Brodus
@comcast.net
| Comcast Digital Voice-connection
I live in a 20-yr.old apt bldg. When I inquired about CCDigitalVoice, Comcast sent a tech who checked out the bldg. and said that older buildings such as mine had "old wiring". The specific term he noted on the job order was that there was only "one NIC per bldg", so installation was impossible.
I have no concept what this means.Nor did the tech indicate if there was a work-around of fix possible.
Can anybody clarify what all this means? CC customer service simply gives me the same rote answer. Would other voip suppliers work for me? Thanks |
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nerdburg
Premium
join:2009-08-20
| A NIC is a Network Interface Card and has nothing to do with CDV.
Perhaps the tech meant NID which is a Network Interface Device. It's the box where the teleco's lines end and your wiring starts (AKA "the demarc")
If we assume he meant NID, it still makes no sense. It's not unusual for an apartment building to have a common demarc point.
It's possible that Comcast does not have access to that demarc, and is probably what the tech is trying to say. If that is the case, then, Comcast can still install CDV, however they will not be able to use your apartment's phone wiring. You would be limited to a single outlet by the eMTA (phone modem.)
Many people in your situation use a phone that has a base w/wireless satellite phones.
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[Insert Comcast employee disclaimer here.] |
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Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
 ·Comcast
| reply to Brodus
I think what he is saying is that your apartment building has one telephone network interface box for all the apartments.
How many apartments are in the building?
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CheckSite.us | YourIP.us | Reverseip.us |
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Broadus
@comcast.net
| There are six apts. in the bldg. And when I talked with a customer service rep at the local billing office, he also said that there was no solution to the problem (assuming he knew what I was referring to). of course, my hometown is not the location of Comcast's tech reps who answer the phone, so who knows what they are aware of. Thanks |
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Blam
Penguin Power
Premium
join:2002-02-06
Philadelphia, PA
| Agree with the previous posters. I recently received the service in my apt. (the building has several hundred units) and the tech said that they were no longer allowed to mess with building wiring (I have DSL as well so I couldn't have it messed with anyway). I couldn't imagine them even trying to figure out the birds-nest punch-down blocks down in the basement at the demarc or the birds-nest comm closets on the floor that Verizon couldn't even deal with... and then leaving their equipment in those areas completely inaccessible to manual reboots, etc. And forget screwing around with the wiring to the various jacks in the apt. So that basically meant a cord coming directly out of the EMTA to a phone set. You could do as suggested (get a base and multiple cordless satellites) or perhaps try some sort of multiplex adapter and manually run wires to other rooms. |
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heat84
join:2004-03-11
Fort Lauderdale, FL
·Comcast
 ·AT&T Southeast
| reply to nerdburg
said by nerdburg  :Comcast can still install CDV, however they will not be able to use your apartment's phone wiring. You would be limited to a single outlet by the eMTA (phone modem.) Do mean not allowed or not capable? If you mean not allowed, how's Comcast gonna know if you hook your apartment's wiring up to the EMTA instead of just one phone?? How would it not be capable? Apartment phone wiring(in a single apartment) is the same as house wiring isn't it? Could the CDV signal somehow get to other apartments? Is that why you wouldn't be allowed to do it?
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Bit Torrent is my DVR. |
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Blam
Penguin Power
Premium
join:2002-02-06
Philadelphia, PA
| said by heat84 :said by nerdburg :Comcast can still install CDV, however they will not be able to use your apartment's phone wiring. You would be limited to a single outlet by the eMTA (phone modem.) Do mean not allowed or not capable? If you mean not allowed, how's Comcast gonna know if you hook your apartment's wiring up to the EMTA instead of just one phone?? How would it not be capable? Apartment phone wiring(in a single apartment) is the same as house wiring isn't it? Could the CDV signal somehow get to other apartments? Is that why you wouldn't be allowed to do it? The tech who did my install said that Verizon had complained to Comcast about anyone who touched "their" wires. In this building (18 floors), Verizon had run 50-pair bundles up through the closets on each floor from the basement demarc and then did home runs from the floor closet to each apartment on that floor. At least 3 times since I've lived here, I have had Verizon techs literally disconnect my working phone connection and place my pair (either at the floor closet or down in the basement) onto someone else's line as tenants somewhere in the building moved in. That 3rd and last time (so far), I followed the guy to the closet and then down to the demarc and literally marked my newly fixed lines with a DO NOT TOUCH label at each spot. If Verizon can screw up like this (especially if the wires literally look like a birds-nest), I can imagine Comcast trying to move a tangled bundle out of the way to try to find where the pair was and inadvertently loosening or pulling out someone else's pair from a punch-down.
I suppose they could find where the line comes into the apartment and then cut it off from the closet from within the apartment and use the existing jacks. But that seems like it might pose possible legal issues with the building.... Consider if you move, you have basically cut the POTS wiring from the closet and a future tenant would be without standard POTS until the POTS infrastructure is restored back to the closet. And if you try to find the pair in the closet and do it from there, then the EMTA would have to stay in that closet and those closets are usually (or at least should be) kept locked. Alternately, they could just run all new wiring within the apartment, bypassing the existing jacks and I understand that some have had that done (at least early subscribers). |
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beachintech
There's sand in my tool bag
Premium
join:2008-01-06
USA
clubs:
·Mediacom
| reply to heat84
said by heat84 :said by nerdburg :Comcast can still install CDV, however they will not be able to use your apartment's phone wiring. You would be limited to a single outlet by the eMTA (phone modem.) Do mean not allowed or not capable? If you mean not allowed, how's Comcast gonna know if you hook your apartment's wiring up to the EMTA instead of just one phone?? How would it not be capable? Apartment phone wiring(in a single apartment) is the same as house wiring isn't it? Could the CDV signal somehow get to other apartments? Is that why you wouldn't be allowed to do it? More than capable, but we can't get into their locked boxes and demarc. Just as we don't allow them into ours. There is usually still voltage on a disconnected POTS line, which can short the emta and cause you all kinds of problems. I will not connect an emta to apartment phone wiring unless there is a dmarc for the phone wring in the apartment somewhere, then I disconnect the existing phone company feed and ties it together for ours to feed back. We have many buildings in my system where we can not use phone wiring. Customers don't like it, but there isn't a whole lot we can do. We aren't permitted to drill holes, we can't lay lines where it might be a hazard, and we can't break into another companys dmarc to disconnect someone.
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Tech at the Beach.
I speak for myself, not my employer. |
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