[SGVHAK] [SGVLUG] DSL and LAFN

[Bill Zuke]

L.A. Free-Net  (lafn.org)  is a non-profit ISP which offers DSL although
they have some quirks.  I am not a tech, so I cannot evaluate them.
When I did talk to them (some long time ago) their volunteers wanted to
keep offering DSL, but AT&T does not did not give them any discount for
being a non-profit.  LAFN did have a very low number of subscribers, and
said their actual speeds were consequently significantly higher than
other ISPs.  I would like an opinion of LAFN, since I am still on
dial-up and people are advising me to get DSL.  Note, a lot of people
have trouble getting through LAFN's "very aggressive filters" which are
designed to protect their K-12 grade school subscribers (for whom the
non-profit was created and staffed by volunteers.)  I use Ubuntu.  
BILL ZUKE 


On Fri, 2014-01-10 at 21:23 -0800, Claude Felizardo wrote:
> I've been very happy with DSLExtreme Fusion.
> 
> I had originally started with Pacbel DSL at 1.5 Mb down, 768 Kb up.
> Over the years I would upgrade to a faster speed eventually topping
> out at their max DSL speed and started getting calls for Uverse.  AT&T
> was capping me at 5 Mb down and 768Kb up.  I am about 5 blocks from
> the Arcadia CO but at the end of a dead street in Monrovia so I'm not
> sure of actual cable distance.
> 
> After switching to DSLExtreme, I was initially getting 4-6 Mb down and
> 1 Mb up but after letting it run a few days or weeks it got better.
> I just checked and I'm getting 8052 Kb down and 892 Kb up.  I can dial
> 611 from home and use the IVR menu and  query or toggle between Annex
> A download priority and Annex M or upload priority.  With Upload
> priority, I think I usually get 3-5 Mb down and like 2-3 Mb up.  I
> change as needed.
> 
> Now when I first signed up DSLExtreme last Oct, they went ahead and
> sent me a Comtrend modem because I was told that the 2-wire modem I
> had wasn't supported.  It actually worked but didn't support Annex M
> but the speed wasn't much better.  I also disabled bridge mode in the
> Comtrend so I could use the built-in router but it seemed like the
> Internet connection was dropping almost daily.  Their modem also
> didn't provide WiFi so I ordered a separate router (TP-Link WDR3600
> with dual antennas) and the number of dropped connections has
> decreased noticeably.  Maybe once a week but it usually comes back
> within a few minutes so it might be a DHCP timeout.  Only problem now
> is with bridge mode enabled, I can't check the connection speed by
> pointing my browser at the device.  I have to dial 611.
> 
> Oh, installation was fairly painless.  They just had to swap my
> wire-pair to a different rack in the CO I believe. I was already wired
> for full DSL so I didn't need to install splitters everywhere.  Phone
> service was down maybe an hour if that.  Internet took a little longer
> but I believe it was working that night.
> 
> Claude
> 
> 
> On Fri, Jan 10, 2014 at 11:43 AM, Eric Wong <ewong3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I'm thinking of getting DSLExtreme Fusion.  Could I get an update on your
> > experience with them?  Whereabouts are you located?
> >
> > I currently have Charter cable internet.  Before, I had AT&T and DSLExtreme
> > regular DSL for years and never got much more than 500 Mbps where I'm at
> > (near Arcadia library) so I always just got the the lowest 768/384 plan.
> > Would DSLExtreme Fusion on the Sonic network have different CO/network and
> > could maybe work better (or worse) for me?
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Oct 5, 2013 at 1:12 AM, Claude Felizardo <cafelizardo at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> Jess, max theoretical speed for ADSL2+ is 20 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up but
> >> it really depends on distance from Central Office, line quality both on the
> >> street and in the house, filters, old loading coils, etc.  AT&T sets
> >> different limits based on the tier you pay for.  DSLExtreme's Fusion places
> >> no limits.
> >>
> >> John, I do have a test plug outside at the demarc.  I should either run a
> >> long cable direct to the modem or better yet haul everything outside with a
> >> short cable and see what my speeds are like.  I was switching both my voice
> >> and DSL at the same time so I did not have the option to trying bonding or
> >> pinging each other.   Before I had DSL installed, I had a separate line just
> >> for dialup and I remember being able to ping myself and connect back in for
> >> a short while before canceling the 2nd line.  I do recall that the
> >> installation took several hours and the tech had to use my 2nd line to
> >> request changes on the other end because his cell phone didn't have good
> >> reception.
> >>
> >> So this evening I checked and my modem was still synced at 4028/1923 and
> >> getting the same results from various speeds sites.  I called 611 and using
> >> the IVR, I set my line back to back to Annex-A or download priority. It's
> >> been at 9084/892 the last few hours. Ookla speedtest is reporting 7.7/0.7,
> >> Speakeasy says 7.8/0.7 and Xfinity says 7.7/0.7.  But dslextreme always
> >> seems to show the slowest at 7.3/0.6.
> >>
> >> We'll see how long this lasts but I have a new tool when I want to resync
> >> - instead of hitting the power switch and hoping I don't lose my current IP,
> >> I just dial 611 and follow the voice prompts.  It will even report current
> >> status which is nice.
> >>
> >> Ask me in a month after a full month of service.
> >>
> >> Thanks to all for suggesting DSLExtreme and bypassing Uverse!
> >>
> >> Claude
> >>
> >
> 
>