In article <7qot5h9aii3cdgmepn7hkonsu70kqpd6fp@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:56:30 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
>wrote:
>
>>J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> writes:
>>>On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 22:57:18 -0000 (UTC), Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:
>>>
>>
>>>>My thoughts precisely, Ted. A photo journal of Bell Labs Homdel,
>>>>mentioned by Christian above, appears at a website similar to yours
>>>>(columbiaclosings.com) writ large:
>>>>
>>>>https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bell-labs-holmdel-nj-the#photo
>>>
>>>That sort of photo literally makes me cry. In the vast history of
>>>government stupidity, the destruction of Bell Labs one of the very
>>>stupidest things that any government ever did. And all so MCI could
>>>make a couple of bucks.
>>
>>Right, nobody minded paying $21.00/minute (adjusted to 2022 $$) to call the UK.
>>
>> "Long distance is still the most profitable business in America,
>> next to importing illegal cocaine."
>> Joe P Nacchio (AT&T long-lines chief)
>
>As /The President's Analyst/ pointed out, /everybody/ hates The Phone
>Company.
>
>I still remember the squeals when AT&T learned it would actually have
>to /compete/ with other long distance carriers -- it couldn't just
>keep all the customers it had unless they switched, they had to make a
>/choice/.
>--

I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
"US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".

On 4/19/2022 10:32 AM, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 12:30:32 PM UTC-4, Paul S Person wrote:
>> On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:56:30 GMT, sc...@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
>> wrote:
>>> J. Clarke <jclarke...@gmail.com> writes:
>>>> On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 22:57:18 -0000 (UTC), Don <g...@crcomp.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>
>>>>> My thoughts precisely, Ted. A photo journal of Bell Labs Homdel,
>>>>> mentioned by Christian above, appears at a website similar to yours
>>>>> (columbiaclosings.com) writ large:
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bell-labs-holmdel-nj-the#photo
>>>>
>>>> That sort of photo literally makes me cry. In the vast history of
>>>> government stupidity, the destruction of Bell Labs one of the very
>>>> stupidest things that any government ever did. And all so MCI could
>>>> make a couple of bucks.
>>>
>>> Right, nobody minded paying $21.00/minute (adjusted to 2022 $$) to call the UK.
>
>> I still remember the squeals when AT&T learned it would actually have
>> to /compete/ with other long distance carriers -- it couldn't just
>> keep all the customers it had unless they switched, they had to make a
>> /choice/.
>
> I can remember when a transatlantic call had to be booked in advance.
> Calling Grandma (in California) from Europe was only done on Christmas
> and birthdays, and done quickly.
>
> [I didn't actually mind too much - she was a guilt-trip queen]
>
She's going to call you from the afterlife about that. :D

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote in
news:t3n7ar$hrm$2@dont-email.me:

> On 4/19/2022 10:32 AM, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 12:30:32 PM UTC-4, Paul S Person
>> wrote:
>>> On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:56:30 GMT, sc...@slp53.sl.home (Scott
>>> Lurndal) wrote:
>>>> J. Clarke <jclarke...@gmail.com> writes:
>>>>> On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 22:57:18 -0000 (UTC), Don
>>>>> <g...@crcomp.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>> My thoughts precisely, Ted. A photo journal of Bell Labs
>>>>>> Homdel, mentioned by Christian above, appears at a website
>>>>>> similar to yours (columbiaclosings.com) writ large:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bell-labs-holmdel-nj-the#pho
>>>>>> to
>>>>>
>>>>> That sort of photo literally makes me cry. In the vast
>>>>> history of government stupidity, the destruction of Bell
>>>>> Labs one of the very stupidest things that any government
>>>>> ever did. And all so MCI could make a couple of bucks.
>>>>
>>>> Right, nobody minded paying $21.00/minute (adjusted to 2022
>>>> $$) to call the UK.
>>
>>> I still remember the squeals when AT&T learned it would
>>> actually have to /compete/ with other long distance carriers
>>> -- it couldn't just keep all the customers it had unless they
>>> switched, they had to make a /choice/.
>>
>> I can remember when a transatlantic call had to be booked in
>> advance. Calling Grandma (in California) from Europe was only
>> done on Christmas and birthdays, and done quickly.
>>
>> [I didn't actually mind too much - she was a guilt-trip queen]
>>
> She's going to call you from the afterlife about that. :D
>
She already has, using Paul himself as a proxy.

--
Terry Austin

Proof that Alan Baker is a liar and a fool, and even stupider than
Lynn:
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration
(May 2019 total for people arrested for entering the United States
illegally is over 132,000 for just the southwest border.)

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

On 19 Apr 2022 18:02:22 GMT, ted@hotrod.lan (Ted Nolan) wrote:

>In article <7qot5h9aii3cdgmepn7hkonsu70kqpd6fp@4ax.com>,
>Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:56:30 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
>>wrote:
>>
>>>J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> writes:
>>>>On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 22:57:18 -0000 (UTC), Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>
>>>>>My thoughts precisely, Ted. A photo journal of Bell Labs Homdel,
>>>>>mentioned by Christian above, appears at a website similar to yours
>>>>>(columbiaclosings.com) writ large:
>>>>>
>>>>>https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bell-labs-holmdel-nj-the#photo
>>>>
>>>>That sort of photo literally makes me cry. In the vast history of
>>>>government stupidity, the destruction of Bell Labs one of the very
>>>>stupidest things that any government ever did. And all so MCI could
>>>>make a couple of bucks.
>>>
>>>Right, nobody minded paying $21.00/minute (adjusted to 2022 $$) to call the UK.
>>>
>>> "Long distance is still the most profitable business in America,
>>> next to importing illegal cocaine."
>>> Joe P Nacchio (AT&T long-lines chief)
>>
>>As /The President's Analyst/ pointed out, /everybody/ hates The Phone
>>Company.
>>
>>I still remember the squeals when AT&T learned it would actually have
>>to /compete/ with other long distance carriers -- it couldn't just
>>keep all the customers it had unless they switched, they had to make a
>>/choice/.
>>--
>
>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
>"US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".

Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.

SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
Telephony.

Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
freight.

On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 13:50:37 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>> I can remember when a transatlantic call had to be booked in advance.
>> Calling Grandma (in California) from Europe was only done on Christmas
>> and birthdays, and done quickly.
>>
I don't remember that but do remember when we were at my grandmother's
house (Vancouver) and she called her mother in Belfast and somehow got
the wrong number (no idea whether that was her or the phone company's
fault) and ended up talking to a Mrs Clarke for 10 minutes and no one
- my parents, we kids etc had any idea why grandma carried on a wrong
number call so long.

Even in 1984 during my engagement I remember my weekly calls from
Winnipeg to southern Ontario were 40 cents a minute and we usually
rang up $20/week in phone calls. That of course ended when we were
married that August...

On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
<jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:

>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
>>"US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>
>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>
>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
>Telephony.
>
>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
>country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
>that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
>while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
>freight.

That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
or fibre connections.

On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
wrote:

>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
>>>"US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>
>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>
>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
>>Telephony.
>>
>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
>>country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
>>that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
>>while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
>>freight.
>
>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
>10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
>a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
>broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
>or fibre connections.

Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I stick
with cable.

On Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 7:56:51 PM UTC-4, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> ...which I haven't seen and don't plan to...
>
> ...but which appearst to be SF within the meaning of the Act...
>
> ...but which the reviewer claims it isn't.
>
> https://slate.com/technology/2022/04/future-tense-newsletter-severance-workplace-pandemic.html
>
> Has anyone seen it? Any comments on the show or the review?
>
> --
> Dorothy J. Heydt
> Vallejo, California
> djheydt at gmail dot com
> Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

There's a lengthy review in the New Yorker magazine:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/04/25/severance-is-sci-fi-for-the-soul

TL,DNR: They like it.

pt

J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote in
news:vbsv5hpmb4cjadijb8lc5gnf9rvubhcrpb@4ax.com:

> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat
> <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to
>>>>the effect "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>
>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>
>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal
>>>Networking Telephony.
>>>
>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere
>>>in the country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and
>>>then realized that they had excess capacity that they could
>>>monetize, and after a while they were making more hauling data
>>>than they were hauling freight.
>>
>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using
>>about 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and
>>cast about for a way to use it more profitably and discovered
>>they could deliver broadband and greatly increased speeds
>>compared to the then dominant telephone modems - and 20-25
>>years later most of us are using cable or fibre connections.
>
> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
> fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I
> stick with cable.
>
Frontier is the worst phone company in the world. Regardless of
what they advertise, even if they will provide you service, I
wouldn't count on more bandwidth than you'd get with two plastic
cups and wet piece of string. And that will only work half the
time.

--
Terry Austin

Proof that Alan Baker is a liar and a fool, and even stupider than
Lynn:
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration
(May 2019 total for people arrested for entering the United States
illegally is over 132,000 for just the southwest border.)

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
<jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
>wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
>>>>"US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>
>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>
>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
>>>Telephony.
>>>
>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
>>>country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
>>>that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
>>>while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
>>>freight.
>>
>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
>>10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
>>a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
>>broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>>telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
>>or fibre connections.
>
>Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I stick
>with cable.

If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps" plan,
yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops out at 20 and
usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes reaches as high as 50
Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the network is less crowded).
IOW, about 25% of the allegedly-available speed -- at best.

So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising copy.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

In article <XnsAE7F5822A515taustingmail@85.12.62.245>,
Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> wrote:
>J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote in
>news:vbsv5hpmb4cjadijb8lc5gnf9rvubhcrpb@4ax.com:
>
>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat
>> <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to
>>>>>the effect "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>
>>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>
>>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal
>>>>Networking Telephony.
>>>>
>>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere
>>>>in the country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and
>>>>then realized that they had excess capacity that they could
>>>>monetize, and after a while they were making more hauling data
>>>>than they were hauling freight.
>>>
>>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>>broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using
>>>about 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and
>>>cast about for a way to use it more profitably and discovered
>>>they could deliver broadband and greatly increased speeds
>>>compared to the then dominant telephone modems - and 20-25
>>>years later most of us are using cable or fibre connections.
>>
>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>> fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I
>> stick with cable.
>>
>Frontier is the worst phone company in the world. Regardless of
>what they advertise, even if they will provide you service, I
>wouldn't count on more bandwidth than you'd get with two plastic
>cups and wet piece of string. And that will only work half the
>time.
>

We had Frontier DSL at our beach house and anytime my niece turned on
her Iphone, my ability to work remotely stopped.

Still, they were marginally better than Verizon who had the landline
when I first put in the DSL. I finally got one of their techs to admit
their DSL self-install kit was completely worthless on the software
side and the only benefit it provided (after I had worked with it
for three days) was the phone number for his group.

ted@hotrod.lan (Ted Nolan) wrote in
news:jcaqpfFp44dU1@mid.individual.net:

> In article <XnsAE7F5822A515taustingmail@85.12.62.245>,
> Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> wrote:
>>J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote in
>>news:vbsv5hpmb4cjadijb8lc5gnf9rvubhcrpb@4ax.com:
>>
>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat
>>> <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to
>>>>>>the effect "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>>
>>>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>
>>>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal
>>>>>Networking Telephony.
>>>>>
>>>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about
>>>>>everywhere in the country, and hung fiber to handle their own
>>>>>needs, and then realized that they had excess capacity that
>>>>>they could monetize, and after a while they were making more
>>>>>hauling data than they were hauling freight.
>>>>
>>>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became
>>>>major broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they
>>>>were using about 10% of the capacity of their network
>>>>delivering TV and cast about for a way to use it more
>>>>profitably and discovered they could deliver broadband and
>>>>greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>>>>telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using
>>>>cable or fibre connections.
>>>
>>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising
>>> gigabit fiber. But when I check it's not available at my
>>> location, so I stick with cable.
>>>
>>Frontier is the worst phone company in the world. Regardless of
>>what they advertise, even if they will provide you service, I
>>wouldn't count on more bandwidth than you'd get with two plastic
>>cups and wet piece of string. And that will only work half the
>>time.
>>
>
> We had Frontier DSL at our beach house and anytime my niece
> turned on her Iphone, my ability to work remotely stopped.

Somewhere, I have pictures of a cat5 cable a Frontier tech extended
with wirenuts.
>
> Still, they were marginally better than Verizon who had the
> landline when I first put in the DSL.

I'm skeptical.

> I finally got one of
> their techs to admit their DSL self-install kit was completely
> worthless on the software side and the only benefit it provided
> (after I had worked with it for three days) was the phone number
> for his group.
>
One of our stores in their service area was in a neighborhood that
had had basically no maintenance in 40+ years, and had issues with
the T1 constantly. One of the senior techs (who one of our managers
knew personally) admitted - off the record, of course - that they
just didn't have enough good copper pairs in the neighborhood to
handle all their customers. So they'd just move the bad pairs
between customers constantly, and wait for a new trouble ticket.

The letters between the "F" and the "r" aren't "ucke" but should
be.

--
Terry Austin

Proof that Alan Baker is a liar and a fool, and even stupider than
Lynn:
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration
(May 2019 total for people arrested for entering the United States
illegally is over 132,000 for just the southwest border.)

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote in
news:ahc06h9r13rc0ld8uklonkk76eb8ikug57@4ax.com:

> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
> <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat
>><lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to
>>>>>the effect "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>
>>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>
>>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal
>>>>Networking Telephony.
>>>>
>>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about
>>>>everywhere in the country, and hung fiber to handle their own
>>>>needs, and then realized that they had excess capacity that
>>>>they could monetize, and after a while they were making more
>>>>hauling data than they were hauling freight.
>>>
>>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became
>>>major broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were
>>>using about 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV
>>>and cast about for a way to use it more profitably and
>>>discovered they could deliver broadband and greatly increased
>>>speeds compared to the then dominant telephone modems - and
>>>20-25 years later most of us are using cable or fibre
>>>connections.
>>
>>Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>>fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I
>>stick with cable.
>
> If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps"
> plan, yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops
> out at 20 and usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes
> reaches as high as 50 Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the
> network is less crowded). IOW, about 25% of the
> allegedly-available speed -- at best.
>
> So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising
> copy.

If your ISP is a cable company, the normal setup is that the
advertised bandwidth is for the circuit, which services your entire
neighborhood. So when everybody gets home from work and starts
downloading porn to go with dinner, it's divided betweent them all.
What you describe is exactly how it looks. At least some fiber
installs work that way, too.

DSL, at least, was dedicated bandwidth.

--
Terry Austin

Proof that Alan Baker is a liar and a fool, and even stupider than
Lynn:
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration
(May 2019 total for people arrested for entering the United States
illegally is over 132,000 for just the southwest border.)

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:28:07 -0700, Paul S Person
<psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

>On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
>>>>>"US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>
>>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>
>>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
>>>>Telephony.
>>>>
>>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
>>>>country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
>>>>that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
>>>>while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
>>>>freight.
>>>
>>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>>broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
>>>10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
>>>a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
>>>broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>>>telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
>>>or fibre connections.
>>
>>Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>>fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I stick
>>with cable.
>
>If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps" plan,
>yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops out at 20 and
>usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes reaches as high as 50
>Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the network is less crowded).
>IOW, about 25% of the allegedly-available speed -- at best.
>
>So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising copy.

When I check, Cox is usually providing pretty close to the 300 down
that they promise.

On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 4:51:11 PM UTC-4, J. Clarke wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:28:07 -0700, Paul S Person
> <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>
> >On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
> ><jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcr...@home.ca>
> >>wrote:
> >>
> >>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
> >>><jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
> >>>>>"US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
> >>>>
> >>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
> >>>>
> >>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
> >>>>Telephony.
> >>>>
> >>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
> >>>>country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
> >>>>that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
> >>>>while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
> >>>>freight.
> >>>
> >>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
> >>>broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
> >>>10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
> >>>a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
> >>>broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
> >>>telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
> >>>or fibre connections.
> >>
> >>Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
> >>fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I stick
> >>with cable.
> >
> >If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps" plan,
> >yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops out at 20 and
> >usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes reaches as high as 50
> >Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the network is less crowded).
> >IOW, about 25% of the allegedly-available speed -- at best.
> >
> >So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising copy.
> When I check, Cox is usually providing pretty close to the 300 down
> that they promise.

I subscribed to Frontier for web access with a landline (through the modem) a few
years ago. Around here it is the company that bought out the POTS and other services
sold by SNET. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_New_England_Telecommunications

i have received mail, email and a phone call telling me we ca upgrade our DSL to fiber
optic. I'll probably ta ke them up on it.

The landlord included Comcast cable and internet/WiFi with the rent when I moved in.
After awhile the Comcast people annoyed him enough he got rid of it and installed
DirectTV. I was given a break in my rent to get inter net service in my own name.
The price for the service has ballooned. Two other tenants share the router with me.
From time to time I get texts apologizing for temporary service outages, but our block
doesn't seem to be affected.

Moist of the ads are offering lower rates for the Fiber Optic than I'm paying now.
I do hope I'm not ineligible due to being a current customer. "Gee, if I can't get that
rate, maybe one of your competitors can do better..."

My downstairs neighbors just had a Frontier service call. While their `net was out they
were actually signed into our box. I don't think an extra 3 people affected our service
much, as when I stream a show to a non-televison device. I rarely upload data, so the
DSL service has so far been enough. I expect that will eventually be deprecated .

[quote]

Frontier Internet (DSL) can be hit or miss, as speeds and performance may vary widely depending
on where you live. For the most part, that's par for the course with DSL internet, but the unpredictable
speeds and reliability many customers experience on Frontier's DSL network are concerning, to the
point that Frontier Communications is facing litigation for failing to deliver promised speeds in six states.

[/quote]

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/frontier-internet-review/

I'm not in one of those six states.

https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/182-3169-frontier-communications-corporation

As Frontier has bought legacy systems from all over the country, I suspected the
quality of those networks vary wildly. They also recently went through bankruptcy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Communications#Bankruptcy

I mentioned the possible upgrade to one of my flatmates, who is
also a fan. He volunteered to kick in for improved service, which
is nice of him. He's been commissioned to write content for a site ,
so having a solid connection is a cost of doing business. It might
be for me if I ever snag a work-at-home job.

--
Kevin R .

On 4/21/2022 12:14 AM, Kevrob wrote:
> On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 4:51:11 PM UTC-4, J. Clarke wrote:
>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:28:07 -0700, Paul S Person
>> <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcr...@home.ca>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>> I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
>>>>>>> "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
>>>>>> Telephony.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
>>>>>> country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
>>>>>> that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
>>>>>> while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
>>>>>> freight.
>>>>>
>>>>> That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>>>> broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
>>>>> 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
>>>>> a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
>>>>> broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>>>>> telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
>>>>> or fibre connections.
>>>>
>>>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>>>> fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I stick
>>>> with cable.
>>>
>>> If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps" plan,
>>> yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops out at 20 and
>>> usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes reaches as high as 50
>>> Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the network is less crowded).
>>> IOW, about 25% of the allegedly-available speed -- at best.
>>>
>>> So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising copy.
>> When I check, Cox is usually providing pretty close to the 300 down
>> that they promise.
>
> I subscribed to Frontier for web access with a landline (through the modem) a few
> years ago. Around here it is the company that bought out the POTS and other services
> sold by SNET. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_New_England_Telecommunications
>
> i have received mail, email and a phone call telling me we ca upgrade our DSL to fiber
> optic. I'll probably ta ke them up on it.
>
> The landlord included Comcast cable and internet/WiFi with the rent when I moved in.
> After awhile the Comcast people annoyed him enough he got rid of it and installed
> DirectTV. I was given a break in my rent to get inter net service in my own name.
> The price for the service has ballooned. Two other tenants share the router with me.
> From time to time I get texts apologizing for temporary service outages, but our block
> doesn't seem to be affected.
>
> Moist of the ads are offering lower rates for the Fiber Optic than I'm paying now.
> I do hope I'm not ineligible due to being a current customer. "Gee, if I can't get that
> rate, maybe one of your competitors can do better..."
>
The kicker on such offers is that you have to be within a certain
distance of a distribution point. With most companies if you aren't,
you CAN NOT get fiber. They simply will not do the necessary
construction to extend the fiber network because it costs too much to do
that kind of work in urban areas. And if you're not in an urban area
you're just too damn far away period.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 20 Apr 2022 16:30:39 GMT, ted@hotrod.lan (Ted Nolan) wrote:

>In article <XnsAE7F5822A515taustingmail@85.12.62.245>,
>Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> wrote:
>>J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote in
>>news:vbsv5hpmb4cjadijb8lc5gnf9rvubhcrpb@4ax.com:
>>
>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat
>>> <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to
>>>>>>the effect "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>>
>>>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>
>>>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal
>>>>>Networking Telephony.
>>>>>
>>>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere
>>>>>in the country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and
>>>>>then realized that they had excess capacity that they could
>>>>>monetize, and after a while they were making more hauling data
>>>>>than they were hauling freight.
>>>>
>>>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>>>broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using
>>>>about 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and
>>>>cast about for a way to use it more profitably and discovered
>>>>they could deliver broadband and greatly increased speeds
>>>>compared to the then dominant telephone modems - and 20-25
>>>>years later most of us are using cable or fibre connections.
>>>
>>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>>> fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I
>>> stick with cable.
>>>
>>Frontier is the worst phone company in the world. Regardless of
>>what they advertise, even if they will provide you service, I
>>wouldn't count on more bandwidth than you'd get with two plastic
>>cups and wet piece of string. And that will only work half the
>>time.
>>
>
>We had Frontier DSL at our beach house and anytime my niece turned on
>her Iphone, my ability to work remotely stopped.
>
>Still, they were marginally better than Verizon who had the landline
>when I first put in the DSL. I finally got one of their techs to admit
>their DSL self-install kit was completely worthless on the software
>side and the only benefit it provided (after I had worked with it
>for three days) was the phone number for his group.

They must have worked really hard to produce that.

Earthlink's DSL self-install consisted of:
1. Plugging the modem into the telephone line.
2. Plugging the computer into the modem.
3. Bringing the modem up with a browser.
4. Providing the login info for your account.
5. If you owned a Router, you would then plug it in between the modem
and the computer.

The last modem they sent (everything mechanical wears out eventually)
included a router, eliminating step 5 at the cost of having to enter a
new WiFi key on every device.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 11:23:20 -0700, Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha
<taustinca@gmail.com> wrote:

>Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote in
>news:ahc06h9r13rc0ld8uklonkk76eb8ikug57@4ax.com:
>
>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
>> <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat
>>><lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to
>>>>>>the effect "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>>
>>>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>
>>>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal
>>>>>Networking Telephony.
>>>>>
>>>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about
>>>>>everywhere in the country, and hung fiber to handle their own
>>>>>needs, and then realized that they had excess capacity that
>>>>>they could monetize, and after a while they were making more
>>>>>hauling data than they were hauling freight.
>>>>
>>>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became
>>>>major broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were
>>>>using about 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV
>>>>and cast about for a way to use it more profitably and
>>>>discovered they could deliver broadband and greatly increased
>>>>speeds compared to the then dominant telephone modems - and
>>>>20-25 years later most of us are using cable or fibre
>>>>connections.
>>>
>>>Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>>>fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I
>>>stick with cable.
>>
>> If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps"
>> plan, yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops
>> out at 20 and usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes
>> reaches as high as 50 Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the
>> network is less crowded). IOW, about 25% of the
>> allegedly-available speed -- at best.
>>
>> So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising
>> copy.
>
>If your ISP is a cable company, the normal setup is that the
>advertised bandwidth is for the circuit, which services your entire
>neighborhood. So when everybody gets home from work and starts
>downloading porn to go with dinner, it's divided betweent them all.
>What you describe is exactly how it looks. At least some fiber
>installs work that way, too.

Mine is fiber, and I suspect it works that way.

>DSL, at least, was dedicated bandwidth.

That explains a few things.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 16:51:06 -0400, J. Clarke
<jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:28:07 -0700, Paul S Person
><psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
>>>>>>"US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>>
>>>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>
>>>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
>>>>>Telephony.
>>>>>
>>>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
>>>>>country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
>>>>>that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
>>>>>while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
>>>>>freight.
>>>>
>>>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>>>broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
>>>>10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
>>>>a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
>>>>broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>>>>telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
>>>>or fibre connections.
>>>
>>>Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>>>fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I stick
>>>with cable.
>>
>>If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps" plan,
>>yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops out at 20 and
>>usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes reaches as high as 50
>>Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the network is less crowded).
>>IOW, about 25% of the allegedly-available speed -- at best.
>>
>>So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising copy.
>
>When I check, Cox is usually providing pretty close to the 300 down
>that they promise.

Lucky you.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Thu, 21 Apr 2022 08:03:08 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>On 4/21/2022 12:14 AM, Kevrob wrote:
>> On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 4:51:11 PM UTC-4, J. Clarke wrote:
>>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:28:07 -0700, Paul S Person
>>> <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcr...@home.ca>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
>>>>>>>> "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
>>>>>>> Telephony.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
>>>>>>> country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
>>>>>>> that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
>>>>>>> while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
>>>>>>> freight.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>>>>> broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
>>>>>> 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
>>>>>> a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
>>>>>> broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>>>>>> telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
>>>>>> or fibre connections.
>>>>>
>>>>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>>>>> fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I stick
>>>>> with cable.
>>>>
>>>> If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps" plan,
>>>> yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops out at 20 and
>>>> usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes reaches as high as 50
>>>> Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the network is less crowded).
>>>> IOW, about 25% of the allegedly-available speed -- at best.
>>>>
>>>> So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising copy.
>>> When I check, Cox is usually providing pretty close to the 300 down
>>> that they promise.
>>
>> I subscribed to Frontier for web access with a landline (through the modem) a few
>> years ago. Around here it is the company that bought out the POTS and other services
>> sold by SNET. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_New_England_Telecommunications
>>
>> i have received mail, email and a phone call telling me we ca upgrade our DSL to fiber
>> optic. I'll probably ta ke them up on it.
>>
>> The landlord included Comcast cable and internet/WiFi with the rent when I moved in.
>> After awhile the Comcast people annoyed him enough he got rid of it and installed
>> DirectTV. I was given a break in my rent to get inter net service in my own name.
>> The price for the service has ballooned. Two other tenants share the router with me.
>> From time to time I get texts apologizing for temporary service outages, but our block
>> doesn't seem to be affected.
>>
>> Moist of the ads are offering lower rates for the Fiber Optic than I'm paying now.
>> I do hope I'm not ineligible due to being a current customer. "Gee, if I can't get that
>> rate, maybe one of your competitors can do better..."
>>
>The kicker on such offers is that you have to be within a certain
>distance of a distribution point. With most companies if you aren't,
>you CAN NOT get fiber. They simply will not do the necessary
>construction to extend the fiber network because it costs too much to do
>that kind of work in urban areas. And if you're not in an urban area
>you're just too damn far away period.

Which leaves two basic solutions:

1) Satellite-based.
2) 5G Cellphone [1] network based.

The former depends on where the satellites are (that is, their
coverable area) and, of course, latency may be a concern.

The latter depends on how far the Towers have penetrated into the
heartland. And how well those 5G Routers actually work.

Note: there was a film I saw about a guy who moved back to his home
town and then found that /his new house/ was Ground Zero for a Giant
Space Rock. The local Internet store /was/ willing to extend the cable
-- for (IIRC) $3K. So it is possible that, if you throw enough money
at them, they can be coaxed into putting in the wire.

[1] I specify Cellphone because the routers presumably provide a 5G
WiFi network as well. Presumably, these would be two different things.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote in
news:ba036h9m4aj25cvp85j655pcm240di52ea@4ax.com:

> On Thu, 21 Apr 2022 08:03:08 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>
>>On 4/21/2022 12:14 AM, Kevrob wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 4:51:11 PM UTC-4, J. Clarke
>>> wrote:
>>>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:28:07 -0700, Paul S Person
>>>> <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat
>>>>>> <lcr...@home.ca> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>>>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I think the joke during all the litigation was something
>>>>>>>>> to the effect "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone
>>>>>>>>> lines".
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal
>>>>>>>> Networking Telephony.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about
>>>>>>>> everywhere in the country, and hung fiber to handle their
>>>>>>>> own needs, and then realized that they had excess
>>>>>>>> capacity that they could monetize, and after a while they
>>>>>>>> were making more hauling data than they were hauling
>>>>>>>> freight.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became
>>>>>>> major broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they
>>>>>>> were using about 10% of the capacity of their network
>>>>>>> delivering TV and cast about for a way to use it more
>>>>>>> profitably and discovered they could deliver broadband and
>>>>>>> greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>>>>>>> telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are
>>>>>>> using cable or fibre connections.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising
>>>>>> gigabit fiber. But when I check it's not available at my
>>>>>> location, so I stick with cable.
>>>>>
>>>>> If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200
>>>>> Mbps" plan, yet measuring my download speed through the
>>>>> browser tops out at 20 and usually 10 Mbps, while using an
>>>>> App sometimes reaches as high as 50 Mbps (at, say, 3AM,
>>>>> when, presumably, the network is less crowded). IOW, about
>>>>> 25% of the allegedly-available speed -- at best.
>>>>>
>>>>> So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ...
>>>>> advertising copy.
>>>> When I check, Cox is usually providing pretty close to the
>>>> 300 down that they promise.
>>>
>>> I subscribed to Frontier for web access with a landline
>>> (through the modem) a few years ago. Around here it is the
>>> company that bought out the POTS and other services sold by
>>> SNET.
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_New_England_Telecommunic
>>> ations
>>>
>>> i have received mail, email and a phone call telling me we
>>> ca upgrade our DSL to fiber optic. I'll probably ta ke them up
>>> on it.
>>>
>>> The landlord included Comcast cable and internet/WiFi with the
>>> rent when I moved in. After awhile the Comcast people annoyed
>>> him enough he got rid of it and installed DirectTV. I was
>>> given a break in my rent to get inter net service in my own
>>> name. The price for the service has ballooned. Two other
>>> tenants share the router with me.
>>> From time to time I get texts apologizing for temporary
>>> service outages, but our block
>>> doesn't seem to be affected.
>>>
>>> Moist of the ads are offering lower rates for the Fiber Optic
>>> than I'm paying now. I do hope I'm not ineligible due to
>>> being a current customer. "Gee, if I can't get that rate,
>>> maybe one of your competitors can do better..."
>>>
>>The kicker on such offers is that you have to be within a
>>certain distance of a distribution point. With most companies
>>if you aren't, you CAN NOT get fiber. They simply will not do
>>the necessary construction to extend the fiber network because
>>it costs too much to do that kind of work in urban areas. And
>>if you're not in an urban area you're just too damn far away
>>period.
>
> Which leaves two basic solutions:
>
> 1) Satellite-based.
> 2) 5G Cellphone [1] network based.
>
> The former depends on where the satellites are (that is, their
> coverable area) and, of course, latency may be a concern.

A very serious concern, depending on what you're doing. Our cash
registers don't like lag.
>
> The latter depends on how far the Towers have penetrated into
> the heartland. And how well those 5G Routers actually work.

We tested a 5G router at one of our stores. It worked pretty well,
but upload speeds were too slow for our purposes.
>
> Note: there was a film I saw about a guy who moved back to his
> home town and then found that /his new house/ was Ground Zero
> for a Giant Space Rock. The local Internet store /was/ willing
> to extend the cable -- for (IIRC) $3K. So it is possible that,
> if you throw enough money at them, they can be coaxed into
> putting in the wire.

$3k is cheap for that. It's usually an order of magnitude higher,
and that assumes they'll running cable less than a mile.
>
> [1] I specify Cellphone because the routers presumably provide a
> 5G WiFi network as well. Presumably, these would be two
> different things.

5G phone service is fifth *g*eneration.

5G WiFi is in the 5 *g*igahertz band. The only thing they have in
common is the use of the same letter and number.

--
Terry Austin

Proof that Alan Baker is a liar and a fool, and even stupider than
Lynn:
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration
(May 2019 total for people arrested for entering the United States
illegally is over 132,000 for just the southwest border.)

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

In article <iov26hd850ltsujdbr98d89kr8ra14oash@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>On 20 Apr 2022 16:30:39 GMT, ted@hotrod.lan (Ted Nolan) wrote:
>
>>In article <XnsAE7F5822A515taustingmail@85.12.62.245>,
>>Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote in
>>>news:vbsv5hpmb4cjadijb8lc5gnf9rvubhcrpb@4ax.com:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat
>>>> <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something to
>>>>>>>the effect "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal
>>>>>>Networking Telephony.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere
>>>>>>in the country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and
>>>>>>then realized that they had excess capacity that they could
>>>>>>monetize, and after a while they were making more hauling data
>>>>>>than they were hauling freight.
>>>>>
>>>>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>>>>broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using
>>>>>about 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and
>>>>>cast about for a way to use it more profitably and discovered
>>>>>they could deliver broadband and greatly increased speeds
>>>>>compared to the then dominant telephone modems - and 20-25
>>>>>years later most of us are using cable or fibre connections.
>>>>
>>>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>>>> fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I
>>>> stick with cable.
>>>>
>>>Frontier is the worst phone company in the world. Regardless of
>>>what they advertise, even if they will provide you service, I
>>>wouldn't count on more bandwidth than you'd get with two plastic
>>>cups and wet piece of string. And that will only work half the
>>>time.
>>>
>>
>>We had Frontier DSL at our beach house and anytime my niece turned on
>>her Iphone, my ability to work remotely stopped.
>>
>>Still, they were marginally better than Verizon who had the landline
>>when I first put in the DSL. I finally got one of their techs to admit
>>their DSL self-install kit was completely worthless on the software
>>side and the only benefit it provided (after I had worked with it
>>for three days) was the phone number for his group.
>
>They must have worked really hard to produce that.
>
>Earthlink's DSL self-install consisted of:
>1. Plugging the modem into the telephone line.
>2. Plugging the computer into the modem.
>3. Bringing the modem up with a browser.
>4. Providing the login info for your account.
>5. If you owned a Router, you would then plug it in between the modem
>and the computer.
>
>The last modem they sent (everything mechanical wears out eventually)
>included a router, eliminating step 5 at the cost of having to enter a
>new WiFi key on every device.
>--

As I recall, the installation CD would only run on Windows-98, and it
would check the system to make sure it had enough horsepower to run
the install app. Mine did not (I had specifically loaded a copy of
Win98 for the task, but did it on an older laptop) and I had to figure
out how to make it lie. Then it wanted to do some very specific Windows
type setup while I'm like: No, this isn't even a computer I'm keeping, just
give me the information to plug into the router!

Which, after three days, the guy on the phone did.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) wrote in
news:jcdj5hFaumhU1@mid.individual.net:

> In article <iov26hd850ltsujdbr98d89kr8ra14oash@4ax.com>,
> Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>On 20 Apr 2022 16:30:39 GMT, ted@hotrod.lan (Ted Nolan) wrote:
>>
>>>In article <XnsAE7F5822A515taustingmail@85.12.62.245>,
>>>Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote in
>>>>news:vbsv5hpmb4cjadijb8lc5gnf9rvubhcrpb@4ax.com:
>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat
>>>>> <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>>>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I think the joke during all the litigation was something
>>>>>>>>to the effect "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone
>>>>>>>>lines".
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal
>>>>>>>Networking Telephony.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about
>>>>>>>everywhere in the country, and hung fiber to handle their
>>>>>>>own needs, and then realized that they had excess capacity
>>>>>>>that they could monetize, and after a while they were
>>>>>>>making more hauling data than they were hauling freight.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became
>>>>>>major broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they
>>>>>>were using about 10% of the capacity of their network
>>>>>>delivering TV and cast about for a way to use it more
>>>>>>profitably and discovered they could deliver broadband and
>>>>>>greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>>>>>>telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are
>>>>>>using cable or fibre connections.
>>>>>
>>>>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising
>>>>> gigabit fiber. But when I check it's not available at my
>>>>> location, so I stick with cable.
>>>>>
>>>>Frontier is the worst phone company in the world. Regardless
>>>>of what they advertise, even if they will provide you service,
>>>>I wouldn't count on more bandwidth than you'd get with two
>>>>plastic cups and wet piece of string. And that will only work
>>>>half the time.
>>>>
>>>
>>>We had Frontier DSL at our beach house and anytime my niece
>>>turned on her Iphone, my ability to work remotely stopped.
>>>
>>>Still, they were marginally better than Verizon who had the
>>>landline when I first put in the DSL. I finally got one of
>>>their techs to admit their DSL self-install kit was completely
>>>worthless on the software side and the only benefit it provided
>>>(after I had worked with it for three days) was the phone
>>>number for his group.
>>
>>They must have worked really hard to produce that.
>>
>>Earthlink's DSL self-install consisted of:
>>1. Plugging the modem into the telephone line.
>>2. Plugging the computer into the modem.
>>3. Bringing the modem up with a browser.
>>4. Providing the login info for your account.
>>5. If you owned a Router, you would then plug it in between the
>>modem and the computer.
>>
>>The last modem they sent (everything mechanical wears out
>>eventually) included a router, eliminating step 5 at the cost of
>>having to enter a new WiFi key on every device.
>>--
>
> As I recall, the installation CD would only run on Windows-98,
> and it would check the system to make sure it had enough
> horsepower to run the install app. Mine did not (I had
> specifically loaded a copy of Win98 for the task, but did it on
> an older laptop) and I had to figure out how to make it lie.
> Then it wanted to do some very specific Windows type setup while
> I'm like: No, this isn't even a computer I'm keeping, just give
> me the information to plug into the router!
>
> Which, after three days, the guy on the phone did.

The install disks were all basically a scam. They did nothing that
wasn't easier to do - and get right - manually.

--
Terry Austin

Proof that Alan Baker is a liar and a fool, and even stupider than
Lynn:
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration
(May 2019 total for people arrested for entering the United States
illegally is over 132,000 for just the southwest border.)

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

On 4/21/2022 9:16 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Thu, 21 Apr 2022 08:03:08 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>
>> On 4/21/2022 12:14 AM, Kevrob wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 4:51:11 PM UTC-4, J. Clarke wrote:
>>>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:28:07 -0700, Paul S Person
>>>> <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcr...@home.ca>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
>>>>>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
>>>>>>>>> "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
>>>>>>>> Telephony.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
>>>>>>>> country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
>>>>>>>> that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
>>>>>>>> while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
>>>>>>>> freight.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
>>>>>>> broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
>>>>>>> 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
>>>>>>> a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
>>>>>>> broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
>>>>>>> telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
>>>>>>> or fibre connections.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
>>>>>> fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I stick
>>>>>> with cable.
>>>>>
>>>>> If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps" plan,
>>>>> yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops out at 20 and
>>>>> usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes reaches as high as 50
>>>>> Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the network is less crowded).
>>>>> IOW, about 25% of the allegedly-available speed -- at best.
>>>>>
>>>>> So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising copy.
>>>> When I check, Cox is usually providing pretty close to the 300 down
>>>> that they promise.
>>>
>>> I subscribed to Frontier for web access with a landline (through the modem) a few
>>> years ago. Around here it is the company that bought out the POTS and other services
>>> sold by SNET. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_New_England_Telecommunications
>>>
>>> i have received mail, email and a phone call telling me we ca upgrade our DSL to fiber
>>> optic. I'll probably ta ke them up on it.
>>>
>>> The landlord included Comcast cable and internet/WiFi with the rent when I moved in.
>>> After awhile the Comcast people annoyed him enough he got rid of it and installed
>>> DirectTV. I was given a break in my rent to get inter net service in my own name.
>>> The price for the service has ballooned. Two other tenants share the router with me.
>>> From time to time I get texts apologizing for temporary service outages, but our block
>>> doesn't seem to be affected.
>>>
>>> Moist of the ads are offering lower rates for the Fiber Optic than I'm paying now.
>>> I do hope I'm not ineligible due to being a current customer. "Gee, if I can't get that
>>> rate, maybe one of your competitors can do better..."
>>>
>> The kicker on such offers is that you have to be within a certain
>> distance of a distribution point. With most companies if you aren't,
>> you CAN NOT get fiber. They simply will not do the necessary
>> construction to extend the fiber network because it costs too much to do
>> that kind of work in urban areas. And if you're not in an urban area
>> you're just too damn far away period.
>
> Which leaves two basic solutions:
>
> 1) Satellite-based.
> 2) 5G Cellphone [1] network based.
>
Both of which are non-starters for me because I won't do wireless. Its
not secure enough for some of the stuff I work on.

> The former depends on where the satellites are (that is, their
> coverable area) and, of course, latency may be a concern.
>
> The latter depends on how far the Towers have penetrated into the
> heartland. And how well those 5G Routers actually work.
>
> Note: there was a film I saw about a guy who moved back to his home
> town and then found that /his new house/ was Ground Zero for a Giant
> Space Rock. The local Internet store /was/ willing to extend the cable
> -- for (IIRC) $3K. So it is possible that, if you throw enough money
> at them, they can be coaxed into putting in the wire.
>
Not where I live. Too far, can't do it is their answer.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Thursday, 21 April 2022 at 21:27:08 UTC+1, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 4/21/2022 9:16 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> > On Thu, 21 Apr 2022 08:03:08 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> > <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
> >
> >> On 4/21/2022 12:14 AM, Kevrob wrote:
> >>> On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 4:51:11 PM UTC-4, J. Clarke wrote:
> >>>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:28:07 -0700, Paul S Person
> >>>> <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:42:41 -0400, J. Clarke
> >>>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:56:18 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcr...@home.ca>
> >>>>>> wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:54:29 -0400, J. Clarke
> >>>>>>> <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> I think the joke during all the litigation was something to the effect
> >>>>>>>>> "US Sprint is a law firm with a few phone lines".
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> Actually, at the time SPRINT was a railroad.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> SPRINT is an acronym--Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking
> >>>>>>>> Telephony.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> Seems the railroad owned rights-of-way to just about everywhere in the
> >>>>>>>> country, and hung fiber to handle their own needs, and then realized
> >>>>>>>> that they had excess capacity that they could monetize, and after a
> >>>>>>>> while they were making more hauling data than they were hauling
> >>>>>>>> freight.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> That's basically how many of the cable TV providers became major
> >>>>>>> broadband providers - mine (Shaw) realized that they were using about
> >>>>>>> 10% of the capacity of their network delivering TV and cast about for
> >>>>>>> a way to use it more profitably and discovered they could deliver
> >>>>>>> broadband and greatly increased speeds compared to the then dominant
> >>>>>>> telephone modems - and 20-25 years later most of us are using cable
> >>>>>>> or fibre connections.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Yep. I keep getting junk mail from Frontier advertising gigabit
> >>>>>> fiber. But when I check it's not available at my location, so I stick
> >>>>>> with cable.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> If I read my ISPs website correctly, I am on an "up to 200 Mbps" plan,
> >>>>> yet measuring my download speed through the browser tops out at 20 and
> >>>>> usually 10 Mbps, while using an App sometimes reaches as high as 50
> >>>>> Mbps (at, say, 3AM, when, presumably, the network is less crowded).
> >>>>> IOW, about 25% of the allegedly-available speed -- at best.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> So you may want to treat the "Gbps" claims as ... advertising copy.
> >>>> When I check, Cox is usually providing pretty close to the 300 down
> >>>> that they promise.
> >>>
> >>> I subscribed to Frontier for web access with a landline (through the modem) a few
> >>> years ago. Around here it is the company that bought out the POTS and other services
> >>> sold by SNET. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_New_England_Telecommunications
> >>>
> >>> i have received mail, email and a phone call telling me we ca upgrade our DSL to fiber
> >>> optic. I'll probably ta ke them up on it.
> >>>
> >>> The landlord included Comcast cable and internet/WiFi with the rent when I moved in.
> >>> After awhile the Comcast people annoyed him enough he got rid of it and installed
> >>> DirectTV. I was given a break in my rent to get inter net service in my own name.
> >>> The price for the service has ballooned. Two other tenants share the router with me.
> >>> From time to time I get texts apologizing for temporary service outages, but our block
> >>> doesn't seem to be affected.
> >>>
> >>> Moist of the ads are offering lower rates for the Fiber Optic than I'm paying now.
> >>> I do hope I'm not ineligible due to being a current customer. "Gee, if I can't get that
> >>> rate, maybe one of your competitors can do better..."
> >>>
> >> The kicker on such offers is that you have to be within a certain
> >> distance of a distribution point. With most companies if you aren't,
> >> you CAN NOT get fiber. They simply will not do the necessary
> >> construction to extend the fiber network because it costs too much to do
> >> that kind of work in urban areas. And if you're not in an urban area
> >> you're just too damn far away period.
> >
> > Which leaves two basic solutions:
> >
> > 1) Satellite-based.
> > 2) 5G Cellphone [1] network based.
> >
> Both of which are non-starters for me because I won't do wireless. Its
> not secure enough for some of the stuff I work on.

And internet or telephone is?

If your data is encrypted... you can have the local
newspaper print it as a full page advertisement,
and you should be okay.

> > The former depends on where the satellites are (that is, their
> > coverable area) and, of course, latency may be a concern.
> >
> > The latter depends on how far the Towers have penetrated into the
> > heartland. And how well those 5G Routers actually work.
> >
> > Note: there was a film I saw about a guy who moved back to his home
> > town and then found that /his new house/ was Ground Zero for a Giant
> > Space Rock. The local Internet store /was/ willing to extend the cable
> > -- for (IIRC) $3K. So it is possible that, if you throw enough money
> > at them, they can be coaxed into putting in the wire.
> >
> Not where I live. Too far, can't do it is their answer.
> --
> I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
> dirty old man.