Recent comments in /f/LowellMA

pinteresque t1_irga76f wrote

Reply to comment by thenickpeppers in More fiber optic internet availability in Lowell by saltthefries

My problem with Comcast isn't even the service, it's the price - 110/month for 600mbps, a tv plan I don't use, and hbo I barely do. If I go down to internet only, I save 5 bucks...at least so far as I can tell, you can't actually check the comcast website for any deals cheaper than your own, like, if you go to "channel maintenance" all it lets you do is add them.

...and then the fees bring it up to 140.

1

thenickpeppers t1_irfx1pl wrote

Reply to comment by saltthefries in More fiber optic internet availability in Lowell by saltthefries

None of the Mills that I'm aware of do and with half the construction going on downtown it's so dumb they didn't lay fiber down at the same time. Literally the train station on Thorndike has fiber and I could spit from my condo onto the station but it's still not available. Guess I'm stuck with Cumcast "Gigabit" which over copper isn't really gigabit and I only get a consistent 500mbps 90% the time. Only during the most dead hours would I see 800-900+ mbps consistently.

2

nofriender4life t1_irfkgyd wrote

Reply to More fiber optic internet availability in Lowell by saltthefries

been waiting for fiber for years. Live right next to schools and the T but dont have a fiber connection because comcast is a terrible company and fios: "Verizon Home Internet services are not currently available at your address, but you can be among the first to know if they become available." is the response now for over 4 years.

2

saltthefries OP t1_ireuvnr wrote

Reply to comment by pinteresque in More fiber optic internet availability in Lowell by saltthefries

So, there was a flurry of Verizon trucks along Nesmith a few weeks ago as they set up the main line, and everything is attached to the poles above ground. I think more of the wiring downtown is underground so it probably isn't economical to dig up streets just to run fiber unless it's to a large complex. Your best bet is probably nagging some combination of building management and city government to try and facilitate the build out.

I thought some of the buildings around downtown like Mill No 5 had FiOS for a while, but I'm not sure.

2

saltthefries OP t1_iret9ez wrote

Reply to comment by pinteresque in More fiber optic internet availability in Lowell by saltthefries

This is real fiber / FiOS. A nice tech named Frank from Verizon drilled a hole in the wall, ran a small piece of fiber through the wall, set up a fiber optic jack, connected it to an optical network terminator in my office and I plugged my router into the ethernet jack. I'm getting IPv4 and IPv6 via DHCP (no need for PPPoE like some other fiber networks I've used).

If you get service, make sure you have a reliable power source for the optical network terminator... you don't want it on a light switch.

The optical network terminator (ONT) is pretty small- about the same size as a cable modem.

5

pinteresque t1_ires0s4 wrote

Reply to More fiber optic internet availability in Lowell by saltthefries

Q for the OP: do you have an actual wire into your residence? Or did Verizon provide you with a wireless modem to connect to a central wireless access point?

I know this sounds like a random question, but if it's wireless, 5g has troubles in our brick and iron buildings, and for my own cranky tech reasons I would much prefer a wire.

2

pinteresque t1_irerp8k wrote

Reply to More fiber optic internet availability in Lowell by saltthefries

Anybody know if this fiber is actually going to be available downtown? I haven't heard anything but part of Verizon's reasoning for not wiring Lowell before was the expense of doing it in the historic district - I wouldn't be surprised if the less dense areas get fiber while downtown is stuck with comcast, at least for awhile.

1