Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 in Earthlink DSL http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r15379319 en Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:13:03 EDT Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:13:03 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15535016 tquan : BTW, spoke with abarson, the issues with the voice mail "stutter tone"/voicemail indicator and caller ID timestamps not matching the local time are known to Earthlink/Covad and being worked on, but he doesn't have an ETA on specifically when those will get fixed. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15535016 Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:41:33 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15505752 tquan : I telnetted into the CPE, and the only figure I can see there is 3036/798. My actual throughput is a bit below this (hovering around 2700/600, so it has slowed a bit since I first got service, but has been stable at that number for the last two weeks) still at least 2x better than other DSL on the same line.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15505752 Sat, 18 Feb 2006 12:59:39 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15505514 DSLTech : tquan: What speed does your CPE say its sync'd up at? I think your CPE should have a login URL you can check it.

For example, I am using a Broadxent CPE and when I check my speed, I'm at 6000/800. This is off a SBC Remote Terminal.

The reason I ask is because even though I am connected at 6000/800 sync rate, actual throughput will never reach that. I am seeing about 4400/660, so based on that, one might assume you are sync'd up at around 4500/800. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15505514 Sat, 18 Feb 2006 12:20:00 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15505176 tquan : Followup: the issues with analog phone devices (fax,modem,alarm systems, TiVo, etc) have been resolved. See here for details:

»[Split] Fax, Modem or Alarm System, LPV Problems]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15505176 Sat, 18 Feb 2006 11:19:19 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15442675 anon : I ordered on 1/20. The kit has yet to arrive, but it should arrive on Monday (according to Earthlink Customer Support). Everything should be switched over by 2/20. It's taken me over a month to get service, which is a bit ridiculous.

My scenario, however, is a bit different than yours, as I didn’t transfer my existing telephone number.

Hope this helps.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15442675 Thu, 09 Feb 2006 21:54:00 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15436459 tquan : As I mentioned in my first post, I ordered on 1/20 and got the install kit on 2/3 (which happened to be the same day my line was scheduled for activation) The DSL downtime was definitely 8 hours or less (I checked on the morning of 2/3 before going to work and had SBC DSL and phone service, by the time I got home from work, Earthlink DSL and phone service were already ready to go) I was suprised by how quickly the switchover was done (and by the fact that the install kit arrived just in time)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15436459 Thu, 09 Feb 2006 03:01:57 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15436350 anon : Question for you guys. I ordered the DSL/Phone service from Earthlink on 2/7. I chose to port my number over to save a service call. My question is, from the time you ordered, when did the install kit arrive? and when did the service switch over and have active DSL? I hear they are pretty fast with their regular DSL but since this is a new service there's not much out there about speed of switchover.

Any info you provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15436350 Thu, 09 Feb 2006 01:49:58 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15414134 tquan : Unfortunately, eventually the alarm stopped working for me as well. I'm investigating using ADT's cell phone monitoring instead (see the other thread here):

»[Split] Fax, Modem or Alarm System, LPV Problems

I observed the caller ID timestamp problem as well. The called ID timestamps appear to be in GMT (London) time. This is a pretty common time base for computer applications, it'd be nice though if LPV respected the timezone preferences you have set for your Earthlink account in this case. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15414134 Mon, 06 Feb 2006 11:57:49 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15412486 jcricket : I can confirm the speed increase from DSL2+ is real. Previously I had gotten 4 mbps in safe mode (3 mbps real speed) over regular DSL. I never recorded above that in any speed tests. Now I'm getting 6335/641. Not bad for 11,000 feet from the CO (Note that's my real line length as tested by covad techs here - not the pre-qual length, which is only 6,400 according to various tools).

As tquan has reported, so far my analog modem and fax machine do not work. I'm hoping to get the alarm system (ADT) working. Perhaps it doesn't do 10 digit dialing by default? When I tested this with them they didn't get any signals.

My Vtech cordless phones (5831 and accessory handsets) have a voicemail indicator, but it does not light up. My suspicion is that it relies on the stutter tone. I'll have to find another phone that supports "FSK" to test it out. Not a huge deal.

Right now my verdict is mixed. DSL speed and stability are great. Basic voice features seem to work well, although my caller-ID time stamp seems way off). The cost is good. But if I can't get the fax & alarm situation resolved, I'll have to cancel and switch back.

FYI: I haven't found it necessary to dial 1 before dialing numbers, just the 10 digits (area code + phone number)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15412486 Mon, 06 Feb 2006 02:00:14 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15405888 tquan : More info on Voice

Some additional discoveries I made about the voice service.

First off, a couple of "bugs":

1. If you set your phone to "Do Not Disturb" (incoming calls don't ring your phone) and the incoming caller leaves a voicemail, that voicemail is never delivered (oops) Probably not a huge problem, as most people won't use this feature a lot, but should be fixed.

2. When you listen to a voicemail from the website, often the last couple of words of the voicemail aren't heard. However, if you listen to the same voicemail on the phone, or from a .wav file e-mailed by the system, this problem doesn't occur.

I was able to dig up a phone that depended on the voice mail "stutter tone" to display a voicemail indicator. I could confirm that Earthlink LPV doesn't issue such a tone when a voicemail is available.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15405888 Sun, 05 Feb 2006 00:55:42 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15402919 tquan : Time to continue the review now that I've had service for a day and know a bit more about how it works...

DSL Installation/Activation

I received via UPS a ZyXEL Prestige 660R-61 ADSL2+ modem, along with 3 filters (2 single jack, and one dual jack). Since I had used filters with my previous DSL service, I chose to leave those in place rather than installing the Earthlink ones.

I first tried to do the install without looking at the included documentation, which in retrospect was a mistake, because it would have been much easier if I had :) I decided first to ignore my Linksys WRT54G router and just try to get the modem to work. I plugged the modem in, noticed it got sync (yeah!) and hooked up a PC, expecting that a simple PPPOE setup on the PC side would get it all to work. Of course it did not, so I fell back on the included setup flyer, which fortunately was very clear. It was evident that the ZyXEL was a router itself, so I'd have to do something else to get it to play with my Linksys. Anyway, I followed the flyer instructions for setup, which are reproduced here:

»kb.earthlink.net/case.asp?article=68877

Long time Earthlink customers will probably note that the modem setup web pages expose a lot more technical details than typical for a consumer DSL modem. If there's interest, I can post what the advanced setup pages look like.

One difference is that the printed flyer tells you to run the diagnostic test, which usually failed for me the first 2 or 3 times, but eventually passed. I skipped installing TotalAccess, since there didn't seem to be anything there I needed.

I then connected my PC to the modem, and was rewarded with a working internet connection. Browsing seemed much faster, I ran the Speakeasy tests, which topped out at about 3100 kbps down and 600 kbps up. This is almost 3x the speed SBC is able to do on my line, which is 12,000 feet from the CO. Not bad at all, although not approaching the 6Mbps speed I was quoted (it would have been great to get that, but I'm not disappointed there)

I then worked on trying to get my Linksys router to work. After digging around a bit on BBR, I figured out I needed to get the ZyXEL into bridge mode for this to work. I found the following Earthlink article on how to configure the ZyXEL for bridge mode:

»kb.earthlink.net/case.asp?article=69205

Did those steps, and after that a standard PPPOE setup on the Linksys worked fine. (I realized this morning that there was actually a slip of paper called "Attention: Home Networking Users" in the modem box explaining how to get the ZyXEL into bridge mode!)

That's pretty much it for the DSL portion. Things are working as you'd expect, the connection is quite stable.

Line Powered Voice Setup & Use

The voice setup was more straightforward, but also interesting.

One point, LPV like other VoIP forces 11-digit dialing (1 + area code + number), even for "local" calls. Took me a couple of calls to realize why I wasn't able to call my neighbor using his seven digit number. After figuring that out, the phones worked as expected. I've never used voice-mail indicator phones, so I can't comment on if those work or not.

I then went in to try other analog phone devices besides voice phones. Analog modems definitely don't work on LPV today. I tried both the Apple internal 56k modem in my iBook, and the modem in my DirecTiVo. Listening on the line, both modems seem to be getting confused when negotiating with the answering modem. Fortunately, a DirecTiVo only needs the modem for software upgrades, and now that DirecTV is moving away from TiVo, this really isn't a concern. However (and this differs from another poster), my alarm system (a recent ADT install) does call in properly. I don't have a fax machine so can't comment there.

The Earthlink myVoice portal at »myvoice.earthlink.net is clean and supports a good set of features. You get a detailed call log of all calls, can play back voicemails, and there's an address book. Some other interesting features are "Do Not Disturb" (essentially keeps your phones from ringing) and a "Blocked Numbers List" to keep annoying people from calling you. You can also have voicemails sent to your e-mail, either with or without a .wav file attached containing the voicemail itself. One minor annoyance is that the e-mails for voicemails can be sent only to one e-mail address, so if you'd like multiple members of a household to get these e-mails, you'll have to set up an e-mail list that redistributes the mails. Voicemails can also be retrieved by calling *98 from the home phone, or from one of a number of national voicemail retrieval numbers.

You cannot change the address that your 911 calls map to online, this must be done by calling customer service.

Early Conclusions

So far, I'm pleased with the service. It provides far higher DSL throughput than would have been possible for standard ADSL in my area at the CO distance I'm at, and I like the voice features (especially checking voicemail from the web and e-mail). Someone closer to the CO than me would likely be able to attain the advertised 8Mbps service. Caveats include the restrictions on analog phone devices I mentioned--be aware that analog modems, fax machines, alarms and the like may not work.

Please let me know if you have questions or things you'd like me to try on the service. I've gotten more than enough help from BBR readers over the years and like to give back.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15402919 Sat, 04 Feb 2006 16:44:13 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15389457 skj :
said by tquan See Profile :

Looks like you can't edit a post after it's been up a day...grrr..was hoping I could keep my review all in one posting. Anything the mods can do about that?

Anyway, no change so far. Looking forward to tomorrow!
As sashwa See Profile said, just update us through a new post in this thread. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15389457 Thu, 02 Feb 2006 20:22:33 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15387845 sashwa : You can only edit a post up to 12 hours after making it. You can keep it all in this Thread though. :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15387845 Thu, 02 Feb 2006 17:07:17 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15387776 tquan : Looks like you can't edit a post after it's been up a day...grrr..was hoping I could keep my review all in one posting. Anything the mods can do about that?

Anyway, no change so far. Looking forward to tomorrow!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15387776 Thu, 02 Feb 2006 16:58:25 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15386806 loadmaster : Doc Olds: Now turn your head and cough.:D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15386806 Thu, 02 Feb 2006 14:56:00 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15380788 fatness :
said by tquan See Profile :

According to the news reports I've seen on the BBR home page, I'm likely going to be one of the first non-beta users to get the service. I'll try to write up some of my impressions here as I get them.
Good.
--
We're going to Texas.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15380788 Wed, 01 Feb 2006 19:29:30 EDT Re: Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15379319 sashwa : And be prepared for Doc to pick your brain. :D

Good luck! This should be interesting.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15379319 Wed, 01 Feb 2006 16:31:45 EDT Re: [Services] Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15379206 Doctor Olds : Yes, please chronicle your installation and use.

Also share what Brand and Model ADSL2+ modem you get and whether you have a set of filters to install or get a splitter installed or not. ;)

Regards,

Doctor Olds
--
What’s the point of owning a supercar if you can’t scare yourself stupid from time to time?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15379206 Wed, 01 Feb 2006 16:20:05 EDT Getting Earthlink Line Powered Voice on 2/3 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15377677 tquan : Right now I'm scheduled to get Earthlink Line Powered Voice w/DSL service activated this Friday, February 3. Some more details about this service here:

»www.earthlink.net/voice/dslhomephone/

According to the news reports I've seen on the BBR home page, I'm likely going to be one of the first non-beta users to get the service. I'll try to write up some of my impressions here as I get them.

So far, things have been pretty uneventful. I ordered back on 1/20 and pre-qualified for 6 Mbps service (of course, my real speed may vary) My CO is ~12,000 feet from the house. I've been browsing around the web pages for the service and the voice portions basically are identical to what you get with Earthlink's True Voice product.

Questions, whatever...post them here. To make things (hopefully) simpler, I'll keep updating the first posting of this thread rather than putting comments all through what could be a long thread (I hate that)

Ordering Process

Main motivation to go to this service was that none of the SBC-based DSL providers would do higher than 1.5Mbps down to my location, was hoping that the ADSL2+ based service could do better. Checked at Earthlink's site, found that I qualified and could either port my existing number or get a new one. Site warns that porting an existing number could lead to downtime on any existing DSL associated with the line (which I do have)

Called in the order, customer service person was pleasant and pre-qualified me for 6 Mbps down (nice surprise). Based on the prequal, went for the top-tier package and porting of my existing number (price is still $70 even if you don't qualify for the full 8 Mbps) Confirmed that this is a self-install, modem is shipped via UPS.

Order status checkable online at »orderstatus.earthlink.net. Briefly it went to an "order delayed" status, called in and techs were apparently checking the loop length. There apparently was no issue because the status went back to normal with an activation date of 2/3. Self install kit shipped 1/30 for delivery 2/3. No downtime on existing non-Earthlink DSL yet as of 2/1.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,15377677 Wed, 01 Feb 2006 12:56:21 EDT