On 08/02/2017 04:47 PM, Chuck Hast wrote: > Folks, > I have moved from SW WA to Oklahoma City. Miss the area up there > but got to go where the $$ is. > > I have run into a problem, it is with the ISP. Seems that they > no longer allow you to plug in your prefered DNS. I was having > issues with their DNS I have called > them on it, and they poke > at it but no joy. Yesterday I could get to about half > to the URL's that I either tried to reach from a browser or ping. > After much phone calls, to no avail I did a MTR on the two DNS which > are HARDWIRED in the router. I found that the primary DNS was good > but 4 hops out there > is a router with a high packet loss. To wit:
[*SNIP*] > > I am trying to figure out how to get around this customer service > mess to get this info to a real network person who can get it fixed. > My other option is to go with the cable co (Cox) but I was trying > to avoid them too. > About 2-3 years ago my local ISP quit providing dial-up service. I found cable and dish packaging offensive - advertising "low" cost internet *BUT ONLY* if bought a bundle of "services" of no use to me. I also wanted connectivity when away from home which lead me to looking for a "modem" that could connect via a cell network. Bandwidth was not an important consideration as >90% of my usage is text based. The cell providers I visited insisted on trying to sell me a smartphone with *GROSSLY BLOATED* data plan. Multiple objections: 1 "Smartphone" is an oxymoronic as some proverbial references to "military intelligence". 2 Their screens are too small. 3 They do not come with an adequate keyboard. I found a competent salesman at the local T-Mobile store who actually _listened_ to my needs/desires. They had had a cell modem in their product mix but were no longer offering it. He suggested a "4G LTE HotSpot Z915" with their smallest data plan (currently 2 GB/mo of high-speed connectivity with unlimited data at some lower speed). This was back when their competition was offering very similar data plans, but advertising the "unlimited" aspect and downplaying that the high-speed access only applied to the first "N GB/mo". I have been satisfied with both service and customer service. Their DNS has one intentional feature which I find annoying. If you mistype a URL it transfers to a page that tries to be helpful by suggesting alternatives instead of just giving an ERROR message. I've not found a workaround. If you wish I could ping appropriate URLs to see if there are any relevant problems. I doubt any throughput tests would be meaningful as I connect trough a USB 2.0 port. _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
