jerrymaynor
join:2003-12-17
Alpharetta, GA
 ·AT&T Southeast
| Neighborhood upgrade?
I drove into my neighborhood (Rivermont, just east of Roswell in metro Atlanta) this afternoon and saw a big sign at the entrance that AT&T was about to start upgrading our service in a process that would last 3 weeks. The sign talked about new services (video?) as well as better DSL. We already have 6 MB DSL and it works fairly well, does anyone have any idea what kind of improvement in the DSL offerings may be on the way? Is AT&T starting to run fiber to the curb/house or something in Metro Atlanta? |
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Pashune
Inhaling at 675 KB per sec.
Premium
join:2006-04-14
Gautier, MS
 ·CableOne
·AT&T Southeast
| said by jerrymaynor  :I drove into my neighborhood (Rivermont, just east of Roswell in metro Atlanta) this afternoon and saw a big sign at the entrance that AT&T was about to start upgrading our service in a process that would last 3 weeks. The sign talked about new services (video?) as well as better DSL. We already have 6 MB DSL and it works fairly well, does anyone have any idea what kind of improvement in the DSL offerings may be on the way? Is AT&T starting to run fiber to the curb/house or something in Metro Atlanta? Perhaps they're replacing the DSLAMs with U-verse DSLAMs...or upgrading them to support U-verse?
By the way, someone get AT&T to put one on the entrance to my neighborhood  |
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Claybraker
join:2002-04-13
none
| reply to jerrymaynor
That would be pair conditioning for Project Lightspeed, soon to be followed by U-verse video.
Lotta encap in that area, it's gonna be messy for a bit.
I can't give you a date when it will be offered, all I've heard is rumors, but soon... |
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jerrymaynor
join:2003-12-17
Alpharetta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
| So - that means a lot of dug up streets and lawns followed by a bunch of 52B boxes in the neighborhood?
Not a great time to do it...North Georgia is under a watering ban so any damage to the landscapes could take a year to recover.
No pain, no gain, I guess. |
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Claybraker
join:2002-04-13
none
1 edit | reply to jerrymaynor
Re: Neighborhood upgrade?
Lawns, sidewalks, yes. Streets, not so much.
The contractor is pretty good about fixing everything back when they're done, and to be honest, the cable in that area could use some serious upgrading anyway. Way too many DAML's.
PS:
The HOA should have a POC if you aren't happy with the restoration after we get finished digging and stuff. As for the watering ban, they've got water trucks that come by on a regular basis after the sod, shrubery etc. is replaced. |
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SpookyET
join:2001-04-30
Lawrenceville, GA | reply to jerrymaynor
Roswell, Alpharreta tend to be the richer areas in North Georgia. I guess it will take a while to reach Mall of Georgia. |
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Claybraker
join:2002-04-13
none
| said by SpookyET :Roswell, Alpharreta tend to be the richer areas in North Georgia. Not true at all. Roswell used to be the place to be, but it has a lot of Section 8 housing now, particularly along Holcomb Bridge. It's best days are behind it, I'm afraid.
And there are blighted areas in Alpharetta where home prices are in the 3-400,000 range. |
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jerrymaynor
join:2003-12-17
Alpharetta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to jerrymaynor
This is the southern end of Johns Creek and our neighborhood consists of a mixture of houses and condos. The Roswell side of the border (Holcomb Bridge) is mostly older apartment complexes.
I think that it makes sense to upgrade us since it gives AT&T a solid block for marketing the new services and, since we're probably the oldest neighborhhood in the area, will bring us up to par with the newer developments like Country Club of the South.
Do I understand correctly that this will bring fiber into a group of 52Bs (4 - 6?) and then will test the copper loops to make sure it can carry ethernet to the house (and replacing the copper as necessary)? Or will they bring fiber to the "pole" on the street and only have the copper from there to the NID? |
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Claybraker
join:2002-04-13
none | It's fiber to the VRAD, then copper. Loop testing and pair conditioning is a large part of the process.
As for Country Club of the South, screw 'em. They've always been a PITA to deal with. |
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Mizzat
Will post for thumbs
Premium
join:2003-05-03
Atlanta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
| said by Claybraker :It's fiber to the VRAD, then copper. Loop testing and pair conditioning is a large part of the process. As for Country Club of the South, screw 'em. They've always been a PITA to deal with. except, that's where Dwane Ackerman lives... |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
 ·T-Mobile US
| said by Mizzat :Except, that's where Dwane Ackerman lives... Anyone seen him around lately?
Wayne
--
If you cannot fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. |
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Mizzat
Will post for thumbs
Premium
join:2003-05-03
Atlanta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
| said by Splitpair :said by Mizzat :Except, that's where Dwane Ackerman lives... Anyone seen him around lately? Wayne I figured he was still on his "consulting" gig BS hooked him up with on his golden parachute. |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
·T-Mobile US
| said by Mizzat :I figured he was still on his "consulting" gig BS hooked him up with on his golden parachute. Well if he is he needs to stop by the Jacksonville CWINS center. I know there are a lot of techs there who would like to shake his hand. 
Wayne
--
If you cannot fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. |
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FAQFixer
Premium
join:2004-06-28
Powder Springs, GA
| reply to Mizzat
Ironically, there is a new article on overpaid executives. I really think the last two paragraphs are enlightening and relevant to the discussion.
»www.ft.com/cms/s/0/29593584-7a7a···_check=1
Sorry. I really shouldn't help continue the hijacking of this thread, but I couldn't resist.  |
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jerrymaynor
join:2003-12-17
Alpharetta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to jerrymaynor
That's OK, since Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown moved out of CCS, there hasn't been a lot of gossip going around the neighborhood. Maybe Mr. Ackerman was the reason that our phone service in this area has been better than any place we've lived before (despite the 30 year old buried copper). Or (more likely) maybe it's the fine work of all the techs who have piped in on the thread.
One last question - until U-Verse comes on line (and for those who don't sign up for the TV package) I'm guessing that we'll still get the performance advantages of the new copper and DSLAMs. Can I continue as a voice + DSL client as I am now or will I be moved to the new hardware when it goes live without a TV subscription? |
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Claybraker
join:2002-04-13
none
| said by jerrymaynor :One last question - until U-Verse comes on line (and for those who don't sign up for the TV package) I'm guessing that we'll still get the performance advantages of the new copper and DSLAMs. Can I continue as a voice + DSL client as I am now or will I be moved to the new hardware when it goes live without a TV subscription? Well, you'll get the performance advantages of a conditioned, clean, non bridge-tap pair anyway. Some places we're cutting over 6meg subscribers into the new equipment, mainly where the existing DSLAM's are full, or don't have the backhaul capacity, but for the most part we'd like to keep them for the video customers first. |
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Claybraker
join:2002-04-13
none
| reply to Mizzat
said by Mizzat :said by Claybraker :As for Country Club of the South, screw 'em. They've always been a PITA to deal with. except, that's where Dwane Ackerman lives... Nope, Duane doesn't live there, unless he's moved recently. And I'm sure he would have told me, the guy used to send me a card every Christmas.
However, there are several other high ranking former BellSouth and current at&t executives there. Including a few that are "currently pursuing other interests" according to the press releases.
Also, CCS has a lot of huge honkin' mansions with cheap ass pink IW. Seriously. 3 million dollar homes and the cheapest crap the builder could find for IW. Habitat for Humanity uses CAT-5, for crying out loud. |
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Claybraker
join:2002-04-13
none
| reply to FAQFixer
Yep, I read that yesterday. One thing I don't understand is this part: "Nearly half criticised the use of options and equity awards that reward executives when the company’s share price goes up, rather than when its operations improve"
Don't know why things have strayed from awarding options at current market, exercisable in 5 years, and good for 5 years after. Share prices go up, shareholders make a lot of money, CEO makes a lot of money. Very simple.
Jack Welch at GE, Michael Eisner at Disney, and Bob Goizueta at Coke did pretty well under those compensation schemes. As did Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway. The shareholders that invested with them did pretty good, too. |
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FAQFixer
Premium
join:2004-06-28
Powder Springs, GA
| said by Claybraker :Yep, I read that yesterday. One thing I don't understand is this part: "Nearly half criticised the use of options and equity awards that reward executives when the company’s share price goes up, rather than when its operations improve" Don't know why things have strayed from awarding options at current market, exercisable in 5 years, and good for 5 years after. Share prices go up, shareholders make a lot of money, CEO makes a lot of money. Very simple. But stock prices aren't always a good indicator of a CEO's performance. Ackerman suffered from acute nothingness. He wouldn't commit to anything, never took any chances, never tried to expand the portfolio, and never liked to the future. He simply sat around and let the normal growth happen around him. When ever a good match would present itself he would think about it...think about it...think about it some more and then not do anything and eventually lose the deal and all the money spent studying the acquisition. His ultra conservative views is what sent BellSouth to the auction block. Ed Whitacre had a good vision for a telco and developed calculated steps to grow and expand. Ackerman sat back and did nothing for years and the stock stayed fairly stable but never grow...until Ed stepped in to buy us. Then the stock shot up and we did make some many on the stock swap, but that was because everyone knew the Ed knew what he was doing and they liked his ideas and charisma. Ackerman suddenly got a huge windfall not because of his leadership but from the prospect of someone else running the business. I wish it had been different. BellSouth was a great company to work with and for and I think we had the ability to make some better decisions that would have put us in the drivers seat instead of the trunk. IMO, Ackerman never improved operations or the business and the stock went up was because he was leaving. |
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