Note to Sympatico One Bill customers

[Vlad]

        Regarding fallback...

        One ADSL link with a static /27, and one dry-loop ADSL link
with another static /27, and talking iBGP with the upstream provider.
Total monthly cost is about $125.

        Of course, when a WIC-1ADSL is around $500, and you need two,
as well as a router with two or more WIC slots... not so cheap. Unless
you happen to have the hardware just lying around.

        The cheaper solution is to add a dry-loop connection from
another provider, and when one goes down, plug into the other.
However, if the DSLAM is down, then you're fairly pooched.

        However, there's PPPoA...


        -- Vlad

On 7/16/06, Alex Beamish <talexb-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>
>  About 24 hours ago, my Internet service failed, so I went into diagnostic
> mode, resetting the router, checking for overheated components, and
> eventually calling Sympatico for technical support. The told me there was no
> technical problem -- my account had been disabled because of non-payment.
> Oddly enough, I'd paid the bill five days earlier, as it was now part of my
> amalgamated phone bill, something the Marketing department calls One Bill.
> That change was made a few months back.
>
>  I finally had to use the magic phrase "I need to talk with your supervisor"
> when the tech told me nothing could be done until Monday morning when the
> Billing department opened. The supervisor, a very efficient lady called
> Maya, checked and discovered that, hey, my account was paid up to date. She
> restored my service right away.
>
>  I then explained to her that it was probably a bad policy decision for
> Sympatico to cut off Internet service over the weekend. (Is Bell aware that
> there are alternatives to their services?) In my case, I need a 24/7
> Internet connection in order to stay in contact with work for support
> purposes, as well as to stay in touch with my wife, who is helping her
> mother care for my father-in-law. I could have had a difficult time if I'd
> had to wait until Monday.
>
>  So, to all the Sympatico subscribers out there .. be aware of this
> possibility. Apparently Sympatico cuts off service 180 days after the last
> payment (because that's what happened to me). In my case, they didn't get
> the memo that I'd been transferred to a One Bill, and presumably missed the
> fact that they were still getting some kind of transfer payment for my
> account.
>
>  And finally, a question: What kind of fallback do the TLUG members have for
> their Internet connection? I know I've been able to use Sympatico dial-up
> when my digital modem has died .. I still have a 56K dial-up modem. Because
> I use it so rarely I haven't had to set my machine up as a DHCP server and
> web proxy, but could that if necessary. I'm just wondering if I can
> subscribe to a dial-up service that I can use in an emergency like the one I
> just had.
>
>  Thanks!
>
> --
> Alex Beamish
> Toronto, Ontario
>


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