connection. Most all of the broadband companies now have upload caps of 128kbps and explicitly ban running servers. Only way is to roll your own T1 or get speakeasy if it's available. Meanwhile other countries like Korea and China are making the US a third-world broadband country with their cheap multimegabit broadband connections widely available. In those countries the broadband is government regulated and there is no corporate greed or rural telco monopolies (hello Maine telephone) dictating to people what they are allowed to do on their connections or charging outrageously high prices.

qim
@pivot.net

qim

Anon

Pivot

I just happened to come across reading this, and since I know you like Pivot so much I wanted to share it with you. I guess they told you they allowed it, but on this page »www.pivot.net/dslaccounts.html it says "Servers are not allowed". Also, do they just give you a static IP or do you have to demand one?
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: Pivot

I run a webserver and apparently they decided to ban servers now. I will call them on Monday to see if this is true, since I was told servers were allowed when I signed up for the service. If they have decided to ban servers now, they will get an even lower rating on my review. With the prices they charge and the low bandwidth/price ratio one would think servers should be allowed at the very least. I'll figure more out about this tomorrow hopefully.
[text was edited by author 2002-09-22 21:08:56]
indigo31

indigo31

Member

Re: Pivot

Well, as you can see from my updated review I have found they do ban servers as of a couple weeks ago. There is absolutely nothing warranting spending the outrageous amount of money on their DSL now. As for myself, 2 years of no broadband has been enough for me, and I am looking into moving within the next few months to an area that has Speakeasy DSL. Thanks a lot, Maine telephone/pivot.net
francisking
join:2002-09-22
Freedom, ME

francisking to qim

Member

to qim

Re: Pivot Connection problem

I am adding my posting to this Pivot.Net thread because I am having a connection problem with this provider.
I have taken steps outlined in other postings and still am unable to access certain specific sites - among them my employers home page: »www.csc.com[?]
When I hit on one of the sites, and there are many, my browser (both ie and Netscape 6.0 do this) just hangs and doesn't even time out but just sits there and acts like it's loading the site - but never comes back.
I am running a win2K with a VisionNet ES dsl modem directly connected to the Ethernet card and my provider is Pivot.Net. My tests are here:
»monitor.dslreports.com/tweak/block:441..[?]
Help!
azjimmy2
join:2002-11-05
Phoenix, AZ

azjimmy2

Member

Re: Pivot Connection problem

Just contact DQ at 866-286-XDSL and they will send you a fix.

Qim
@pivot.net

Qim

Anon

Pivot is lame

I went to order their over priced dsl. I was loop qualified and can't stand their dial-up. I came to the conclusion that they purposely made their dial-up awful so you would buy their outrageously priced dsl. So I go to the main office an ask to order the cheesy dsl. Before I order I ask exactly how far away I am from the CO, 17000ft! Wow, I'd be paying 55 dollars for dial-up what a steal. Well I'm currently looking into the more expensive ISDN. My question is, hopefully indigo you can answer this is; is ISDN distance limited like dsl, whereas the farther you are away the less and less bandwidth you can attain? I can't tolerate the constant 28.8k connections and random disconnects. Pivot=Awful service.
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: Pivot is lame

I don't believe ISDN is distance limited, but I doubt it's worth the cost. I heard it was over $200 a month (back in 2000 anyway). The only thing I'm blessed with is that the CO is 5,300ft away so I am able to get all the levels of service (which are overpriced to say the least).

Maine sucks for broadband, it is that simple. Looks like it always will, too. Closest place to get a decent CLEC service like Speakeasy is in Kittery and Portsmouth NH. I've upgraded to the 768 service and it's barely acceptable (especially considering how much it costs), but it will have to do until I move out of this state.

If you can, I would say find a way to move somewhere else where you can get decent broadband. Sadly, that's the only choice it comes down to.

astokes
join:2000-08-11
Bangor, ME

astokes

Member

Maine aint too bad for Broadband.

Maine sux for broadband? depends where u are located bud, Im in Bangor I get DSL 2000 down and 256 up, real world speeds are 1950/330 with a static IP and server support from Prexar for $55. They cover most of Maine and New Hampshire. There is also cough cough Adelphia here which I stay away from, Time warner in some areas, Verizon amongst others. Verizon is excellent here too with great pings and very nice speeds. Would be nice to see Speakeasy up here too and maybe Time Warner expanding more but hey its better than some places who have NO broadband at all, and trust me I know what lack of broadband means, im from the UK and I had never had a chance to use broadband until I moved here to Maine 3 years ago.

Funny thing is I work for a Print shop and we actually printed price lists for Pivot Net, I remember reading them and thinking HOLY CRAP thats extortion, but thats was before the price decrease.

Anyway later fellow Mainers.
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: Maine aint too bad for Broadband.

No Prexar or Time Warner here. Just pivot or Adelphia. The thing I dislike the most about Maine is there are no CLECs in most of the state because rural telcos cover most of it. FCC rules say rural telcos are exempt from the 1996 telco act, and hence do not have to allow access to their COs for CLECs. Therefore, no speakeasy or Covad. Not that SE or Covad would come here even if competition were allowed, because of the lack of population.

I mean look at Portland. They are one of the few places in Maine that are covered by Verizon and so can have CLECs (such as Prexar), and yet Covad or Speakeasy won't bother with Portland because the population isn't high enough. When you consider that Portland is the highest populated town in the state, you just know we won't ever be seeing Covad or Speakeasy here.

Plasmatics
@pivot.net

Plasmatics

Anon

Distance concerns...

Hey guys!

Thanks to you guys I did some research and found out how important distance is for DSL (and Pivot is the ONLY provider of broadband for my area). So I called up, got the runaround, but finally found out that I'm apparently at "Pole 13", whatever that means (it simply can't mean telephone poles from the Central Office, because its just not possible). They say Pole 30 is at 18000 feet. Going by this, I assume I'm about 7800 feet from the CO. Is this a good distance?

Thanks guys.
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: Distance concerns...

Not sure you are still checking this area, I don't often check it myself, but here goes.

7800 feet is a good distance. I think the maximum they allow is 16,000 feet or so, although it may be higher. At 7800 feet, you should be able to get all 3 of their offerings.
Plasmatics
join:2003-07-13
Portland, ME

Plasmatics

Member

Re: Distance concerns...

Well I got their 768/128 package. I can d/l at like 80k/sec...that's great right?

Unfortunately, the past two days its been down for hours at a time. On Friday it went down at around 10pm...wasn't around to test how long it was down for, but more than an hour. Then yesterday it went down from noon until about 2pm...and then again from 4pm till around 8pm.

I called their help line, but it was Saturday and they told me to call back on Monday and ask. The only explanation they gave me was that "unfortunately that happens if you're on the fringe", which I think I am, but which they told me I wasn't...

If the call on Monday doesn't resolve anything, what option do I have? Does this happen on all DSL providers, the fringe losing service for hours at a time?
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: Distance concerns...

Downloading at 80KB/sec is just about right for 768kbps down. I get 75-80KB/sec myself. I have not lost sync in a few days.

Their help line is basically useless over the weekend to fix any problems with your service. You have to get them between 9-5 on weekdays to get anything done.

Also, at 7500 feet you are not "on the fringe" as the person told you. At that distance you should not be having any problems with sync being dropped. I would tell them this and have them fix it right away. Call the telco repair number, they are usually more competent about getting sync problems fixed than the helpdesk is.

I would encourage you to submit your own review of pivot once you get this all straightened out. You can do that here: »/docon ··· ISP/2066
Plasmatics
join:2003-07-13
Portland, ME

Plasmatics

Member

Re: Distance concerns...

See the thing is I think I'm on the fringe. You read my first post for my interpretation of their "pole" nonsense, which is how I came up with 7800 feet. But if the CO is the box on the telephone pole, then I'm about 2.5 miles away...still not exactly the fringe, accounting for difference between road distance and line distance I don't think I'd be more than 3 miles away, still a few thousand feet within their 18,000 feet limit.

If this is the case, and I'm on the fringe, is it normal to lose the connection as I described?

Oh, just today I lost it from 2pm until 10:30pm. I find it difficult to believe that any problem could last that long.

What do you mean by the telco repair number? My phone company?
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: Distance concerns...

Actually, the central office should be a building on the side of the road that says "standish telephone company" or another variant of the many aliases they use. At least that is the case in my town. It's possible they have a remote DSLAM in your location, in which case it WOULD be a box on a telephone pole.

At 2.5 miles, that still puts you around 14,000 feet from the CO.

Which telephone company are you using? Just so I know that it's the same one I have. Fairpoint New England?

Call their repair department and tell them the problems you are having with your modem dropping sync for several hours a day. They will probably have the network engineer (his accent makes him sound exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger) call you back. He is usually able to fix the problem in the same day, at least that has been my experience when I've had problems.
Plasmatics
join:2003-07-13
Portland, ME

Plasmatics

Member

Re: Distance concerns...

It must be DSLAM then because there are these boxes placed all around town at intervals. What's the difference?

And just so I have this straight, the problem is ridiculous and even if I were on the fringe it shouldn't be this bad...right?

I called Pivot, who told me to call the phone company. I called them, they said that they're having problems with DSL right now and that they're intermittent. They couldn't give me a timetable about when it would be fixed or even tell me what exactly was wrong. They're useless. I don't know what else I can do!

I would like to say thanks for all your help. Its lucky for me that someone with your knowledge uses the same provider and website.
[text was edited by author 2003-08-11 09:34:58]
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: Distance concerns...

I'm still not sure you actually have a DSLAM there.. they're used to extend the DSL coverage area. Those boxes on the telephone poles could be the cable company's equipment. We have em every mile here, I think it's for Adelphia's cable modem network.

I would not put up with those kinds of frequent outages at all. What you need to do is call the repair department and tell them how long it's going down for and ask if they can send someone out to look at your line (that's if the problem is still happening). The tech should come to your house and also check your line down at the Central Office.

I have not had any problems with the DSL dropping sync in about a week, so I think that their line about them having problems with their DSL is somewhat suspect.

Hopefully the problem gets fixed.
Plasmatics
join:2003-07-13
Portland, ME

Plasmatics

Member

Re: Distance concerns...

Well we went over 24 hours without a problem on Sunday, but then it was out on Monday for 12 hours. I'll definitely be calling them again.

We don't have cable access out here, so I seriously doubt its cable. There's a little red light in the upper right corner if that helps.

xqim
@pivot.net

xqim

Anon

ugh

I finally decided i had no other option, so i acquired the pivot dsl package as stated: 768k\128k. I thought it was sufficient enough for the price. So I'm up and running after minor difficulties and the service seems pretty decent. My test results where 640k\73k. Then randomly 2 weeks later my upload multiplied. My test speeds where 649k\553k, no lie. Ping times where 30 and below. I know you said G.Lite is only capable of 512k, but I seriously saw 80k\s+ upload. These awesome speeds only lasted 2 weeks, probably because I abused my new found luck and they found out . I was just curious if you "indigo" experienced the samething?
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: ugh

said by xqim:
I seriously saw 80k\s+ upload. These awesome speeds only lasted 2 weeks, probably because I abused my new found luck and they found out . I was just curious if you "indigo" experienced the samething?
That's never happened to me, but what I do know is that sometimes the speed tests give inaccurate results. The other day it said i had a 440kbps upload speed, for example. I verified through my mikrotik router (queues section) that my max upload was still topping out around 345kbps or so. Another good way is to check the caps set at »10.0.0.1 (your DSL modem's http access)..

I know for a fact that Fairpoint has told me in the past that it is G.lite ADSL, and only capable of 512kbps upload.

They're talkin about rollin 2Mbps SDSL out soon, and if/when that happens I'm going to switch to that, even though it will probably cost $600 a month. I have a job where I can cover that monthly cost, fortunately. For years now (since 1996) I've wanted a low latency connection with good upload speed I could run servers (http, UT, etc) on, and a 2Mbps symmetrical line fits the bill nicely. They charge a lot for it, yes, but it's the only choice around these parts because Covad won't touch our state with a 10 foot pole. So, instead of waiting the several more years it will take for me to get out of this backwater state, I'm going to bite the bullet and get the service.

xqim why don't you register here and review pivot? It'd be nice to have some additional reviews up instead of having just mine.

xqim
@pivot.net

xqim to xqim

Anon

to xqim
It was right. I have a screenshot of both the speedtest and the DSL Settings page. At 10.0.0.2 it said that the Bandwidth was 3360kbps/692kpbs. This is no lie. It doesn't really matter anymore because it don't get these speeds now.
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: ugh

said by xqim:
It was right. I have a screenshot of both the speedtest and the DSL Settings page. At 10.0.0.2 it said that the Bandwidth was 3360kbps/692kpbs. This is no lie. It doesn't really matter anymore because it don't get these speeds now.
Wow.. looks like someone screwed up at the Central Office.

I'd like to see those screenshots if you could put em up on a webspace somewhere.

I'm still looking into their 2Mbps package, and right now it looks like it consists of them installing 2 T1s at your place and you having to buy a cisco router (NOT CHEAP). Also, I don't know where you are located, but the word is they (pivot) are planning to offer wireless internet in Windham in the next month or so. Might be worth looking into.
xQim
join:2003-09-20
01234

xQim

Member

Question?

Indigo, since you seem to be an expert in the field of computers, networking, internet etc.. I was wondering if you could answer a question for me? I was curious to know if it's possible for an ISP to block the use of two computers over one IP address. Basically, my router was working perfect and now it refuses to work with two computers on, or the computers get terrible speeds like 448\19k. Now what seems striking is that the router worked fine like I said until I complained to Pivot that I kept losing my connection over the weekends. The problem was not my router in these cases, it was their servers. They then said it was my router which was kicking both computers off the internet or causing the slow speeds. The minute they said this my router died pretty much. Maybe this is coincidental? I don't know, so I thought you could answer the question.

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Re: Question?

If you have two computers online with a dialup connection you are probably violating your AUP. On the other hand your router could be dying or maybe it needs to be rebooted. It's also possible that your ISP's provider capped bandwidth.

Try rebooting the router and modem and then restart your computer. If that doesn't work, connect one of the computers directly to the net and run a speed test. If your speed is good then it is probably the router. If it is the same then it is your ISP.or modem. See if you can borrow an external modem from your friend to test your connection. Getting to the source of computer problems is just good detective work. Sooner or later you will catch the culprit.

Just my two cents
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31 to xQim

Member

to xQim
Sorry, I didn't see this until now. What kind of DSL modem do you have? And is your router separate from it? If so what kind is it?

I have 4 computers on my connection and there has never been a problem. It has to be something in the way your router or DSL modem is setup, either that or line problems with the DSL.

If you wanted I might be able to stop by your place to take a look at it sometime, I commute 4 days a week into Portland since I am a USM student. That's only if it can't be solved here though..

asdfgq
@pivot.net

asdfgq to xQim

Anon

to xQim
well i narrowed down the router problem. it seems that the router only "shits the bed" when my dads computer is on. When it turns off, the router is back to being normal. With the modem directly connected to my dads computer the lan light on the modem is out and causes the same speeds as putting it through the router. Is it the net card????
asdfgq

asdfgq to xQim

Anon

to xQim
also, with the modem directly connected to my computer the lan light is on and i get my 768/128 speeds and the speeds are the same through the router with the other computer off.
xQim
join:2003-09-20
01234

xQim

Member

Two Stupid Questions

1. Does Pivot actively block ICMP pings? Everything is always unpingable. If they don't, how do I enable the stupid firewall on the DSL modem to accept ICMP pings?

2. When they issue you a Static IP address, how do you set it up? Can't figure it out.
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: Two Stupid Questions

Hello. It depends on your modem. If your modem is doing the NATing, then yes, ICMP will be blocked. You will need to get your own NAT device which supports PPTP, and the modem needs to support PPTP relay. You configure your own NAT device PPTP client settings to the username and password you currently use to login to pivot. Once it's working properly, your own NAT device will have the public IP address. This is what I have done because I got sick of the shoddy NAT firmware in the modem.

It really depends on what modem you have if you want to try to enable ICMP. Most of the modem NATs are very limited and simplistic and will not have any option to do this. That is why it is better to get your own NAT device. Of course, if pivot just gave us a bridged connection instead of this PPPoA crap, this wouldn't even be a problem.

As for the static IP, I do not believe there is anything to configure on your end. It's all set in your local Central office.
xQim
join:2003-09-20
01234

xQim

Member

Adelphia

I just wanted to say that Adelphia has a package called PowerLink Premier. The speeds are 4000Kbps\512Kbps for $80/month. Also they allow servers, and actually promote them on the webpage, »www.adelphia.com/high_sp ··· mier.cfm. I understand your frustration with pivot since I actually have the wannabe broadband. As for the servers, that's a slap in the face since the price is ridiculous. I'm one town away from verizon and their 768/768 SDSL. I shouldn't be complaining because it could be worse. Goodluck with your T1, wish I had the funds for one. Look into the adelphia package, might save you some $$$. P.S. Pivot dropped their ISDN . lol.
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: Adelphia

Thanks for the heads up. I still think the T1 is my best bet, because I need at least 1Mbps upload. Not to mention adelphia's peering problems. If this had been available a year ago, I would have switched and tried it out, but as it is now, I am already going through the paperwork for the T1 line.
xQim
join:2003-09-20
01234

xQim

Member

unpingable

Indigo, since you've had pivot before, can you explain to me why I am always unpingable? Does pivot block this or what? Even if I allow the swaggy modem and my router to except pings, i still seem to be unpingable...
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: unpingable

The modem's NAT is blocking it. And because pivot only does PPPoA, you are stuck with NAT unless you have another router that supports PPTP client mode and a DSL modem that has PPTP relay mode. Then you can set it up so that your router has a real IP instead of the NAT one, and you should become pingable.

I am going to be so happy to dump these morons and switch to a T1. Fairpoint's installing the local loop and smartjack for it the day after tomorrow, and the T1 will be turned up a few days after that. Then I will be on a REAL connection again, about damn time.
xQim
join:2003-09-20
01234

xQim

Member

pptp

I'm assuming enabling PPTP is a difficult process, because I enabled it on both my router and modem and they both immediately stopped working and I had to reset both of them. Any hints or directions on how to? or is it to complex to explain... I have a Vision Net modem and a D-Link router.
indigo31
join:1999-08-22

indigo31

Member

Re: pptp

Sorry, I didn't see this until now (this website won't update me on new threads posted here, stupidly enough)

You need to make sure your DSL modem supports PPTP RELAY and the router supports PPTP CLIENT. Any other variations on either device and it will not work. It's a finicky thing to get working. Also, I hope you have some kind of firewall in place when you do, because your DSL modem will no longer be firewalling, and whatever device is connected to the modem will be WIDE OPEN to the net.

Make sure your settings match these below.

DSL modem PPTP relay settings:

VPI: 0
VCI: 100
Mux: VC Mux
PCR: Max

Router PPTP client settings:

Use compression should be off
Use VJ compression should be off
Use encryption should be off
Require encryption should be off

Client adapter settings:

MTU: 1492 (IMPORTANT!)
MRU: 1448 (IMPORTANT!)
Server address: 10.0.0.1 (or whatever the local IP for your DSL modem is)

Username: Your pivot DSL username
Password: Your pivot DSL password

MTU and MRU settings are crucial because PPPoA is such a crappy protocol and is very sensitive to these settings. Incorrect settings can cause severe net access problems.

It is also important that when going this route you change the MTU settings on ALL computers accessing the internet to 1448. Otherwise the net will not work on these systems, or it may work but some websites will be mysteriously unaccessible. Yeah, like I said, PPPoA SUCKS. You can change the MTU settings using the Dr. TCP tool available for download on this site in the tweaks section.