[lug] Recommend re: ViaWest (ISP) and NorthPoint iDSL

[Michael Deck]

I've received a quote from an ISP called ViaWest. They want to sell me 
something called SDSL. According to their materials, it will reach my house 
at 25,000 ft from CO with 144k up and down. With a dedicated IP address and 
unlimited use they want $119/mo (includes telco and ISP services). They're 
bundling a Netopia R3100 IDSL Router for $355. The SDSL provider is 
NorthPoint.

Does anyone know anything, good or bad, about ViaWest, SDSL, NorthPoint, or 
the R3100? My setup is pretty small hetero network (mostly Win32 clients 
with a Linux file server and a Linux web server/router/firewall). I 
currently host a couple of local UG's web sites as well as my own. I'm 
already masquerading (behind 2 IP addresses but I don't see why I need both).

I am not an expert in network admin, so if this thing is going to cost me a 
lot of time in setup and maintenance, it's not worth the headache. OTOH I 
am paying $240/mo for  64K ISDN ($80 to US Worst and $160 for ISP) and this 
looks like a big savings. Is it really going to be better? I don't know the 
SDSL technology.

Feel free to email me privately or via the list.

Best,
   Mike

Michael Deck
Cleanroom Software Engineering, Inc.