Selected ISP Support > Earthlink DSL > [Modem] New Modem, Frame Relay?

[Modem] New Modem, Frame Relay?

Thanks Doctor Olds. The power went out for a couple of hours and when it came back on everything else plugged into the surge protector was fine but the modem was completely dark. Of course I tried other outlets but no signs of life. I assume that means it's dead unless the power supply no longer works-which would be hard to check (?).

If I can get ATM, I hope it doesn't take several weeks. The painful part may be explaining and getting Earthlink to help. It doesn't sound like support is at the level it once was. You can't even email technical support anymore- it's either chat or phone. Explaining somethings are better in writing. Hopefully someone looking at the trouble ticket will understand before I have to worry about it.

Again Thanks. I can tell you are a real asset to the forum.

Call back and be firm, but calm to get escalated to Level 3 (TRON aka Vendor Relations) overseas support. Once you get them, tell them you are Ex-GTE area/old Verizon buyout area (which ever applies) and are on Frame Relay. Then update them about your 8 Year Old Fujitsu SpeedPort Frame Relay Modem that just "gave up the ghost" after a recent power outage and that you were sent a replacement ZyXEL Modem for ATM DSL instead (The Fujitsu is obsolete as of 2001/2002 anyway). Request to be changed to ATM DSL and request a new package deal at the highest speed your line distance will support (1.5 at up to 15,000 ft, 3.0 up to 10,000 ft, 6.0 up to 8,000 ft). That will be a Contract of 12 Months to get that deal. If you don't want a contact, then ask for a fixed price of $39.95/month or less if you were paying less than that monthly amount.

Packages available:

• 1.5/128
• 3.0/384
• 6.0/768

»www.earthlink.net/highspeed/

reply to aperture
I am almost (ALMOST!) certain all the former GTE CO's can support ATM as of 2005. The switch over should be pretty painless and you should get a healthy speed boost to boot. (almost all Frame relay circuits were provisioned at 768x128.)

Thanks Doctor Olds and RogerADSL. An upgrade in speed would be great. Not that I feel too bad, but 768/128 is pretty slow by today's standards of broadband. I let you know what happens.

I've been meaning to post, but haven't had a chance until now. I did have my circuit changed over to ATM from Frame Relay. Verizon did it without me having to downgrade to dialup first. I have a question regarding the status in the ZyXel modem in the setup mode. What does the Rate represent on the main page? Mine always says 864kbs/160kbs-I know up and down of course but how is that figure determined? Also when I run a line test, the Line Attenuation is always 60db and the SN margin is always in the fair to good range. Yet my connection seems very solid-no disconnects, etc. I know I'm pretty far from the CO but do you think any more speed is possible? Thanks. I also meant to say that I'm getting fairly consistent ~715/120kbs speeds.

You would need to test out at the NID to make sure that the Attenuation and SNR on the Downstream doesn't change. If it does change at the NID that means your inside wiring is causing problems.

»EarthLink DSL FAQ »How do I test at my NID? What does it look like?

Normal Sync Rates. 1536/128 or 3008/384 or 6016/768 (Verizon areas get a higher 1700 so the d/l is 1500ish or 3400 so the d/l is 3000ish and a 864 so the d/l is 700ish).

How do I check modem statistics/event logs? What do the numbers mean?

Although what is monitored and the exact name may be different depending on manufacturer, the overall information is pretty much the same. Below are some of the common terms and measurements used to judge line quality. Remember these are not hard numbers but simply a generalization of line statistics:

SN Margin (AKA Signal to Noise Margin or Signal to Noise Ratio)
Relative strength of the DSL signal to Noise ratio. 6dB is generally the lowest dB manufactures specify in order for the modem to be able to synch. In some instances interleaving can help raise the noise margin to an acceptable level. Generally speaking, as overall bandwidth increases, your signal to noise ratio decreases. So a customer that upgrades from 1.5 to 6.0 service will typically see a corresponding decrease in the signal to noise ratio. The higher the number the better for this measurement.
6dB or below is bad and will experience no synch or intermittent synch problems
7dB-10dB is fair but does not leave much room for variances in conditions
11dB-20dB is good with no synch problems
20dB-28dB is excellent
29dB or above is outstanding

Line Attenuation
Measure of how much the signal has degraded between the DSLAM and the modem. Maximum signal loss recommendation is usually about 60dB. One of the biggest factors affecting line attenuation is distance from the DSLAM. Generally speaking, bigger distances mean higher attenuation. The lower the dB the better for this measurement.
20dB and below is outstanding
20dB-30dB is excellent
30dB-40dB is very good
40dB-50dB is good
50dB-60dB is poor and may experience connectivity issues
60dB or above is bad and will experience connectivity issues

reply to aperture
Sounds like you are provisioned to 750x128...call in to TS..well try to anyway, and see if you can get bumped to 3000x256..