Posted: 12/9/2007 6:04:58 AM EDT
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I live far enough out of town that there is no cable TV, etc. I was going to see if DSL was available where I am at. Is there a distance deal with DSL, where you can only be so far from someplace in order to get it? Do i need a second phone line or can i use one for calls and dsl at the same time? What equipment/setup is needed? |
Yep, the farther away you are from where it originates determines if you're able to get it. No second phone line needed. The ISP I signed up with shipped all the equipment I needed to set it up (DSL modem, ethernet cord, DSL cord, software disc, etc) I still needed some tech support to figure it all out. I'm not too computer-savvy. I was on dial-up from early 1999 until just a few days ago. I'm paying almost 10 dollars less a month for DSL over my old dial-up cost. I really enjoy being able to see youtube videos and viewing threads that used to be "56K Death!." 
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yes distatance is an issue, the further, the slower and less reliable the connection is no you can use your home phone, it operates on a different frequency so you can talk and surf @ the same time. it does require a filter on each of your home phones dsl modem and network card on your laptop or desktop system. |
As one who still has dial-up, and only paying $9 a month, who do you have DSL with? |
You have to be within 18,000 feet of a phone company point of presence. If you call the ISP you want to sign up with, they will tell you if you are eligable. |
Roughly 18,000' from a DSLAM in a Telco Central Office. They also deploy remote dslam's in areas beyond the distance of a CO. You can try calling your local telco to see if you qualify. If they say no, try another local ISP. By Law the telco's have to open up their lines to third party ISP's. So they allocate so many connections in each DSLAM to each ISP. The Telco's spots in the equipment may be filled, but there may be connections left for the smaller ISP's. I'm only familiar with AT&T (formely Bellsouth) DSL. They send you a Modem, Filters, & Software in a self install kit. Installation is pretty straight forward - connect yellow wire to yellow port, etc. But the software is completely unnecessary. |
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I used to be a tier 3 support engineer for US West (pre-Qwest days). The distance limitations are the amount of wire between you and the CO. So, the limit may be 15-18K feet (depending on the technology, if the bridge taps and load coils have all been removed, etc), but I've known of people within 1 driving mile of a CO that couldn't get it because the wire facilities looped through their neighborhood. Only the telco can tell you if you are close enough -- they have to check their engineering records. You might also check to see if PA has a universal access law. We have one in AZ, where the telco has to provide at least ISDN-BRI to anyone that wants it. You might be abl to force the telco to give you DSL or ISDN that way. I know ISDN isn't as cool as DSL or cable modem, but at least it gives you something that is faster than dialup. |
It's the not technology (DSL vs. cable modem) that is doing that. It's the network design. Many cable modem service providers (Cox, for example) actually provide you with a publicly routable IP address, so you are essentially directly on the internet for all the bad guys to bang away at your PC. Many of the DSL providers are not using private address space and are putting their users behind a firewall. This is what makes the difference. If you have a service that gives you a public IP address that puts you directly on the internet, do yourself a favor and go to your local computer store and buy a broadband router of some kind. This will help to shield you from hackers and other intruders. I generally recommend a Linksys, but there are other decent brands, too. The other plus to these broadband routers is that they allow you to run multiple PCs behind it without having to pay the internet access provider for more IP addresses (YMMV, some providers do this, others don't). |
I know your probably serious, but the data medium really doesn't make a difference for this kinda stuff. MAYBE cable users are more of a target because service is typically faster. MAYBE the DSL company has a firewall setup to help prevent this (personally, I would hope not). But being on dialup, DSL, cable, really doesn't protect you any more or any less. May make the target less appealing. -Foxxz |
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It's just like the industrial area's of cities with all the huge warehouses, it's not worth it for the DSL provider to lay all that hardware down for only a few businesses over a good amount of land. They would never see a profit in that area so they just don't do it. |