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 mcaslan
join:2000-06-17
Baltimore, MD
| Is it real or is it... Don't you think that all these companies are close to death due not to the reported financial and Bell woes but they run a ship that is as close to incompetent as possible. Maybe more so than the Baby Bells...and yes it's all 3 Covad, Northpoint, and Rythms...
My 2 completed installations with Northpoint have been the most disorganized I could never have imagined how much time money and effort they would consume.
My original SDSL installation with Northpoint through my first ISP - PSN, ended up on pairs that went bad whenever it rained, then became fantastic when the humidity blew away and things dried out. Ultimately Northpoint was able to CO-OP with Verizon to get a 'clean pair'. It worked until PSN went lala and in the end my circuit went dead.
My second order with MSN failed because Verizon refused to provision because they said that service could not be provided to my address.
My third order with IBS also failed because Verizon refused to provision because they said that service could not be provided to my address. Through the patient efforts of an escalation team within Northpoint we worked on the obvious solution to get Verizon to provision using the same pair that they had used previously.
Each case has required intervention daily to keep track of the parties involved and to ensure the issue is resolved.
Lastly, I am amazed at the distribution model the 3 have built. Surely the mobile marketplace distribution model would have been more efficient.
I think that the CEO's probably were counting on having been bought out and cast aside by now leaving the disorderly mess to get streamline in a massive company reorganization.
[text was edited by author 2001-01-24 14:15:15] | |
| | jwampler
join:2000-11-06
Lake Forest, IL
| It's sad but true. The 3 CLECS are far from perfect, but from the prospective of someone who works with Ameritech daily, I can assure you that FCC/ICC regulation doesn't work any better! It seems that when a regulated company grows to the size of the RBOs, the ICC fines are a cost of doing business and the FCC tariffs are a license to steal.
A typical DS1 (T1 1.536Mb/s full duplex) costs $250.00 per month plus $13.85 a mile and $108.00 for mileage termination averaging $400.00+ per month. Essentially this is the same copper as 2 A/SDSL circuits that wholesale from a CLEC priced $22.00 to $80.00 each, or a maximum of $160.00 per month cost to ICNT or other provider, regardless of miles. The reason for this is that our government has not yet found a reason to help us by setting a $100.00+ per month tariff yet!
My goal was not to rip real hard on the providers, it was to accurately document an above average (average not being good or even acceptable) provider's installation. By doing this, I can reference my public writing rather than send individual emails to the provider and CLEC management, and set expectations for the interested public.
Just like $19.00/mos cable, $39.00/mos high-speed Internet connections are a loss leader. All of the tier-1 backbone providers charge about $600.00 per month per megabit, the tier-1s are the real companies that move your data across the globe via high-speed fiber. Many claim to be tier-1, however, if they don’t have 10,000 miles of OC48 or more, they just claim to be a tier-1. So if you choose to verify my pricing check with UUNet, Cable & Wireless, Genuity, Qwest or PSI Net to name the largest. (See »www.ratings.miq.net or www.boardwatch.com). Assuming this to be a fact, pricing boils down to two real factors;
1.) How much for the local loop? (DSL, DSx, or Ocx)
2.) How many customers can they divide a real upstream (tier-1) megabit between and still deliver an acceptable % of promised bandwidth?
Cable modems providing 8Mb/s for $39.00/mos, only if the end users are willing to download for one or two minutes per month.
1.5Mb/s DSL for $39.00/mos, only if the end users are willing to accept the level of service provided by the CLEC and download for a few minutes a month.
I strongly agree with Mr. Dixon from ICNT $79.00/mos for 1.5Mb/s with good service is what an end user should be willing to pay, however, Mr. Dixon needs to insure that the CLEC he chooses lives up to his commitment for service, if they are going to charge for it.
In spite of my problems, I would recommend ICNT if you are having trouble with your existing providers and need a static IP. If you don’t need a static IP, Earthlink and Rhythms is a better choice, as they seem to use UUNet (a real tier-1), instead of Level 3 (in my opinion 3rd rate, $250.00/megabit) and they have excellent customer service and follow-up. I’m not sure they can hold the $39.00 line, but that’s the going rate and a top rated backbone to boot.
As a follow-up; Rob Gannon of Covad called me today and apologized for the service or lack there of and gave me his direct line, should I choose to use ICNT for my customers and allow them to use Covad as a CLEC. This is a good step forward for Covad and ICNT, a little late, but good. If I/We can keep forcing the CLECs to make positive steps forward, we won’t have to worry about FCC/ICC extortion and creating any new DSL/Cable monopolies that we want to get rid of in the future. Remember taxes and regulation, always start with our best interest at heart, just like the temporary tax on Income to pay for the war, or the temporary Illinois tolls to pay for the new roads.
Good luck….. | |
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