Codetel DSL problems

[rubio_higuey]

Originally Posted by BF1

It was RD$ 1,000 and I think it was 14x1US back then....
By the way Robert, they told me I was ADSL custumer number 60

My brother in Italy has 8mb download/384 upload for 20€ (less then 30USD)

Yeah, my parents just renewed (before Xmas) contract for the new Chello/UPC promotion in Slovakia 10mb down/1mb up for 20 euro/month.... guaranteed for 12 months (it will go down anyway) and 0 setup. Comes also with free IP phone service and 50% discount on cable TV service.

We can just dream about that here in the DR...

[Chip]

Originally Posted by blink56k

Hi this is my first post at DR1. Instead of starting a new post i thought I would continue this one, since Codetel issues seem like such a common problem!

We got DSL from Moca around two years ago in the summer of 2006. It was the very basic 128US/384DS service. However it has been nothing but problems (poor synch or no synch at all) and we've had multiple visits by technicians who never did anything but poke around and leave without fixing the problem!

I tried almost everything: a different modem, different computers (windows xp, mac os x tiger, and linux), I checked with the inverter on and without regular electricity, filter, no filter...etc.

I went to the modem page and SNR was constantly low (6.0-8.0 on a good day) and attenuation is always 60-63. As I understand it, the higher the SNR the better, the lower the atten. the better. There would be days when it wouldn't synchronize at all or for hours. And whenever it did synch I had to restart the modem every 15-30 min because the internet would slow down badly.

I tried cancelling and going back to dial up, but the guy at customer service was incredibly rude (I went to Codetel personally) and when I told him about the constant outages, he even told me "what, do you need the internet 24/7 or something?". No I don't, but it's what one is paying for and the constant resets and outages are not worth it. In order to cancel the dsl "service" we had to pay them a termination fee because of the contract, so we left the office before the pique flamed up more.

After one big angry email (and one year of fighting), they finally got people here again and found damaged lines.

Ever since, the internet has been working better. SNR is around 10-16. I still have to reset every 20 minutes or so (because the SNR drops progressively). For some reason it works well at night where I can get longer usage (like now lol).

I think it could be a distance issue though of course they probably won't tell us because they want to keep milking money.

It sucks so much because there is no cable internet here and they're the only company my family can get internet from. We're not even asking for super speeds to do voip or anything like that, just basic 384k to do casual Youtube and e-mail (it's hard to do youtube but it's passable lol).

I don't know what to do with these people anymore.

Thanks for listening everyone and nice to join your community! (aunque sea para dar querrella LOL)

One of my very good friends here in Santiago has a brother in law who is a technician for Codetel. As the speed of the system is adjusted in the central office, he dialed me up to to almost 90% of the advertized speed of 1.5/700. If you are intrerested, let me know and I'll put him in contact with you. Of course he knows no English but is very knowledeble - when in Rome...

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by BF1

from wikipedia:
CODETEL History

CODETEL began telephone service in the Dominican Republic during the 1940s as a subsidiary of the US firm General Telephone and Electronics (GTE), and held a de facto monopoly until the mid 1990s. After the Dominican government passed Law 153 in 1998 providing for effective liberalization and improved pro-competition regulation, new entrants had eroded CODETEL's predominant position with the incumbent capturing only 50% of the international traffic to the United States (accounting for 70% of the total international traffic).[1] In 2000 Verizon was formed after a merger by Bell Atlantic and GTE, with CODETEL continuing operations as a subsidiary of the new company. During November 2003 CODETEL selected Nortel Networks (NYSE/TSX: NT) to provide voice over IP (Internet Protocol) network intended to converge voice and data traffic, help drive lower operating costs, and provide advanced services throughout the country.

Until 2000 Codetel was indeed a subsidiary of GTE Canada and they avoid to pay taxes, when they sold the company to Carlos Slim, because of that. Actually they said that Verizon Dominicana was a Canadian company too.....now, if somebody could prove they were american, the prize is about 500 million dollars

I fail to see the logic, not that I care one way or another, but if two US companies merged and owned Codetel, how does that make it a Canadian company?
Verizon Communications - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is an American broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow 30. It was formed in 2000 when Bell Atlantic, one of the Regional Bell Operating Companies, merged with GTE, formerly the largest independent local exchange telephone company in the United States. Prior to its transformation into Verizon, Bell Atlantic had merged with another Regional Bell Operating Company, NYNEX, in 1997. The name is a portmanteau of veritas and horizon.

Where do you get out of that Wiki report that it was GTE Canada?
I'm just wondering.
It really makes no difference to me.
I still think that 35 bux/month, tax included for DSL ain't bad.
I assume the slower DSL lines are even cheaper.

When I moved here in '91, it cost approx. 85 cents US/minute to call the US long distance and 97 cents to call Canada, (plus tax) calling direct on my hard line.
Now I pay 10 cents US/minute to call either.
When I started my DSL service 6 years ago, it cost me $80 US plus tax for a 256 kbps line, and now I pay $35 US tax included for a 768 kbps.
Maybe it's just me, but I kinda like that deal.
3 times the speed for less than half price in 6 years.
Maybe some places in the world get it for half that, but I bet that some places pay double that too.
15 years ago, you were one of the elite, if you owned a car/truck and had a TV and a radio at home.
Cellphones were all but non existent and they were the size of briefcases.
People got around town on horses and donkeys.
A 27 inch TV cost $1,000 US.
Cablevision was starting up and had a dozen channels and only worked 80% of the time.

That's one heck of a lot of progress in approx. 15 years.
Have y'all forgotten how expensive other Caribbean islands are?
We live in the best climate on planet Earth at a fraction of the cost of other tropical destinations.
Check out the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Turks & Caicos, and then you'll know just how inexpensive things are here.

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by Chip

One of my very good friends here in Santiago has a brother in law who is a technician for Codetel. As the speed of the system is adjusted in the central office, he dialed me up to to almost 90% of the advertized speed of 1.5/700. If you are intrerested, let me know and I'll put him in contact with you. Of course he knows no English but is very knowledeble - when in Rome...

That's a really kind offer, Chip.
I'm sure some folks will be wanting to take you up on it.
I'm getting an average of 85% of advertised speed, so I guess I won't complain.
Bear in mind that your friend might not be able to help some folks who live far out of town.
The longer the cable, the lower the signal.

[rubio_higuey]

Rocky, how do you get 768 kbps for 35 dollars?
I have 768 and pay RD$1395 + 26% tax, which comes to about 55 dollars per month... I would be intereste din knowing youw you managed to get the same service for 35 bucks...

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by rubio_higuey

Rocky, how do you get 768 kbps for 35 dollars?
I have 768 and pay RD$1395 + 26% tax, which comes to about 55 dollars per month... I would be intereste din knowing youw you managed to get the same service for 35 bucks...

Maybe I'm wrong.
I would have to check out the next phonebill that comes in.
I'm fairly sure that I pay 1,000 pesos plus tax for the 768 line, but I wouldn't swear to it.
I was paying 1,500 for the 256 line, and I was in the Codetel office in POP a year or two ago, when I asked them about the cost of higher speed, only to find out that it was less than what I was paying for the 256, so I had them switch it.
It would still be approx. half the price for 3 times the speeed of what I first got 6 years ago.

PS: Just checked the Codetel website and it appears that you are correct, that the 768 line cost 1,395 plus taxes.

[blink56k]

Originally Posted by Chip

One of my very good friends here in Santiago has a brother in law who is a technician for Codetel. As the speed of the system is adjusted in the central office, he dialed me up to to almost 90% of the advertized speed of 1.5/700. If you are intrerested, let me know and I'll put him in contact with you. Of course he knows no English but is very knowledeble - when in Rome...

Thanks a lot for the offer (the good thing about the DR is that people seem to all be connected by less than 3 degrees of separation so there's always "connections" lol).

Still I don't think it will work because I barely get quality 384k service as it is. And like someone else said, the longer the line, the less stronger the signals. I don't think 384k is that bad for basic stuff (I don't do gaming or webcam), what annoys me is the constant drops and resets every 15-20 min, every single day; and not being able to do much about it.

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by blink56k

Thanks a lot for the offer (the good thing about the DR is that people seem to all be connected by less than 3 degrees of separation so there's always "connections" lol).

Still I don't think it will work because I barely get quality 384k service as it is. And like someone else said, the longer the line, the less stronger the signals. I don't think 384k is that bad for basic stuff (I don't do gaming or webcam), what annoys me is the constant drops and resets every 15-20 min, every single day; and not being able to do much about it.

I agree.
The 384k is ample, unless you're one of these guys who downloads lots of music and movies.
Sometimes we're as many as 10 of us on the 768k line with no problems, as long as nobody downloads.
What caught my eye was your constant disconnects.
It's happened to me a couple of times though out the years, and both times,. it turned out to be the Codetel router that was dying.
Putting a new one in solved the problem.

PS: It seems that the 384k plan was the one that I was thinking of, for 35 bux per month.
Not a bad deal, if you didn't have the constant disconnects.
What part of the country are you in?

[POP Bad Boy]

........of the Codetel in the new shopping center yesterday in Santiago for the "COMBO PLAN" which is

1 residential line
All calls local / international / national $1.00 peso
1 "384" DSL

$995.00 per month.............

When I inquired it was for "NEW" lines only and was for 1 year........

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by POP Bad Boy

........of the Codetel in the new shopping center yesterday in Santiago for the "COMBO PLAN" which is

1 residential line
All calls local / international / national $1.00 peso
1 "384" DSL

$995.00 per month.............

When I inquired it was for "NEW" lines only and was for 1 year........

Great deal for newbies.