Frazier Mountain Internet Service is excited to announce that we now offer DSL service to our customers. Currently, DSL service is only available in Frazier Park and some parts of Lake of the Woods. As other areas in the Frazier Mountain Communities are upgraded to support DSL, we will be offering DSL service in these areas as well.
We will continue to offer our other services such as regular dialup service, ISDN service, dedicated connection service, etc. So, your current connection with us will not be changed as a result of our addition of DSL service (i.e., if you do not request to change to DSL service, we will not change your service with us).
Here is some important information you'll want to know about DSL service and how it can benefit you.
Can I talk on the phone at the same time that I'm online?
Can I connect more than one computer to my DSL line?
Do I have to set this up myself, or does Frazier
Mountain Internet Service help me get it started?
Why is DSL service only available in Frazier Park and
Lake of the Woods?
How much does DSL cost?
What is DSL Service?
DSL Service is a high speed (commonly called broadband) connection
to the Internet that runs over your existing phone line. With DSL service,
your computer is always connected to the Internet, so you don't need to
wait to dialup to the Internet when you want to do web surfing, check e-mail,
etc.
Can I talk on the phone
at the same time that I'm online?
Yes. DSL works on the same phone line that you use for your voice
calls. For this reason, many customers who subscribe to DSL service will
decide that they don't need the second phone line that they have been using
for their computer to dial up to the Internet. This will commonly result
in savings of $15 to $20 per month for this second phone line.
How fast is DSL?
There are several "flavors" of DSL service. The
most popular service is called "ADSL" which stands for "Asymmetrical
Digital Subscriber Line" service. Its a complex phrase, but it basically
means that the DSL service is Asymmetrical - the speed (commonly called
bandwidth) coming IN to your computer is not the same speed that you have
going OUT from your computer. This works well for what most customers do
because most customers primarily receive data from the Internet - Surfing
web pages, downloading files, downloading mail, etc. The speed of DSL
depends upon your distance from the Central office, but our Standard Plan
DSL Service typically delivers 500k download speed and 250k upload speed.
To give you an idea of how fast this is, most customers use 56k modems for their regular dialup service. "56k" modems typically connect at about 50k for downloading and at roughly 28k for uploading (Yes, 56k modems are actually "asymmetric" - they're not as fast uploading as downloading!). This means that our Standard Plan DSL service is about 10 times faster than dialup service for downloading, and over 8 times as fast for uploading! You'll find that the performance difference between dialup and DSL service is dramatic.
As with our dialup service, we ensure optimal performance for DSL service using a variety of techniques. This includes a highly redundant network (multiple connections to the Internet, long term battery backup and generator backup, etc.), ample available bandwidth at all times, caching proxy server to ensure responsiveness, etc.
Can I connect
more than one computer to my DSL Line?
Yes. Most customers who have a single computer will connect the
single computer using a DSL modem (its similar to your dialup modem, but
its designed to work on a DSL line). However, for our customers who want
to connect more than one computer in their house to their DSL line, we
can provide a DSL Router. This allows additional computers to be connected
via Ethernet cable, Wireless cards, or USB cables. We don't charge
anything additional for the monthly service if you have more than one computer
connected to our DSL service (we do charge you for installation if you
want us to help you connect the additional computers).
Do I have to set this up
myself, or does Frazier Mountain Internet Service help me get it started?
As with our regular dialup service, we provide full onsite installation
as part of our regular setup. In this way, you don't need to worry about
the technical details of how to make your new service work. In addition,
it allows us an opportunity to verify that your computer and your connection
are working optimally with your new DSL service.
Why is DSL Service only
available in Frazier Park and some parts of Lake of the Woods?
In order to provide DSL service, your phone line must be connected
to a phone company Central Office ("CO") or Remote Terminal ("RT")
that has been upgraded to support DSL service. In addition, you need to
be within approximately 3 miles of the upgraded Central Office or approximately
2 miles of an upgraded Remote Terminal. At this time, the Frazier Park
Central Office is the only CO that has been been upgraded. This means that
almost all customers in Frazier Park are within the 3 mile range of the
Central Office (the Central Office is on Mt. Pinos Way across the street
from Frazier Park Market).
In Lake of the Woods, the situation gets a little more complex. Some phone lines in Lake of the Woods are fed directly from the Frazier Park Central Office, and some of the phone lines are fed from a Remote Terminal located by Cuddy Hall. Most of Lake of the Woods is on the outer edge of the 3 mile distance limitation. For this reason, if your phone line is one that is fed directly from Frazier Park, you may or may not be close enough to have DSL service. If your phone line is fed from the Remote Terminal, that terminal has not been upgraded yet to support DSL, so you would not currently be able to have DSL. We expect to have have access to the databases to determine if your phone line can support DSL around April 2004.
We will be rolling out DSL service in other areas on the Hill as soon as the Central Office or Remote Terminal serving a given area is upgraded. At this time, we don't have an exact schedule for these rollouts, but we will keep our customers informed as we anticipate offering DSL service in other areas on the Hill.
How much does DSL cost?
We are currently running a special pricing package to help our customers
establish their DSL service at a reduced cost. If you pay us semi-annually,
our Standard Plan DSL Service will be $30 per month for the first 6 months
and then $44 per month after that. Additionally, if you pay us semi-annually,
we will waive our fees for on-site installation. We have a range of new
and used modems and routers available, but most customers opt for a new
DSL modem which is $75 plus tax.
When comparing costs for DSL service to your existing service, keep in mind that many customers will decide to eliminate a second phone line that usually costs $15 to $20 per month. As a result, your upgrade to DSL service will typically only increase your monthly service by about $5 or $10 per month! For this amount, you'll enjoy the benefits of a dramatically faster internet connection that is always on without having to wait for an Internet connection.
How do I subscribe
to DSL?
Do you like what you see about DSL service? Then give us a call
at (661)242-5500 x 64 or send an e-mail to dsl@frazmtn.com.