cgr6x6man
join:2008-05-08
Milwaukee, WI
|  dry broadband service and land line 911
Let me start by saying that this forum has been a big help in getting me going with my DSL service. I'm new to DSL, I've been a cable user for about the last 8 years but have recently built a new house in a location where cable is not available thus my switch to DSL. I've tried searching the forum and FAQ pages but can not find an answer to my current question,
With dry DSL service, do I have incoming only land line service included?
Since this was new construction, CenturyTel only ran the line from the street to the box on the outside of my house. I then had to drill a hole through the wall and make the connection from the box on the outside of the house to the phone line that the electrician left hanging inside the house near the electrical service panel. (FYI: I used CAT5e cable for this connection and just wire nutted the splice inside the house together since at some point in the not too distant future I plan on running a distributed wired system through out the house so I have TV/phone/Ethernet ports in every room of the house.) Anyway, while I was making the connections in the box on the out side of the house, I noticed that there was a phone number written on the terminal where the tech told me to make my connections. So being curious, I had to plug a phone into the jack and try calling the phone number using my cell phone. The call from my cell phone went through to the land line but when I tried calling out from the land line, I got the message that no service was available (makes sense since I only signed up for dry DSL service.)
I've received my first bill and it includes charges for 911 and all the other typical taxes and fees. Can I legally put a phone on my DSL line and use it for incoming calls and 911 or is that considered a theft of services? I went with the dry DSL package because we used our home phone at the old house so infrequently I figured we wouldn't miss not having a land line any more. It would be nice to have the ability to receive an occasional fax and the peace of mind knowing that if someone were home without a cell phone, they could still call 911 in the event of an emergency. |
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fuffer
RF is Good For You
Premium
join:2001-06-21
Mukwonago, WI
clubs:
 ·CenturyTel Inc.
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| Outgoing 911 service is included with "dry DSL". In fact, they told me to keep my phone connected when I switched to "dry DSL" so that I could call 911. Because it's 911 service, there has to be a phone number and incoming line for 911 to call you back on.
As for the rest of your question, I don't know what CTL's policy is, though I can't imagine they'd have a huge problem with you taking incoming calls.
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The goal of the broadcast engineer is to get all the meters on the transmitter to go as far to the right as possible!! |
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chd176
join:2003-01-10
Winfield, AL
·CenturyTel Inc.
| reply to cgr6x6man
I wouldn't think CenturyTel would have a huge problem with it if it was just for emergency purposes like maybe a couple of calls a month because I know when I switched to dry DSL the number that was assigned to me belonged to some guy named greg and we kept getting multiple callers asking for this person so we just disconnected the phone and when I got my bill a week ago it just had the normal 911 fees and what not no extra charges for those calls
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10,000/768 CenturyTel PPPoE DSL line (really 5,000/768  ) |
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dsldude08
join:2008-01-03
La Crosse, WI
·CenturyTel Inc.
| reply to cgr6x6man
911 will work on an outgoing call on the "dry" DSL service. Incoming are accepted in the event you were to dial 911 and a dispatcher had to call you back, or in the event of a 911 hangup, and so forth. I do not know if any action would be taken if you used it for incoming like you mentioned, and I highly doubt it would be an issue if you did since they would not block it due to the whole 911 situation.
I'm also glad you see the point in having the land line for 911 purposes, most don't understand the security it provides compared to that of a cable phone or cell phone. Sometimes new just isn't the way to go.
I've actually kept my land line for multiple reasons. 1) I actually do use it sometimes 2) It is the preferred method for 911 when you are home 2) With a corded phone, generally works when the power is out (cable may or may not and if it does it is by using a batter backup that only lasts 4-8 hours, where as with a land line the company provides the battery backup or generator) 3) Call quality is better, none of that garbled stuff you get with cell phones and some VOIP services (been there, done that) 4) It just works. It has been around for years, and continues to work.
Cell phones are convenient, but man, I swear, I've had more problems with it than my home phone, and my cell phone costs me considerably more per month. I've had it freeze up, break from a small accidental drop, water/moisture damage causing it to not work, dropped calls even in good service areas, faded signals during heavy snows, the list goes on. *sigh* Oh well, what can you do. I guess I'll keep my family secure with the land line and let others find out on their own how the worst really can happen to some people (unfortunately).
Examples:
»www.bloggernews.net/115467
»marketnewsblog.blogspot.com/2008···afe.html
»www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=746235 (still not reliable, Read "Response to cell calls")
»www.storycounty.com/index.aspx?D···ocuments
»firstaid.about.com/od/callingfor···l911.htm
Ok, enough exmaples, there are thousands, anyway, I've made my point. I'm sticking with the land line, I don't care how much it costs, it could pay off some day. Much like paying insurance on a vehicle you may never crash, or insurance on your cell phone, you may never use it, but heck, when you may have to use it, you would want it to be there for you, wouldn't you? That's how I look at it. Nite folks!
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"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
- Abraham Lincoln |
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fuffer
RF is Good For You
Premium
join:2001-06-21
Mukwonago, WI
clubs:
·CenturyTel Inc.
·RoadRunner Cable
edit:
June 4th, @11:42PM
| Yes, but here in the big city, they work just fine!
I get what you're saying, but honestly, I never used the POTS line. Everyone just calls us on our cell phones. I liked having the land-line, but I just couldn't justify the cost.
I'd love to see CTL come up with a *cheap* (which means the current dry DSL price + some extra $$$) bundle for DSL and basic local service. It would be nice simply for incoming service and the occasional call to the neighbors.
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The goal of the broadcast engineer is to get all the meters on the transmitter to go as far to the right as possible!! |
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Icon
Time Keeper
Premium,MVM
join:2004-01-07
Kimberling City, MO
·CenturyTel Inc.
| said by fuffer  :I'd love to see CTL come up with a *cheap* (which means the current dry DSL price + some extra $$$) bundle for DSL and basic local service. It would be nice simply for incoming service and the occasional call to the neighbors. When I worked for Alltel landline (Windstream now), they rolled out a product called Greenstreak. It's the equivalent of dry DSL, but you can make local calls for free, as well as 800 numbers (think Dish or DTV receivers), and you could call long distance, but it charged you a flat .10/minute. This kind of plan makes way more sense than Centurytel's Pure Broadband, and I hope they eventually make some changes toward that. |
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fuffer
RF is Good For You
Premium
join:2001-06-21
Mukwonago, WI
clubs:
·CenturyTel Inc.
·RoadRunner Cable
| Yeah, I'd be completely down with that. In fact, in a way it's a better deal for CTL then what they have now. Since they already provide the line, they can make some extra cheese from the long distance.
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The goal of the broadcast engineer is to get all the meters on the transmitter to go as far to the right as possible!! |
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dsldude08
join:2008-01-03
La Crosse, WI
·CenturyTel Inc.
| Extra cheese? LOL Great stuff fuffer! 
Yeah, I agree, that is something that should be considered. The Pure Broadband is quite new, but very good idea Icon. As for the 911, I'm just glad they included it with the stand alone internet, just in case for some people, and it's a good perk, but the LD option is a great perk too.
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"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
- Abraham Lincoln |
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cgr6x6man
join:2008-05-08
Milwaukee, WI
| reply to Icon
Thanks for all the feedback and discussion. I'd be very interested in a flat charge/min out going service option on my dry DSL plan. Let's hope that CenturyTel sees the value of this too. (Any suggestions as to whom I would contact to make this suggestion??) It would cover the rare occasion that I need to send an out bound fax or the rare occasion that I need to make another call while I'm already on my cell phone (ok, I admit it, I'm to lazy to figure out how to make my cell phone do this ;')
Ok, now that we've confirmed that you still have incoming phone service with the dry DSL plan, what sort of filters/hardware do I need to put on my phone line to ensure that the handset does not interfere or reduce the performance of my DSL modem? Do I just use a standard phone jack splitter and plug the DSL modem in one jack and the handset in the other? I purchased my Westell 327W modem used and it did not come with any line filters. Thanks for all the help guys. |
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tahoejeff
join:2001-07-01
Wisconsin Dells, WI
clubs:
 ·GoDaddy Hosting
edit:
June 6th, @06:01AM
| any dsl line filter will do the trick. you want one for each phone that will be plugged in.
here's 1 cheap one i found with shopzilla:
»www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto···&cj=true
i also recently signed up for the Pure dsl from centurytel and would like to be able to accept an occasional incoming call. i actually have heard my phone ring several times, but haven't answered it yet.
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The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth |
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