web statisticsweb stats Business Phone Systems Tech Talk Forum - VOIP & Cloud Phone Help

Business Phone Systems

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
Page 3 of 4 1 2 3 4
Cepega #629424 04/26/19 10:40 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,162
Likes: 8
Spam Hunter
*****
Offline
Spam Hunter
*****
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,162
Likes: 8
Somerville's utility poles are pretty well filled with power, Verizon copper, Comcast coax and RCN coax. This is particularly true in areas to the east of Winter Hill as there are a lot of multi-family domiciles that are spaced so close that you could almost reach out your window and shake your neighbor's hand.

With Comcast and RCN offering high speed data, TV and phone services I don't see Verizon making any effort to remove dead cables. I also suspect that the two cable providers also have excess stuff abandoned overhead.

Interesting thing about Verizon in Somerville...the company was at one time looking to offer cable TV over the existing copper OSP. I was told by former co-workers who used to work for New England Telephone that the equipment was installed in the Verizon central office, but, the service never came to fruition, so, the equipment was taken right back out.


I Love FEATURE 00
Atcom VoIP Phones
VoIP Demo

Best VoIP Phones Canada


Visit Atcom to get started with your new business VoIP phone system ASAP
Turn up is quick, painless, and can often be done same day.
Let us show you how to do VoIP right, resulting in crystal clear call quality and easy-to-use features that make everyone happy!
Proudly serving Canada from coast to coast.

Cepega #629426 04/27/19 01:16 AM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 657
Moderator-1A2
***
Offline
Moderator-1A2
***
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 657
Most of the mess I was referring to was Verizon copper, but there was no shortage of CATV stuff up there, too. I had never seen so many daisy-chained tap blocks in my life.

Cepega #629700 05/07/19 10:53 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 849
Likes: 1
Member
Offline
Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 849
Likes: 1
Problem with express power (using existing copper infrastructure to power FTTH), is that a large part of it is in no shape to continuously power those ONT's. And there are very few around anymore who care (or know how) to maintain and properly repair this infrastructure.

Cepega #629703 05/08/19 12:51 AM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 15,378
Likes: 13
Moderator-Vertical, Vodavi, 1A2, Outside Wire
*****
Offline
Moderator-Vertical, Vodavi, 1A2, Outside Wire
*****
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 15,378
Likes: 13
Where I am now in NC, there really aren't a lot of options for the end users. It's either CenturyLink for phone or Spectrum for cable. Level 3 had a huge point of presence here and was the predominant CLEC, but since CenturyLink bought them, they are strong-arming customers to go back to their original copper plant instead of T1 circuits and channel banks/IADs.

Spectrum is expensive, but they do manage to come through on their promise of 200 meg via coax, and it is consistent on basic residential accounts, 400 on business. Mine is often higher. I bought their voice/data/TV bundle, with the basic TV channel lineup and it's about $180.00 per month. Because I need a real phone line for modem use, I pay another $30.00 for a copper POTS line from CenturyLink.

There's been some chat in this thread regarding the deplorable state of Verizon's copper plant. Having lived and worked in their DC/MD and VA region for decades, I can confirm that they really don't have any desire to do anything about it. Their golden child FiOS didn't work out too well where I was, so as Dex said, they're holding out for their 5G product as their last-ditch effort to exist. They really don't want to be in this business as is demonstrated by their products. What's ironic is that in some of their areas where FiOS was never deployed, they brought in the best of the best of their copper crews and put up some beautiful OSP work. Areas between Richmond, VA and Williamsburg, VA are examples. It's beautiful, like a work of art. It's like plumbing in the air with regard to neat bends, etc.

Back to the original subject: CenturyLink's copper plant in this area is in amazingly good condition. Years ago, Sprint took eastern North Carolina over from the former United/Carolina Telephone independent. They spent TONS of money on OSP rehab or replacement. They also replaced all COs in about a 30 mile radius with 5ESS offices. I mean they went as far as to go into existing buildings and replace the BETs with the latest and greatest, whether they were needed or not. The techs I've spoken to here in my travels tell me of how they rarely have issues with cable pairs, and even when they do, it is due to the usual: bullet holes, squirrels, lightning, cars hitting pedestals, etc. Their plant is really good for an independent.

Now they do offer their version of Verizon's FiOS or AT&T's U-Verse called 'Prism', but they really, really cherry-pick the areas where it's offered. It's a true FTTH product and they offer a full compliment of TV services. During my recent hospital stay, they were using Prism and the service was just fine. Someone, and I'm not sure who, is putting up 5G sites on poles all over the place around here. My guess is that it's CenturyLink, since their FTTH footprint is not growing.

Many of my neighbors in my apartment community are using CenturyLink's bonded DSL service. They manage to get about 60 Meg for $50.00, which is sufficient for streaming, from what I've been told. That's the only other Internet service they offer, unless someone really wants to go cheap and get their 25 Meg standard DSL. They don't offer DSL-only accounts, so I use my neighbor's 'free' POTS line as my occasional third one when needed. Yes, he knows that I'm doing this.

At&T's former BellSouth territories are about 30 miles north, south or east of here. Their deployment of U-Verse via FTTH is somewhat limited, but they're sure doing a lot of it using bonded DSL. It seems crazy, but I've seen it in action; decent data speeds and TV service over two copper pairs. In those areas, they seem to be taking care of their copper OSP as well.

One town about 20 miles west from here is served by Windstream (formerly AllTel). We have a customer there that needed more speed than a T1 could offer and all they had out in the country was the 100 pair copper cable feeding the building. Windstream bonded eight T1 circuits together using copper and believe it or not, it works pretty well. I think that there's still plenty of technology out there to support the copper infrastructure for a while.

The moral of the story is that the telcos are only going to spend money on what makes them money. That's just good business sense. I say fine, but if you're done with your old plant, you need to clean it up or remove it from sight.


Ed Vaughn, MBSWWYPBX
Cepega #629895 05/18/19 03:36 AM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 657
Moderator-1A2
***
Offline
Moderator-1A2
***
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 657
I was at an install the other day and had a decent conversation with the Comcast tech. Some friends of mine are opening a retail store and opted for phone/tv/internet service from Comcast. I may rag on Comcast frequently, but that mostly has to do with their business practices. Just about all their installers are pretty decent guys who care about their work. There's the occasional bad apple, sure. Anyways... I had a pretty lengthy talk with the tech and he was telling me about how Comcast is slowly changing their infrastructure over. He said that all new developments will be fiber fed, at least in this area. Any new buildouts will be strictly fiber. Right now, most of their infrastructure is FTTN, with coax for the last mile. He rattled off a handful of new developments, neighborhoods and apartment complexes in my area that are all FTTH. He told me which ONT they're using, but it escapes me at the moment. I thought that was a pretty neat thing. I also think Comcast is finally seeing the writing on the wall that people want high speed internet more than they really want cable TV.

Come on, Consolidated.... Where's your fiber?

Cepega #629912 05/19/19 07:37 PM
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 9,423
Likes: 1
Member
*****
Offline
Member
*****
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 9,423
Likes: 1
we do a lot of card access, CCTV, etc for a 4 building apartment complex. The newest building is 2-3 years old. Not one pair of copper entering the building from at&t, just fiber that gets converted mostly to uVerse.


Jeff Moss

Moss Communications
Computer Repair-Networking-Cabling
MBSWWYPBX, JGAE
Cepega #629929 05/20/19 08:35 PM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,198
Member
*****
Offline
Member
*****
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,198
The Comcast installers around here are a bunch of clowns. We're installing Comcast SD-WAN as backup to our Frontier fiber network in a bunch of offices.

It looks like the work was performed by blind fifth-graders - with my apologizes to blind fifth-graders.

Cepega #629933 05/20/19 10:59 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,162
Likes: 8
Spam Hunter
*****
Offline
Spam Hunter
*****
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,162
Likes: 8
Post some pics. smile


I Love FEATURE 00
Cepega #630377 06/10/19 01:34 PM
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 664
Member
Offline
Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 664
Consolidated Communications will do fiber, if you want to pay for a business connection and sign a contract. I'm told they are getting aggressive with pricing too vs the competition like Spectrum or Firstlight. That's really all CCI wants to do. Around these parts CCI has for the most part given up on their copper plant. Here or there a small project but most pole or attachment transfers aren't done, even when a car cracks a pole, they'll just bolt crossarms onto the new pole to hold it up, not bother to do the attachment transfer, and call it good for years. Aerial drops hanging down from poles, wrapped up around the base or in the grass. Even old guy-wires electrical taped to poles. Most of the I&R workers have checked out, just there for a paycheck, do the minimal amount of work so mgmt doesn't harass them, and that's it. No initiative, no thinking outside the box. And the ones that haven't are few and far between, are overloaded with work, dealing with unmaintained copper plant making do with what they can. This has been going on for at least 20 years, only in the last 10 really bad. Sad situation really.

Cepega #630440 06/12/19 08:20 PM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 657
Moderator-1A2
***
Offline
Moderator-1A2
***
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 657
I haven't really seen that here. They seem to be just about caught up on attachments, I don't see bag covered splice cases, and they re-cabled a large area in the north end of the city to support faster copper-based internet, whether that's ADSL or VDSL. Every tech I've crossed paths with seemed to be in decent spirits, happy they were under new management, and plenty busy with work. Maybe I got lucky, and ran into the few good ones. The only thing I've seen that correlates with what you've seen is the damn drop wires all over the place wrapped around poles. No one ever bothers to call to have the drop removed from their house, people just cut them off and if they're nice, they wrap it around the pole. The worst offenders are the vinyl siding crews. The homeowner says "I don't want all these wires, I don't have a land line" and instead of saying they aren't allowed to touch the cables, they happily oblige so they don't have to work around them. Every time I have the chance, I tell people they legally can't remove them and to just call, but 80% don't listen or don't care.

Maybe being in a city with a halfway decent customer base makes them care a little more. I don't know. I know before the buy out, it was very much the way you describe. Double poles for years, poor attitudes, crappy service. I still think it's too early to tell.

I know they'll do fiber if you go the business route. They also want business grade prices for it. I asked already. I'm just annoyed that I pay comcast 25-40% more than what a CC customer pays for the same service where fiber is available. Minor nag, but I'm also not a fan of the 5 or 6 drops coming to my house hanging at all different levels right outside the living room window. It would be pretty nice to see the electric drop and a fiber and nothing else. I've got 2 or 3 unused telephone drops, cable, electric, and the working phone drop. It's kind of an eyesore. I tightened them up to get the grouping a bit tighter, but still. Yuck.

Page 3 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  MooreTel 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums84
Topics94,262
Posts638,693
Members49,757
Most Online5,661
May 23rd, 2018
Popular Topics(Views)
211,096 Shoretel
187,702 CTX100 install
186,790 1a2 system
Newest Members
BPopilek, Rich F, LewisR, TDKs79, Buttinset
49,757 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
dexman 18
Toner 14
TDKs79 8
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 107 guests, and 245 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Contact Us | Sponsored by Atcom: One of the best VoIP Phone Canada Suppliers for your business telephone system!| Terms of Service

Sundance Communications is not affiliated with any of the above manufacturers. Sundance Phone System Forums - VOIP & Cloud Phone Help
©Copyright Sundance Communications 1998-2024
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5