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[DSL] dsl extreme sucks worse that ever !

I have nothing to do with lawsuits, but plenty of experience with technical issues, and if I'm understanding you correctly, a level 2 tech here in Chatsworth only got a 416kbps reading for your line. While that's *technically* within contractual limits, it's nevertheless below the level of speed we traditionally provide and would indicate a physical issue with the connectivity. As such, that requires a physical correction to whatever the cause of the problem is - such as replacing defective equipment, repairing cabling, etc. If we've sent out previous dispatches, they usually would have turned up and repaired such factors, so I'm not sure why you're still encountering such slow speeds after such investigation. If you'd care to IM me your information, I'd be happy to have a tech look into this for you.

Well here`s the deal..... The main issue, or issues, is just as I have suspected for years. There are several things going on here. I finally got one of the guys in the white van with the ladders on the roof (Names withheld) to tell the truth. Of course this was "Off the record". I asked him where the Central Office is and where if any is the remote terminal. First off my area is older homes from the '50`s and so are the polls & wires in the neighborhood. The Central office is 1,700 ft. away and that does not include the turn back on the wire routing, plus my house is the last one on the line. There is No Remote Terminal according to the guy out today. AT&T has known about this issue for years and has never done a damn thing about it. Bottom line... They dont want to spend the money in spite of their guys in the field that have told them they need a remote terminal to serve this area.
The Tech did take a reading at my box today and its matched well, but not coming in even close to what it should be. He went to the box down the road were this run of copper starts, (probably 1,500 ft. from the C.O. and there is some ground issues and dirty lines. A maintenance person is suppose to come out in the next day or two and see what he can do.
So what does all this mean ? Nothing yet.... I have been through all this before several times already. About the only thing different so far is im not getting the finger pointing between the ISP and AT&T.
Nothing resolved yet... More to follow.
As far as 416kbps *technically* within contractual limits... Really ? Even when I was paying for the 3000/512Kbps service or the 6000/768Kbps before that ? I have NEVER got better than 375kbps at my box outside.... NOT EVER ! The un-named tech here today stated that even 3000/512Kbps is not obtainable on copper lines at my location. So someone selling me any service above 768/384Kbps is pretty much like selling me a ticket on the Space Shuttle going to the moon.

reply to badservice
it's not that i don't think that you have a more than legitimate complaint, but what is the isp supposed to do when telco neglects the lines because they want you off copper?

why do people love the phone company these days?

reply to badservice
You are only 1,700' away from the central office? Unless that's a typo, that's REALLY close; I wouldn't be surprised in the least that there's no remote terminal nearby, because you're already closer to the CO than most users are to conveniently-located remote terminals.

416kbps is *technically* within contractual limits for a subscription that runs up to 3000, yes, per section 14 of the Terms and Conditions (»www.dslextreme.com/termsconditions?i=1). You're quite right that it would not be within limits of an up-to-6Mbps connection, however. You hadn't mentioned such previously, so I apologize; I wasn't aware you had originally been provisioned for a 6Mbps connection. However, if our estimation system thought your line could support a 6Mbps connection due to estimated distance to CO, then that 1,700' figure above is probably accurate.

I've been stressing *technically* because as I said, I have nothing to do with lawsuits; I prefer to actually FIX problems, rather than argue about whose fault they are - and regardless of what the fine print says, both you and I know that you should be getting your full speed, whether that's 1.5, 3, or 6. So, let's get your speed up to normal. If there's known ground issues and dirty lines, and a maintenance tech is scheduled out on-site to fix such - great, let's keep our fingers crossed and hope he does his job well. If that doesn't fix it, however, then please send me your info, and I'll have a tech on it ASAP to look into what needs to be done to ACTUALLY improve the situation.

Looks like the Tech that said 1,700 feet meant 17,000 and I believe he was just guessing. I had a Tech out yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the day before that. 3 Techs in 3 days. We have now verified, I am totally screwed. Distance from the CO.... 18,700 feet. Distance from the Service panel down the street.... 2,700 ft. running on 26 GA. wire. Reading at my box with the Tech`s test modem 448kbps @ 6db.
So how do resolve this ? Looks like there are only 3 choices that I can think of and all include dumping dsl extreme. 1- Go to satellite Internet, 2- Go to Cable Internet, and 3- Go to U-Verse. The first two are costly and the U Verse ? That would have been my last choice, but it just made the top of the list.
Unless Im missing something, I will have to hold my nose and go with AT&T.

I forgot to add.... I have it in writing from the AT&T report.
Date 1/25/12
Time: 4:15pm
Findings: " I checked a neighbors dsl speed further down the street and it too is not capable of 1.5Mbs. The distance of the line is limiting the bandwidth of your line".
There is a bit more in the report, but that pretty much sums it it. Looks like someone sold me a bill of goods.

I will confess, the information you've provided is somewhat confusing. Did you move within the past 7-8 years? I don't think our estimation system would allow us to even attempt a 6Mbps connection at 18kft+... at that distance, typical max speed is about 384kbps. The estimation system certainly isn't perfect, but it's definitely accurate enough to realize that an 18kft line is nowhere near short enough for a 6Mbps connection, and there are enough subsequent checks and reviews that such an order should never actually complete successfully. At best, we might be able to optimize a line one or two 'brackets'... but there's just no way to optimize it from 384 to 6.0. For a 6Mbps connection you usually need to be within about 6kft.

(For the record, 448kbps at 18.7kft is actually decent for that distance. If you are at that distance AND have problems with the line quality, I'd expect a lower bitrate)

If you haven't moved, and you've been at the same location the whole time... something else must be going on. Unless AT&T did you a massive disservice by disconnecting your close-run phone line and reconnecting you at the furthest possible distance to some distant RT, your line should be shorter by orders of magnitude. I would suspect bridge tap adding unnecessary loop length. That's the only logical explanation I can think of, since I can't pull up your account and see what's really going on.

As always, if you want me to get a tech on this, you're welcome to send me an IM with your details at any time. Even if you do decide to cancel with us, if you were signed up for 6Mbps with us while your actual loop length is over 18kft, I'm sure we can cancel any contract and get you a credit.

(topic move) [DSL] dsl extreme sucks worse that ever - alexwidja