Andrew Jorgensen wrote:
Adam Augustine wrote:Hmm, just the opposite of what Covad told me. And all my Speakeasy accounts are at 1.5/384...
At this point, either Covad is lying or Qwest is. My bet is on Covad being the more truthful, but I have further evidence as well.
I didn't have time to read your whole post, but I talked to Covad when I was trying to get DSL to my parents house and they told me that if Qwest wasn't able to do it they couldn't either because they are really just reselling Qwest DSL. They handle the messy details for you, but it's still Qwest.
How long ago was this? And where?
Sorry to respond to my own post.
I just got off the phone with Covad tech support. I had the tech clarify with his manager the situation. Here is what he told me.
Covad uses their own DSLAMs, which are in private Covad cages in the Qwest COs [1]. The Covad DSLAMs are connected to Qwest splitter cards, which then connect to the physical phone line, which Qwest also owns.
Qwest will only have installed the splitter cards if they are offering DSL, so Covad will not offer DSL in an area where Qwest doesn't either.
As to the speed difference, he chuckled and said he couldn't comment on why Covad was able to offer better speeds. He said that theoretically, since the physical line being used is the same, Qwest should be able to offer comparable speeds. He did say they used different equipment, but preferred not to comment on the specifics.
He was quite clear that it is not Qwest DSL that they are reselling, though they do obviously pay fees to Qwest to use the physical lines. They may have resold in the past (he didn't think so), but it certainly isn't the case now. I also asked if there were areas where Covad was not using their own equipment, but re-selling Qwest service. He said Covad didn't do that.
I would suggest calling Covad again if your conversation with them happened more than a little while ago. Things might have changed, and better service might now be available.
Also, feel free to check my story. Covad's number is 800-636-3500. Get tech support and tell them you have a pre-sales technical question when they ask what the phone number is. The guy I got was pretty friendly. Ask them who owns the DSLAM in the COs they provide service out of. If Qwest provides DSL in the area, there is a good chance Covad will also and at a better bitrate.
If you don't mind Qwest as the DSL provider and some other ISP as the IP layer provider, then your options are pretty wide open.
Again, whatever ISP you choose, make sure to check their terms of service. That is why I like Speakeasy (they have no problem if you run a server). If someone finds better ToS than theirs, I would like to hear about it.
Oh, and one last thing that occurred to me while writing this. If you spoke to a sales person, there is a good chance that they didn't understand what you were asking. Sales people are notoriously non-technical, non-detail oriented people. Things we think are crucial (like not using MSN or Qwest) are just nitpicky details better left to the engineers, so they tend to gloss over them. After more than 10 years doing the Sys Admin thing, I can say that most sales people are good for lunches, but the engineer is the one you really want to talk to. If it is possible, get him/her away from the sales person. There are precious few really good sales people, since most are just pushing a product. Hang on to them if you find one.
I guess I can't write a short reply :-)
Adam Augustine
[1} Central Offices, the place where all the physical cables come back to eventually. Provo's is located at 100 N 100 E. Orem's is between 400 and 600 South State on the east side, I forget exactly where. They are the big brick windowless bunker looking buildings. A fun bit of trivia to impress the ladies when driving down the road... or not.
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