up vote 1 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

I'm considering switching my DSL provider from verizon to another DSL provider that seems to offer multiple IP addresses to its customers (for not a huge amount of money).

I'm also interested in playing with IPv6 and it seems like in theory I could just switch to a DSL provider that does IPv6 and be done with it (if such a bird existed).

So my question is -- what sorts of experiences are there with using a non-mainstream DSL provider? I'm a bit wary of sending my money to a smaller ISP on the basis that they might go out of business or be a bunch of drunks or the local loop owner may get cranky and wrap my phone lines in aluminum foil.

I'm not interested in getting a 'dry loop' dsl circuit at the moment but may switch to one later if there's a significant advantage.

Any experiences / stories would be appreciated!

link|improve this question
I asked this question recently and it was closed as too specific to a location. In the USA, and I suspect in many other parts of the world, you can receive voice service from one phone company and another company can provide DSL. So, you can have local phone service from verizon and get DSL from covad or verizon or from a large number of other providers. This is the case anywhere in the USA, and has been for the past decade and will be true so long as people get phone service over a copper pair from their CO. – chris Oct 4 '10 at 3:29
Closed again because all you're asking for is discussion about ISPs – random♦ Oct 4 '10 at 4:04
1  
Still just a discussion and chat about a service provider and localised to your market and coverage area. You can use the chat in that case. – random♦ Oct 4 '10 at 4:32
1  
@diago: The DSL technology allows for one provider to deliver analogue voice and another provider to offer internet connectivity from another entity. If this is allowed to happen is dependent on the specifics of how the local phone company / ISPs are regulated by the country. The wikipedia page en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_DSL includes 11 (or 16, depending on which part of the article) countries on 4 continents, and I've got no reason to think that's an exhaustive list. Again I ask, why are you closing this article? – chris Oct 4 '10 at 16:44
1  
@chris. Because this is not Wikipedia. This is not a discussion forum. This question has no conclusive answer. Also, it's not just me, it's the community that agrees it is not suitable for SU. To be honest. This up and down debate about whether to leave it open or not is really not going anywhere. – Diago Oct 4 '10 at 18:28
show 3 more comments
feedback

closed as too localized by Sathya♦, Gilles, Nifle, BloodPhilia, Diago Oct 3 '10 at 22:04

This question is unlikely to ever help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

Not sure if this should be an answer or just a comment, but here goes. Here in Ontario it's common for power users to use one of the resellers of Bell's service, if only to get better service for the same amount of money. Believe me, the difference is stark. Might as well have a reseller deal with Bell rather than you.

As for uncommon ISPs, I think TekSavvy fits that bill. They're a reseller of Bell, but only for the final connection to your house. They use Cogent and Peer1 for Internet. They're also actively against Bell's traffic shaping, which now not only affects Bell customers, but also resellers and their customers. They're also active at dslreports.com are are beta-testing IPv6 service.

Other resellers can be just run-of-the-mill, and not really offer much on top of the mainstream ISP. Other's just have really crappy service.

This is my take based on my experience in Ontario. My point is that sometimes it's worth seeing what services are offered by resellers, wherever you are in the world.

link|improve this answer
feedback

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.