Hello all,
Does anyone here have any experience with the form of Internet service Verizon provides wirelessly? My Internet signal is recieved by a diamond-shaped dish on my roof, which then runs into a modem 'brick', and out to a router/PC. I am having severe connection issues (20 seconds out of every minute of connection, there is no signal), and am turning to the user community as a last resort before having to move to obtain better Internet service.
Please reply and let me know if you have either a) had/currently have this service and how it's been or b) have any experience troubleshooting this sort of Internet connection.
Like I mentioned earlier, this is a major problem for me and my family. Any response at all would be appreciated.
Thanks.
You have Internet over a microwave network. I didn't know there were any of those customers left! (And I didn't know Verizon had any. I've always associated the service with MCI).
My guess is that for something has been built between your antenna and the ISP's Microwave tower, and for at least part of the time you no longer have an unobstructed line of sight path to the tower. For the service to work you must have an unobstructed signal path from your antenna to the tower.
Or your Microwave equipment (The brick) is in need of adjustment/replacement.
While the tech in me understands what you're talking about in terms of an unobstructed line of sight, I can't imagine that's the problem, and I'll tell you why.
For some reason, the property management company where I live is not interested at all in upgrading the 1950's era communications infrastructure that is currently installed. The houses have phone lines, but other than that, are without access to wired Internet or cable (yes, there is no coaxial infrastructure). Therefore, all of our utility providers have to be able to provide service wirelessly, which is not a problem for TV (DirecTV works like a champ), but is turning out to be a nightmare for the Internet.
The entire area I live in is like this, which I would estimate to be ~300 homes. I'm more fortunate than most in that I seem to have a relatively unobstructed view, just one tree I can't do anything about as it's on the lot of the house across the street. However, that tree was there before this issue started, and I can't imagine a tree shifting so significantly to cause this major a problem. As I was driving home the other night, I noticed that many houses in my area have a much worse line of sight to the local tower, and yet, they are still using the Verizon Internet. This says to me that line of sight probably isn't the problem.
I've tried everything I can think of. I have formatted my computer, bought a new router, had a new modem brick and receiver dish installed, had the modem brick's firmware upgraded, had the dish adjusted countless times, and nothing has worked with any lasting impact. Oh, the service did get better for about two days when the brick firmware was updated, but it's since gone back to being terrible. The saddest part is that to use the Internet, I am now forced to connect to my neighbor's network, who seems to be receiving an issue-free connection, albeit slightly slower.
I'm at wit's end here. Any advice whatsoever is appreciated.
Tech should have a way to measure the signal strength. You might ask that they check it at the entry to the 'brick'. Also make sure that all connections are clean and tight at both ends (the brick and the antenna).
The other possibility is there is some hardware actually on the antenna that receives the signal and down converts it as well as amplifies it. It is often called an LNB (Low Noise Block) converter. It also does the initial tuning of the receiver. I'd ask Verizon about replacing it. It may failing. If the down conversion is unstable, the receiver may not be able to track it, and you may lose connectivity.
I can think of no reason why you couldn't get DSL even with very old wiring, unless it is a distance issue from the CO. I had DSL, and I'd be willing to bet that my pair from the CO is a lot older than your building. I don't have a NIB, I have a porcelain Block! (and I had DSL service, although it wasn't especially reliable, which is why I went to FiOs when it became available). The house here dates from 1926, and I suspect the phone connection is almost that old.
If i told you that it happens every one minute and three seconds, would that give you any further clues?
Oh, and as for the reason why we don't have DSL out here...it's federal land, and no one wants to pay the money to upgrade a thing out here. Talked to the property manager's lackeys today, and apparently they let all providers bid on providing access out here, but once they all found out how much it would cost to run anything, everyone ran for the hills except Verizon and their WiMAX.
It is synchronous with some external event. the trick is figuring out what event is occuring every 63 seconds. If it generates enough noise, the link margins get too low, and you lose the link. A tech should have the equipment to locate the source.
If it only affect you, it must be very near your premises or on the line of sight between you and the tower. What you need to beg borrow or steal is a portable microwave receiver with a directional antenna, and use it to track down the source.
Anyway you need to find something that cycles on every 63 seconds.
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