Are you experiencing problems with your dial-up
Internet connection on Denman Island?
- Is your dial-up Internet connection on Denman Island
slow, spotty and unreliable?
- Do you frequently receive "Page Not Found"
errors?
- There is a solution
(other than ADSL)
If you have completely ruled out local issues with your own hardware
and setup, you're likely the victim of a known problem with Telus'
telephone network on Denman Island. If this is the case, we urge
you to register a complaint with the CRTC.
This known problem has caused Internet connection problems on Denman
for over 12 months, and it's time Telus fixes it once and for all!
The main symptom of this problem is what can be referred to as
a “data bottleneck”, where information has a difficult
time passing through the phone cable to your computer. The result
is an Internet connection that slows down (often to a complete halt)
for seconds to minutes at a time, and sometimes disconnects. During
this bottleneck, any attempt to load web pages in your browser results
in the “Page Not Found" error. The bottleneck either
clears itself after a period of time, or forces you to disconnect
from the Internet and then re-establish your connection. Often,
several re-connects are required to get a good connection again.
How can you tell if you are experiencing a “data
bottleneck”?
If you all of a sudden experience a slow down in
your Internet connection, double-click the Network
Connections icon in your System Tray. On a Windows
system, the icon looks like the one below circled
in red:
This will open a dialogue window that displays
your connection status. While attempting to load
a web page, keep your eye on the bytes received:
The number should be increasing in increments of
a few thousand to several thousand bytes with every
passing second. If the number is not moving, or
if it is moving quite slowly and by smaller increments,
you are likely experiencing a “data bottleneck”.
Before assuming that this problem has to do with
Denman’s beleaguered telephone network, it’s
imperative that you rule out other possible sources
of the problem. Go through the tests below and test
your Internet connection to see if you experience
any improvements in the quality of your connection:
- Try setting up a new Network Connection:
http://help.bnsi.net/connectivity/winxp/winxp.php
(Windows XP)
- Scan your computer for viruses. (Make sure that
your virus software’s definition files are
the latest, up-to-date versions!)
- Scan your computer for spyware and adware:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
- Test your modem:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-44386
(Windows)
- Replace phone cables going from your computer
to your phone jack
- Turn off any wireless devices in close range
of your computer (With a wireless phone, physically
remove the battery in the handset.)
- If you have a battery backup box, test your
Internet connection without having your phone
cable go through the battery box.
- Have a Telus technician replace your telephone
box on the exterior of your home. It’s common
on the West Coast for the connections inside the
box to corrode due to moisture.
- Have a Telus technician set up cabling to temporarily
bypass your house’s telephone wiring.
- Physically move your computer to a different
location on Denman Island (a friend’s
house with a reliable connection) and test
your Internet
connection there.
- Talk to friends and neighbours and ask if they
have any problems with their dial-up Internet
connection.
If you have completed these tests and continue
to experience the symptoms of a “data bottleneck”,
then it’s very likely that you are dealing
the known issue with Telus’ telephone network
on Denman Island.
What to do if you have an Internet connection
problem caused by Denman’s telephone network
Do not bother calling Telus Internet support—the problem
is with the telephone network. Instead, call 6-1-1, the Telus telephone
repair line. Explain the symptoms of your problem and stress that
you have performed the tests outlined above with no improvement.
Request a trouble ticket number. State that you are aware of a known
issue with Denman’s telephone network in relation to Internet
connections and want to know when the problem will be fixed. Ask
when you should call back to find out the status of your trouble
ticket, and be sure to call back and check up on the status. Telus
may or may not send a technician to your location to investigate.
If they do, be as clear as possible in describing your problem.
Keep in mind that Telus is currently extremely understaffed and
that technicians are overworked. In the words of a Telus employee:
“Telus has decimated the staff. Everyone
is overworked and there are not enough people
to get the jobs done.”
Denman Island is not Vancouver; but because we are rural doesn’t
mean that we don’t deserve a much higher level of service
from Telus. From a technology standpoint, a dial-up Internet network
is simple. There is no reason why Denman Islanders should not expect
reliable dial-up Internet connections. Telus must be forced into
providing us with a telephone network that allows for trouble-free
dial-up Internet connections.
Going beyond Telus
If Telus does not follow through and respond to
your trouble report satisfactorily, the next step
is to register
a complaint with the CRTC. Be sure to register
your complaint with the CRTC as a telephone issue,
NOT an Internet issue. This is a problem with the
telephone network on the Island and has nothing
to do with Telus' Internet services. Feel free to
use the text below when registering your complaint:
I would like to register a complaint against
Telus. I live on Denman Island, British Columbia.
There are known issues with one of the switching
stations here on the Island that causes major
problems with Internet connectivity. Please note,
this is not an Internet issue, but a telephone
network problem, and Telus has confirmed this.
Telus was notified about the problem more than
6 months ago but has not yet fixed it. Several
of their own people have admitted that Telus has
"decimated the staff" and that there
are not enough employees to fix the problem. From
a technology standpoint, a dial-up network is
quite simple. Because I live in a rural community
should not mean that I receive a lower quality
of service than those in the big cities. For Telus
to retain their CRTC licence, they should be REQUIRED
to fix known problems with their systems and provide
the basic level of service that we pay for as
customers. Please do something to help us get
the response from Telus that we deserve.
The telephone number(s) that are affected
by this problem: [your phone number here]
Thank you,
[your name]
At present, Telus is not hearing enough complaints from
Denman Islanders about the problems with the telephone
network in relation to Internet connectivity. Telus will continue
to sweep the issue out of view unless the community responds to
their failure to provide a fully functional telephone network. If
you are unlucky enough to have a slow, unreliable dial-up Internet
connection on Denman Island, the time to act is now! Perform the
tests listed above, and then call Telus at 6-1-1 if you see no improvement.
If you are dissatisfied with Telus’ response to your trouble
report, register a complaint to the CRTC. Only together
can Denman Islanders take on Telus and demand better services!
There is a solution
In the first week of May, 2005, Telus finally
launched the much talked about ADSL network that had been in
the works for over 18 months. However, not
all areas of the island will receive the service immediately,
and some may choose to remain with dial-up service. It's rumoured
that the "ERA upgrade" will also provide an improvement
in Internet connections for those who remain on dial-up service.
If you are not living in the initial ADSL rollout areas
or plan to stay with dial-up for other reasons, there is
one solution that might help you with your slow, spotty Internet
connection: buy a hardware modem. New computers ship with internal
"software modems"—these PCI slot modems do not handle
all of the functions of a traditional modem, but depend on an operating-system
driver in order to work. They tend to be less robust than "hardware
modems" and more sensitive to line problems.
External hardware modems connect to the computer through a serial
port (COM port), and everything required for it to function is contained
within the modem itself. Hardware modems typically deliver better
Internet connections and can overcome issues like line noise.
When buying a hardware modem, be sure the box says "hardware
modem" and/or "controller-based". A recent shopping
trip to Future Shop revealed that the sales people didn't understand
what I needed and tried to send me home with a product that was
NOT a hardware modem. Staples
carries the industry standard U.S. Robotics model 5686E. Note
that this does NOT include the modem cable, so be sure to also pick
up one of these (DB9 Female/DB25 Male). Recent tests have been very
positive using this hardware modem, with very few bottlenecks or
disconnects.
Related links:
The information in this article was believed to
be accurate at the time of publication. If you know of any amendments
or corrections that need to be made, please contact support@denmanisland.com.
Last update: May 6, 2005.
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