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<title>Embarq forum - dslreports.com community</title>
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<description>Embarq forum current topics</description>
<language>en</language>
<copyright>Copyright 2007, dslreports.com</copyright>
<pubDate>Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:19:33 EDT</pubDate>
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<item>
<title>DNS Redirecting is BAD</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23396997</link>
<description><![CDATA[If you need more proof, ICANN is on board now, or has been, and this is new news for me. I have always been against it.

Having to opt out all the time, with CenturyLink is a pain in the butt. It must use cookies or something. I've had to opt out more than a few times on each PC.

And IF it is cookie based, what about other programs?

And please don't tell me to change my DNS servers, to ones, other than the ones my ISP gives me. I realize this is an option, but to me, not a good one.

Here is a link to the pcworld story:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/183135/redirecting_dns_requests_can_harm_the_internet_says_icann.html
--
Give me bandwidth or give me death!
http://www.dslreports.com/testhistory/661871/4f240]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23396997</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-25 21:42:40</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Pure DSL taxes for NC residents</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23389340</link>
<description><![CDATA[Local Services &#9;$10.61
--Telecommunications relay surcharge &#9;$.09
--Partial Non-Tel Services Surcharge &#9;-$.88
--Emergency 911 surcharge &#9;$.70
--Federal universal service fund &#9;$.75
--Federal Tax Tax imposed by the federal government on telecommunications services. &#9;$.89
-- State Tax Sales tax imposed by the state government. &#9;$3.60
--Interstate Access Surcharge &#9;$5.46

Internet &#9;$.78
--Sales tax imposed by the state government. &#9;$.40
--County Sales Tax &#9;$.10
--Sales tax imposed by the state government. &#9;$.28

Long Distance &#9;$3.48
--Embarq Communications  &#9;$ 3.48

Total taxes: $14.87

Not sure if we'll have the long distance taxes next bill.  We went with pure DSL in October and we had a few lingering long distance charges so maybe it's due to that.  

According to two billing CenturyLink reps those other taxes will all continue to stick though. 

Not sure how you other fellas are able to pay so little in taxes, is this just an NC thing?]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23389340</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-24 14:18:14</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>This is our offical outcry for more speeds and better prices</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23374147</link>
<description><![CDATA[We the undersigned, hereby make this official statement to the owners, managers, and everyone else working for CenturyLink and the stockholders.

We demand faster internet services, and at lower prices.
We further demand lower prices on all residential services you offer.

We further define "faster internet services" to be no less than 15mbit downstream, and 2mbit upstream.

As for the definition of lower prices, we also leave this to your discretion. Lower means lower, after all.

We would prefer you to beat our explications, with an eye towards the future. Don't disappoint us.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. We look forward to your reply.
--
Give me bandwidth or give me death!
http://www.dslreports.com/testhistory/661871/4f240]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23374147</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-21 03:58:16</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>XyXEL 660M61 configuration</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23341476</link>
<description><![CDATA[A friend sent me a ZyXEL 660M61 ADSL 2+ ADSL modem.  One can't find any docmentation on how to set this up.  Is this by any chance from Embarq-Century, since I have noticed it mentioned on a couple of threads?  

The modem lights up, and recognises a DSL signal, but one can not communicate with it via 192.168.1.1, which I understand as the standard web address for ZyXEL networking equipment.  How can one configure this 660M61?  Thank you in advance for any input. ]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23341476</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-14 16:04:38</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Century Link/Embarq Service Suddenly Very Unstable</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23392128</link>
<description><![CDATA[I was gaming on Xbox Live playing Modern Warfare 2 (cursing everyone who had 4 bars whilst I had 3) when all of a sudden my frame rate dropped SIGNIFICANTLY. I mean, everyone on the map started teleporting 50 ft at a time. Ok ok, bad host or xbox live network congestion... whatever. I left that game and booted up another. Same thing, it was like watching a movie where I could only see every 100th frame or so. So, I left and booted up another... same thing! I know what Xbox Live server lag is, this is not it.

Next, I shut off the Xbox and ran to the pc. I went to Speedtest.net and Pingtest.net to run tests. 
Speedtest.net Result =
http://www.speedtest.net/result/632969492.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/632974647.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/632978442.png

Pingtest.net Result=
http://www.pingtest.net/result/4320104.png 
http://www.pingtest.net/result/4320874.png
http://www.pingtest.net/result/4320911.png

WTF? Why do these results vary so much? This connection is useless for Xbox Live! 

Okay, what do I do... I'll call tech support! =(
After being transferred FOUR TIMES... I finally get to someone who admits to being a "work from home mom" who apparently has some super-secret connection to an Engineer with the company that ran line tests and tells me everything is fine on their end. So, apparently, they tell me it is "probably" network congestion. What? I've never seen net congestion cause normally 0-2 (on a bad day) Jitter fly up to 34. Or pings greater than 300 for that matter...

This is BULLSHIT. When I first upgraded to this f!@#$&! tier it took them over a month to get me up to speed. I had the 5Mbps tier and it actually DROPPED ME DOWN, when I "upgraded," to less than 1Mbps down and .5Mbps up. A month, seriously. I can't even count how many times I was told the lines were "fine" and my connection was great "on their end." They flat-out refused to send me a tech and kept trying to charge ME for it, saying my lines were the problem. So... escalate escalate escalate. I had to become their problem child in order to get something done about it. So, I let a few profanities fly and then I get put on the "special needs" list. They solved the problem in a week. Guess what? It was them, their lines, their equipment. What do I get for my frustrations? $20 off my next bill... it's an insult.

Anyway... I apologize. I've been through a lot with their phone reps...

I have the 10Mbps tier and am NOT happy about this, obviously. I pay $85/mo for this tier. I really need someone to properly take care of me... 

(Wow, somebody flicked a switch or something. At exactly 11pm it disappeared almost entirely. This still deserves looking into IMO. Will report back tomorrow after work...)]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23392128</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-24 23:13:25</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>C-Link 15mbit package details?</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23392418</link>
<description><![CDATA[So due to some unforseen circumstances we are going to be switching back to Embarq/CenturyLink for Phone+DSL. I noticed when checking the site that apparently a 15mbit tier is available here (the next lowest is 1.5 which is nay unbearable coming from Time Warner's 3mb for 39.95 or 7mb for 49.95).

I'm curious is what tech is used for the 15mb tier since at last check ADSL/ADSL2 had a top end limit around 8mb? And maybe an official tech or someone in the area with their service can clue me in on if this tier really is available (I am just finding it really hard to believe especially for where I live when Sprint/Embarq back in the day really drug their feet) and if it has any extra catches here?

Thanks for any help. :)
--
I swear, some people should have pace-makers installed to free up the resources. Breathing and heart beat taxes their whole system, all of their brain cells wasted on life support.-two bit brains, and the second bit is wasted on parity! ~head_spaz]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23392418</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-25 00:52:09</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Terrible service for the past month.</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23396851</link>
<description><![CDATA[To make a long story short. I lost signal about a month ago. I had no signal outside at the box. Called tech support. Explained what was going on. The woman wanted me to reset the modem etc. I explained it wouldn't matter because I didn't have a connection at all outside of the house. She demanded I followed her list of ideas which I did. 

Tech guy came out 2 days later. Verified I had no connection outside at the box. Left for about an hour, he came back and all was good for about 2 days. Now I have a signal but its not stable if it stays up for longer than 10 minutes I'm lucky. I checked the downstream noise margin and it is all over the place. From 15-20 to 5. So I'm guess there is some type of interference of some sort?

 I do run a rather long cable from the jack to my modem but its been rock stable on the same setup for months. But I did try connecting the modem with a short wire directly to the outside box and had the same results. Just wondering if I'm missing something before I call up tech support again?]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23396851</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-25 21:05:50</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Chuckle for the Day - Cox price comparison.</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23384868</link>
<description><![CDATA[I keep getting these letters from Cox Business advertising phone plus internet service for $80 per month.  I know the service isn't available (stops about 300 feet down the street), but I call anyway to get a price quote.

The first guy doesn't give me any details, and transfers me when the service shows unavailable.  The second guy tells me they can send someone out to do a survey to see what it will take to get it hooked up.

I ask about the pricing, in case the service is available.  I tell him what I currently have, a business DSL, phone, and static IP's.  The price he quotes, for the same setup, is $110 higher that what I'm currently paying.

I tell him what I'm currently paying, and the price on the flier.  He tells me that price is for the 2meg service, and also tells me that I will get the full bandwidth from them and their 10meg service will be faster than my 10meg DSL.

It was hard not to bust out laughing when he asked me if I wanted to switch, and if they should send someone out to do the site survey.  I thanked him for his time and told him not to bother.]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23384868</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-23 17:19:07</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Switch to Pure DSL - Billing Experience</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23389976</link>
<description><![CDATA[I just wanted to post this here to inform others of my experience with the switch.  Service is still great, speeds and stability remain excellent, but CenturyLink's billing dept needs improvement IMHO.

We purchased DSL/Phone combo in the middle of October. 1-2 weeks later we canceled phone and went with pure DSL.  
CenturyLink did not pro-rate our bill despite being asked to.  So on Nov 3rd we ended up paying the full $160 for a partial month of October plus a month forward.  

We asked them if we'd be receiving a credit on our next month's bill since we only had phone service for a short time. Billing rep I spoke with at the time said we would. So next month's invoice comes and there's no credit. Gave billing dept a call and they don't seem to even know what to make of the $160 after I explained to them the situation. So they decided there is no credit due.  I didn't feel arguing with them all day so I just gave up, dealing with them is like pulling teeth out of an old ape. 

So our new bill due in Dec is $105 for 10meg pure DSL. This includes $15 worth of lingering long distance charges from Oct.  So that leaves us with $90 bucks for DSL + taxes.   I was told we'd be paying around $70 in total (incl. taxes) when we made the switch.

For those of you contemplating the switch, you might just be better off keeping the phone/DSL combo, otherwise they'll just nickel and dime you and you'll end up only saving a few bucks, if that. That seems to be the case with me atleast. YMMV.]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23389976</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-24 16:19:05</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Slow Speeds In Indiana</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23377525</link>
<description><![CDATA[Hello!

Well, this is my first post, but it seemed like a good place to get help...

I was just curious, anyone else in Northern Indiana have abysmal download speeds? I get a consistant 160-180 kbs here, much less than cable offers...

Thanks for any help!]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23377525</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-22 00:02:17</pubDate>
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