From TNPC issue #4.08...

Broadband Woes

by Dan Butler
April 19, 2001

Not living in a major metropolitan area my phone service is not always the best. When I had a second line installed at the house the phone company had to run a new phone from pole to pole for two miles just to get a good connection! So when I received the sales letter from AT&T about their broadband service that promised great wireless phone service for only $25.00 per month I called for more information. "Is it really true," I asked, "that I can call anywhere in Texas for no extra charge?" "Yes indeed!" was the speedy answer. "Sign me up," I said.

Shortly thereafter the phone man showed up at my house. I'll tell you what happened in a moment. First here's a very brief explanation of how AT&T Digital Broadband works. First a small (11" x 13" x 5") antenna is mounted on the outside of your house. The antenna runs to a small receiving unit about the size of a VCR. You can run multiple phone lines and even get high-speed Internet access. With the DSL companies going through such turmoil I want to keep my options open.

Back to the phone man. The antenna needs to point towards the signal which is beamed out from an AT&T tower somewhere. Problem was he couldn't find the signal. So he called in some help. Three helpers, many phone calls, and several hours later still no signal. Seems that Digital Broadband won't work at my house. It's available but just doesn't work.

They finally figured out what the problem was--trees. Actually it was the leaves on the trees in the neighborhood. Had this been earlier in the year it probably would have worked. At least until the trees grew leaves. AT&T tells me that new equipment is in the works that may get around the "tree" problem.

The bottom line--I still don't know if Broadband is in my future. I don't want cable. DSL companies are in all sorts of turmoil with people losing service right and left. Currently I use ISDN for my Internet connection and it is rock solid. Can't remember ever having a down day that wasn't my fault. Add two phone lines that work whether I'm on the Internet or not and it's a good but relatively expensive solution.

If you've had a good or bad experience with a Broadband solution I'd like to hear from you. In the meantime, to find out what types of high-speed services are available in your area you can use the GetSpeed.com service.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/408/tr.cgi?dan1

You can reach Dan Butler at:
mailto:danbutler@TheNakedPC.com

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