Bellsouth rural customers: ask about DSL
If you've been told by Bellsouth (a.k.a "The New AT&T") that DSL broadband service is unavailable in your area, ask again.
As part of the approval of its takeover of Bellsouth, AT&T pledged that a substantial part of its new broadband installations would be in rural and disadvantaged areas. That "buildout," as it's called by internet service providers, may already be underway, based on a conversation I had yesterday at the Mississippi Agricultural Consultants Association meeting in Starkville.
I happened to ask Virgil King, a crop consultant who lives in Holmes County, if he was still on a dialup connection. (I frequently ask my readers about their connection speeds so that I can judge how much content to add to my web pages.)
"I just go DSL," Virgil said. "It's great!"
I knew about where Virgil lived, which is not in town or even close to it, and I asked, "How is that possible?"
"A friend who works for the phone company said this is part of the merger agreement, and the company is apparently trying to get these new installations going," Virgil replied.
Because this is all happening fast, the tricky part may be finding someone at the phone company who can give you valid information about whether DSL can be brought into your home or business. Virgil, in fact, had contacted the phone company to ask, once again, whether DSL service was available at his location, which is about 3 miles out of town.
"I was told over the phone that we weren't in a DSL service area," he said. "But my friend with the phone company said that they already had hooked up someone near me for DSL and that I should be in the service area."
Virgil kept on digging and finally confirmed that his home could, indeed, gain a DSL connection.
That's not to say every rural Bellsouth customer can immediately get a DSL hookup. But if Virgil's experiences are any indication, it doesn't hurt to ask, even to the point of stopping a Bellsouth technician and asking him or her. The people in the field may, in fact, have a better feel for where service is available.
I also live in rural Ms. Webster Co. to be exact. I was just wondering what extra digging Virgil did to find out about his ability to receive DSL. I live a stones throw away from the local HS and I know it receives DSL. But when i check online or over the phone my service is still "Unavailable". I just wanted to know what extra routes i could take to find the truth.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Ben
I am apart of the Bellsouth/ New AT&T network. Just for reference.
ReplyDeleteThe best person to ask seems to be the person driving the installation truck, based on what Virgil King told me.
ReplyDeleteI had a somewhat similar experience last year when trying to update to the fastest DSL available for residential users of Bellsouth's service. The on-line page where you filled in your phone number kept saying that only levels 1 and 2 were available.
But a technician came out when I had a bad modem, and he checked the line with some gear he had and said that the level 3 service was available on my line. The roadblock, he said, was that the data base in the main office wouldn't show that, so there might not be a way to upgrade to it until the data base caught up with the actual service reach in the field.
Good luck with this.
Ben...
ReplyDeleteOne more thing: have you asked at the school if they have Bellsouth DSL or service through something provided separately. It might be worth touching base with whoever at the school handles IT and getting a Bellsouth contact name from them, if they have it.
Owen