OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

I've heard/overheard from several sources about broadband (not sure whether DSL or cable) internet which has local phone service bundled. Cost was ~$60; and as I'm paying $40 for local phone and $21 for dial-up, I figured it was worth checking up on. If anyone has experience with such a service or has any further information about it, I'd greatly appreciate hearing it.

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

Phone service usually offers DSL. In most cases DSL is well worth the $40 to $60 a month it costs if you play a lot of on line games.

Normally you get 128k up / down with DSL.

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

check out :
www.vonage.com
Vonage recentlt won a court case that has opened up many states to them. In my area, it's available through BestBuy. To use it, you need either DSL ot Cable Intenet. As far as it being packaged, that will probably be a local / regional thing.
I would be curious if anybody's tried it.

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

So wait... what is this exactly? You can get telephone service through a broadband internet connection? Wouldn't that be highly redundant if you have DSL? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif I can see it making sense for cable, if you can get better deals/service than from your local phone company(s), but for use in conjunction with DSL, which is through the phone company?

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

I have seen there adds.

I am waiting for broad band over the Power Lines. No crap, they can actually use the power lines and electrical outlets in your home to transmit and receive broad band.

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

For those of you who thought I was just joking, do a google search on Power Line Broadband and see for your self.

http://www.archnetco.com/english/product/network.htm

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

They are doing ads since 2 or 3 years, but they still haven't solved all technical problems yet. I would not try it right now.

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">It's been tied up in legal debates. HAM operators & emergency services are claiming it will interfere w/ their radios.

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

Many years ago, long before wireless started to get going, there were a couple of companies that offered in-house networking over the existing electrical wireing in the house, good idea, but one of the main problem was noise (static, electrial), house wireing is not sheilded like network wireing. It was a great idea for its time.

The thing I would think might also keep it from going further, is fiber. Fiber network (around the world) will be the future for physical backbone and Sattelite's for the wireless. One of the things about fiber that I have read about, that there is techniques down the road to take the existing fiber threads and use the spectrum of light to channel data, i.e. red band would be a channel, blue band would be another ect... the only limiting issue would be the sending/receiving device (more spectrum bands used the more data can be sent at the same time).

blah, blah...well it was interesting to me anyways...

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

Broadband over powerlines is the wrong way to go. It interferes with HAM and AM radio signals. We will lose some TV channels. Then soon we will have appliances that are networked and everything we use will be monitered and recorded. Japan tried broadband over powerline and they stopped using it. Wonder why?

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

Re: OT: Broadband/local phone service
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Same problems over here in Germany, there are proven cases where it interferes with short wave radio. Not used often, but still more rights to these frequencies. Although here in Germany the legal system sucks, and it will likely take a few hundred years untill cases like that will be settled finally.