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BIGMIKE
Premium
join:2002-06-07
Westminster, CA
| reply to dks7
Re: Technical limitations to qualifying for DSL
Technical limitations to qualifying for DSL
Unfortunately, ordering the service isn't the only obstacle between you and DSL. There are a few stumbling blocks, especially prevalent in the Clovis area, that prevent a number of people from qualifying.
First: DSL services can only run over straight copper phone lines with no digital conversions.
This means that an office location using a PBX phone system wouldn't qualify for DSL. A PBX system is digital, and thus prevents the DSL conversion from happening.
(The location might qualify if a straight analog phone line from Qwest was run to the location, but there are no promises that even that would qualify.)
Also, if fiber optic cable is used anywhere between your house and Qwest's central office, the line cannot be converted to DSL. Some newer housing areas have used fiber optic cable for the housing units. While this is great for voice, it means no DSL.
Second: You need to be within about 15,000 feet of a phone company's central office to get the service. In testing the circuits, Qwest has found that some people as far as 18,000 feet away from a central office can get DSL service.
The 15,000 foot limit is because of signal loss. Typically, if you are over 15,000 feet away from the central office serving your location, too much data will be lost to make the service usable.
Third: Even if you are within 15,000 feet, you still might not qualify because of line conditions and signal loss.
Certain devices and wiring may prevent a line that would otherwise qualify from doing so.
For example, Qwest commonly uses "pair gain" devices like SLCs. An SLC is like DSL in that it converts a line to use digital instead of analog. However, the increased capacity is then used to carry more phone lines instead of enhancing the one. Such areas in Clovis are North half of Colonial Park, Country Medows, Sandsen, and Mariposa Dr.
Qwest commonly uses these devices where they have run out of wires for new lines. (It costs a lot less to setup an SLC than it does to run more copper wires from the central office to the home/business.)
These devices can have a detrimental affect on modem connections and automatically disqualify you for DSL.
Also, there are some older devices used to boost voice quality that will disqualify a line.
Another big culprit is older phone wiring (either in the home or somewhere between the home and Qwest's central office). The older wiring causes increased signal loss and could disqualify a line that is within the distance limit otherwise.
Note: When you order DSL you should be aware that Qwest equates signal loss to distance. Thus if you order DSL, you may be told that you are too far away from the central office when you are not. This result typically means that there is something on the line that is causing excessive signal loss.
Why is distance important with DSL?
If you have heard even something about DSL, you will have heard about distance. Your phone lines normally terminate at a telco office, usually nearby. This distance, (the length of your line between your location and the telco office), is a very important factor in whether or not you can get DSL, and what speed you can get.
Here are some rules of thumb for distance ranges. Please be aware that especially with non Telco ADSL lines, distance limits for speeds can vary widely from company to company. There are cases where it is policy for "residential" DSL lines not to be offered as far out as functionally identical "business" products!
My neighbor has DSL, why don't I?
DSL is a technology where distance really matters.
Most Telcos limit ADSL lines to 15,000 ft from the CO (not as the crow flies, but how long the actual circuit is). If you're lucky, it may be 18,000 ft.
If your neighbor across the street has DSL and the phone company will not qualify you, there are several possible reasons why.
A. Your neighbor may have gotten lucky and he caught the loop before it went around the ENTIRE block.
B. The telco's records may be out of date.
C. Your telephone service could be served out of a different CO than your neighbor's (this is rare but is possible, especially in metropolitan areas where the COs are over-crowded).
In any case, if your neighbor has DSL, odds are you'll get it soon.
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MrBentor
join:2003-02-18
Seattle, WA
 ·Comcast
| I am a just shy of 19,000 feet from my CO. I did have regular DSL at 1500/128 but it kept dropping and stuff. It worked about 85% of the time. (Covad told the DSL reseller they thought I was 13,000 ft from the CO so they gave me service thinking it would be ok.) Well, after I started to have irregular problems I had them check i8t out and they "remeasured" and found I was way past 15,000 feet. How they got me on and stable was they raised my upstream to 400k and lowered my downstream to ~800k and locked the line in “Safe Mode.” Worked fine ever since, Only at to reboot the modem twice in the last 10 months or so. But I probably can never get those super speed lines – like 3m or 8m. Oh – well. | |
BizFinancing
Premium
join:2003-01-10
Port Orchard, WA
| reply to BIGMIKE
Yes, Qwest is very famous for using SLC's to increase the capacity of "voice" services to an area with out having to add additional copper trunks which does pose a problem for DSL availability.
Fortunately, Qwest has been adding RT's to many areas that are serviced by SLC's to bypass this problem as well as the distance limitations. | |
ramien
@sacoriver.net
| reply to BIGMIKE
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First: DSL services can only run over straight copper phone lines with no digital conversions.
This means that an office location using a PBX phone system wouldn't qualify for DSL. A PBX system is digital, and thus prevents the DSL conversion from happening.
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Another big culprit is older phone wiring (either in the home or somewhere between the home and Qwest's central office). The older wiring causes increased signal loss and could disqualify a line that is within the distance limit otherwise.
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The line will qualify if a PBX is used, you just can't use DSL through a PBX system. A POTS splitter will solve this issue. You install the splitter before the PBX system and it is bypassed.
Internal wiring issues is the same thing. You install a POTS splitter bypassing all internal wiring.
GWI offers free service calls to install these devices. Now thats customer service. | |
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