Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!seismo!rochester!ciaraldi From: ciaraldi@rochester.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems Subject: Re: Telephone line quality Message-ID: <27354@rochester.ARPA> Date: Mon, 27-Apr-87 22:51:21 EDT Article-I.D.: rocheste.27354 Posted: Mon Apr 27 22:51:21 1987 Date-Received: Wed, 29-Apr-87 01:31:56 EDT References: Reply-To: ciaraldi@rochester.UUCP (Mike Ciaraldi) Distribution: world Organization: U of Rochester, CS Dept, Rochester, NY Lines: 60 In article larry@kitty.UUCP writes: >In a recent article Greg Earle (earle@jplpub1.JPL.NASA.GOV) writes: >> if this is so, then is there any point in getting a higher grade line >> for one's home, when one has no control over the line quality for the other >> 2/3 of the connection ?!? > > Let's break up this discussion into two areas: (1) quality of central >office subscriber lines (i.e., between your home/office and the telephone >company central office); and (2) quality of lines between telephone company >central offices. > > I'll answer (2) first, because it is the easier answer. In general, >the quality of an interoffice trunk (i.e., a line connecting two telephone >company central offices) is FAR superior to the quality of any subscriber >line. > (IMPORTANT NOTE: The above applies to what is traditionally known >as the DDD network; some of this standardization has gone to hell with the >advent of Alternate Long Distance carrier. The above information should >still be safely applicable if your call is intra-LATA in length, is >inter-LATA but served by the same operating telephone company at both ends, >or is routed through AT&T. This is NOT a "plug" for AT&T; it's just a >simple fact of life since AT&T still runs all the major toll switching >centers in the U.S.) This is from a long and very informative article, showing much more familiarity with the characteristics of phone systems than I have. Nevertheless, I have a comment, based on my personal experience. My house, and the University of Rochester, are both served by Rochester Telephone, at one time the largest independent telephone company in the world (i.e. not part of AT&T or a government). I live about 10 miles from the University, but both sites are well within the local free calling area. For many years I have been able to communicate at 1200 bps with almost no noise, using even rather inexpensive modems, between my house and most parts of Rochester and the surrounding suburbs. I can call bulletin boards, Rochester Institute of Technology, and individuals with no problem. But when I call the U of R, or someone in that neighborhood calls a BBS near me, the error rate goes way up. Sometimes you can't even hold the carrier. I have a regular residential line, but the University and the BBS's have conditioned lines. I finally found someone at Rochester Telephone who knew what I was talking about, and explained it to him. He said that the two central offices involved happened to be connected by some of the oldest trunk lines in the city, over 30 years old. Until they were replaced, which would not be for several years, the only thing I could try would be calling again and hoping for a different (better) trunk. Recently, Roch Tel has become more concerned about data comm users, so I expect things will improve, but I just wanted to point out that there is only so much you can do with your own line. Mike Ciaraldi ARPA: ciaraldi@cs.rochester.edu uucp: seismo!rochester!ciaraldi