In article <telecom24.136.5@telecom-digest.org>, <zftcg@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Please tell me if this makes sense:
> I live in Manhattan and currently have Verizon local and DSL. I would
> like to switch my local service to VoiceWing 500 (same as regular
> VoiceWing with 500 minutes of outgoing calls/month, for $19.95). I
> just got off the phone with multiple Verizon customer service people;
> they all told me varying things, but the basic upshot is that because
> I'm a DSL customer, I can't get VoiceWing on the same line, since DSL
> requires a regular land line. That seems to me to be completely
> backwards -- after all, wouldn't the most obvious customers for
> VoiceWing be current DSL customers? Yet they're telling me those are
> the exact people who are ineligible for the service (unless I'm
> willing to sign up for an entirely new phone line, which would be
> completely pointless and cost me an additional $20/month). What's
> more, while at least one person had told me this situation could
> change in the near future, the last guy I spoke to said it was a
> structural problem that could never be rectified.
> Now, as I said, I got different answers from different people, and in
> general, people seemed to be a little confused about how VoiceWing
> works, most likely because it's still relatively new. Can anyone out
> there shed any light on this riddle? Does anyone currently have both
> VoiceWing and Verizon DSL, with no additional phone lines?
The current regulatory environment *requires* that the ILEC (Verizon,
in your case) transfer the _exclusive) use of that wire-pair to the
CLEC, when you go with a CLEC as the dial-tone provider.
IF the _CLEC_ does not offer line-shared DSL -- either their own
offering, or access for third-party providers -- you are SOL as far as
getting DSL on _that_ wire-pair.
In those situations where the CLEC does not offer line-shared DSL, you
simply have to get another wire-pair for your DSL service. Covad and
MCI, at least, in your area, can do this. It costs a little more
($5-10/mo) than line-sharing.
_AT_THIS_TIME_, Verizon does not have any 'non-line-shared' DSL
offering, They did, last year, announce their intention to offer
'naked' DSL -- DSL on it's own wire-pair, without voice service on it;
*BUT* the projected roll-out of the service (originally scheduled for
'early 2005') has been pushed back, and no firm availability date has
been set.
In theory, *IF* the CLEC offered the functionality, Verizon could
piggy- back their service on the CLEC-controlled wire-pair. Verizon
_would_, in that situation, however, have to *pay* the CLEC for the
privilege of using the CLEC-controlled wire-pair to provide your DSL.
Methinks Verizon would be loathe to do so, _if_ it were technically
viable.
_Very__Few_ CLECs have the installed equipment to support shared-line
DSL. Those that do, do not make it available for 3rd-party use --
rather they use it for _their_own_ shared-line offering.
Verizon apparently restricts their DSL offerings to situations where
_they_ "own" the wire-pair. And, at this time, do =not= offer
"non-shared" line service.
Thus, _IF_ you change dial-tone providers, you *will* have to change
Internet access providers as well. This is not necessarily a bad
thing. Check out panix.com, and world.std.com, a couple of _good_
providers in your area.
*IF* you have a _reliable_ cable TV provider, they may offer Internet
access, and could be worth checking out. If, like many places, the cable
TV service is subject to frequent short-duration outages, you should take
into consideration what effect similar outages will have on your Internet
use.
Robert Bonomi (bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com)