XP and DSL?

I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

DSL replaces ISP?
Supplies email service?
Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For XP
Home?
Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Any other clues or hints? I'd do a Google search but my 20K dial-up
connection works very very slowly on web sites.

Ken


--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

On 12 Sep 2014 14:15:26 GMT, KenK wrote:

I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

DSL replaces ISP?



No. They are two completely different things. DSL is a technology.
Your ISP is a company. If you get DSL from Centurylink, then
Centurylink will be your ISP.


Supplies email service?



Yes. At least in all the instances I've ever seen.



Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For XP
Home?


No software is required. What's needed is built into Windows.


Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?



I assume that that depends on who is providing the service. Ask
Centurylink.

From: "KenK"

I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

DSL replaces ISP?
Supplies email service?
Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For XP
Home?
Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Any other clues or hints? I'd do a Google search but my 20K dial-up
connection works very very slowly on web sites.

Ken


DSL is just a typoe of Internet delivery to a subscriber over Twisted Pair
wiring such as Plain Old Telephone System (POTS).

ISP stands for Internet service Provider so an ISP can deliver any kind
Internet based upon the technolgy they supply.

A DSL provider is an ISP and theyt usually provide email accounts and may
also supply sub-accounts.

Some may supply DUN backup but you would really need a DSL Modem+Router with
DUN fallover. Routers with DUN fallover lasted only a few years so they
really aren't available anymore. A better fail over is Cellular Broadband
4G.

NO software is require to access DSL. It is a DSL Modem that is required
and associated DSL Filters.


--
Dave
Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp

On Fri, 12 Sep 2014 07:15:26 -0700, KenK wrote:

I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

DSL replaces ISP?
Supplies email service?
Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For XP
Home?
Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Any other clues or hints? I'd do a Google search but my 20K dial-up
connection works very very slowly on web sites.

Ken



I have basic Century Link here, and Direct TV satellite.

Glad you asked! I'm in a rural area north of Phoenix. Neighbors with DSL
would ask me [the resident electronic guru] "What speed should I get out
here? Because 300kbps seems a bit slow for DSL." Used to get constant
calls from Marketing at Century Link offering up to 7MBs DSL for
39.99/month. For a long time, even though they called, they couldn't even
supply DSL here! But now they can supply 'dribbling' DSL. So, I said,
great! How fast? they kept repeating, up to 7MBs. I said what if you don't
supply that? Same price but you can get up to this fantastic speed, but a
lot of people are happy with it. Knowing I'm 17,262 feet from their
office, I said, "Ok, you install it and I'll pay you proportionately based
upon the speed I get here." [between you and me, at that distance you
don't get a lot of DSL speed. that comes out to around $1.79/month] They
haven't called back since. Note they cheat slightly by using two phone
lines in parallel to get the speed backup a bit.

If it's any help every call to their service reaches a US citizen, not
always around here but in the US. They did give me the name and number of
a local repair technician [Phoenix Office] I can call and get very
'personalized' service from, albeit leaving meassage to call me back. But
they'll do phone line checks and supply me the data so I can log any
deterioration over time.

In KenK
wrote:

I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

I've had US West/Qwest/CenturyLink DSL service for as long as they've
offered it. It's worked well, but if you have problems caused by failure
of their equipment, it's hard to get them to admit it's their problem.


DSL replaces ISP?
Supplies email service?

Unless you made other arrangements, yes. If you're getting ADSL2+ or
fiber service, then no other arrangements are available.

BUT! These are questions you should have asked before you signed up.

I hope you get something in writing from them with a username, email
address, default password and the like that you'll need in order to use
your service.

Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For
XP Home?

That's built in to XP. You'll probably get setup info with the modem,
possibly on a CD.

Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Maybe.

--
St. Paul, MN

RobertMacy wrote:
On Fri, 12 Sep 2014 07:15:26 -0700, KenK wrote:

I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

DSL replaces ISP?
Supplies email service?
Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For XP
Home?
Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Any other clues or hints? I'd do a Google search but my 20K dial-up
connection works very very slowly on web sites.

Ken



I have basic Century Link here, and Direct TV satellite.

Glad you asked! I'm in a rural area north of Phoenix. Neighbors with DSL
would ask me [the resident electronic guru] "What speed should I get out
here? Because 300kbps seems a bit slow for DSL." Used to get constant
calls from Marketing at Century Link offering up to 7MBs DSL for
39.99/month. For a long time, even though they called, they couldn't
even supply DSL here! But now they can supply 'dribbling' DSL. So, I
said, great! How fast? they kept repeating, up to 7MBs. I said what if
you don't supply that? Same price but you can get up to this fantastic
speed, but a lot of people are happy with it. Knowing I'm 17,262 feet
from their office, I said, "Ok, you install it and I'll pay you
proportionately based upon the speed I get here." [between you and me,
at that distance you don't get a lot of DSL speed. that comes out to
around $1.79/month] They haven't called back since. Note they cheat
slightly by using two phone lines in parallel to get the speed backup a
bit.

If it's any help every call to their service reaches a US citizen, not
always around here but in the US. They did give me the name and number
of a local repair technician [Phoenix Office] I can call and get very
'personalized' service from, albeit leaving meassage to call me back.
But they'll do phone line checks and supply me the data so I can log any
deterioration over time.

There is a distance versus speed graph on the bottom of this page.
The horizontal axis is in meters. At 5500 meters (~18000 feet), the
powder blue curve has dropped to zero. There are USA ADSL providers
offering 18000 foot and 36000 foot distribution plans, but the
36000 foot option can't really do all that much better. I don't
think they "over-promise" quite as much, if using 36000 feet.

http://www.internode.on.net/resident...d/performance/

That set of curves corresponds to the "old way" to deliver ADSL. A large
central office, with POTS telephone lines snaking out in bundles, to
individual neighborhoods. That's how they originally delivered my
ADSL.
twisted pair ADSL modem
Central_Office ---------------------------------------- Your_house
copper line

In urban areas, they now use concentrators. That is a powered box with
electronics in it. It delivers ADSL with the starting distance measured
from the box on the corner of your street. Mine is maybe 500 feet of wire
from the box. It "buffers" the signal, so no danger of hitting an 18000
foot limit. The fiber distance doesn't count, as single mode fiber can
go quite long distances (for a price).

fiber twisted pair ADSL modem
Central_Office ------------ concentrator ------------------ My_house
(has a cooling (500 feet)
fan that runs
all the time)

In rural areas, especially areas that were slow to ever get ADSL, such
a distribution scheme is not very practical. For example, our box uses a
pre-existing fiber optic cable already in the ground. Fiber was buried in
the ground here, as part of a field trial. Su they didn't even need to
trench back to the CO, to put in my concentrator-type box. They put that
trench in years ago, while doing some other maintenance.

So the "Crapitude" of the "up to 7Mbit/sec but only delivers 0.3Mbit/sec"
style of service, would be more common in a rural setting.

Because I get my ADSL from a reseller here, the telephone company
that owns the physical facility, keeps my rate turned down :-(
When there is absolutely no need of doing that.

Paul

KenK wrote:
I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

DSL replaces ISP?
Supplies email service?
Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For XP
Home?
Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Any other clues or hints? I'd do a Google search but my 20K dial-up
connection works very very slowly on web sites.

Ken

Dialup equipment would look like this. This would be your current setup.

Central_Office ----------------------------- dialup modem --- (PPP protocol
twisted pair copper (internal or already in
external) WinXP)

*******

With ADSL, there are a couple possibilities. For a single computer
usage, you can hook up direct to a cheap modem. No router at all
in this picture. They don't really make modems any more that don't
have a router, but this is what my very first ADSL setup looked like.

Ethernet
Central_Office ------------- ADSL modem ------------ (PPPOE protocol
twisted already in
pair WinXP)
copper

You can use ADSL modem alone, ADSL modem plus external router box,
or combo ADSL modem/router box (most common offering today). That
gives more than one Ethernet connector on the box, or provides
Wifi, so no cable has to run to the computer. To use a Wifi router,
you'd need a Wifi receiver on the computer end. But we'll just
draw an Ethernet cable picture first.

Eth Eth
Central_Office -------- ADSL modem ----- router ------- No special
twisted (terminates software at all
pair PPPOE in the for the OS
copper router) (WinXP computer)

When you use a Wifi router, the last hop uses radio waves.
The Wifi router has its own antenna. An older computer,
would need a Wifi card added to it, to be wireless.
You can even get add-on Wifi in the form of a USB dongle.

+ +
Eth /\/ \/\
Central_Office -------- ADSL modem ----- router Wifi driver
twisted (terminates (WinXP computer)
pair PPPOE in the
copper router)

So those are some possibilities for your hookup. Generally,
they include enough stuff (a short Ethernet cable with
the ADSL modem), you should be ready to do a test
when the service is turned up. Mine took *three weeks*
to install, in grand incompetent telco style... Nobody
knew what was going on, I got the run-around. I finally
found an employee who knew the right person to call,
and it was working the next day. That guy is no longer
at the mall (we can't have responsive customer service
after all, better to have someone in India do that).

At the phone company, the data fill is typically
updated at midnight. That is to make billing precise,
a "precise number of days of service". So the
service should start, just after midnight. YMMV
of course. Because humans are involved.

You can have both dialup and ADSL on the same line.
For example, if you continued to pay for dialup service,
the ADSL stopped working at some point in time, you
could use the dialup modem. For a year, I had an
overlap between Freenet and ADSL. When the ADSL went
off (and it did), I could dialup using Freenet and
check the ADSL provider web page. That was easier
than sitting on hold on the phone for 45 minutes,
to get a human to tell me it was broken. I never
attempted any tests, such as running dialup on
one computer, ADSL to a second computer, to see if
they could actually co-exist at the same time.
But if the ADSL went off, for as long as I had
Freenet, I could check the web page. The reason
I no longer have Freenet, is Freenet isn't really
free :-)

Paul

Paul wrote in :

KenK wrote:
I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this
work?

DSL replaces ISP?
Supplies email service?
Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For
XP Home?
Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Any other clues or hints? I'd do a Google search but my 20K dial-up
connection works very very slowly on web sites.

Ken

Dialup equipment would look like this. This would be your current
setup.

Central_Office ----------------------------- dialup modem --- (PPP
protocol
twisted pair copper (internal or
already in
external)
WinXP)

*******

With ADSL, there are a couple possibilities. For a single computer
usage, you can hook up direct to a cheap modem. No router at all
in this picture. They don't really make modems any more that don't
have a router, but this is what my very first ADSL setup looked like.

Ethernet
Central_Office ------------- ADSL modem ------------ (PPPOE
protocol
twisted already in
pair WinXP)
copper

You can use ADSL modem alone, ADSL modem plus external router box,
or combo ADSL modem/router box (most common offering today). That
gives more than one Ethernet connector on the box, or provides
Wifi, so no cable has to run to the computer. To use a Wifi router,
you'd need a Wifi receiver on the computer end. But we'll just
draw an Ethernet cable picture first.

Eth Eth
Central_Office -------- ADSL modem ----- router ------- No special
twisted (terminates software
at all pair PPPOE in the for
the OS copper router)
(WinXP computer)

When you use a Wifi router, the last hop uses radio waves.
The Wifi router has its own antenna. An older computer,
would need a Wifi card added to it, to be wireless.
You can even get add-on Wifi in the form of a USB dongle.

+ +
Eth /\/ \/\
Central_Office -------- ADSL modem ----- router Wifi
driver
twisted (terminates (WinXP
computer) pair PPPOE in the
copper router)

So those are some possibilities for your hookup. Generally,
they include enough stuff (a short Ethernet cable with
the ADSL modem), you should be ready to do a test
when the service is turned up. Mine took *three weeks*
to install, in grand incompetent telco style... Nobody
knew what was going on, I got the run-around. I finally
found an employee who knew the right person to call,
and it was working the next day. That guy is no longer
at the mall (we can't have responsive customer service
after all, better to have someone in India do that).

At the phone company, the data fill is typically
updated at midnight. That is to make billing precise,
a "precise number of days of service". So the
service should start, just after midnight. YMMV
of course. Because humans are involved.

You can have both dialup and ADSL on the same line.
For example, if you continued to pay for dialup service,
the ADSL stopped working at some point in time, you
could use the dialup modem. For a year, I had an
overlap between Freenet and ADSL. When the ADSL went
off (and it did), I could dialup using Freenet and
check the ADSL provider web page. That was easier
than sitting on hold on the phone for 45 minutes,
to get a human to tell me it was broken. I never
attempted any tests, such as running dialup on
one computer, ADSL to a second computer, to see if
they could actually co-exist at the same time.
But if the ADSL went off, for as long as I had
Freenet, I could check the web page. The reason
I no longer have Freenet, is Freenet isn't really
free :-)

Paul





Thank you very much. Extremely informative, as usual!



--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

wrote:
On Fri, 12 Sep 2014 12:44:57 -0400, Paul wrote:

KenK wrote:
I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

DSL replaces ISP?
Supplies email service?
Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For XP
Home?
Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Any other clues or hints? I'd do a Google search but my 20K dial-up
connection works very very slowly on web sites.

Ken
Dialup equipment would look like this. This would be your current setup.

Central_Office ----------------------------- dialup modem --- (PPP protocol
twisted pair copper (internal or already in
external) WinXP)

*******

With ADSL, there are a couple possibilities. For a single computer
usage, you can hook up direct to a cheap modem. No router at all
in this picture. They don't really make modems any more that don't
have a router, but this is what my very first ADSL setup looked like.

Ethernet
Central_Office ------------- ADSL modem ------------ (PPPOE protocol
twisted already in
pair WinXP)
copper

You can use ADSL modem alone, ADSL modem plus external router box,
or combo ADSL modem/router box (most common offering today). That
gives more than one Ethernet connector on the box, or provides
Wifi, so no cable has to run to the computer. To use a Wifi router,
you'd need a Wifi receiver on the computer end. But we'll just
draw an Ethernet cable picture first.

Eth Eth
Central_Office -------- ADSL modem ----- router ------- No special
twisted (terminates software at all
pair PPPOE in the for the OS
copper router) (WinXP computer)

When you use a Wifi router, the last hop uses radio waves.
The Wifi router has its own antenna. An older computer,
would need a Wifi card added to it, to be wireless.
You can even get add-on Wifi in the form of a USB dongle.

+ +
Eth /\/ \/\
Central_Office -------- ADSL modem ----- router Wifi driver
twisted (terminates (WinXP computer)
pair PPPOE in the
copper router)

So those are some possibilities for your hookup. Generally,
they include enough stuff (a short Ethernet cable with
the ADSL modem), you should be ready to do a test
when the service is turned up. Mine took *three weeks*
to install, in grand incompetent telco style... Nobody
knew what was going on, I got the run-around. I finally
found an employee who knew the right person to call,
and it was working the next day. That guy is no longer
at the mall (we can't have responsive customer service
after all, better to have someone in India do that).

At the phone company, the data fill is typically
updated at midnight. That is to make billing precise,
a "precise number of days of service". So the
service should start, just after midnight. YMMV
of course. Because humans are involved.

You can have both dialup and ADSL on the same line.
For example, if you continued to pay for dialup service,
the ADSL stopped working at some point in time, you
could use the dialup modem. For a year, I had an
overlap between Freenet and ADSL. When the ADSL went
off (and it did), I could dialup using Freenet and
check the ADSL provider web page. That was easier
than sitting on hold on the phone for 45 minutes,
to get a human to tell me it was broken. I never
attempted any tests, such as running dialup on
one computer, ADSL to a second computer, to see if
they could actually co-exist at the same time.
But if the ADSL went off, for as long as I had
Freenet, I could check the web page. The reason
I no longer have Freenet, is Freenet isn't really
free :-)

Paul



I still pay for AOL with a dial up number and I have DSL from Century
Link. I used the dial up 2 or 3 times in the 8 years I have had DSL.
The DSL is very solid. Comcast was down at least once a week and after
a storm it might be out for a couple weeks.
My DSL is supposed to be "up to 10 meg" but the best I see is 3 meg on
the speed test sites at DSL reports.
They just sent me another Email promising the 10 meg again at the end
of the month. I am many miles from any central office but I think the
DSL actually comes from a big box at the end of my street.
These days a "central office" would fit in a van.
30 years ago the Naples CO went from 2 floors of clicky, clacky with a
half dozen frame hops running around to a guy sitting at a console
and a row of racks in the corner of one of those floors. That
equipment only got smaller since then.

So are you ready for this switch from 3 to 10 ?
Maybe you'll need an ADSL2+ modem ?

Paul

wrote:
On Fri, 12 Sep 2014 20:14:55 -0400, Paul wrote:

So are you ready for this switch from 3 to 10 ?
Maybe you'll need an ADSL2+ modem ?

Paul

I think that is what triggered the Email. I replaced my (bad) modem
the other day with a direct replacement for the one they gave me when
they first started talking about 10 meg. I assume I have had an ADSL 2
modem for a while. They just can't push that much data down the wire.
The only reason I even took it seriously is Century Link and telecom
contractor trucks have been on my street all week. They seem to be
reworking the big silver box and all the tombstones along the right of
way. I guess I could stop and ask what they are doing.

I associate that here, with people who have IPTV bundles.
We have ADSL and VDSL offerings, and I think for the VDSL (50Mbit)
there is a box installed in the garage. So you don't
get to choose your own modem in that case. They reworked the lines,
did some line evaluation over a three day period here, last year.

One reason for using a reseller here, is the bandwidth
cap is 300GB/month, whereas the telephone company plan for
the same tier is 40GB/month. And even though I'm not
really a big downloader, I don't want to be "looking over
my shoulder". There's no way I'd hit 300.

Paul

In message , KenK
writes:
I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

Paul's comprehensive answers supersede this, but here's my take! (The
default here in UK - at least, for service supplied still via an old
telephone line, i. e. they don't change anything in your house - is
ADSL; when a USian talks about DSL, I'm not sure if they mean ADSL.)

DSL replaces ISP?

DSL is how they deliver and collect the bytes; ISP is the company you're
dealing with.

Supplies email service?

That's independent of the delivery method: you send email via an SMTP
server, and collect it via a POP (sometimes called POP3) or IMAP server.
These two servers are computers at your ISP; how you connect to them
doesn't necessarily change when you change from dialup to DSL. If you're
changing ISP at the same time (have you been told your email address
will change, for example?), then the servers you use will change and
have to be changed in your email prog. (such as Outlook Express or
Thunderbird); it is _possible_ that other things might have to change
too (such as if they only offer IMAP and you've been used to using POP),
but probably not.

(I _said_ the send and receive email servers are at your ISP, because
that's how most people do it; _some_ people, especially those who
maintain a website/domain, often do things differently - i. e. the ISP
provides them with the connection only, and they use mail servers - and
other things - at other companies. I doubt this will apply to you.)

(Note that you may have to reconfigure newsgroup access too: you seem to
be using Xnews as your news software. Once again, news access is a
separate matter from the connection method used to access it. However,
in UK at least, many ISPs _don't_ provide news access as part of the
service, unlike mail access, so you may have to change who you get that
from. There are good free news suppliers [which is what I use for many
newsgroups] and excellent cheap ones [one is 10 euros a year for
example, IIRR].)

Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For XP
Home?

You will need a - piece of hardware - MoDem to connect to the DSL, much
as you do with dialup. For dialup, the MoDem may already be built into
your PC (desktop or laptop): it's where the 'phone line plugs in. For
DSL, it's likely to be an external box: I'm unaware of any DSL MoDem
that's available as a PC card (let alone built into any laptop), though
I'm not saying such don't exist. Often, these days - in fact almost
always - the box will also contain a wifi router, which means you can
connect your computer to the box wirelessly: virtually all laptops these
days include wifi, though most desktops don't. (You can get wifi dongles
from a couple of bucks upwards, that plug into a spare USB port. IME,
unless you're going to be given a huge speed or your computer is a long
way from where you're going to put the router, there's no point in
paying more than you have to for this bit.) If the MoDem doesn't have
wifi (or your computer doesn't and you don't want to add it), you'll
have to connect to it by an ethernet cable: it will have a suitable
socket, and hopefully so will your computer. (If you're going this
route, make sure you have a cable! If unsure whether your computer has
wifi, look in Start | Settings | Network connections; you should see
your dialup connection, "Local Area Connection" if your computer has an
ethernet port, and "Wireless Network Connection" if you have that. Along
from Local Area Connection, it will probably say "Network cable
unplugged" [it does here as I use wifi].)

The _software_ part of the connection is already part of XP, much as it
was/is with your dialup connection. You'll just plug in the DSL box, and
magically you'll have an internet connection. (Well, if wifi is
involved, you'll have to set that up. Try _not_ to load any software
that comes with the kit, unless you're adding a wifi adapter _and_ the
computer says it can't find a driver.)

You'll also - unless "DSL" _is_ different from ADSL - need some
"microfilters"; these are little boxes that plug into your telephone
sockets and have two sockets on the back, one for any telephone
equipment and one for any DSL MoDem. They stop the telephone equipment
and the DSL equipment interfering with each others' operation: if you
leave any telephone equipment (ordinary telephone, answerphone, dialup
MoDem) connected to the line in parallel with the DSL MoDem, it _may_
not work (as well, or at all, or it might not make any difference). If
the company providing your DSL service - Centurylink - is also supplying
the MoDem, they may well include a microfilter or two in the box.

Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Centurylink may or may not offer that provision; they should have told
you, anyway. I take it you _don't_ get your current dialup service from
them.

Any other clues or hints? I'd do a Google search but my 20K dial-up
connection works very very slowly on web sites.

Yes, modern web designers don't cater for it )-:. (Also, if you're only
getting 20K rather than something closer to 33K/56K [up/down], I'm
guessing your line is ropy and/or a long way from the exchange, so -
unless they're replacing parts of it at the same time - don't expect
lightning speed even after changeover: you should get a meg or two,
though, at least. Have they promised any particular speed?)

Ken


Do come back and tell us how you get on!
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Enjoy life now - it has an expiration date

In message ,
writes:
On Sat, 13 Sep 2014 13:37:19 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote:

Centurylink - is also supplying
the MoDem, they may well include a microfilter or two in the box

The standard package from Century Link comes with 2 filters for
phones. They will give you as many as you like but usually you will
not need any if they come out and do an on site install because they
will put in a filtered Dmark and a dedicated DSL line to your modem.

Ah, a dedicated install isn't the norm in the UK. Here, for someone
switching from dialup to broadband, the arrangement is usually you sign
up with a broadband provider ISP, who pay British Telecom worldwide to
flick the necessary switch at the exchange, and (the provider) usually
offer to send you the MoDem (these days usually a wireless one) "free"
(you "pay postage"), usually with, as you say, a couple of filters. And
the customer sets up the system him/herself. That's usually simple
enough because most households have a "master socket" where the line
enters the premises, with all other extensions being plugged into that,
and they usually recommend the MoDem be plugged in (via one of the
filters, along with a 'phone or the lead to the rest of the house in its
other hole) to the master socket "for best performance", with the other
filter for fitting to another 'phone (with its ADSL hole unfilled).

Engineer visits to the home (or even small business) are rare here.
(Discouraged by them imposing a ridiculously large fee, in the event of
you reporting a fault and them visiting and finding it's your side of
the master socket.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Build a better mousetrap and along will come better mice.

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in
:

In message , KenK
writes:
I signed up for Centurylink DSL yesterday. I'll get it by 9/26.

If anyone here uses DSL, especially Centurylink's, how does this work?

Paul's comprehensive answers supersede this, but here's my take! (The
default here in UK - at least, for service supplied still via an old
telephone line, i. e. they don't change anything in your house - is
ADSL; when a USian talks about DSL, I'm not sure if they mean ADSL.)

DSL replaces ISP?

DSL is how they deliver and collect the bytes; ISP is the company
you're dealing with.

Supplies email service?

That's independent of the delivery method: you send email via an SMTP
server, and collect it via a POP (sometimes called POP3) or IMAP
server. These two servers are computers at your ISP; how you connect
to them doesn't necessarily change when you change from dialup to DSL.
If you're changing ISP at the same time (have you been told your email
address will change, for example?), then the servers you use will
change and have to be changed in your email prog. (such as Outlook
Express or Thunderbird); it is _possible_ that other things might have
to change too (such as if they only offer IMAP and you've been used to
using POP), but probably not.

(I _said_ the send and receive email servers are at your ISP, because
that's how most people do it; _some_ people, especially those who
maintain a website/domain, often do things differently - i. e. the ISP
provides them with the connection only, and they use mail servers -
and other things - at other companies. I doubt this will apply to
you.)

(Note that you may have to reconfigure newsgroup access too: you seem
to be using Xnews as your news software. Once again, news access is a
separate matter from the connection method used to access it. However,
in UK at least, many ISPs _don't_ provide news access as part of the
service, unlike mail access, so you may have to change who you get
that from. There are good free news suppliers [which is what I use for
many newsgroups] and excellent cheap ones [one is 10 euros a year for
example, IIRR].)

Supplies software to replace dial-up connection internet module? For
XP Home?

You will need a - piece of hardware - MoDem to connect to the DSL,
much as you do with dialup. For dialup, the MoDem may already be built
into your PC (desktop or laptop): it's where the 'phone line plugs in.
For DSL, it's likely to be an external box: I'm unaware of any DSL
MoDem that's available as a PC card (let alone built into any laptop),
though I'm not saying such don't exist. Often, these days - in fact
almost always - the box will also contain a wifi router, which means
you can connect your computer to the box wirelessly: virtually all
laptops these days include wifi, though most desktops don't. (You can
get wifi dongles from a couple of bucks upwards, that plug into a
spare USB port. IME, unless you're going to be given a huge speed or
your computer is a long way from where you're going to put the router,
there's no point in paying more than you have to for this bit.) If the
MoDem doesn't have wifi (or your computer doesn't and you don't want
to add it), you'll have to connect to it by an ethernet cable: it will
have a suitable socket, and hopefully so will your computer. (If
you're going this route, make sure you have a cable! If unsure whether
your computer has wifi, look in Start | Settings | Network
connections; you should see your dialup connection, "Local Area
Connection" if your computer has an ethernet port, and "Wireless
Network Connection" if you have that. Along from Local Area
Connection, it will probably say "Network cable unplugged" [it does
here as I use wifi].)

The _software_ part of the connection is already part of XP, much as
it was/is with your dialup connection. You'll just plug in the DSL
box, and magically you'll have an internet connection. (Well, if wifi
is involved, you'll have to set that up. Try _not_ to load any
software that comes with the kit, unless you're adding a wifi adapter
_and_ the computer says it can't find a driver.)

You'll also - unless "DSL" _is_ different from ADSL - need some
"microfilters"; these are little boxes that plug into your telephone
sockets and have two sockets on the back, one for any telephone
equipment and one for any DSL MoDem. They stop the telephone equipment
and the DSL equipment interfering with each others' operation: if you
leave any telephone equipment (ordinary telephone, answerphone, dialup
MoDem) connected to the line in parallel with the DSL MoDem, it _may_
not work (as well, or at all, or it might not make any difference). If
the company providing your DSL service - Centurylink - is also
supplying the MoDem, they may well include a microfilter or two in the
box.

Supplies dial-up service if DSL service down?

Centurylink may or may not offer that provision; they should have told
you, anyway. I take it you _don't_ get your current dialup service
from them.

Any other clues or hints? I'd do a Google search but my 20K dial-up
connection works very very slowly on web sites.

Yes, modern web designers don't cater for it )-:. (Also, if you're
only getting 20K rather than something closer to 33K/56K [up/down],
I'm guessing your line is ropy and/or a long way from the exchange, so
- unless they're replacing parts of it at the same time - don't expect
lightning speed even after changeover: you should get a meg or two,
though, at least. Have they promised any particular speed?)


No such promises. Up until a week ago I was getting 40K+. The ISP (no
relation to CenturyLink) says I need my phone line checked. I did that a
few months ago, got a new line, and got 40K+ back again until now. I can
see having to do this every few months so decided to go from DUN to DSL.
I don't understand why; for some 30 years I got 40K+ with no problem and
no line changes. Evidently the lines have deteriorated recently.

I believe the DSL comes over different lines than my regular phone
service. I couldn't get DSL out here at my rural residence until a few
months ago. I've seem trucks every day out in the country putting up
CenturyLink phone (DSL?) lines for years now, recently close to my home.

I won't comment on the rest of your post - I need to reread it a few
times later.

Ken


Do come back and tell us how you get on!



--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

KenK wrote:


No such promises. Up until a week ago I was getting 40K+. The ISP (no
relation to CenturyLink) says I need my phone line checked. I did that a
few months ago, got a new line, and got 40K+ back again until now. I can
see having to do this every few months so decided to go from DUN to DSL.
I don't understand why; for some 30 years I got 40K+ with no problem and
no line changes. Evidently the lines have deteriorated recently.

I believe the DSL comes over different lines than my regular phone
service. I couldn't get DSL out here at my rural residence until a few
months ago. I've seem trucks every day out in the country putting up
CenturyLink phone (DSL?) lines for years now, recently close to my home.

I won't comment on the rest of your post - I need to reread it a few
times later.

Ken

You would be surprised what carries your ADSL signal.

There are only so many spare pairs in the bundle, for
them to "trade".

And they never ever want to run new copper. They
will do whatever it takes to avoid that.

If you're having line troubles due to a poorly maintained
physical plant, I would expect similar problems with
ADSL. Your ADSL modem will have a "sync" light, which
will tell you when things are severely degraded.

When I see the punch-down blocks here, with the doors open,
the wiring exposed to wind, rain and sun, I think to myself
how exceptionally well those "gas tight" connections work.
And what a miracle it is, that any POTS phone service is working...

Paul

Paul wrote:
KenK wrote:


No such promises. Up until a week ago I was getting 40K+. The ISP (no
relation to CenturyLink) says I need my phone line checked. I did that a
few months ago, got a new line, and got 40K+ back again until now. I can
see having to do this every few months so decided to go from DUN to DSL.
I don't understand why; for some 30 years I got 40K+ with no problem and
no line changes. Evidently the lines have deteriorated recently.

I believe the DSL comes over different lines than my regular phone
service. I couldn't get DSL out here at my rural residence until a few
months ago. I've seem trucks every day out in the country putting up
CenturyLink phone (DSL?) lines for years now, recently close to my home.

I won't comment on the rest of your post - I need to reread it a few
times later.

Ken

You would be surprised what carries your ADSL signal.

There are only so many spare pairs in the bundle, for
them to "trade".

And they never ever want to run new copper. They
will do whatever it takes to avoid that.

If you're having line troubles due to a poorly maintained
physical plant, I would expect similar problems with
ADSL. Your ADSL modem will have a "sync" light, which
will tell you when things are severely degraded.

When I see the punch-down blocks here, with the doors open,
the wiring exposed to wind, rain and sun, I think to myself
how exceptionally well those "gas tight" connections work.
And what a miracle it is, that any POTS phone service is working...

Paul

This may be related to this: The POTS telephone lines over here in my area
were often so bad that on rainy days I just hear loud static on the line
(and in another house, the lines would sometimes go completely dead). I've
had them switch out the lines to another pair twice (over time), and that
was good for awhile, but then it all started acting up again.

I finally had to give up the (CenturyLink) landline, as it just wasn't worth
all the hassle. What's worse is I don't think they care all that much.
You would think they would want to keep their customers, since so many are
dropping landlines and going to cell phones. But, I guess not (and their
rates sure didn't reflect trying to keep customers, either).