[lug] DSL modem recommendation (was Re: DSL ISPs and More...)

[Sean Reifschneider]

On Thu, May 06, 2004 at 02:27:50PM -0600, Ferdinand Schmid wrote:
>Qwest will tell you that you need the Actiontec modem and they will want to

Yeah, we upgraded our DSL at our house after having a failed experience
with LADS/dry copper/alarm circuits.  The QWest rep that I spoke to said
that the 678 wouldn't work at 1.5mbps.  I was bummed because I had
already paid something over $100 for one on ebay (having pretty good
experience with them in the past).  So, I had them send me the Actiontec
for $60.

It turns out that the 678 *DOES* work at 1.5mbps/1024kbps.  I tried it
because through a screw up at QWest, they hadn't shipped the modem.

The new Actiontec with built in WiFi looks pretty slick, but I haven't
tried it.  I'll be getting a second DSL set up any day now, so I'll give
it a try there.  I know the older Actiontecs have been kind of flaky
when doing WiFi, but I don't plan on using it for WiFi.

When the second line comes in, I plan to bond the two for 3mbps down and
2mbps up for $28*2/month.  That should be pretty sweet, we regularly
push some big uploads from the house so 250KB/sec up should be nice.  I
really liked 3mbps down when we had the old Excite at home service.  It
sucked when AT&T dropped it to 1.5mbps, but the real killer on the cable
was that it started just being super flaky.

Of course, I'm tempted to go with bonding 4 lines for 6mbps/4mbps.  That
would be very fun.

Anyway, if there are problems with the new Actiontec box, I'll mention
it.

Sean
-- 
 "How can just a few feet of unshielded twisted pair bring SO much joy?"
                 -- Paul Orosz on DSL, paraphrasing Homer Simpson
Sean Reifschneider, Member of Technical Staff <jafo at tummy.com>
tummy.com, ltd. - Linux Consulting since 1995.  Qmail, Python, SysAdmin