26.4K eh? This sounds familiar. This is the speed V.34 modems are reduced
to if the telco is multiplexing lines on an SLC. There are two basic ways
to use an SLC.
Say the SLC handles 96 lines. You can run 4 T1 trunks into it (and a 5th for
backup) and each line gets a DS0. In this case you have a full channel to
use.
OR, in areas suffering form trunk shortage, places the telco doesn't feel
they'll make money, etc, you can run *2* T1 trunks (and a 3rd for backup)
and MUX it so that there are 2 lines on each DS0. Each line gets only half
a channel. The most commonly reported symptom of this is connect rates
hit a 26.4K ceiling.
If this is what the telco has done, you're basically out of luck. Because
it is 100% legal, and completely within the tarriff. They provide voice
connections - period - and this system works perfectly for voice calls.
Of course it destoys any hope of a PCM modem connection (which the telco
doesn't say they'll provide for anyway, and rightly so) and impacts V.34
connections on the top end.
What can customers do for higher rates? Get ISDN if they'll provide it.
They will guaruntee the throughput. And if it is in an area where DOSBS
isn't charged per minute they can use ISDN DOSBS, or a modem on a POTS port,
and get solid connections. Or, if it is somewhere ISDN is actually cost
effective, just use ISDN.
The telco is under NO obligation to improve this connection if they have
it setup as above. It provides the service they are obligated to provide,
and does so quite effectively. This happens a lot in areas with rapid
growth. They can't bring in trunks fast enough, and MUXing doubles
capacity immediately.
They do this another way in some areas. In my new house I have 3 POTS
lines and 1 BRI. There were only 2 pair coming into the house to start,
that was used for the first POTS line and the ISDN. Well, I'm at the
end of the line here (literally, one telephone pole up the phone cable is
capped, end of this circuit run) and they are short on channels. So for
the two new lines they put them on ONE pair. Ran a new pair to the house,
and put a DSL box on the outside. They're running some form of DSL (I
was reading the label in the box while the installer was doing something
else - it refered to Digital Subscriber Line) down that pair to this box,
which then splits off two POTS circuits here. Makes me kind of wonder
if they're going to be offering any pure DSL services in this area...
-MZ
-- <URL:mailto:megazone@megazone.org> Gweep, Discordian, Author, Engineer, me.. Join ISP/C Internet Service Providers' Consortium <URL:http://www.ispc.org/> "A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 781-788-0130 <URL:http://www.gweep.net/> <URL:http://www.megazone.org/> Hail Discordia! - To unsubscribe, email 'majordomo@livingston.com' with 'unsubscribe portmaster-users' in the body of the message. Searchable list archive: <URL:http://www.livingston.com/Tech/archive/>