UPDATE 03/01/2010: New Solution: if U-Verse is available to you, just upgrade to that! 
Got switched over this weekend and it’s awesome.
————————————————————————————
Background: over the years, I have had a fluctuating issue with a weak connection from my ADSL modem to AT&T’s CO (central office) in my area. This resulted in continual errors on my modem and at times the service would just drop off and then come back up. My speed would change often and was never consistent.
So recently, my DSL connection totally dropped for four days. Apparently an AT&T tech messed with things a little too much and knocked out my DSL service attempting to “fix” someone else’s phone line that another tech had messed up (a sort of domino effect). Of course this all happened right before the Fourth of July holiday weekend and so another tech finally came out the Monday after. He got me back online, but the connection speed was the most degraded it has ever been. But he made the decision to switch me over to a “digital line” (update – AT&T tech terminology, not mine, that is simply what he told me – A.K.A. an RT line, digital port, whatever) to get me a much more solid connection.
Well today my line was finally switched over to the digital line after getting along with a shoddy, limping connection to the CO for a couple of weeks. The switch took about 1 second. And the results are quite stunning as far as stability is concerned. Whereas before, my average max download speed was around 2500 to 3000 Kbps, now the sustained max download rate is 8128 Kbps. In addition, whereas before I was getting millions of connection-related errors, now I literally have zero. It would have been nice 5-6 years ago if at least one of the dozens of tech’s I talked with could have recommended this switch to make it stable, but oh well. So goes technology.
So if you are on AT&T DSL (a non-uverse customer with regular old DSL) and you have a flaky connection that drops on and off, you might call and see if they can switch you over to a digital line. I didn’t even know that was available until this tech said something. As a result of this switch, you can then upgrade your DSL connection bandwidth to the maximum connection speed offered at present: 6 Mbps down / 768 Kbps up. This is very good to know if you are beating your head against a wall trying to get them to fix the reliability of your connection.
You talk about “switching to a digital line.” How were you connected before? And what part of the country are you in?
I have had ATT for only 3 months and my dsl drops 6-12 times a day, possibly more, for about an average of 1-2 minutes at a time. I have had 3 of their basic modems and two different tech’s have been out here 3 times, still no fix. The last tech gave me a new 2wire modem and the same problems exist, so the issue wasn’t the modems and I have a feeling for most people who are also having connection problems with dsl only, it’s not the modem that’s their problem, it’s ATT. It’s Tuesday Aug 11th and a tech is suppose to be here before noon today, the fourth visit by one in less than 3 months.
I down and upload torrents, so when I’m surfing and I notice a slowdown I open my bittorrent client and can actually see the down/up speeds slowly drop, and when they reach 0 the red light on the modem blinks and the fun begins. This has nothing to do with torrents though, I have had my dsl drop many times when I’m not downloading. I’ll bookmark the page and comment back after this 4th visit form the tech, I have a feeling I’m already digital but I’ll ask. They checked from my phonejack to the box on the house, no issues. They checked from the box on the house to the street, no issues. They checked from the street to the closet powerbox?, no issues. They checked from the powerbox? to the closet ATT Office which is less than 1 mile away, no issues. This leads me to believe ATT is having known issues and they’re not allowing their tech’s, most of whom are contracted and not actual ATT employee’s, to tell the customer about the real problem. I have talked with many who have dsl mostly through other companies but some with ATT, and they rarely if ever loss their connection just once! I dropped Charter because their signal dropped a lot and they raised prices, if ATT cannot fix this isue I will be forced to go to clear wire or a local provider who charges more for less.
That’s a great question Chris. I’m not a telephony guy so I’m not sure exactly how I was connected before. On DSLReports.com, many techs have referred to it as an RT connection or digital port. I don’t have a clue because I’m not a tech with AT&T. But whatever they switched me to now has fixed all the problems and it is as stable as it has ever been. Also, I’m in Fort Wort, TX.
Let me explain what you guys are talking about. The Change To a Digital Line is Actually a DSL change to a “Fiber Optic” Feed. AT&T Refers To It as DPG Which Stands For Digital Pair Gain also referred to as R.T., which means Remote Terminal. Now Problem Number 1. If Your Distance is Too far From AT&T’s Central Office you are going to have problem after problem with your DSL Connection. The sales department has No clue how far you are from the Central Office. They are trained for sales, not service. The sales rep will offer the highest speed they can sell you regardless if DSL will work at your home Or Business or Not. R.T.’s are “NOT” available in allot of area’s, so you are stuck with 100 year old technology the copper loop. If your distance is far the system “Should” automatically put you on DPG with your DSL Order but that does not always happen, or simply DPG is not available. I encourage you to ask DSL maintenance if an R.T. Is available. If so they can make the request for you. But be prepared for bad news as well. You may be told you too far from the Central Office and never should have been a DSL Candidate to begin with. AT&T has now implemented speed minimums of 768k this makes it even worse for Homes and Business’s not close to the Central Office. The Fix and savior for 2010 is AT&T U-Verse. U-Verse is on a Fiber-Optic Network, but guess what it comes as a package. You must have Telephone/DSL/Television package thru U-Verse. You cannot just pick DSL, it comes as all or nothing. People simply need to be told the truth can DSL work properly and be dependable at your location or not. It has nothing to do with Economic status of a neighborhood. It’s all about Distance and engineering of an R.T. Network. 90% of all consumers have other options available if DSL does not work. It looks like it’s all about who has the cheaper service. But in my opinion it does not matter if it is Cheap if it does not work! If your DSL does not work, do not put up with it. Ask about loop distance and R.T. availability. By all means these questions should be directed to tech support, DSL Maintenance, Or DSL Repair technicians and never marketing!
I hope this sheds some light on your Mystery. And good luck with your DSL!
Thanks for the clarification. They have put the U-Verse infrastructure in our neighborhood now. However, they have yet to send us anything letting us know it is available. Not sure what I can do to get that going. Thanks Rafael!
When U-Verse is available in any neighborhood, it is usually marketed to death. Door to Door Sales Reps along with Door hangers and mailers. You can always call marketing to place an order. U-Verse DSL is Normally Reliable since it is based on a Fiber-Optic Feed and not an End To End Copper Loop.
Thanks for the info.
I just switched from Earthlink to AT&T and my DSL service is up & down like a yo-yo. I did not get the TV service, just local & long distance (copper, not VOIP). I suspect I’m suffering from the identical problem. The service reps on the phone take you through the same steps to trouble shoot the problem and by the time you’ve done a few steps, their network is working again so the “problem is resolved” in their minds.
The symptoms look like the line has dropped and then it will re-awaken after a few minutes. I don’t know whether my powering the modem and hub off/on does the trick or rebooting the PC; perhaps is just a coincidence.
When U-Verse became available (zip code 48331), their door-to-door reps & mailings carpet bombed the neighborhood.
We switched to AT&T DSL when we moved recently. We have a Motorola Modem for AT&T but not matter what brand of router I hook up to it, wireless or not, only one connection is serviced at a time. We got a bundle with Direct TV (U-Verse is not avaiable in our area) and the direct TV requires an internet connection to work. If I plug an internet cable into the direct TV box I cannot use any other computer on my server.
I have called AT&T Tech service a number of times and they want me to open router to change DIP swithces which I do not want to do voiding warrenties on equipment that works fine in my office and has been working up until I switched to AT&T. The most recent calls are routed to India where they want $99 to talk to a tech to fix “my problem” on a service that has never worked since it was installled. They have told me AT&T services only work on AT&T equipment which I find ludicreous.
Any suggestions
Mitch,
You can only connect with one DSL connection at a time, if that’s what you’re asking about. To resolve this, you need a router/firewall in which you can connect multiple machines, including the satellite receiver, with CAT5 cables. Unless I’m misunderstanding your problem …