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phrider
join:1999-12-17
Los Angeles, CA
|  Ever have your Sprint ION/ Biz DSL line cut?
Sprint is abandoning the DSL business, in part, because of the difficulties dealing with the ILECs. They cited the same problem when abandoning Sprint ION.
I have a lot of sympathy for Sprint on this issue because my ION and/or Biz DSL lines have been stolen or cut SIX (6) times: three on ION, three on Biz DSL over a 16 month period.
Some examples:
1. One of these interruptions on Business DSL was during the install process -- where a line was up, tested, tagged -- then disconnected in a box up the pole next to my NID.
2. My ION voice service was out for almost 100 hours once while SBC claimed they couldn't get access (there was a big sign on the gate), couldn't find the NID (the sign said which NID they should test), and then tested the wrong circuit (and said I was too far away, but you can hit the CO with a baseball from my front porch). SBC claimed it was a Sprint issue -- until I attached a regular phone to the ION DSL line, got someone's dialtone and caller ID, verified that they had had their service just installed... and you can guess the rest.
I thought this might be just me having bad luck with SBC, but my main office in Boston has routine ILEC line cuts on Verizon -- in the middle of the night.
Anyone else have this problem? Let document a little of this here....
[text was edited by author 2002-08-13 20:29:53] | |
|  bigjoesmith
join:2000-11-21
Peoria, IL
 ·Cable Onda
| Re: Ever have your Sprint ION/ Biz DSL line cut? No.
I had the ILEC take back the line after Sprint's FUBAR'ed backend processes decided to release the hold on the line for my active account.
It took Sprint almost 2 months to get the line back in (the vast majority of this time was Sprint getting the order into their system).
Of course, now Sprint is double-billing me: once for the account that Sprint "canceled" and once for the new account. (Sprint's only administrative way to fix their mess was to provision a new account.)
Considering that it took Sprint 9 months to get my ION billing correct...I had to call every month, often several times a month, to point out their mistakes...well, I don't believe Sprint has the competency to run an telecommunications business. Their technology is great; their administrative/billing capabilities are stone age.
My opinion of Sprint is so low at this point that I'd ask the question: how do you know the ILEC "stole" your line? Perhaps Sprint was responsible...e.g. by not following the proper administrative procedure with the ILEC to keep the line reserved. | |
| | phrider
join:1999-12-17
Los Angeles, CA
| Re: Ever have your Sprint ION/ Biz DSL line cut? No -- I don't think Sprint was involved in my line cuts, because no reprovisioning was involved. Once SBC admitted to the problem (I talk to the linemen and the SBC DSL specialists), it was reconnected very quickly by the linemen discovering the stole pair or the detatched pair in the pole box. If SBC could blame Sprint, believe me, they would.
I have, however, encountered Sprint's back office problems... that is another story.
[text was edited by author 2002-08-14 01:23:53] | |
| | | bigjoesmith
join:2000-11-21
Peoria, IL
·Cable Onda
| Re: Ever have your Sprint ION/ Biz DSL line cut? Sounds right. If Sprint had dropped the line, you'd probably be facing a reprovisioning. But then again, perhaps Sprint failed to do all that was necessary to reserve the line properly...consequently SBC techs are not getting proper documentation on what's what. Probably a stretch, but Sprint is really on my shit list right now.
If the regulatory process was prefect and if Sprint was on the ball, then SBC should face a suitable fine in these situations. But those are two big if's. | |
| | | | phrider
join:1999-12-17
Los Angeles, CA
| Re: Ever have your Sprint ION/ Biz DSL line cut? In 2 or maybe 3 of the cases for me, a regular installer would grab the line pair at 5pm or later to use in a "last install of the day" for local dialtone. Our neighborhood was short of line pairs, and the Sprint lines do not have a dialtone or measurable voltage that an installer without a Suntester can detect -- and they skip the procedure for calling in to get permission to take a pair. This is the "it's late, I'm tired, this is the last install, and I can't find any good wires to do my last install so I'll grab these 'unused' ones case."
In a couple of the cases, they would detach the pair at the local "B box." After the first time, I made sure my lines were "red capped" at the B box (for ION and then for the new Sprint Biz DSL pair). Red capping wasn't enough (I learned) -- we had to get a tag on the pair at the B box that said, in essence, "we mean it even if you can't hear or measure anything."
In one case, after new cable was installed in my area, during the install process, the line was disconnected from my NID at the pole, necessitating 2 extra Sprint and SBC/PacBell trips. I had been watching that pole box to make sure no one screwed it up -- but someone got access to the property and disconnected the line. It was not anything that Sprint or SBC authorized.
Because of your experience (previously noted in this forum), I was watching for Sprint order management problems. It was not the case in any of these disconnects. These were SBC problems -- the SBC installers who made the errors were clearly identifiable in at least 3 of the cases. I wonder if there was any follow up inside SBC??? In the pole box case that bordered on sabotage, I wonder as well...
In the case of my employer, who has had several midnight to 3am line cuts of an NAS line on Verizon, I really really wonder. | |
| | | | | falkclan
join:2000-07-02
Olathe, KS
| Re: Ever have your Sprint ION/ Biz DSL line cut? never had a problem since up on ION in April 2001 through now on BIZ DSL
my only problem was the freakin SWBELL ilec working with them from October 2000 through April 2001 just to get converted
ION was a great idea, Sprint as a CLEC just didn't have the political pull needed to force the ILEC's to share the broadband ballgame
my opinion...ION failed because of the monopolized last mile by the greedy freakin ILEC's
THE END
--
Alan Falk | |
| | | | | | robbin
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
| Re: Ever have your Sprint ION/ Biz DSL line cut? said by falkclan:
...my opinion...ION failed because of the monopolized last mile by the greedy freakin ILEC's...
Guess I am going to test this as I think I am going with Covad. So I plan to see all of this all over again, but only time will tell. | |
| 
Darkflight
3G Stitch626
join:2001-03-03
Rowland Heights, CA
| I've had many issues with the ILEC on both sides of the fence, which I will not go into, andalot of what you hear both good and bad are true.
Unfortunately, as a mentor that I follow dearly states-
"We know the ILECs are pulling these tricks. [Insert your own favorite adjective or expletitive as an alternate word] The problem is being able to prove that it was the ILECs fault."
YOu can blame Sprint, you can blame me, you can blame my friends, you can blame my enemies, but unfortunately it does no good when you're playing on the ILECs turf.
The above was my own personal opinion. It is in no way related to my employer, its affiliates or in any way be construed as such.
--
Darkflight- Have you seen where my bandwidth went lately? | |
| | phrider
join:1999-12-17
Los Angeles, CA
| Re: Ever have your Sprint ION/ Biz DSL line cut? To achieve competition then, public policy will have to make it so the ILECs are never incentivized to do what they seem to be doing now.
It may require physical and financial separation of the last mile wires business from the dialtone business. Two companies, two sets of employees. One subject to competition (the switch and dialtone business) and the other still a monopoly (renting wires and rack space in the old CO building). Then it might be a level playing field.
All the energy business scandals amount to a lot less money than is being restricted in the telecom business... | |
| | | 
lurkn
@rr.com
| Re: Ever have your Sprint ION/ Biz DSL line cut? Until there's a way to put a tone on that line along side the dsl signals, the LEC techs will continue to take the pairs. Just plugging a butt set on the line gives them nothing and they assume it's a free pair because they're voice techs.
Plenty of ION tickets were generated for this problem. One time I actually explained how the rish worked to a couple of SBC techs and their reply was, unofficially of course, "no wonder we're always taking your pairs". | |
| phrider
join:1999-12-17
Los Angeles, CA
| Make that a 7th cut. Sprint wire grounded at PacBell B box... in the middle of a Friday afternoon before Labor Day.
I was out for 96 hours from Friday at 1:30pm to Tuesday at 1:30 pm PT....
[text was edited by author 2002-09-03 16:50:35] | |
| | CaptSternn
Sternn Heavy Industries
join:2002-05-24
Overland Park, KS
|  OT: similar holiday fun
Nothing like a competitive market to bring out the best in business. | |
| | | phrider
join:1999-12-17
Los Angeles, CA | Re: OT: similar holiday fun Call the police and / or the FCC? Who is your provider? | |
| | | | CaptSternn
Sternn Heavy Industries
join:2002-05-24
Overland Park, KS
| Re: OT: similar holiday fun I'm just a lowly peon, so that decision wouldn't be left up to me.
Since our tech didn't actually see the other guy do the damage, we couldn't prove it was them anyway.
We all just had a good laugh about. Even our techs that had to go out to the complex to fix it thought it was amusing. | |
|
ilecguy
@verizon.n
| hey you people all wanted competition? now you got it!! Ive caught/seen other companines cut/break into ILEC xboxes.
As far as stealing pairs with no voltage..you can blame that on lack on proper training. THe ILECS have little incentive to spend $$$ on training when theyre all cutting back for various reasons.. | |
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