[wplug] DSL?

[Pat Barron]

I've been a Telerama DSL subscriber pretty much since they started
offering DSL (I just went back and looked, and my records show that I
signed up for my DSL with them in 2000).  I chose them because they use
plain old unadorned RFC1483 encapsuation (i.e., no PPPoE) with a static IP
address (actually, they offer two static addresses, but I'm only using
one).  As for DNS, I'm not sure if they'll give you names under the
"telerama.com" domain, and they don't offer DNS hosting or domain
registration as part of the DSL package - I register my own domain names
and get my DNS service for free from EVERYDNS.NET, and that's worked fine
for me (plus, they did give me a .IN-ADDR.ARPA mapping on their DNS
servers, pointing back to my own domain name, without additional
charge).  The basic DSL package is $34.95/month.  They have no restriction
on running servers.

On the other hand ... I really like their DSL service, when it works.  I
don't often have problems - in fact, when I do have problems, it's
traditionally been with the e-mail service they include with the DSL
package, I can't remember the last time I had an problem with the actual
DSL service itself.  But on those occasions when I do have a problem, it's
gotten really difficult to get any kind of support these days.  For
instance, the last few times I've tried to get online support during
their normal, advertised support hours, no one has been there to help me.

As to whether or not they're offering the service to new customers right
now, I don't know.  If all you need is IP connectivity, and you don't need
a lot of support, hand-holding, and/or you want to do things that ISPs
like Verizon don't (on paper...) permit, they're a good choice.  Though I
admit that if I had to do it over again, I might choose Speakeasy instead.

The thing about ISPs not permitting running servers on their residential
service offerings (and yes, by a literal interpretation that would
prohibit you from running your own IRC server, web server, game server, or
any other kind of server), is pretty standard among many ISPs.  I assume
(and this is total speculation on my part, so take it with a grain of
salt) that they do that for several reasons.  First, they don't want you
doing anything connected with running a business (a "real" business, a
home-based business, whatever), or anything that could be interpreted as
offering any type of service to third-parties, on the residential service
offering.  Second, they don't want to guarantee that any type of server
functionality will actually work, for residential subscribers.
Basically, most ISPs residential service is aimed at people who just want
to sit there and surf the web, read their e-mail, and play World of
Warcraft on-line...  With most ISPs, if you are running some kind of
server, even if against their Terms of Service, they're probably not going
to bug you about it - but if it stops working someday (like, because they
decided to move all of their residential subscribers behind some NAT
firewall or something), they don't want you calling to complain.  The same
ISPs' commerical services don't have these restrictions, though they're
generally more expensive.

--Pat.