General > General info Somewhat hot tub related
Cable TV Phone Service
wmccall:
--- Quote ---Thanks for the info.
I just scheduled install for the end of the month. The person at the cable company did ask me if I had a security system, which I do not. But it's good to know for the future.
--- End quote ---
Agreed, I'm glad he mentioned it.
GoBlue:
Having a battery backup on the cable modem is important, but what service level does the cable company guarantee. Around here, the phone company uses standby generators on the central offices and neighborhood DLC's. The cable company does not. So, in the event of an extended power outage (>5hrs.) the cable phones go down and the phone company phones stay working. We get ice storms and this is an issue here. I negotiated the phone service contract for one of my customers and this was a huge thing to them. They provide emergency services. Just something to consider...
dkersten:
My wife works for the cable company here, so I have had all their services now for about 12 years.
The telephone service was added about a year ago here, and we got it the day they got the modems in. For the most part, it has been pretty trouble free, but not 100%.
The modem does have a battery backup in it that is good for around 4-5 hours, and the only time it was an issue was last winter when we had a heavy snow that took out tons of power lines all over the city. We were without power for about 30 hours, and after the first 5 we had no phone either. To be honest though, it was not even an issue.. we had cell phones if we needed them, and I even used the light on my cell phone camera to navigate around the house after 6pm.. Of course, who was thinking about calling people when it was 40degrees in the house..
As far as security systems, the output on the modem is basically just a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) line, so you shouldnt have any issues. Some telephony modems do have problems with data lines, such as faxes and security systems, but usually there is a mode that can be switched on that will change the compression to work with data lines. My parents had a problem with their security, but after 2 visits from the cable tech, it turned out the security company had connected the line incorrectly to begin with, and they didnt have a proper connection to begin with.. adding the phone service from the cable company actually helped their security in that case since they never would have known that their system would not be able to dial for help.
Now, as to the problems: First, the line is digital, which means compression. Compression combined with low bandwidth can lead to distortion of sound, which can be very annoying. Being that this is cable modem based, you are sharing bandwidth with other people in your neighborhood. Once you add up Video on Demand, all the HD cable channels, High speed internet, and now telephony service, you are talking a LOT of bandwidth. If the fiber optic going to the cable head is good, and the cable going to your house is flawless, then you will likely have few problems. However, your quality of service can be affected by the rest of the neighborhood. If there is heavy enough usage, you will have distortion and dropouts in a phone conversation. In many cases, cell phones are better quality.
Other issues I have seen have been about 10% of calls dont properly recieve the caller ID data. Dropped calls don't happen often.
Otherwise, the service has been good. The biggest issue is sound quality during heavy usage times of the day. You will learn quickly if your neighborhood has heavy usage periods, and when they are. My area is not bad. A friend of mine in Seattle has issues from about 4pm to about 7pm every weekday, and talking to him at that time is a crapshoot. We have had to resort to cell phones on occasion because it has gotten pretty bad. He is in an apartment building that is a little old, and the quality of his cable line is in question.
Bottom line: I wouldnt hesitate to use it at home, but I would think twice about using it for a business. I have 3 branches that use IP based telephony phone systems over T1's with good routers and it is marginal in my opinion. But for home, no problem..
bosco0633:
two of my friends have vonage as well. When I talk to them it sounds like they are talking in a tin room. I was concerned. A month and a half ago I got a promo in the mail from my cable company. They offered me to keep my own phone number, 1000 long distance north america, local calling area is huge now so no long distance within most of the province, voice mail, call waiting, forwarding, caller id and all the other bells and whistes, a new cordless phone, 2 months free for 30 canadian a month. No contract. i love it. the quality is amazing and you would never know that you were on cable phone. They threw in all the jacks for free as well.
The best part is..... that bell Canada's monopoly on the phone market is gone gone gone. I hate bell it is the absolute worst customer service. They never compromised before because they had no competition. Now I hope to see them go under.
wmccall:
--- Quote ---Having a battery backup on the cable modem is important, but what service level does the cable company guarantee. Around here, the phone company uses standby generators on the central offices and neighborhood DLC's. The cable company does not. So, in the event of an extended power outage (>5hrs.) the cable phones go down and the phone company phones stay working. We get ice storms and this is an issue here. I negotiated the phone service contract for one of my customers and this was a huge thing to them. They provide emergency services. Just something to consider...
--- End quote ---
I was thinking about this in the hottub. My power was out for 36 hours Christmas 04. I was able to keep my internet service up the whole time, my phones would have been up for that. I did have one working phone that wasn't cordless. 911 service is probably the real kicker
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