Is it easy to switch to yahoo DSL?

[musiclawyer]

I am a dinasour with dial up. SBC has this plan where phone and yahoo dsl is bundled. I have SBC now but the bundle will save me a little money. Let's say I make the call. What next? Do they come over and install something? Anything to watch for? Will the $14 monthly rate for internet connection get jacked up in a year? How much? etc. Any guidance appreciated.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

1. Get it. The phone line and DSL line are on two different lines. As far

the monthly rate, they might.

[BigMcLargehuge]

4. DSL operates over a single loop (i.e. one line)

[Crazy Guggenheim]

10. I knew that. I got my *connections* confused.

:blush:

[johnnie]

2. They will send you the equipment out

It takes a little while for them to "turn your service on", maybe a week or so. They send you a Cd-rom that tells you how to set it up and it is really easy to do.

You will have to keep track of the date that you start it because they have been known to go back to the "real" price, but it is no problem to keep it at the $14.

[BigMcLargehuge]

3. it depends (brace self for long and detailed telecom post)

generally if you sign up for DSL from a telco or CLEC, they will send you a DSL modem and a box of filters. The filters sit between your telephone and the jack, leaving the jack connected to the model unfiltered (voice signals are filtered so that nothing above 4Khz is transmitted along the loop). Then they will set up a device known as a DSLAM, Digital Subscribed Line Access Multiplexer in the central office where your incoming line terminates. The DSLAM shunts voice traffic to the voice infrastructure (everything below 4KHz) and data to the data infrastructure (everything above 4Khz). You will be asked to wait a week or two from the time you receive the modem and filters (this time is used for the telco to set the work order for setting up the DSLAM).

Then you plug all the junk in, run their software to install a POET dialer, and set your specific e-mail and DNS preferences (assuming it isn't automatic). However, there are some conditions that can prevent you from receiving DSL. These are -

Further away from the Central Office by more than 3.5M/5KM
Your home is serviced by a "loaded loop" (i.e. a loop witn amplifiers on it)
Your local loop is served by a bridge tap

[CBGLuthier]

5. one warning

If you do not currently have an ethernet connection on your computer you will need to get one.

Although they are very easy to hook up I do not suggest getting a USB ethernet adaptor. You would be better off installing a card in your computer. Sometimes the USB ones interfere with other USB devices.

Of course, if you already have an ethernet adaptor then no worries and enjoy the broadband. You will never go back to dialup if you can
help it. :-)

[johnnie]

6. SBC gives you the card

So that would help.

[wildhorses]

7. I am currently on Sprint

can I switch over? Sprint is charging me out the wazoo

[NV Whino]

8. Get it.

You will never regret it. Set up is simple. (Read other posts if you are interested in the nitty gritty.) Bear in mind that the $14 DSL is slower than the "Profssional," which is about $28. You need only one phone line. As for costs going up, they have actually come down a bit since SBC started offering DSL. Besides, once you have a DSL connection you will not care what it costs. (Don't tell SBC that I said that.)

Another thing to take into consideration is your current internet provider (e-mail address). If it is not Yahoo, Prodigy, SBS, PacBell (or whatever else is lumped under SBC) you will still by charged by your current provider for e-mail services. In other words, you will need to get an SBCglobal (I think that's the most current) e-mail address.

Further clarification: SBC/Yahoo will connect you to the Internet (fast), and you can still get your mail from your previous provider, but you will be paying two bills--one for connection (SBC/Yahoo) and one for your existing provider (unless it is already one of the SBC family).

Hope I haven't confused you.

[wildhorses]

11. OMG...but you SOOOOOOO did

[NV Whino]

15. Sorry for the confusion

SBC has so many parts/names etc there is no way to say it easily.

[wildhorses]

17. could a lowtech dumbass like myself

be capable of installing it? Who do I contact to get started, Yahoo?
Do you have a link to a website? Sprint is my local and long distance provider for my landphone...besides being my DSL...

[NV Whino]

20. Here is the SBC DSL site

http://www.sbc.com/gen/general?pid=6431

It will give you the information you need. Click on the "Learn More" link and it will give you a box at some point to plug in your phone number to see if it is available in your area.

Installing it is easy. Once you hook up the modem (one end in your computer and the other in the phone line) it pretty much installs itself.

[LSK]

9. i have been using it for 2 years now

You need to install a bunch of their crap on your computer to sign up, but then you can go get a router and use that and uninstall everything.

Very reliable, good service.

[DanCa]

12. Not for me dsl isnt in my area

I am only able to get satillite.

[tjdee]

13. Once you have the faster connection, you soooo won't care, LOL.

As someone else said, once you have the DSL you won't mind if the price is jacked up (don't know that it will be). I had DSL for about a year, and everyone around me loved it because I could answer the phone.

They will send you equipment, pretty easy to figure out. If not you can always call them.

Bood luck!

[terrya]

14. The only problem I had with Yahoo DSL was just getting the connection...

to my apartment building.

Once that had been established, the rest was easy. You will do the installation yourself. But it's easy...the installation process guides you step by step. And their customer service is good if you have any problems.

[BuelahWitch]

16. It's very easy

I got it three years ago, installed everything myself with no problem, and I'm not the type to go messing around inside my computer.

Another good thing: every year, as the price goes down, they let me renew at the lower price. I started out at $30, then $26 and just last night I renewed at the new $14.95 rate. Cheaper than AOHell, I think.

[Blue-Jay]

18. I was happy with my SBC DSL when I had it.

Not as fast as cable, and it bogged down on occasion, but overall it was great for the price. Something like 25 bucks/month. Not bad.

[warrens]

19. It took me about 10 minutes to hook it up

One thing, though. It slows down on a regular basis, which never happened with my cable modem. However, it doesn't go out for four days at a time like the cable did. $14 is an introductory price; it will probably go up to $20 in six months. But it beats the hell out of dial-up and a phone call won't knock you offline.