Can I use Vonage with BellSouth DSL???

Posts: 11 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Aug 26, 2005 Posts: 11

I currently have a cable modem through Charter Communications, but I'm thinking of switching to BellSouth DSL because it is twice as fast for the same price.

But will I be able to use my current Vonage setup if I switch the the DSL? I remember reading in the past that it was tough or impossible to use Vonage with DSL.

Thanks for any help and I apologize if this is a dumb or repetitive question...

Posts: 57 · Full Forum Member Joined: Sep 03, 2005 Posts: 57

DSL faster than Cable modem? Almost impossible. Are you subcribing to a "lite" program? The only way a dsl service is faster than cable modem is you are a lower bandwith subscriber for a cable modem service, such as Time Warner's "Roadrunner Lite". Time Warner uses that program to retain customers from defecting at a lower rate but lower speed.

Otherwise, there is no way a dsl through a phone line can be faster than a fat cable pipe.

Posts: 80 · Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:13 am Post subject:

libbyloo wrote:

DSL faster than Cable modem? Almost impossible. Are you subcribing to a "lite" program? The only way a dsl service is faster than cable modem is you are a lower bandwith subscriber for a cable modem service, such as Time Warner's "Roadrunner Lite". Time Warner uses that program to retain customers from defecting at a lower rate but lower speed.

Otherwise, there is no way a dsl through a phone line can be faster than a fat cable pipe.

It is entirely possible. Charter is a retarded little cable company that does very little to stay competitive. With BellSouth's introduction of their 6Mb DSL service, they are now twice the speed at the same price. Time Warner would service an area where Charter has the monopoly.

I have used Vonage with BellSouth's DSL for the last three years with no problem at all.

- Mark

Posts: 11 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Aug 26, 2005 Posts: 11

Thank you for the information and yes, I agree that Charter is a poor company for not offering faster speeds. I have the top tier of 3Mbps, while BellSouth DSL now offers 6Mbps for about the same price. That is why I am probably going to switch in the next couple of weeks.

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:57 pm Post subject:

TonyC9898 wrote:

Thank you for the information and yes, I agree that Charter is a poor company for not offering faster speeds. I have the top tier of 3Mbps, while BellSouth DSL now offers 6Mbps for about the same price. That is why I am probably going to switch in the next couple of weeks.

The most important thing with Vonage is upstream bandwidth - generally most connections have PLENTY of downstream that you'll rarely have problems.

What I would do, if I were you, is see if you can find a neighbor who has the DSL you're shopping for, bring them over a 6 pack, and ask them to run a couple of tests:

1. www.testyour voip.com
2. www.dslreports.com/stest

That will tell you what speeds to expect from this connection, and what type of packet loss and latency might plague you (if any).

DSL, in theory, SHOULD have lower latency and less packet loss, since it is more of a dedicated connection. However, it all depends on the upstream connections and those have little to do with the theory - DSL bandwidth is as oversold as Cable these days. Wink

Another thing to do is contact BellSouth and ask them three very important questions:

1. Do they offer a money back guarantee? (So the day it gets installed, you can test the everlovin' daylights out of it and cancel if it stinks).
2. Do they have any policies against using third party Voice Over IP?
3. Are you required to maintain a telephone line in order to get DSL?

The importance of #3 is up to you. If you are forced to get a dial tone to get DSL, then you have a phone line you are paying for, and Vonage will simply buy you free long distance and a second phone line. So you may not even have a use for Vonage if they force you to have a dial tone.

If you make the switch, I'd leave both connections active for a week or so, and see what happens. Compare them. Consider yourself lucky to live in an area where there are two broadband options at all. Wink

Posts: 57 · Full Forum Member Joined: Sep 03, 2005 Posts: 57

I see. The reason is that Charter is not offering the product. Too bad for Charter because in terms of capability, Cable can crank up the speed for far more that 6mbps if they want to.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 14, 2005 Posts: 4

Tony, I've been using Vonage with BellSouth's DSL Ultra for a few weeks now and haven't had problems.

I first got Vonage after switching to Comcast's broadband, after years of using DSL. We had terribly unreliable speed, probably due to poor wiring in our house and the popularity of the service in our area. Now that we've switchd back to DSL our Vonage service has been fine (about 80% of the quality of a landline). Only downside is the necessity of a landline for DSL.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 14, 2005 Posts: 4

n/m

Posts: 11 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Aug 26, 2005 Posts: 11

I used to have BellSouth DSL, but was getting dropouts once or twice a day when I would lose service for 20 or 30 minutes at a time....the 2 years before that, it worked flawlessly.

So I switched to Charter cable, which has been very reliable, but they are being stingy with the speeds, so I am going to go to the trouble to switch back and hope that I don't have the dropout problems with BellSouth now. Even if I do, it will still be worth it, imo....just out of principle, I refuse to pay Charter $40 a month for 3Mbps when everyone else has faster and they could easily increase it if they weren't so greedy.

Posts: 345 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Dec 04, 2005 Posts: 345

TonyC9898 wrote:

I used to have BellSouth DSL, but was getting dropouts once or twice a day when I would lose service for 20 or 30 minutes at a time....the 2 years before that, it worked flawlessly.

Check your phone jack. There might be a loose connection in it. If the connections don't look completely tight, try replacing it entirely.

DSL should be plenty fast for VoIP. However... BellSouth has recently announced that they intend to give priority to content providers who pay them extra, in essence downgrading the quality of the internet connection you have from them.