FairPoint DSL

[Slickcraft]

We recently had Fairpoint DSL installed on Welch Island and are happy with the result. Prior to placing the order, neighbor ishoot308 ran a speed test of his DSL and reported 1.53 Mbps down and 0.36 up. This was in line with the “about1.6 Mbps” that Fairpoint said that we would get on the island.

We had been using a Verizon hotspot on our phones for internet access on the island. Normally for the period April – Oct, I bump the data allowance up to 4G from 2G; this bumps the Verizon bill up by $20/month. The hot spot usually provides good download rates however any but brief video streaming will destroy the data allowance.

Since the DSL install the speed has been a very consistent 1.54 Mbps down and 0.41 up. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Netflix works great on either the TV or a tablet at that speed. Netflix has quick start-up and no buffering delays. We have a ROKU 3 that we brought over from home to test streaming so now I’ll get one for camp. On some other ROKU channels we do get an occasional buffering delay. As Netflix has such a wide choice of content and works fine at the DLS speed we are happy campers.

I found that we can watch the Ch 9 news/weather by live streaming to the laptop and display with audio on the TV with a HDMI cable. Typically one or two buffering delays in a half hour live stream.

The cost: Fairpoint DSL is $24.99/month (4 year guarantee) but I can cut my Verizon bill by $20/month in season, a $5/month net increase. I did pay up front to buy the modem/router, no install fee if you stick with FP for 12 months. Off season I can have the Fairpoint service shut off and pay $5/month.

I did find out that Fairpoint has installed many small local sub-stations with banks of DSL modems and fiber optic back-haul. There is one in Glendale. After the installers left Welch they were on their way to Rattlesnake, I don’t know if they have a sub-station in West Alton.

[BroadHopper]

Fairpoint has Fiber Optics trunk to about 90% of their NH customers and have increase their DSL coverage. DSL is very consistence as to reliability compared to cable. I was told by a Fairpoint executive they are replacing DSL service with fiber optics broadband in residential applications up to 30 Mbps. If you are on shore and have DSL, check your billing statement for fiber optics broadband availability in your area or give them a call. I was told residential fiber optics broadband will be available in Laconia this Summer or Fall. The cable companies now have a competitor and I am sick of Metrocast runarounds. I can't wait to switch!

I ask if they will carry TV service like Verizon. It is subject to Federal and state regulations so stay tuned!

[welchislandman]

We have the same DSL service and works very well. I keep it on in the winter to monitor the camp. No issues. Good to know on Roku. I had wondered that also and will try it !

[jazzman]

Is anyone else having problems with Fairpoint DSL?

Mine has been gone for a week now. Green DSL light (kind of says the wiring is fine), but bright red Internet light. Phone is fine.

They've stood me up twice now on a visit to fix it. This is getting very old. Tech support claim they have no way to contact the actual field techs. I hassled a manager this AM who promised he'd sort things out and get back to me, but of course I haven't heard a word from him since.

I see in the news the workers have voted to authorize a strike when their contract expires on 8/2. I wonder if they're already in slow down mode?

When you call their tech support line, they claim to be having systemwide issues and urge you to reboot your modem before bugging them.

[BroadHopper]

I was told I will get an email when high speed DSL will be available in Laconia and it was suppose to be this month. With a strike looming and folks complaining, I'm not sure if this may happen!

I had better luck with Fairpoint/Verizon DSL in the past. Much better than Metrocast. The only reason why I switch is the need for high speed.

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by jazzman

Is anyone else having problems with Fairpoint DSL?

Mine has been gone for a week now. Green DSL light (kind of says the wiring is fine), but bright red Internet light. Phone is fine.

They've stood me up twice now on a visit to fix it. This is getting very old. Tech support claim they have no way to contact the actual field techs. I hassled a manager this AM who promised he'd sort things out and get back to me, but of course I haven't heard a word from him since.

I see in the news the workers have voted to authorize a strike when their contract expires on 8/2. I wonder if they're already in slow down mode?

When you call their tech support line, they claim to be having systemwide issues and urge you to reboot your modem before bugging them.

We had to restart our modem daily. That was the main issue we encountered. Beyond that we loved it.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by codeman671

We had to restart our modem daily. That was the main issue we encountered. Beyond that we loved it.

That's a big issue in my opinion. I can understand an occasional reboot but every day??? What is the cause behind that?

I have Fairpoint on Welch and rarely need to reboot. Maybe once a month if I had to guess...

Dan

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

That's a big issue in my opinion. I can understand an occasional reboot but every day??? What is the cause behind that?

I have Fairpoint on Welch and rarely need to reboot. Maybe once a month if I had to guess...

Dan

I did have an AT&T Microcell unit tied to it, it should not have anything to do with it but we had to reboot them both daily to keep it working smooth. I would not lose connectivity but it would be slow until I did.

[Slickcraft]

We had stop and go service Sunday evening but the modem never lost synch and the internet light stayed green. When the speed test did run it was our normal 1.54 down 0.4 up. So I think that the line to the substation is good but Fairpoint was having capacity issues higher up in the network.

We did experience very poor internal Fairpoint coordination after a major 7/2 outage, the 26 pair cable on Welch was down between several poles. Trouble report "tickets" were entered and then mysteriously lost in interstellar space. Internet tech support was not able to get info on repair status and so on. I think that the old, formally Verizon and Bell Atlantic segment, has never been integrated with the newer internet based part of the company.

The tech that repaired our service, same one that did the original install, was a pleasure to work with and got us up and running in short order. That is, as soon as he was aware that we had a problem. And that was when I saw him up on a nearby pole working another problem as he had yet to receive our repair ticket. And he called a few days later to make sure that our service was still OK. So there are a lot of good folk in the company, the real problem is one of the management structure.

[Slickcraft]

From WMUR web site:

MANCHESTER, N.H. —Some FairPoint customers in New Hampshire have experienced issues accessing the Internet over the last few days, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
The issue began Sunday afternoon, affecting some customers in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. The company said the issue was fixed at 11 p.m. Sunday.

The company is urging users to shut down their computer, unplug their modem, and wait three minutes. After that, users should plug the modem in again, wait for the DSL light to display, and then restart their computer.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers," the company said in a statement.
Because the outage was intermittent, FairPoint was unable to estimate the number of affected customers.

Any customers still experiencing issues should call 1-800-240-5019.

[jazzman]

Good news is the island tech called me, I explained the problem and he called someone who fixed it in 10 minutes... Guess they migrated me to another port, but never did the back end setup work to make it live.

Only a monopoly can get away with a 7 day outage for simple crap like this.

It's such a shame we have good LTE up here now, but it's too damned expensive to use.

I can't see the islands ever getting upgraded equipment for anything more then 1.5mbs

[dlucas10]

Originally Posted by jazzman

I can't see the islands ever getting upgraded equipment for anything more then 1.5mbs

It'd be sweet if the US ever got Google Balloon (or some technology similar to it)!

http://www.google.com/loon/

It seems like a great way to get high speed internet to places like islands or rural areas!

FWIW, we have Metrocast at the lake (WAM) and I see issues with it where it'll drop Internet connection. I'm monitoring it now, and if I see it happen on a fairly regular basis then I'll have proof to them about the issues with their services.

Dave

[wifi]

Originally Posted by jazzman

.....I can't see the islands ever getting upgraded equipment for anything more then 1.5mbs

I'm sure it costs Fairpoint more than it makes to supply and support (plant wise) DSL on islands and at remote points. I could give you 10 megs on my little wireless system, but there would be no way to even break even with the ongoing support, never mind recoup the investment I would need to make.

I hope some magical breakthrough happens in technology, or Bill Gates decides to become an island dweller, but I'm not holding my breath.

[jazzman]

Well, the theory is that "utilities" are allowed to be a monopoly and given access to public property (roads, spectrum bandwidth etc.), in exchange for serving the entire public. They're not supposed to be able to cherry pick the most profitable customers and dump the rest.

I'd guess that the islands don't fall into the profitable category.

It seems like the right long term solution is wireless, but at $10/gb it's off by at least a factor of 10 to be useful.

Comcast = ~.20/GB
ATT/Verizon = ~10.00/GB

[wifi]

Originally Posted by jazzman

Well, the theory is that "utilities" are allowed to be a monopoly and given access to public property (roads, spectrum bandwidth etc.), in exchange for serving the entire public. They're not supposed to be able to cherry pick the most profitable customers and dump the rest.

I'd guess that the islands don't fall into the profitable category.

It seems like the right long term solution is wireless, but at $10/gb it's off by at least a factor of 10 to be useful.

Comcast = ~.20/GB
ATT/Verizon = ~10.00/GB

In the perfect Socialist world, if one person in Manchester got fiber,
then everyone in Coos county deserves the same. Coming down
to how it relates to the Lakes Region, lets take a few examples.

Moultonboro first had Amrac cable. Owned by someone that owned a
cable company in another state and a house in a development in town.
They would only run cable to Rt 109, 25, Mboro neck and a few to select
developments. Even Time Warner, today, a sucessor after a few
buyouts has a number of areas they aren't willing to service, yet the town
has them as a monopoly.

Take Tamworth, another town in the lakes region family, Time Warner only
ran cable to the most populated areas, the others are left to their own
resources. Trying to abbreviate this as much as possible.

Lets take a contrast, Alexandria for example. They required that everyone
with a power drop also have a cable outlet at the closest pole to every
building. Hence, even the remotest shack anywhere in town has an
outlet a pole distance away. That is Metrocast territory. Then there is
Sandwich, they required the same, and Time Warner has declined to
service any area of town.

So, whats with Fairpoint servicing islands at an obvious loss.... Well, when
they agreed to buy out Verizon, they had to agree to connect 90% (this is
a close guess.... someone can Google this) of the state, regardless of
their location. Indeed it took them a few years, but they are almost at
that point. They are doing this at a loss to get the states copper landline
business.

One other point, which is current technology. Suissevale, in Moultonboro
(very, very dense funnel development) was afforded a early DSL. This
was back when cable wasn't TW, but Adelphia (if memory serves me right),
they had 4M speeds max and Verizon had a fiber linked terminal box in the
middle of the development, this was 15 years ago. Verizon topped out in
the old DSL at 3M and they sold it at quite a discount. Well, in the last 15
years, Time Warner will offer 50M (if you can afford it) and Verizon (now
Fairpoint) will not upgrade to their new new technology, which will support
15M. Can you blame them? Why pay to install their new gear at 15M
when people can get 50M ? Why should Fairpoint pay anything at all,
since the area qualifies in their 90% area?

So back to Islands, the original thread. Take Welch, Fairpoint is meeting
their commitment to the PUC, no reason to upgrade, when outer
mongolia, NH has nothing and that can increase their % yield for their
PUC commitment. Whatever anyone has with Fairpoint is where they will
stay, unless there is an external factor....

Sorry to bore