[rescue] DSL and ISDN, was Re: Looking for an IPX

[Steven M Jones]

On 12/08/2013 02:29 PM, Lionel Peterson wrote:
> As I recall, there are distance issues with DSL - you can only be so far from
> the CO (DSLAM)...

This is true. You can get over 18,000 feet for DSL, but not easily or 
with very impressive speeds. (ref: http://www.dslreports.com/faq/4676). 
And the further you are, the more the bitrate drops.

ISDN also has about an 18,000 foot limit (ref: 
http://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=29737&seqNum=2), but I 
believe that because of the tariffs it was offered under, many US telcos 
had to install repeaters as needed if you insisted on ordering service. 
You can find references to ISDN connections at 60k feet from the CO via 
Google.


> I had ISDN years ago, and when DSL came to me I was THE
> FIRST customer at my CO. I had issues every step of the way, took 3 days to
> get it set up, ...

I ordered ISDN service in Manhattan in early 1994. What a disaster - 
took quite a few calls to find somebody who was familiar enough with it 
just to get the line ordered. Getting it provisioned correctly was an 
ordeal, and eventually I gave up on trying to get EKTS and other 
features provisioned correctly so that the non-basic functions of the 
ISDN phone would work properly with the CO.

But it made for a good Internet connection from '94-98. And I used two 
ISDN lines just outside of Boston for a few years after moving there in 
'99. Having additional channels demand-dialed was nice, until Speakeasy 
came along.

--S.