Change in ISP.

From: Howard I Cohen <hic@mediaone.net>
Subject: Change in ISP.
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 00:19:40 -0500

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This week has been very busy for me. Besides my mortgage refi I also got a
new Internet Service Provider. I started using MediaOne, paying approx. $40
a month more over my cable bill. 

But my personal comment, and a fact I am happy to share is that the service
is GREAT. A bit pricey but GREAT. Now the only time I wait on the net is
waiting for some distant server to 'reply.' But then the web connections
come in like I'm leafing through pages of a letter. Boom, boom, boom. No
delays, no waiting for a screen to complete. And downloads that are
unbelievable. The simple fact is that I am paying for what in telephony
jargon is called 'T-1 Carrier' service. In actual numbers that is 1.5
Megabits or 150K Bytes/sec., compared to 28.8K bits (equivalent - 2.8K
Bytes) or even 56K Bits (= 5.6K bytes/sec). Yes, it is 30 to 60 times faster. 

I bought a regular cheappy PnP LAN card - $30. The installer put a splitter
on my video cable, complete with RF filter (keeps computer noise out of my
TV), one leg to the house video, other to a modem box they supply. Then he
connected the modem box to the LAN card - an RJ 45 connection. A little
software hanky-panky and I saw the web the way it was intended to be seen.
What a joy. And note that I am connected all the time - my own little video
feed. No more 'dial-up,' hope it rings, hope it answers - then waiting for
the home page to evolve. 

Also note that I am not tying up a phone line. I click on Netscape on my
desktop, and INSTANTLY I am at the home page. Bye-bye TIAC, bye-bye World,
bye-bye modem, ungodly modem screams and all that old stuff.

Incidentally, I set up Eudora to let me access any of my three services
(MediaOne, TIAC, World) through the one mail manager and everything goes
through MediaOne at T-1 speed. I'll drop the others as usage drops off, but
keep them for a 'cut-over' period.

The bigger issue that I find interesting is that a cable company is
actively, and effectively competing with good old Bell Atlantic and the ISP
crowd. I used to pay $.05/minute (after the first 3 hours) to browse the
web. I will not have that expense any more. The cost figures breakdown as
follows: I will be giving $40 to MediaOne, some of which ($22.99) would
have gone to the ISP and some x-hours at $3.00/hour to BA. If you're good
at numbers you'll quickly realize that if I spend 10 minutes a day browsing
and doing e-mail, than the service will have paid for itself. That's what I
call real competition. Better service for 'cheaper.'

Next I want to try phoning and video conferencing over the net. Should be
very good. A friend of mine says he can phone voice duplex (talk and listen
simultaneously) through his sound card and it sounds better than the
regular phone. I'll report on it when I've tried it. 

The 'downside,' and it could be serious, is this: since they let your
machine act like a workstation on their LAN, you can only relate with one
machine. Note that they address your LAN card's ethernet number. No
notebook by the bedside or in the car, or anything like that. I'm not sure
about telnet-ing. Will have to try it. Also I want to try PC-Anywhere.
Certainly if it's important you can always pay for a second line.

BTW - Be well assured that I have not prior interest in MediaOne or any of
the companies involved. I am a paying user, no more, no less.


Sincerely, 

Howard I. Cohen, <hic@mediaone.net>

  


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