It never fails, DSL companies complain, often bitterly, about competitive disadvantage. The regional Baby Bells have often stretched the boundaries of what the FCC and courts have mandated, making it tougher for dedicated, independent, DSL companies to enter the marketplace.  In my opinion, these turf wars which have taken place for years behind the scenes in server closets and local telephone depots, have been key to keeping business, and even residential, DSL services uncompetitive. Who is the big loser? The customer! By squeezing out the “new players,” the Bells have again tried, largely successfully, to keep the marketplace to themselves. Of course, this often translates to the customer receiving poor service and higher prices. As a consultant, I have been hurt by the tumult.

I am not a communications consultant but that doesn’t stop my customers from asking me my opinion on solutions to their internet bandwidth needs. Over the years, I have recommended a number of good companies with often superior technology and pricing, only to find that they are leaving our market, declaring bankruptcy (riches to rags in a mere matter of months), or otherwise fail to supply “the product” which was promised. The list of names on the DSL roadside are too numerous to mention..... All of this has led me to very reluctantly make some basic recommendations when asked for broadband solutions for my small office clients in the middle Tennessee area: when possible, stick with a “big name company” such as BellSouth or Verizon who has the financial backing and infrastructure to deliver-- albeit sometimes slowly and impersonally-- the bandwidth and uptime reliability they promise. Better yet, small companies are often better served going with a cable provider for their high speed internet needs if their office is already wired with the proper coax cabling. Companies such as Comcast typcially charge small businesses a higher rate than a comparable residential service, but the payback is typically more bandwidth for the money (even at the “small business” rate) and a more stable connection than even the “big DSL players” can or will provide. Of course DSL and cable have other issues which can impact your decision. Security, variable bandwidth (cable speeds can vary dramatically based on overall usage. Downloading that big Microsoft Service Pack after school lets out and every teenager in the region has logged onto their IM (Instant Messaging Client) isn’t normally a great idea), and other factors a knowledgable small business consultant or networking expert can help you understand need to be considered. Still, in the majority of cases, cable is the way to go especially if you are in a SOHO (small office home office) environment.

What if you can’t get cable? What if your commitment to voice lines makes working with one of the big regional service providers impossible or impossibly expensive? You may be in for some real challenges as a recent install with a client illustrates. What follows is a real world illustration of the challenges small business faces. First of all, the truth is a smaller DSL company must still rely on local Baby Bell techs for several aspects of completing the circuit. The result, be prepared for a long wait and multiple visits. In the case of this install from order placement to completed line was six weeks (XO claims the average install in this area should take thirty to thirty-five days, if this is true we just wound up on the wrong side of their bell curve in this instance). Were cable an option, installation could have been completed within a week’s time (based on my years of experience with this area’s local cable provider, Comcast).

Problems begin with sign up. XO will not, that is to say they refuse, take a DSL order over the telephone! Perplexing given the fact XO also sells voice lines (which is the very reason my client couldn’t economically use BellSouth for their DSL needs). You must order through their website, hit “Enter,” and pray. In this instance at least, there was no follow up contact whatsoever, none! The first human contact was in the form of an installer from another company showing up unannounced at my client’s office. This hapless soul had a work order instructing him to run the DSL line to the demarc (a location typically in or near a wiring closet containing inbound voice lines and other wiring the typical small business person hopes never to actually have to see or deal with directly. He performed his job per the work order and disappeared. My clients understandably scratched their collective heads and said “now what?” To which I responded, “this is only Act II, hang in there.”

The next installer’s objective was to set up the (free after rebate) modem/router. Again he showed up without an appointment and went to work. The install proceeded but he located this piece of equipment on a wall near the demarc in my client’s warehouse. This location was some one hundred feet (approximate) from the office area. When I saw the location of this equipment on the wall I scratched my head and wondered how XO expected us to use this circuit. I wondered why they wouldn’t run the line into the office area which very obviously was the necessary end point. Of course, the online sign up didn’t ask for specific locations and no one ever contacted me or my client prior to actual installation to get clarification of this seemingly self-evident issue. This led to further delay and a follow up installation visit to move the router to a usable location. To the company’s credit, a local representative did finally make contact and had this follow-up visit “expedited.”

You might think this story is nearing a conclusion. Not quite. Neither tech actually tested the circuit before leaving! I had actually tried the circuit while the modem was located in the back of the warehouse using one of my laptops without success. I didn’t worry at that point (my mistake) knowing a follow up visit was required to move the modem into the office space. When I went to the office to configure their computers with the DSL line and do the actual networking, I was greeted with this problem. I searched for paperwork to show me configuration information for the circuit. I wanted exterenal IP Address and subnet mask, DNS server information, and some other standard network information which is normally supplied by a service provider doing these kind of installs. No joy. I then searched for a Tech Support Number. No joy! Folks, when a communications company, actually a telephone company at heart, doesn’t provide Tech Support numbers making it possible, if not easy, to talk to them, you know there is trouble. After a call to directory assistance, I finally began the odyessy of XO’s voice system. It took ninety (90) minutes on hold (including a disconnect from their system after thirty-five (35) minutes and two entry level support staff to simply get a Trouble Ticket! No solution. No serious checking of the circuit from their end, just a Trouble Ticket and the promise that the issue would be reviewed by second tier engineers over the next twenty-four hours. At this point I was a bit frustrated and my client was understandably rolling his eyes and wondering just how much longer, and how much more expensive, it might be to get an “always on” internet connection up and running for himself and his staff.

The next follow up call from XO’s engineers was productive. This individual reviewed the Trouble Ticket and determined the company had assigned an improper IP address, as well as wrong DNS server information, which was causing the link failure. In other words, the company has misconfigured the DSL circuit on their end. You might think checking out this information should be performed as part of the first call for help. I would agree. For whatever reasons, this was not the case. Grateful that the line was finally running, we said goodbye to tech support. Another mistake.....

One of the primary reasons for getting a DSL connection in this office, was for the company to have access to email without tying up their precious voice lines to obtain a dial-up connection. This is often one of the compelling uses for a broadband connection (for small business or in a residential setting). You would think that a DSL provider would realize this fact. In the spirit of bureacracy at its finest, or worst, depending on your definition, XO requires additonal steps, and hold time, to obtain configuration information to complete this task. I will spare the less technical readers the details, but suffice it to say, in order to minimize SPAM (please don’t laugh) ISPs require authentification for outgoing email traffic. You must use your internet service provider’s SMTP server to send outgoing mail. In order to configure an email client such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express you need your company’s SMTP server information. Of course obtaining this from XO required another follow up call to “Customer Care--” 30 minutes on hold later I began a conversation with the first of three tech support individuals, including a “round trip” from Gateway services, to get proper SMTP information. This information should be a basic part of the “leave behind” sheet containing vital configuration information for the supplied circuit. This is something BellSouth and others have grown to understand, why can’t the smaller companies match, no beat, the bigger, presumably less nimble service providers, in the areas of Customer Service and information sharing?  You DSL companies looking for competitive points of difference, here are a couple of areas which can allow you to excel or fall by the wayside!