Any way to prod Bell to fix my upstream issues? - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

brainer · 2012-08-03, 12:03 AM

Hi friends:

I am with a 3rd party DSL provider, and quite close to a remote DSLAM. I believe it's a Lucent Stinger, IIRC.

I have had frequent upstream problems on our line, in spite of cleaning up all internal house wiring, checking from outside demarc etc. In spite of the fact that we're not with Bell, I eventually harrassed our ISP enough to get Bell techs out several times. Each time they supposedly fixed the problem, e.g. wires chewed by squirrels, grounding the line, etc. Each time eventually the upstream became full of noise and slow again.

Eventually, I was told by a Bell tech who came out that the firmware had a bug in the Stinger, and needed upgrading. Needless to say, Bell never did so.

Is there anything I can do before I give up on this 3rd party DSL arrangement? I want faster Internet, but on the other hand would like to support 3rd party "underdog" ISPs as well, and not let Bell bully people.

Thanks for any advice.

dezzpayne · 2012-08-07, 12:24 PM

May or may not be helpful but when I switched from Bell to a Bell re-seller, Bell moved me from the remote back to the CO and after a few Google searches I found this was common. The line of thinking is that the "limited" remote DSLAM space is for Bell direct customers. I found this out when I tried to get a speed upgrade and was told I didn't qualify even though on the website it said I did. Took a number of calls/emails to support but they eventually moved me back to the remote and I got my increase.

brainer · 2012-08-07, 10:20 PM

Thanks for your reply. Hmm...I'm confused. I thought they put you on a CO DSLAM if you were a Bell customer, not if you were NOT.

I know I've always been on the same DSLAM, though I can't provie it. My first Lantern screenshot showed line numbers and stuff, but my current ones just show bandwidth figures.

Thanks for that. It gives me something to think over.

dezzpayne · 2012-08-08, 01:58 PM

Well, the CO is further away than the remote which means it's less desirable. I'm with Teksavvy and I didn't really get anywhere with phone support. Teksavvy have a support forum (which I can't link so but just google it). They can look at your modem and tell you how far away from your dslam you are. This was how I figured out I was moved back to the CO which is almost 3KM away from my house.

brainer · 2012-08-09, 12:11 AM

D'Oh! Of course. That makes sense. I must've had some mental block there.

I know I'm not even 3/4 KM from the remote DSLAM. That should give me plenty of clean signal. As I said, we've had the line checked, "repaired", "grounded" etc. many times. I know the house wiring is clean as I've gone over every inch of it myself. The line tests reveal noise on the upstream path and I just don't know how to motivate Bell to do anything.

Maybe I should think about switching to TekSavvy cable...

2012-08-03, 12:03 AM	#1
brainer Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 91	Any way to prod Bell to fix my upstream issues? Hi friends: I am with a 3rd party DSL provider, and quite close to a remote DSLAM. I believe it's a Lucent Stinger, IIRC. I have had frequent upstream problems on our line, in spite of cleaning up all internal house wiring, checking from outside demarc etc. In spite of the fact that we're not with Bell, I eventually harrassed our ISP enough to get Bell techs out several times. Each time they supposedly fixed the problem, e.g. wires chewed by squirrels, grounding the line, etc. Each time eventually the upstream became full of noise and slow again. Eventually, I was told by a Bell tech who came out that the firmware had a bug in the Stinger, and needed upgrading. Needless to say, Bell never did so. Is there anything I can do before I give up on this 3rd party DSL arrangement? I want faster Internet, but on the other hand would like to support 3rd party "underdog" ISPs as well, and not let Bell bully people. Thanks for any advice.

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2012-08-07, 12:24 PM	#2
dezzpayne Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Barrie, ON Posts: 1,374	May or may not be helpful but when I switched from Bell to a Bell re-seller, Bell moved me from the remote back to the CO and after a few Google searches I found this was common. The line of thinking is that the "limited" remote DSLAM space is for Bell direct customers. I found this out when I tried to get a speed upgrade and was told I didn't qualify even though on the website it said I did. Took a number of calls/emails to support but they eventually moved me back to the remote and I got my increase.

2012-08-07, 10:20 PM	#3
brainer Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 91	Thanks for your reply. Hmm...I'm confused. I thought they put you on a CO DSLAM if you were a Bell customer, not if you were NOT. I know I've always been on the same DSLAM, though I can't provie it. My first Lantern screenshot showed line numbers and stuff, but my current ones just show bandwidth figures. Thanks for that. It gives me something to think over.

2012-08-08, 01:58 PM	#4
dezzpayne Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Barrie, ON Posts: 1,374	Well, the CO is further away than the remote which means it's less desirable. I'm with Teksavvy and I didn't really get anywhere with phone support. Teksavvy have a support forum (which I can't link so but just google it). They can look at your modem and tell you how far away from your dslam you are. This was how I figured out I was moved back to the CO which is almost 3KM away from my house.

2012-08-09, 12:11 AM	#5
brainer Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 91	D'Oh! Of course. That makes sense. I must've had some mental block there. I know I'm not even 3/4 KM from the remote DSLAM. That should give me plenty of clean signal. As I said, we've had the line checked, "repaired", "grounded" etc. many times. I know the house wiring is clean as I've gone over every inch of it myself. The line tests reveal noise on the upstream path and I just don't know how to motivate Bell to do anything. Maybe I should think about switching to TekSavvy cable...