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Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

Taking a peek at ISDN or anything really...

Ok I am on satellite(shudders at the word) and I am looking for something with a little lower latency. The reason is for Xbox Live pretty much. Anyway what I am looking for is "anything" that is $100 or less and will work with Xbox Live.

If needed first digits on the phone # is 254-259 and my zip is 76474. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin

Mod

It will help to post who your ILEC is (main phone company). It looks like you are in Texas. Tarriffs are favorable to the provision of ISDN in Texas (unless they have changed recently).

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

My current provider is Windstream.

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin

Mod

Windstream appears to be a CLEC. I doubt they can provision ISDN. Who is the ILEC? It's probably either AT&T (SBC) or Verizon (the company which owns the wires).

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

Hmm I am not really sure. I know it was recently owned by Valor. I think we get our long distance through AT&T maybe...

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin

Mod

OK -- According to the PUC it is Texas Windstream Inc which is owned by VALOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS OF TEXAS, L.P. So you will probably need to call Windstream. ISDN lines are considered business class so call for a business line. You may have to go through several people to find someone who can help you.

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

Ok I keep calling Windstream and keep getting the same answer(we do not offer ISDN). Is ISDN not available everywhere? There is another Hub about 6-7 miles away, could I get it from them if they offer it?(different phone company)
jmcaruso
join:2001-09-07
Rowley, MA

jmcaruso

Member

ISDN is not available everywhere. Every CO has a set of capabilities, and not all CO's have the same capabilities. But you are wired to only one CO, and you have to work within that CO's menu of options. If it has no ISDN-capable switches, or even if they do and the telco has never decided to configure ISDN, then you cannot buy it. Now, if you are working within the same telco, and the neighbor CO has ISDN, then they can connect you to ISDN via a CO-to-CO connection. But they may charge you more for that. But if the neighbor CO is not owned by the same telco, then there is no chance of it happening.

If you want a first-hand, concrete answer about ISDN and your CO, then you need to know your CO code and need to get a facilities list for that CO.

EddieNash1873
join:2005-02-09
Moss Landing, CA

EddieNash1873

Member

ISDN definately works great for XboxLive. DOnt listen to microsoft, or anybody else trying to tell you that ISDN isnt compatable or fast enough. If your willing to pay around 100 a month, you will be happy as could be with online gaming with lower latency than anybody with cable or DSL latency wise.

It costs an arm and a let, plus its hard to setup but in the end i found it worthwhile for play Rainbow six Blackwrrow with a mike. The low latency and no packet loss, allowed me to become a commander with full use of team speak.

Dont know how old this post but hope it finds you well with a good ISDN ISP/connection. Im sure others already mentioned getting a Cisco 804 for the best gaming.

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

said by EddieNash1873:

ISDN definately works great for XboxLive. DOnt listen to microsoft, or anybody else trying to tell you that ISDN isnt compatable or fast enough. If your willing to pay around 100 a month, you will be happy as could be with online gaming with lower latency than anybody with cable or DSL latency wise.

It costs an arm and a let, plus its hard to setup but in the end i found it worthwhile for play Rainbow six Blackwrrow with a mike. The low latency and no packet loss, allowed me to become a commander with full use of team speak.

Dont know how old this post but hope it finds you well with a good ISDN ISP/connection. Im sure others already mentioned getting a Cisco 804 for the best gaming.
Unfortunately I can not get ISDN where I am at. Or else I would take it in a heartbeat.

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin

Mod

I apologize for being too busy to look up the info I wanted to post to you. The information posted earlier stating that your only recourse is to see if your Telco offers ISDN and if they don't there is no hope is wrong in Texas. Telcos are controlled by tariffs set by the state. In this case the proper authority is the Texas Public Utility Commission. Please read the following link

Integrated Digital Services Network

,s>(3) It is the goal of the commission that ISDN should be made available to customers in all exchange areas not included in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection. To this end, all telecommunications providers are encouraged to work together to make ISDN available to the customers of the DCTUs that do not have the facilities with which to make ISDN available to their customers. In the exchange areas not included in paragraph (1) of this section, the commission recognizes that ISDN may be made available using a FX arrangement, if that is the most economically efficient means for the DCTU to make ISDN available.

It is my reading of this that the PUC encourages telcos to work together and provide service even if it is not in their area. I don't know how far you are from an area with ISDN but if it were me I would certainly pursue this as far as possible -- even to the the point of filing a complaint with the PUC!

fozngoof
Premium Member
join:2003-07-08
Temple, TX

fozngoof

Premium Member

Just checked this thread

GO WITH WHAT ROBBIN SAID.

The great thing about being in Texas is the HAVE to give you ISDN. It may cost you, but they have to

KEEP on pushing, you will get it

EddieNash1873
join:2005-02-09
Moss Landing, CA

EddieNash1873

Member

Robbin, well put.

As he pointed out, its against the "law" you may say to deny you of the service. Follow what he said, hes absolutely right

Unfortunately they go out of their way to make sure intelligent people on ISDN/commuinications like robbin here arent answering the telephones at their telco. hehe
jbltecnicspr
join:2005-08-27

jbltecnicspr to Sircolby450

Member

to Sircolby450
Hello all,

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm having trouble getting my Telco to provide me with ISDN too. About a year ago, I finally pushed the right buttons and called the right people about getting ISDN, and they offered to foreign exchange me... I didn't go with it because our Wildblue contract wasn't up yet. Now that my Wildblue contract is up, I want ISDN - but low and behold, my Telco now says that they won't foreign exchange me. I quote them their tariff which basically says that if the CO doesn't have ISDN, then it's up to the Telco if new equipment would be installed. The lady in charge of the local area tells me that I'd have to pay for it, and she quoted me "ballpark, $50,000."

What should I do? It seems that Missouri has no policy on ISDN (or data networks, for that matter). My Telco is Centurytel, for those of you who want to know.

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

That is the problem though. If I link it, then it will cost an arm and a leg. But you right I could probably get it with enough calling around, but the price would most likely be outrageous.

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin

Mod

The whole point of that tariff is that it is supposed to be reasonable in cost.

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

said by robbin:

The whole point of that tariff is that it is supposed to be reasonable in cost.
What do they consider reasonable cost???
Sircolby450

Sircolby450

Member

Another question is where should I start???
jbltecnicspr
join:2005-08-27

jbltecnicspr

Member

Siryak, I would start with the PUC and inquire about Texas's ISDN policy.

I'm also fed up with our phone company, and therefore I'm taking action. Right now, I'm logging my attempts to rectify my phone line performance. About a week ago, my dialup has gone down the drain and suffers from packet loss, and heavy packet jitter. What used to be my satellite lifeline is worse than satellite because of this instability. A few days ago, I called Centurytel to have a tech come out and check the line. Today, I called to place another ticket, and the representative informed me that a tech came at 3:30 yesterday to check the lines. We were here the whole time, yet we saw no one. I live in the country - with no gates, fences, etc. Anyone can drive up to us. The tech said that all was good, but left no note saying that he was here or any indication that he actually checked us. I'm pretty confident to assume that he WAS NOT at my house. And to prove this, I'm going to unscrew our NID and leave it open, and see if anything is done to it (I placed another service call).

This is so frustrating, and I've had enough - I'm documenting EVERYTHING - my calls to the PUC, Telco calls - everything. I suggest you do the same. Something has got to be done against this kind of crap. My line has a hum to it (yes, I checked this with our two corded phones with the NID), and the tech claims all is well. Now, the packet loss - still, all is well, even though all of my PCs have the issue with different modems installed. To further prove my point, I'm going to get the Dreamcast Web Browser set up with dialup, just to see if it produces the same problem.

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

Ok well I just got a call back from a lady I called a few weeks ago(guess she was on vacation). Anyway I did not talk to her personally, but she priced it at $59. If I decide to go with ISDN what modem would I need to get?(I will be using it to play Xbox Live) Another thing is does anybody know aprox how many hours it takes per 100mb of a download for ISDN? Or maybe how many megs an hour it moves. Is it easy to share with multiple computers? Also is there anything else I need to know about ISDN before I take the plunge?

jbltecnicspro
@wildblue.net

jbltecnicspro

Anon

Doing the math, ISDN would basically a little less than a meg a minute - my calculations show that a 100MB file would take 104.16666.... minutes to complete. Not too bad, when you consider dialup's speeds. Expect to be able to download your average Xbox live Demo (around 600MB) overnight - 10 hrs to be more precise. $59 a month, huh? Good for you. Lots of people recommend a cisco 804 ISDN router, but it can be difficult to learn. There's a Netgear ISDN router that's supposed to be easier. In a month, 128kbps can transfer around 41 GB of data - well, 41.5 GB - more than double the FAP on Wildblue.

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

I don't know I am kind of having second thoughts. My phone company keeps assuring me that they are expanding and they plan on making it available to me even though I am out in the middle of nowhere. They say that they are expanding rapidly until March, so I might hold my horses until March and see what happens. I talked to a pretty knowledgeable guy today that made me decide this. He talked of something that I have never heard of(which is rare when talking to a tech support). He said something about a Grey box they can put in the bar ditch that expands the range 3.5 miles. Anybody ever heard of this? Is he talking about a repeater???
Kord
join:2006-10-27

Kord

Member

When I had ISDN awhile back it required a mid-span extender/repeater. I live approx 5 miles from the CO and the repeater was about 3-4 miles from my house mounted on a short telephone pole about 5’ tall in-line with the Telco wiring. It is still there today. It also cost an additional $20.00 a month. Back then (4 or so years ago) the 128k dual connection was $120.00 w/repeater a month, the last time I checked a few months ago the same 128K is $68.00 per month, I didn’t ask about the repeater. The provider was Ameritech, which switched to SBC, who is now AT&T

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

He was talking about a repeater for DSL though.

jbltecnicspro
@wildblue.net

jbltecnicspro

Anon

Could be that your phone company is experimenting with Reach DSL. If I recall correctly, Reach DSL works on a lower frequency spectrum than typical ADSL. Also, it is possible to repeat DSL. A tech from my Telco says that our city's DSL is provided by a repeated HDSL trunk, not fiber.

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

said by jbltecnicspro :

Could be that your phone company is experimenting with Reach DSL. If I recall correctly, Reach DSL works on a lower frequency spectrum than typical ADSL. Also, it is possible to repeat DSL. A tech from my Telco says that our city's DSL is provided by a repeated HDSL trunk, not fiber.
Hey I don't care what they do to get it here, as long as it gets here lol. I am even up for a little experimental equipment. Whatever works. Although the hub that I am working off of is connected to a fiber backbone. This company told me that their main focus was Rural areas in Texas. Im in Texas, Im rural, bring it on!
Sircolby450

Sircolby450

Member

Well I finally talked to Windstream about ISDN just in case I wanted to go that route and I got some bad news. They said that it would only go 3 miles just like DSL. Correct me if I am wrong here, but I thought ISDN was supposed to reach however far you needed it too?
jmcaruso
join:2001-09-07
Rowley, MA

jmcaruso

Member

For ISDN to reach longer distances, a repeater is needed mid-span. What makes ISDN different than (most types of) DSL is that DSL is not compatible with these repeaters whereas ISDN is.

If ISDN is no longer part of the public tariff in your area, for circuits that require construction to add a repeater the telco can (a) charge you more monthly for such a circuit, (b) charge you an additional installation charge, or (c) just refuse the order. If ISDN is part of the tariff, then the telco must get the service to you, but still the service charges can be more, but typically less so than if no tariff. The ISDN tariffs have expired in a lot of states and have frequently not been renewed because ISDN is longer as significant a service.

In your case, you would need to ask if the telco would install a repeater for you to extend the service.

Sircolby450
join:2005-11-26

Sircolby450

Member

I figured that was the case, but there was no mention of them putting in a repeater she just flat out said it wont reach. So it looks like they are probably taking option c.

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

2 edits

robbin

Mod

I've had ISDN for quite a while now -- probably 99 or so. I am over 35,000 feet from the CO. They (SWB at the time) provisioned me without any problems other than the 3 months it took them to engineer the line. Multiple install dates, multiple times the tech sent it back to engineering to find a good line. They have since put a node closer to me but at the time the tech told me that they were using "total reach" and it could go over 100,000 feet. I haven't used my ISDN for data in over 3 years as I now have a T1 line. However I have kept it as the pricing still isn't bad to have two business class lines. SWB did not charge me any extra for the install and they never have charged extra for a repeater/amplifier although I know they were using one.

There are multiple threads here on total reach if you do a search including pics of the equipment at the user end. From what you were told regarding the 3 miles I am guessing they are confusing ISDN and ISDL. Regardless, according to the tariff they are supposed to make every effort to provision for you. I would very politely ask them to do so and quote the tariff number. If the person you are talking to does not have info on it ask that your call be escalated to the supervisor, engineering, etc. Do not at any time threaten to call or even mention the PUC. Once you do so they will take it as you are complaining to the authorities and it is very similar to threatening to sue. The negotiations end and "talk to my lawyer" begins.

I'm not saying that you should not try to talk to the PUC but if you do so, do not tell your Telco that you are doing so.

[edit] to correct typo