Anyone have any opinions about Verizon DSL for business? I just received a
letter from them that I can get it for $31.95/month for a 7.1Mbps speed. Are
the download speeds consistent? What about upload speeds? Reliability?
Security? Anything else I missed?

Thanks,
Warren

 

If it's for a business I wouldn't get DSL. Go with the T1 connection. You might have to pay more but it's better to know you have a secured line that won't fail as opposed to one that can fail during outtages.

 

Any idea what a T1 for business costs?
Warren

 

If you plan on hosting a mail server, make some phone calls first. It appears that Verizon assigns static IP blocks for their business customers that reside on the same Class C's that they use for DHCP residential customers.

What does this mean??? Instant listing on RBL's such as SORBS, and that ain't a good thing.

As for 4theheckof_it's recommendation, it might be a good way to go w/ a medium-sized business, but I support a few offices w/ less than 20 users that would see no advantage to a T or fractional T and would pay quite a bit more.

 

Thanks for the info Gregg, but I'm not an IT wizard like you (in the computer or racing sence of IT) so I don't understand why listings on RBL's isn't a good thing. Can you please explain?

Thanks,
Warren

 

Also, Verizon's DSL is an ADSL meanning, you do not get the same UL speed as DL speed. Had them for a few months while we switched T1 providers, speeds were slow. And what Gregg is refering to are lists you get added to once you start sending spam out. Say you get a worm that infects you PC that sends itself out to tohers through E-mail. Even though the from field might be spoofed, the IP address would not. A lot of e-mail servers use these lists to see if the sender are known for sending spam. If your IP gets listed on the sites, they recipient's e-mail server droppes your e-mail, or send it back. Some might be spam or the worm, or it could be legitimate e-mail. And once you clean the PC out, you are still blacklisted, and have to go through the whole process of removing your IP from their listing.

 

Before you even THINK about T-1's and their benefits, I hope you realize that it will cost you considerably more than $32/mo.! Our T-1 line and 6 POTS lines (i.e. regular telephone lines) through Cavalier, for example, cost $450/mo. with a 2-year contract. Backing out the 6 POTS lines, the T-1 itself costs somewhere south of $270/mo. And this is probably a "cheap" T-1.

 

That is VERY cheap for a T1. $400-600/mo is a decent price. I've seen some in the range of $1,000/mo before. Depends on how far you are from the local phone company location (determines your "local loop cost") as well as who you choose as your bandwidth provider (your ISP).

- Jeremy (jnn4v)

 

7.1mbps for $31.95/month is pretty cheap ... As a consumer, I think the fastest speeds I can get are 6Mbps/768Kbps ADSL for $99/month through Speakeasy.net ... Don't think you'll find anything more competitive price wise than Verizon. Depending on your needs, this might be perfect. Are you sure the Verizon price isn't an introductory price that locks you into a contract with the monthly fees increasing after 3 or 6 months?

If you need guarenteed uptime you might want to consider Covad. Covad has an ADSL 1.5Mbps/384Kbps (much slower) but with an SLA and a Dedicated Loop (not shared with a voice line) for $64.95/month or 3Mbps/768Kbps for $99.95/month. They offer an additional (above the 1 static IP) 5 static IPs for $10/month. The IPs are real Internet IPs, no NAT and as far as I can tell with my TeleSOHO ADSL (same DSL but paired on voice with no SLA) there is no port blocking at all. I can run servers etc with no problems.

Not sure if Verizon DSL offers SLAs but its important in the event that there's a problem with your line or a router problem, Covad guarentees their uptime availability (I believe its a 36 hour maximum time to repair which is high for a T1 with an SLA but not so bad considering the price).

 

Hmmm...Verizon says "up to 7.1Mbps" I'll have to call to find out what actual speeds and typical speeds are.

If it's an introductory price - not sure, I have to read that damn fine print. Guarenteed uptime? Good question? I'll ask them about that too.

Warren