DSL
Transition
SLAC will
discontinue paying for home DSL
How this decision was made
and when it will take effect
DSL
disconnect information
How the disconnect orders will
work and when you can order your self paid for DSL service
Some pointers to DSL providers and hints on how to choose
your self paid for DSL service
Who can I talk to
about the new Residential Remote Access Services policy?
Can a DSL service provider do a seamless transition?
Can
I pay for my current DSL service myself...maybe just switch the billing from
SLAC to me?
How
can I determine when my DSL has been completely disconnected and completely out
of the AT&T system?
How
can I access Stanford University web resources without Stanford DSL service?
What should I do with my old DSL modem/router...should I keep it to use with my
new service?
My SLAC paid for DSL is on a SLAC paid for phone line. What should I do about
that phone line?
What is
SLAC's AT&T 'billing number' or 'bill to' number for users with AT&T DSL?
Would
you like to share your transition story?
Transition stories
The Ken Martell DSL transition story with AT&T
Arla LeCount's adventures with AT&T
Les
Cottrell's adventures with sonic
Alf
Wachsmann's Sonic story
Chuck
Boeheim's Sonic experience
Lois White's
Comcast story
SLAC will discontinue paying for home DSL
Your Division and/or Department Head should have notified you by now that, at the request of SLAC Directorate, the Laboratory will stop managing and/or paying for Residential High Speed Internet Access for individuals including employees, affiliates, users or visitors. This change will be implemented over a transition period starting immediately. This transition period will be completed by the end of September 2007.
The Lab management has reached this difficult decision
even though it clearly recognizes the high value of the use of high speed
internet for SLAC related work after normal working hours. The policy is
motivated by the fact that residential high speed internet access has evolved to
be a commodity in modern-day households. Its use for work purposes in addition
to private use does not increase the cost of service to the subscriber. A recent
DOE Inspector General’s audit shows that the use of DOE contract funds to pay
for such services at employee residences could be considered unallowable.
On
August 20th
disconnect orders will be sent to AT&T and
Stanford requesting that all SLAC paid for DSL service be disconnected
and cancelled. You can also request a disconnect at anytime by completing
the
SLAC DSL Service Disconnect Form. Note that even though you request a
specific disconnect date that this is just a rough window of when the disconnect
will actually be performed. It could take up to a week before the order is
entered and completed. AT&T and Stanford will try their best but the
processing does take time to complete.
Unfortunately for affected staff this is highly unlikely to be a completely seamless or transparent transition even if you wish to continue to pay for high speed internet access out of your own pocket due to billing system complexities with the vendors. See the FAQ section below dealing with questions concerning 'seamless transitions' and 'billing switches' for AT&T DSL users.
If you wish to continue having DSL service at your home you will have to personally arrange for the new service after your SLAC paid for DSL has been completely disconnected. There will most likely be a time you will be without DSL after the disconnection of your old service and when your new service is installed and up and running.
This rest of this page provides information on how the disconnects will take place, pointers to some DSL providers, and other helpful information...including the FAQ section below
After the disconnect orders have been sent to AT&T and Stanford on August 20th they should, within a few days, send us back a disconnect date that will be emailed to you. The whole disconnect process with Stanford takes a few days longer than with AT&T directly because with Stanford there are more layers of processing that takes place, hence a longer period for completion.
AT&T states that the disconnect date is the date your DSL service will stop working but that it still takes 3 - 4 business days after the disconnect date for the service to actually be out of their billing and scheduling system (this is because they contract with a separate company to do the disconnects).
Unfortunately until your SLAC paid for DSL service is fully disconnected and out of their system you probably won't be able to order a new DSL service on that phone line.
After the disconnect date (or anytime actually) you should call the AT&T residential help line (even if you have Stanford DSL) at 1 800 288 2020 or go to the www.att.com web site to check to see if your SLAC DSL service has been fully purged from their system after which time you can order new DSL from the provider of your choice if you choose to do so. See the FAQ on determining disconnect status.
Most DSL providers won't begin the process of installing a new DSL service until the old service has been completely removed and out of the AT&T billing and scheduling system...which is why you should check with AT&T.
In most cases there is no seamless way to disconnect the SLAC paid for DSL service and, at the same time, establish a new DSL service. This means you may be without DSL service for some amount of time. See the FAQ section below dealing with questions concerning 'seamless transitions' and 'billing switches' for AT&T DSL users.
Below are a few possible methods to minimize the period you are without internet access from your residence. Not all will be applicable.
-
If you have Stanford DSL (not AT&T DSL) and you are affiliated with a department on Stanford campus there might be a way to switch the billing from SLAC to that department on Stanford campus. If you want to try this billing switch supply dsl-admin@slac.stanford.edu with the following information (this is only for Stanford DSL, not AT&T DSL):
- a Stanford campus account number from your Stanford campus department .
- the contact name and number of the person in your department who gave you
the account number….someone we can contact to coordinate this with. - Another possible solution for both Stanford and AT&T
DSL users....I've heard from a few people who have contacted AT&T directly
(with varying degrees of success ) to get new AT&T service on their line or
to switch the billing over (with different service features and better
prices than the SLAC paid for charges). AT&T is not supposed to disconnect
the Stanford DSL service but it depends on the customer rep you get.
Also, be aware that when billing is stopped for your Stanford DSL there is
the possibility that your new service will also be disconnected. If you
choose this option you also agree to be responsible for any disconnect
problems that might occur.
- It didn't work for me (Ken Martell) when I tried calling them and it didn't work for some others who have tried it. But others were successful. I'm guessing it depends on who you are lucky, or unlucky, enough to talk with at AT&T.
- If you do happen to contact AT&T directly and make any changes to your service it's very important that you email dsl-admin@slac.stanford.edu to let us know.
- We still have to deal with the billing issue in the case of Stanford DSL users so it's important that we hear from you. AT&T users can still request us to do the billing switch. - If you have AT&T DSL (not Stanford DSL) you might think about having your AT&T billing switched from SLAC to your home phone bill...see the 'billing switch' FAQ on this below.
- If you choose to get Comcast broadband service there will be no downtime because Comcast does not use your AT&T phone line, it uses cable. So, if you choose you can personally order Comcast at anytime as a replacement for your DSL.
- If you have a second phone line in your home (a different phone number than the one you currently have SLAC DSL on) you can order new DSL service on that phone line independent of what's happening on the SLAC DSL phone line.
- During your downtime
use might consider using
- the SLAC Dialup Service
- the Stanford Dialup Service
Each user will have to do their own research and choose what provider he wants to use as his ISP and what service to choose from that provider. We would strongly recommend that you talk with a representative of your chosen provider to understand their rate structures and the services they offer.
Do your research to identify potential ISPs. Below are some you might consider although you may find more in your search.
- AT&T http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=6431
- Comcast (not DSL, over cable) http://www.comcast.com/
- Covad http://www.covad.com/services/dsl/index.html
- Earthlink http://www.earthlink.net/
- Internet Frontier http://www.ifn.net/
- Sonic http://sonic.net/
- Speakeasy http://www.speakeasy.net/
Here are more ideas to keep in mind:
- Most people can manage nicely with the slower speeds offered e.g. 1.5Mbps download and 128Kbps upload.
- Most people do not need fixed IP addresses. DSL service using dynamic IP addresses are cheaper and usually good enough. Those with Stanford DSL have 5 static IP address, those with AT&T mostly have 1 dynamic IP address.
- The faster the speed the more expensive the service. Many staff may find the lower speed service is adequate for their activities. Others may need the fastest internet speeds available. The pricing will likely be highly correlated with the speed you request.
- Ordering over the internet may save you some money on the monthly charges and installation.
- Even if you order over the internet it's a good idea to talk to a representative on the phone and discuss your needs with him before placing an order. Tell him what you use the internet for e.g. surfing the web and email, etc.
- Look for promotions but read the fine print e.g. what will the charges be after the promotion is over?
- Check with friends and work associates to see what service they are using and what they think of their service.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Who can I talk to about the
new Residential Remote Access
Services policy and the current decision on SLAC paid for DSL
disconnects ?
You may get advice and increase your
understanding of this change from your directorate financial offices:
PSD – Stephanie Carlson (
steph@SLAC.Stanford.EDU )
and
Elizabeth Caplun-Cochrane (
ecc@SLAC.Stanford.EDU )
PPA – Charlotte Chang (
cchang@SLAC.Stanford.EDU )
LCLS – Wendy Sisson (
wsisson@SLAC.Stanford.EDU )
Operations – Mimi Chang (
mimi@SLAC.Stanford.EDU )
Can a DSL service provider do a
seamless transition?
If a service provider
claims that he can do a seamless transition (a switch to his new service that
will not cause you any downtime without DSL) there are a couple of things to
keep in mind and you should proceed with some caution. Your success and luck
will vary.
Even if the service provider transitions you (seamlessly or not) to his new service the billing to SLAC for the old service must also stop. Notify dsl-admin@slac.stanford.edu if you have your service switched and we'll notify AT&T or Stanford to discontinue the billing.
Even then, there is a slight possibility that the billing cancellation order might be misinterpreted as an order to also cancel the service...resulting in your new service being cancelled. Service providers do not always communicate well with each other. They expect cancellations to be for the service and the billing (not just for billing alone), and if you’ve ever dealt with AT&T you know that things don’t always happen in a prescribed manner. We have no experience with this process and it's something to be considered if you go with a company that claims to be able to do a seamless transition. Problems could occur.
The preferred way, even though it involves a service interruption, is to do a clean disconnect of your SLAC paid for service and to order the new service after that.
- For those with AT&T DSL service... A billing
switch from SLAC to the user's home is possible. This would not
cause any interruption in your AT&T DSL service. If you wish to do
this email
dsl-admin@slac.stanford.edu as soon as possible:
1) asking us to do the billing switch and
2) that you agree to be responsible for any possible charges that SLAC is billed for that occur after August 31.
We'll send AT&T the request to have the billing transferred to your home phone bill. You should see the charges in 2, possibly 3 billing cycles. The downside to this is you will be paying the Business rate for your AT&T DSL service, the same rate that SLAC was paying. You will also be responsible for any possible charges that SLAC is billed for that occur after August 31.
- For those with Stanford DSL service... Stanford does
not have a provision where an individual can pay directly for their
DSL service.
(08/10/07) But if you are affiliated with a department on Stanford campus there might be a way to switch the billing from SLAC to that department on Stanford campus. If you want to try this billing switch supply dsl-admin@slac.stanford.edu with the following information (this is only for Stanford DSL, not AT&T DSL):
- a Stanford campus account number from your Stanford campus department .
- the contact name and number of the person in your department who gave you
the account number….someone we can contact to coordinate this with.
- (08/10/07) Another possible solution for both Stanford and AT&T
DSL users....I've heard from a few people who have contacted AT&T directly
(with varying degrees of success ) to get new AT&T service on their line or
to switch the billing over (with different service features and better
prices than the SLAC paid for charges).
- It didn't work for me (Ken Martell) when I tried calling them and it didn't work for some others who have tried it. But others were successful. I'm guessing it depends on who you are lucky, or unlucky, enough to talk with at AT&T.
- If you do happen to contact AT&T directly and make any changes to your service it's very important that you email dsl-admin@slac.stanford.edu to let us know.
- We still have to deal with the billing issue in the case of Stanford DSL users so it's important that we hear from you. AT&T users can still request us to do the billing switch.
There are a couple of ways.
1) Go to the AT&T web site,
www.att.com, and try to order new service on your phone line. If the
response comes back something like..."It appears that you already have AT&T
Yahoo! High Speed Internet "...than you're still in their system and won't be
able to order a new AT&T service. If it allows you to order, then your on
your way.
2) Call the AT&T at 1 800 288 2020. The problem with this way is that you may be
put on hold for some period of time...that's what a few users have reported.
How can I access Stanford University web resources
without Stanford DSL service?
As Stanford employees, staff at SLAC can get a Stanford
computer account (SUNet id see:
http://sunetid.stanford.edu/ ). The instructions for how to get access to
journals and other off-campus resources, set up browsers, etc is given at
http://library.stanford.edu/apcproxy/index.html
and more info
one level down at
http://library.stanford.edu/apcproxy/suauthent.html#other.
The following URL is how SLAC users can access all online journal outside of SLAC (on the Library website).http://www.slac.stanford.edu/library/services/remoteaccess.htm (see text below).
Feel free to contact the SLAC Library at x2411 if you have additional questions.
And questions about off-campus access can also be directed to Stanford by calling 650-723-1611.
What should I do with my old DSL modem/router?
If you will be
needing the modem/router for your new DSL service which will be used for SLAC-business
purposes, you should keep it, otherwise you should return it to SLAC Salvage.
But as a general rule you should use the new equipment that your new service
provider recommends and provides instead of using the older equipment. The
reason for this is because if there are questions or problems that might involve
your equipment it's better to have equipment that the provider supports (and
provides you with) than one that he doesn't.
My SLAC paid for DSL is on a SLAC
paid for phone line. What should I do about that phone line?
After your SLAC paid for DSL has been disconnected and if you
don't need the SLAC paid for phone line anymore for SLAC business email Brenda
Eberle at eberle@slac.stanford.edu
requesting that she have the service on that line cancelled.
What
is SLAC's 'billing number' or 'bill to' number for users with AT&T DSL?
I have AT&T DSL and when I talk to AT&T about
details of my DSL service they sometimes ask me for a 'billing number' or a
'bill to' number. This is the central billing number that all SLAC paid for AT&T
DSL is billed to by AT&T. It does not pertain to Stanford DSL. Sometimes
they need this information from you, along with your home phone number, to
answer certain questions. The number is 650 926 9333 431 9
Would you like to share
your transition story?
If you have a transition story you would
like to share please email it to
dsl-admin@slac.stanford.edu.
The Ken Martell DSL transition story with AT&T
I cancelled my AT&T DSL on 07/09/07 and received a disconnect date of 07/10/07. My first conversations with AT&T were that the disconnect date was only an order date which was sent to an AT&T subsidiary company that does the physical disconnects and that the physical disconnect really wouldn't take place for 3 or 4 days after that date. Wrong!!
On Tuesday evening, 07/10/07, my DSL service was gone. No blinking light on my DSL modem. Nothing. Gone. Kaput.
That evening I went to my girl friends house and used her (self paid for) DSL to attempt to order my new (self paid for) DSL. I decided to stay with AT&T.
When I went to their web site and filled in all the required information I got my first 'rejection' notice. Their system still showed me as having DSL service and because of this I was unable to order new service at that time. (Just because the physical service was disconnected didn't mean that I was ‘out of their system’. And if you're not ‘out of their system’ you can't order new service.)
I called AT&T on 07/11/07, and yes, the helpful AT&T person said that I was indeed still 'in their system' and it would take 3 or 4 days to clear out. At which time I would be able to order new service.
I asked them if they could be more specific but they said the 3 of 4 day window was the best they could give me and the best way for me to find out when I was 'out of the system' is to call each day and inquire or to try the web site signup procedure (at someone else's home with Internet connectivity) and see if it worked or not.
I was finally 'out of the system' on 7/14 and was able to order my new AT&T DSL service. I was told that the new service would be ready on 7/20. I made a mistake and ordered the wrong equipment and had to reorder it. The correct equipment arrived on 7/25. Ok, I take responsibility for this 5 day delay...
At home I have three phone jacks, all on the same number, two of which I have phones connected to and the third one I had my previous DSL (AT&T) connected to for over 5 years. Never had a problem with the DSL or that phone jack.
Well, after they disconnected the previous DSL service that phone jack went dead for some reason...no dial tone. So I couldn't use it for my new DSL service either.
Luckily another phone jack is near where my computer is so I just strung a longer phone line to that location (I would deal with the dead phone jack later... I just wanted to get the service up and running).
After I connected the DSL modem to a 'good' phone jack I saw that the DSL modem would not 'sync' up with the AT&T DSL equipment at their Central Office...they call it 'training' the modem. The DSL light on the modem was blinking red (not good).
I called the tech support number and went through 'Level 1' and 'Level 2' support...then was passed on to a 'modem expert'. After more questions and testing we found out he was an expert on a different type of modem then the one I had and I was again passed on to a 'modem expert' of the type I have. We went through more of the same testing and questions and I was passed on to 'line maintenance'. They did more testing and determined that one of their line technicians would have to come to the house the next day (I opted for the 8 - 12 window). This whole exercise took about 3 hours.
Today, 07/26/07, the technician arrived on time, repunched a couple of wires on my original 'DSL' phone jack and 5 minutes later I'm up and running...$60.00 lighter because my problem involved 'inside' wiring.
My total 'downtime' should have been 10 days...from 7/10 to 7/20. But because of my equipment order mistake it took longer.
I am sharing this story so that each of you will be prepared for likely glitches in getting your residential remote access service up and running. Although I hope you have better luck :-)
Arla LeCount's Adventures with AT&T
A few month's ago, I contacted AT&T and told them that I currently had AT&T service paid for by my employer through Stanford University and that I wanted to convert to a residential line, billed to my home. I told them that other people at SLAC had had the experience of being without DSL for many days in making such a transition and that if they could make it reasonably painless for me, I would stick with AT&T, but that otherwise, I would get cable DSL, which wouldn't require a long wait. I also mentioned that there were many other people here at SLAC who may well be doing the same thing soon, so it would be in their best interest to make the process as seamless as possible. They assured me they would work with me to make this a good transition.
I cancelled the SLAC service through Ken and AT&T was able to put through the request for residential service and send me the new DSL modem without waiting for my existing DSL service to get entirely "out of their system". I believe the reason was that my DSL service was through a separate data line and not associated with my home phone. The new DSL is on my regular home phone line.
I received my new modem within perhaps a week and on the date of service listed on my information sheet, the old DSL router stopped working. I installed the new one and then realized I had ordered the wrong model as the one I received couldn't be used with wireless. I called AT&T support and explained the situation and they sent me the new modem with a place to plug in the wireless access point. Meanwhile I used the one without wireless until the new one came in a few days. After the new modem came, I returned the first one for credit, installed the new modem and wireless and was up and running in a matter of a few hours.
My experience was much less painful than anyone else's I have heard so far. I think the critical difference was that my existing service was on a separate line. I also wonder whether their records indicated that the customer was Stanford rather than me as an individual, which perhaps made it look like I didn't already have DSL service. All in all, it was much less painful than I expected. Good luck--
Les Cottrell's Adventures with Sonic
I heard from others that Sonic could make the changeover from Stanford to Sonic with minimal problems. I filled out the forms asking for Residential DSL service, a single dynamic IP address with modest speed service (Express $17.95/month 1 year promotion ($49.95 non-promotional)), and to do a self-install. I said the current service was from AT&T and requested a DSL modem (cost $49.95 plus $12.96 shipping). Equipment is eligible for a $49.95 mail in rebate. I received several emails indicating that my account was set up, how to contact them, my userid and password (I changed my password), confirmation of what I had ordered, useful hints, monthly costs for the first year, that the modem had been shipped with the shipping number, instructions on what to do and a date for the conversion 7/30/07. The modem arrived at my home two days later. I sent an email to their email address to clarify some questions and got them answered by a return email within 4 hours. On 7/30/07 Imoved the DSL RJ11 cable to the Sonic DSL modem. That evening I came home. The modem DSL light was blinking and I could not get connected. I called Sonic, a technician answered within a few rings Their hours are 6am - 11p weekdays and are also available weekends. I explained the problem. He appeared to understand things, we tried various tests without success. We agreed to try switching to the old DSL router (Cayman 3220) that I had from Stanford, but I thought I needed a cable to access its console port. Next evening I bought a console cable, called Sonic. Again I got through quickly and the technician was able to bring up my previous trouble ticket. We logged onto the Cayman but were not able to see how to re-configure it to work with the Sonic DSL modem. He looked at the DSL stats and there were some irregularities. He recommended that we get AT&T to make a truck roll and look at the problem. He warned me that if it was inside wiring there would be a charge of $60.00. Next day (1/8/07) AT&T came by. As far as I understand they replaced the cable from the DSL junction box to the modem and it worked. Since this was inside wiring it cost $60.00. I now need to get a router with multiple ports so I can connect up other devices. I could have ordered a wifi router from Sonic for $99.00 plus sales tax when I initially signed up, or I could get something from Fry's. Just to simplify support, I decided to use the Sonic supplied DSL/router with WiFi ($99). The device arrived by UPS three days after ordering. It had a return shipper for the older DSL modem so I will not have to pay for it. I replaced the Sonic modem with the Sonic router, it worked immediately. To use wireless I only had to enter the WiFi security access code (provided on the label on the bottom of the router) into my laptop.
I have also sent email to dsl-admin to indicate they can disconnect my Stanford DSL to stop future billing from them to SLAC.
In summary: Sonic seem very responsive and technically competent. Since I had multiple wired ports I should have ordered the wifi router. Also I should have used the RJ11 DSL cable they shipped rather than using the existing cable. I have a one year contract for $17.95/month.
I ordered Sonic DSL on July 25. The switch-over date was supposed to be July 30 but nothing happened that day. I called them on Aug 1 to see what was going on and 30 minutes later my Stanford DSL was disconnected. I configured the old Netopia ADSL router to bridging mode as I was supposed to but the line stayed dead. I called Sonic again and they placed a trouble call with AT&T. On Aug 2 at 2pm, Sonic left a voice message that AT&T fixed something and that the DSL line should work now. When I came home after work that day and switched on my computer, DSL was indeed working again. So, a downtime of about one day - not bad at all.
However: It turned out during one of my trouble calls to Sonic, that they have no support for my old Netopia ADSL router. They did not mention that when I ordered the new DSL service. They only asked for the make and model and told me that it would work without mentioning that I will be on my own with it. When I then ordered one of their supported DSL routers, it turned out they had me for a month-by-month contract on their record even though I ordered one full year (which is necessary to make the router cost only S&H after mail-in rebate).
So, Sonic's Support was excellent so far, their Sales was not.
Initial speed checks show that the upload speed is in the middle of the promised range, upload speed is a little below what they promise. I can't comment yet on the quality of the residential line vs. the old Stanford business line.
Chuck Boeheim's Sonic experience
My experience was similar to Alf's, with one additional problem. I was upgrading my line speed at the same time as I was switching.
Sonic determined that I was eligible for the higher speed because the service was available in my area. However, my specific line was connected to the the Central Office two miles away, not to the local repeater. According to Sonic, AT&T accepted an 'impossible' change order and then acted surprised when it didn't work. It took a disconnect and a reconnect and two weeks to resolve the problem. Sonic provided me with dialup access during this time.
Sonic told me that if the problem had been detected before the switchover date that it could have been accomplished with a day of downtime or less. Their advice for anyone switching was to insist on checking that the specific line is provisioned for the requested speed. Presumably if you are not upgrading your speed, this would not be an issue.
Here's her story and she's stickin' to it...!
Because my neighborhood doesn't have DSL service and I already have Comcast television service, I chose to get Comcast high-speed internet.
I looked at Comcast's web pages to see what was available and called the number on the webpage. I ordered high-speed internet over the phone on a Friday and received via UPS the self-install kit on the following Tuesday.
The self install kit includes a cable modem, a coaxial splitter, and two coaxial cables with which to connect the cable tv box and the cable modem to the splitter. I did these connections and connected an ethernet cable (which you must purchase if you don't already have one) to the modem and the Mac G4 running MacOSX 10.3.9.
Cable modem rental is $3/month but I will probably buy a cable modem soon and return the rental unit to Comcast.
I inserted the Comcast setup CD into the drive and opened the installer.
I've since been informed that this step really isn't necessary if one knows what setting to change on the Macintosh. All went well until the setup software got hopelessly lost on the Mac and it hung irretrievably.
It was 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday when I called their technical assistance.
The line was answered within 2 minutes and the woman who answered was knowledgeable, technically competent, and had a helpful attitude. She finished the setup on their end, walked me through 2 or 3 reboots and tests and had me on my way in less than 10 minutes. The whole process from cabling through successful internet connection took about 35 minutes.
The self-install kit was inexpensive ($9.95, I think) and the call to the help line was free. High-speed internet service is $19.95/month for the first 6 months and $42.85 (not sure that is exact) after that.
I had to reset my proxy settings for Safari which had inexplicably been clobbered during the install, but otherwise I think everything is set up properly. Firefox was not affected. The default home page for Internet Explorer was changed to Comcast.net. The install process had warned that this last change would be made. It can be changed back to SLAC's home page if you like. You may have to set up a new network connection to SLAC in the Mac Preferences -> network area if your browser(s) use(s) proxies
Owner: dsl-admin