Response to CenturyLink on Property Node Placement
Please note: As of January 1, 2017, XMission no longer sells DSL services.
Don, thanks for contacting me regarding placing a node on my property. Under prior circumstance, I would be all for the placement of CenturyLink equipment on my property, even without compensation. However, since CenturyLink and Qwest determined that they would not allow third party transmission over their FTTN/ADSL2 system, and thusly locked out third party ISP partnerships, I cannot provide service over your new infrastructure to my own home. In addition, Qwest made promises in 2004 blocking the UTOPIA municipal network from being established in Salt Lake City, which subsequently have been filled by restricting higher speeds (but lower than UTOPIA) to their own use. This strategy was not outlined to the Salt Lake City council. It is worth noting that if Qwest had supported UTOPIA in Salt Lake City, there would be no need for you to be asking me for property placement, but you would still be able to participate as a provider on a superior fiber-optic network.
As someone who must understand the technical aspects of Internet provision, you must realize that CenturyLink’s refusal to partner with third-party ISPs is purely administrative and not technical. I would imagine that they would have enough foresight to realize that if they are the only ISP in town using public right-of-ways, local regulation may wake up and state that they need to share their infrastructure whether they like it or not. In that case, it would be better to start wholesaling their infrastructure now (with a wholesale price that is actually lower than their retail price, unlike your existing DSL product), than be forced to later.
I would welcome further discussions with you on this topic if there is intent to move in a mutually beneficial direction. However if that beneficial direction is characterized as a one-time payment, then we can stop right here.
Pete Ashdown
President
XMission
Today is Change Your Password Day Declaration of Internet Freedom
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Pete,
What a great, well-reasoned, and fair response. Good luck in any future communications/negotiations with entities such as these. Thanks for your past and continued support of the UTOPIA network, and for continually speaking out in its behalf. As someone who is receiving internet connectivity thanks to UTOPIA, I am a direct beneficiary and I fully support the stated goals of UTOPIA and wish that more influential people would speak out in support of it and against the disappointing tactics employed by various incumbent entities.
The gull Century Link has, When they installed their copper from the node network in my area the interference on the old adsl1 equipment got so bad that my 1.5meg service with Xmission became unusable. I was forced into their adsl2+ network and their garbage internet service. I wonder if they purposely choose the adsl2+ equipment knowing it causes interference with adsl1 service.
And the real kicker is that the copper here is of such poor quality that the CFTN(FTTN) adsl2+ service is wildly unstable, our “20meg” connection would jump between a 4meg link speed to a 18meg link speed(checked in the modem properties) and almost nightly be out for 2-3hours at a time. 2-3 tech tech calls and never fixed so finely we switched to Comcast, lost my static ip =(. Still not happy I want my consistent 42ms Xmission ping to Seattle back **** it.
I am in area where the old USwest lines where installed through the backyards, I am pretty sure their are line problems somewhere between the pedestal out back and the neighborhood node. I image that they don’t want to spend what it would take to fix the line problems considering the poor choice of original install location.
In East Layton area so maybe one of these days Utopia will get to me and I can finely switch back to Xmission. Loved Xmissions service!!
I would have responded the same way. I’m stuck with a 1.5 mbit Qwest/CenturyLink DSL connection because I choose to use Xmission as my ISP. But that will change soon. I’m in Centerville and expect UTOPIA to connect me in the next 30 days. I will then be able to sever completely and forever my connection to Qwest/CenturyLink.
Great response Pete!
You should request an on-site meeting. Hilarity would ensue.
Any updated info as to there response? Also, I just saw on the relia.net site that they are advertising 12mb & 20mb FTTN/ADSL2+ connections. Did they work out some third party agrement that Xmission and other DSL providers are not privy to?
No response at all. Centurylink is more than happy to let other people sell their product. There is still no opening for third party ISPs to use FTTN/ADSL2+ for their own Internet.