Tricky situation about Cable TV/Internet service at my new rental house

[tranquility]

tranquility I live eight miles from the central switching office where land line telephone services come from and I have DSL too , the second level of service.

I think you are mistaken on the distance.

5280 feet per mile. 8 miles. 42,240 feet.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/4676

less than 5000 You will have little trouble getting all speeds of DSL
5000-10600 You may have trouble getting the highest speeds on offer
10600-15000 The danger zone for DSL from national CLECs like Covad and NorthPoint. Speeds on offer are pinned back steadily until they reach 192k for 15,000 feet. If your line is longer than around 15000 feet, they may not accept an order.
15000-18000 In this range, Telco ADSL is normally still available, although it may be restricted to 300-500k speeds
18000-22000 Telco ADSL is not available, although in a few areas, RADSL may be a product you can get. RADSL is speed-variable.
Some smaller DSL specialist CLECs may have solutions for you.
22000-28000 Using less commonly used DSL equipment, it is still possible to use lines of this length.
18000-28000 IDSL is an alternative or possibly the only alternative. IDSL is 144k/sec, about four-six times modem speed.
28000-38000 IDSL is the only alternative

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/dsl1.htm

Precisely how much benefit you see from ADSL will greatly depend on how far you are from the central office of the company providing the ADSL service. ADSL is a distance-sensitive technology: As the connection's length increases, the signal quality decreases and the connection speed goes down. The limit for ADSL service is 18,000 feet (5,460 meters), though for speed and quality of service reasons many ADSL providers place a lower limit on the distances for the service. At the extremes of the distance limits, ADSL customers may see speeds far below the promised maximums, while customers nearer the central office have faster connections and may see extremely high speeds in the future. ADSL technology can provide maximum downstream (Internet to customer) speeds of up to 8 megabits per second (Mbps) at a distance of about 6,000 feet (1,820 meters), and upstream speeds of up to 640 kilobits per second (Kbps). In practice, the best speeds widely offered today are 1.5 Mbps downstream, with upstream speeds varying between 64 and 640 Kbps. Some vast improvements to ADSL are available in some areas through services called ASDL2 and ASDL2+. ASDL2 increases downstream to 12 Mbps and upstream to 1 Mbps, and ASDL2+ is even better -- it improves downstream to as much as 24 Mbps and upstream to 3 Mbps.*

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/dsldigitalsubscriberline/a/availability.htm

Distance limitation - DSL technology is distance sensitive. In short, it means your residence must be located within a certain distance (traditionally about 18000 ft. / 5 km) away from the local phone company hub (called a central office or public exchange). In rare cases, your neighbor around the corner may be eligible for DSL but you cannot, due to this distance limitation. This is also why people living in rural areas cannot subscribe to DSL service.

http://whatis.techtarget.com/reference/Fast-Guide-to-DSL-Digital-Subscriber-Line

DSL Type Description Data Rate
Downstream;
Upstream Distance Limit Application
IDSL ISDN Digital Subscriber Line 128 Kbps 18,000 feet on 24 gauge wire Similar to the ISDN BRI service but data only (no voice on the same line)
CDSL Consumer DSL
from Rockwell 1 Mbps downstream; less upstream 18,000 feet on 24 gauge wire Splitterless home and small business service; similar to DSL Lite
DSL Lite (same as G.Lite) "Splitterless" DSL without the "truck roll" From 1.544 Mbps to 6 Mbps downstream, depending on the subscribed service 18,000 feet on 24 gauge wire The standard ADSL; sacrifices speed for not having to install a splitter at the user's home or business
G.Lite (same as DSL Lite) "Splitterless" DSL without the "truck roll" From 1.544 Mbps to 6 Mbps , depending on the subscribed service 18,000 feet on 24 gauge wire The standard ADSL; sacrifices speed for not having to install a splitter at the user's home or business
HDSL High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line 1.544 Mbps duplex on two twisted-pair lines;
2.048 Mbps duplex on three twisted-pair lines 12,000 feet on 24 gauge wire T1/E1 service between server and phone company or within a company;
WAN, LAN, server access
SDSL Symmetric DSL 1.544 Mbps duplex (U.S. and Canada); 2.048 Mbps (Europe) on a single duplex line downstream and upstream 12,000 feet on 24 gauge wire Same as for HDSL but requiring only one line of twisted-pair
ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line 1.544 to 6.1 Mbps downstream;
16 to 640 Kbps upstream 1.544 Mbps at 18,000 feet;
2.048 Mbps at 16,000 feet;
6.312 Mpbs at 12,000 feet;
8.448 Mbps at 9,000 feet Used for Internet and Web access, motion video, video on demand, remote LAN access
RADSL Rate-Adaptive DSL from Westell Adapted to the line, 640 Kbps to 2.2 Mbps downstream; 272 Kbps to 1.088 Mbps upstream Not provided Similar to ADSL
UDSL Unidirectional DSL proposed by a company in Europe Not known Not known Similar to HDSL
VDSL Very high Digital Subscriber Line 12.9 to 52.8 Mbps downstream;
1.5 to 2.3 Mbps upstream;
1.6 Mbps to 2.3 Mbps downstream 4,500 feet at 12.96 Mbps;
3,000 feet at 25.82 Mbps; 1,000 feet at 51.84 Mbps ATM networks;
Fiber to the Neighborhood

http://blog.directcom.com/2012/04/23/are-there-any-limitations-to-dsl-service/

Signals degrade over long distances. That is just a law of nature. Copper is a good conductor, but it’s not a perfect conductor. Inside any metal line, there is resistance as the electronic waves travel through the metal. Because of this fact, there is a limit to how far DSL can travel from the main telephone switch. Usually it can only go 2 or 3 miles at the most before you need to build another office to repeat that signal. A regular analog telephone conversation can be pushed out much further, because signal degradation is not as critical, but to deliver internet data , with the digital packets being sent in very precise, technical ways, any kind of interference, loss of signal or degradation is going to cause problems.

 

[TheGeekess]

From which outfit am I supposed to get this deal ? I am all ears. As far as I know, DIRECTV works with both Verizon and AT&T to resell their services for the internet and vice versa for the phone companies. So, I am on the same boat again : square peg, round hole; i.e., single cable from telco, which is already occupied.

HughesNet (DirecTV's internet service) does not depend on Verizon or AT&T. If it did, many rural customers would be left without "high-speed" internet.

 

[STEPHAN]

HughesNet (DirecTV's internet service) does not depend on Verizon or AT&T.

Be aware of latency. Keep in mind how far a signal has to go (twice).

 

[TheGeekess]

Be aware of latency. Keep in mind how far a signal has to go (twice).

I know more about HughesNet than I care to know.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

I'm going to chase after something different here. Exactly WHAT is the cameras picking up? Who comes and goes from your home? What aspect of YOUR privacy are they monitoring?

 

[FarmerJ]

Tranq I know what im paying for and I know exactly how far I live from town and definitely remember the diff,(in the last 30 days I have downloaded over 100 gigs and that is on DSL) I had DSL in Minneapolis in 1999 and I was 6 blocks from the switching plant and knew many others who could not have it because they lived more than 2.5- 3 miles from the tel co exchange like my sister, I very well remember what it was like to step back to dial when i moved here, I saw the upgrades as they happened in this area in 2005 and had my order in before they even finished the new cab on my corner. NOW as to other places yes i know some of the former baby bells have been very tight fisted with upgrade funding (meaning in rural areas where housing density is low they often wont do it unless someone has a accident with a truck and specific corner cabs are destroyed by vehicles or other and have to be replaced due to other destruction. but since some tel co have really upgraded areas the old distance arguments do not apply as easily as they did in the early years of DSL. If this OP lives in a area where there is two sets of wires they should have no problem getting some services from the unused sets firm and last but not least there are firms like clearwire that are local wireless , theres firms that one ends up with small dish aimed to a local tower, there is what i call stick based wireless, which is used by some of the offices in the firm that I work for since they cant get DSL because the phone co wont spend the moo till they have too.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

I'm still trying to figure out why the landlords are monitoring a house when someone lives there, particularly if that person could install a security system which would negate the need for the LL to have security cameras.

 

[FarmerJ]

Tinkerbell I too sort of wondered about that and the only thing I can think of is that this LL either suffered badly at the hands of copper / architectural antique theft or kept having problems maybe with other break ins say by homeless or who knows. but now that the unit is occupied yes what is the need for video monitoring? beside my other question about lease disclosure of the shared meter since the LL has something connected to the elect that is not for the tenants use even if its a tiny draw compared to say a fridge, toaster, coffee pot etc it still should have been disclosed and very lastly since this appears to be a single family home then at some point do privacy laws come into play since its reasonable to think that unless there is a written exclusion saying other wise the entire property inside and out is for the tenants use so recording the outside when the property is not a multi unit would that be a violation of the tenants privacy ?

 

[Zigner]

I've been thinking about this topic and there may be another way to approach this:

Does the LL provide a working telephone jack in the house? California Civil Code section 1941.4 requires that the LL maintain a "usable" telephone jack. If the OP is unable to get service, then it's arguable whether or not the LL has complied. The reason this comes to mind is that UVerse replaces the "normal" phone service in the house. The OP can't call and get a telephone installed because the LL has preempted that option.

 

[swalsh411]

Are these cameras attached to the house you are renting and pointed at areas where you are paying rent to occupy? (I hope they aren't pointed INTO the house, but even if they are pointed to a lawn, that is a lawn you are paying to rent). To me the obvious solution is to take them down and put them in a box until your lease is up.

 

[tranquility]

Tranq I know what im paying for and I know exactly how far I live from town and definitely remember the diff,(in the last 30 days I have downloaded over 100 gigs and that is on DSL) I had DSL in Minneapolis in 1999 and I was 6 blocks from the switching plant and knew many others who could not have it because they lived more than 2.5- 3 miles from the tel co exchange like my sister, I very well remember what it was like to step back to dial when i moved here, I saw the upgrades as they happened in this area in 2005 and had my order in before they even finished the new cab on my corner. NOW as to other places yes i know some of the former baby bells have been very tight fisted with upgrade funding (meaning in rural areas where housing density is low they often wont do it unless someone has a accident with a truck and specific corner cabs are destroyed by vehicles or other and have to be replaced due to other destruction. but since some tel co have really upgraded areas the old distance arguments do not apply as easily as they did in the early years of DSL. If this OP lives in a area where there is two sets of wires they should have no problem getting some services from the unused sets firm and last but not least there are firms like clearwire that are local wireless , theres firms that one ends up with small dish aimed to a local tower, there is what i call stick based wireless, which is used by some of the offices in the firm that I work for since they cant get DSL because the phone co wont spend the moo till they have too.

You cannae change the laws of physics. It is a physical limitation of the technology. You are mistaken about something. Period.