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After you move, get your next DSL through Speakeasy. They will delegate RDNS to static IPs if you ask.

Then get a better ISP (if you can). Mine lets me do "whatever" I want, including running my $100/month 1.5/760 connection full-blast for days on end.

Thats why I am glad I use speakeasy. They don't care if you run servers, or if you have a home network, if you run linux, and you can get extra static IPs for cheap. (I get two static IPs, and still use NAT) I am not an employee or anything, but they are the BOMB for an ISP. Of course they arent as big as Comcast etc, so they are not as available as those other ISPs.

If you don't like your ISP's policies then change your ISP.

I get my DSL through speakeasy.net, and so far they seem to be about the coolest provider I've heard of. They don't care how many machines you have hooked up to your connection, they don't care if you run servers, they actually encourage you to share your connection via wireless networking. I read in one of their recent newsletters that if you set up an AP they'd like to know so they can tell the other speakeasy customers about it. I'm pretty sure they're available in most large cities (i'm in seattle).

If you want to sign up and don't mind sending $50 my way use this referral link.

Seriously, if they can't give you a technically correct answer, do you really need them?

I, too, was using DirecTVDSL (who bought Telocity who bought....) and when I found out SBC/Yahoo bought out DirecTVDSL I immediately searched for a better provider.

Am quite happy now, no technical woes. The only interractions I've had with customer service have been superb.

BTW, my boss switched to SBC and was getting double-billed for lousy service (dropped him periodically). I'm not saying you'll get double-billed but I am suggesting you check you statements very carefully.

1) Most of these "home servers" don't have a PTR record at all.

2) Those that do, almost NEVER have one pointing to the domain they claim to be recieving for.

3) All these residential users should be using their ISP as a relay. That's what the ISP is there for.

4) Since there's no reason for them to need to send it out *not* through the ISP as a relay host, the majority of these users are spammers or just ignorant. In the first case, it's good to block them. In the second, maybe they will get a clue.

It should be pointed out that AOL isn't blocking "All DSL" MTAs but those that have dynamically assigned IP addresses. On one hand, this is a stinky, no-good, rotten thing for them to do. On the other hand, the elitest in me says "go get a real DSL connection if you're going to run your own MTA." :-) But really, I know it's not an option for some, and this move by AOL is pathetic.

These are choices i made when i chose an ISP. I use Speakeasy ADSL service. They specifically say that they support the use of home servers, open source, shared AP's and generally good behavior when it comes to ISPs. They will give technical support to linux users and when you call tech support in the middle of the night the guy who your talking to will know what commands you need to put into bash to get it all working. I really like Speakeasy and am willing to pay the extra for an ISP that specifically says they want me to use NAT and run servers from home... leech all the bandwidth i can they dont care.

Seriously, in Seattle I used to hang out in a CyberCafe run by Speakeasy Networks Watched them come up from a Cafe with internet to a full blown Broadband ISP. Really neat place before they had a fire and it's got closed. The bits about the Cafe wasn't Company Propaganda

Thanks.

Uh, can you explain to a dumb debianer how to get these free updates? Like the name of the program? email me.

...if we hadn't granted Ma Bell a monopoly on rights-of-way a long time ago.

As a libertarian, the concept of a regulated, government-granted monopoly is anathemic to me; however, what is the alternative here? Do we give the Baby Bells free reign to do whatever they want with the existing copper, and refuse other companies the ability to add lines to those rights-of-way?

I'm all for deregulation, but not unless the entire thing is deregulated: it must be possible for new companies to lay their own copper or run their own wireless WAN's without government regulating what lines can go where or handing out wireless spectrum as campaign donation quid pro quos. Don't do a California-style partial deregulation in which some parties are forced out of business due to the government's stepping on some necks but not others.

Also, where are all these goddamned leftist posters all coming from? If the government suddenly owned all the copper and ran all the DSL lines, we'd be stuck with lowest-common-denominator access. I wouldn't be able run a server with a static IP (as I do with speakeasy.net today); and I'd pay LOW, LOW advertised prices while Uncle Sam reaches into my wallet for some extra cash to subsidize access for people unwilling to pay the cost of it. Fuck them: I did well in school and work hard and should get something extra for that. DSL IS NOT A RIGHT!

Cheers,
Kyle

Why the Speakeasy logo for the article?

"Moderations of Use:

Bandwidth: As an ISP, Speakeasy's bottom line is determined partially by the amount of bandwidth customers utilize. Speakeasy can normally balance that cost and utilization while continuing to provide great service to all customers. Customers will not be charged for the bandwidth consumed, nor do we have specific limits or caps on that bandwidth. If you utilize any of your Speakeasy services in a manner which consumes excessive bandwidth or affects Speakeasy's core equipment, overall network performance, or other users' services, Speakeasy may require that you cease or alter these activities." Link to TOS page

I wouldn't personally interpret that to say they are delighted to for you use "all of your bandwidth all of the time", and I still maintain that folks misinterpret 24/7 connectivity to mean that 24/7 full throttle both ways is quite OK with ISP's.

no DSL is rarely viable here

I have no idea what part of the US you are in but DSL is wildly popular in the Seattle, WA area.

Around here it seems most people I've met have DSL and not cable. Of course the fiasco AT&T broadband had when @Home tanked drove many away from cable for good.

I would check with Speakeasy first to see if they could do DSL at my address. If not you may want to check with your local telco, both Verizon and Qwest have been fairly agressive about rolling out DSL.

If you are in the US and getting sick of the crap your DSL or cable ISP is forcing down your throat you may want to contact Speakeasy and see if they offer DSL in your area.

They don't block any ports.
They allow servers.
Static IPs are cheap.
No restrictions on the number of devices you have connected.
Public wireless is encouraged rather than banned.
No bandwidth restrictions.
Forward and reverse DNS availible.
Routed service availible.
No "type of use" restrictions. You can be a residential user or a business and you will be charged the same for the same services.

They may not be as cheap as the monopoly telco or cable company but not having to deal with someone who would rather you not use the service you pay for is worth it.

Seriously, anyone who bitches about these sorts of restrictive policies should put their money where their mouth is and switch to a provider like Speakeasy . Not only are they geek friendly when it comes to multiple machines, but they also have a lot of other good projects including the following:

• RPMFind mirror. I hear some people here are into Linux? ;)
• Fileshack
• Hotzone
• A whole lot of stuff through Kontent.net
• Shell Accounts

Not to mention the fact that they offer at least some Linux support (examples here and here). I don't know the extent of it, because honesty I don't ask my ISP for help with my OSs often. Also, when I got DSL they offered static IPs when most of the other providers I looked at in my area only seemed to offer dynamic for residential customers.

You might be asking yourself, "Does this guy work for Speakeasy?" No. But I am a satisfied customer, and I am afraid that good ISPs like this one will be pushed out by bigger companies (*cough*Verizon*cough*) who offer their customers a much more restricted set of options and don't give back to the interenet community (if you beleive in such a thing). All this because these other companies can offer their servies a few bucks cheaper a month or with a little better initial perks, or just because the other companies have better name recognition and more marketing dollars. That and there are many savvy users at these less friendly ISPs who know they can slip by restrictions (at least in the short term), so they opt for convenience and saving a few bucks over promoting the behavior they'd like to see and options all users can take advantage of.

So, if you're concerned by the increasing restrictiveness of ISPs, use your wallet to make a statment by switching to one of the good guys.

Seriously, anyone who bitches about these sorts of restrictive policies should put their money where their mouth is and switch to a provider like Speakeasy . Not only are they geek friendly when it comes to multiple machines, but they also have a lot of other good projects including the following:

• RPMFind mirror. I hear some people here are into Linux? ;)
• Fileshack
• Hotzone
• A whole lot of stuff through Kontent.net
• Shell Accounts

Not to mention the fact that they offer at least some Linux support (examples here and here). I don't know the extent of it, because honesty I don't ask my ISP for help with my OSs often. Also, when I got DSL they offered static IPs when most of the other providers I looked at in my area only seemed to offer dynamic for residential customers.

You might be asking yourself, "Does this guy work for Speakeasy?" No. But I am a satisfied customer, and I am afraid that good ISPs like this one will be pushed out by bigger companies (*cough*Verizon*cough*) who offer their customers a much more restricted set of options and don't give back to the interenet community (if you beleive in such a thing). All this because these other companies can offer their servies a few bucks cheaper a month or with a little better initial perks, or just because the other companies have better name recognition and more marketing dollars. That and there are many savvy users at these less friendly ISPs who know they can slip by restrictions (at least in the short term), so they opt for convenience and saving a few bucks over promoting the behavior they'd like to see and options all users can take advantage of.

So, if you're concerned by the increasing restrictiveness of ISPs, use your wallet to make a statment by switching to one of the good guys.

Seriously, anyone who bitches about these sorts of restrictive policies should put their money where their mouth is and switch to a provider like Speakeasy . Not only are they geek friendly when it comes to multiple machines, but they also have a lot of other good projects including the following:

• RPMFind mirror. I hear some people here are into Linux? ;)
• Fileshack
• Hotzone
• A whole lot of stuff through Kontent.net
• Shell Accounts

Not to mention the fact that they offer at least some Linux support (examples here and here). I don't know the extent of it, because honesty I don't ask my ISP for help with my OSs often. Also, when I got DSL they offered static IPs when most of the other providers I looked at in my area only seemed to offer dynamic for residential customers.

You might be asking yourself, "Does this guy work for Speakeasy?" No. But I am a satisfied customer, and I am afraid that good ISPs like this one will be pushed out by bigger companies (*cough*Verizon*cough*) who offer their customers a much more restricted set of options and don't give back to the interenet community (if you beleive in such a thing). All this because these other companies can offer their servies a few bucks cheaper a month or with a little better initial perks, or just because the other companies have better name recognition and more marketing dollars. That and there are many savvy users at these less friendly ISPs who know they can slip by restrictions (at least in the short term), so they opt for convenience and saving a few bucks over promoting the behavior they'd like to see and options all users can take advantage of.

So, if you're concerned by the increasing restrictiveness of ISPs, use your wallet to make a statment by switching to one of the good guys.

Seriously, anyone who bitches about these sorts of restrictive policies should put their money where their mouth is and switch to a provider like Speakeasy . Not only are they geek friendly when it comes to multiple machines, but they also have a lot of other good projects including the following:

• RPMFind mirror. I hear some people here are into Linux? ;)
• Fileshack
• Hotzone
• A whole lot of stuff through Kontent.net
• Shell Accounts

Not to mention the fact that they offer at least some Linux support (examples here and here). I don't know the extent of it, because honesty I don't ask my ISP for help with my OSs often. Also, when I got DSL they offered static IPs when most of the other providers I looked at in my area only seemed to offer dynamic for residential customers.

You might be asking yourself, "Does this guy work for Speakeasy?" No. But I am a satisfied customer, and I am afraid that good ISPs like this one will be pushed out by bigger companies (*cough*Verizon*cough*) who offer their customers a much more restricted set of options and don't give back to the interenet community (if you beleive in such a thing). All this because these other companies can offer their servies a few bucks cheaper a month or with a little better initial perks, or just because the other companies have better name recognition and more marketing dollars. That and there are many savvy users at these less friendly ISPs who know they can slip by restrictions (at least in the short term), so they opt for convenience and saving a few bucks over promoting the behavior they'd like to see and options all users can take advantage of.

So, if you're concerned by the increasing restrictiveness of ISPs, use your wallet to make a statment by switching to one of the good guys.

Question: What do I do if I can't get Speakeasy.net where I live?

Answer: uhaul.com

Speakeasy costs me more than any other Internet provider in my area (Houston, a blackhole of DSL thanks to Southwestern Bell)... and it's worth every penny.

It's already here: SpeakEasy.

Their TOS explicitly states:

"Speakeasy believes in the right of the individual to publish information they feel is important to the world via the Internet. Unlike many ISP's, Speakeasy allows customers to run servers (web, mail, etc.) over their Internet connections, use hubs, and share networks in multiple locations."

It's already here: SpeakEasy.

Their TOS explicitly states:

"Speakeasy believes in the right of the individual to publish information they feel is important to the world via the Internet. Unlike many ISP's, Speakeasy allows customers to run servers (web, mail, etc.) over their Internet connections, use hubs, and share networks in multiple locations."

It's basically city-subsidized bandwidth. I got 2048x256 Mbit cable for $25/month, and later bumped it up to 4096x512 (basically uncapped) for $80. When I had to move up to Seattle for work reasons, this was one of the hardest things to give up (since I'm now paying the same price for 768x384 DSL - granted, Speakeasy encourages their customers to run web servers, etc, and I get 2 static IP's).

For businesses, Click! offers extremely competetive rates on connections up to an OC-48, and you can get one just about anywhere in the city. They're also expanding (slowly) into nearby cities, too (Tacoma has had a lot of internal neighborhoods become incorporated, so it's unfortunately not like they're expanding very far).

AOL is losing lots of customers to services like speakeasy because the speed and support are better.

So are they all moving to the butterfly, or to popup blocker land, or have they wised up and are (doubtful) speaking easy? At the very least we know they aren't finishing the internet...

most of them overcharge and have poor service while at the same time forcing you to use them because the agreement will require that you use their slow overpriced system rather than get your own DSL line from one of many DSL ISPs or cable modem (yuck, evil) connection.

stop putting yourself at the mercy of your apartment complex management company.

Speakeasy does allow connection sharing. The DSL line owner is responsible for all activity that occurs on the line naturally.

Plug from a satisfied customer: Speakeasy DSL

Another reason, us developers have to support older video cards -- look at what the market is using ...

Half Life Hardware Survey

I believe it is 2 years old. If anyone can confirm the year of the survey, please post a follow up.

Cheers

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, try Speakeasy DSL. They allow servers on residential class connections, they'll even give you a static IP to use it with. The service you want may end up being a bit more than $50/month but it is likely to be less than $400/month. For example in many areas they offer 1.5M down/768k up for $99/month.

Try Speakeasy DSL. They allow servers, they allow P2P, they support wireless connection sharing, they have very few restrictions on how your connection is used.

Way cool, good service.

I have no connection to Speakeasy Networks other than being a very satisfied customer.

Try Speakeasy. Yea they may be more expensive than what your cable company or ILEC is charging and their advertized speeds may be lower but you will be glad you did. Why? you ask? Well:
1) static IP addresses, including DNS if you need it.
2) no ban on servers or P2P networks
3) cool people and no BS
4) network not oversold.

I hear people go on about how fast their cable connections are but I really have yet to see it. Most cable companies don't have enough bandwith going into their networks to support even a fraction of their users. What good does a 10mb down connection do if you are sharing a 10mb headend connection with 5000 other users to the net?

Also I would like to point out there are diminishing returns in having a connection over about 768k. I've worked in several places with T1 (1.5Mb) or better connections, my average download speed for most sites was between 600 and 800 kb/s even on the site with a 100Mb fiber connection.

Speaking of SpeakEasy, kind of cuts to the REAL issue with internet service in the US. Where are the companies that will allow you to run your own servers? Where are the vinilla connections of bandwidth and an ip address? Why is it nearly impossible for me to run my own web and email servers? I argue that it would be far cheaper to support a power use who runs these himself than the average joe, who will call support ad nausium. I can't think of a good business reason.

I get my dsl through speakeasy.net and I couldn't be happier. for $59/month I get a very fast, stable connection with two static IP's and a buttload of other stuff. Additional static IP's are only $2.95/month. They don't care what you do with your connection, and I just got a newsletter from them encouraging me to hook up some wireless network gear and share my connection with the rest of my neighborhood. And to top it all of they gave me my choice of a PS2 or Xbox when I signed up with them.

BTW, if you want to sign up and give me some referral money go here.

I get my dsl through speakeasy.net and I couldn't be happier. for $59/month I get a very fast, stable connection with two static IP's and a buttload of other stuff. Additional static IP's are only $2.95/month. They don't care what you do with your connection, and I just got a newsletter from them encouraging me to hook up some wireless network gear and share my connection with the rest of my neighborhood. And to top it all of they gave me my choice of a PS2 or Xbox when I signed up with them.

BTW, if you want to sign up and give me some referral money go here.

I have SDSL 768K service with SpeakEasy and a service level guarantee of 80%, which means that should my upload or download speeds drop below 80% of 768K (about 614K) then they're required to jump on the problem and fix it.

I'll admit that in practice...this doesn't happen as quickly as I'd like, but they still took care of the issue within a few days.

Do cable companies provide a service level guarantee?

I've had speakeasy for 1 year in January, and I'm in love. I've only had one period of no dsl, and it turned out to be Verizon's fault (some moron cut a cable somewhere). I think my favorite feature is the hold-o-meter thingy they have in MySpeakeasy It's come in hande both times I've had to call.

In the US, populated urban areas have much more competition and thus lower rates on broadband. Some smaller cities (40-50K people) may have only ISDN or very limited DSL availability at $100+ per month.

Tokyo sounds like it'd be a good place for broadband: lots of people who want it, relatively small geographical area meaning that the providers' return on investment for infrastructure is very good.

By the way, if anyone wants to sign up for Speakeasy DLS, Sign up here

terms of service

"You are ultimately responsible for any and all activity that originates from your Internet circuit regardless of your knowledge of such activity. This includes but is not limited to activity by other household members, friends and guests. This also applies to security breaches of your own system by others who launch attacks from your machine. It is absolutely imperative that everyone with an Internet connection take proper precautions to ensure the security of their machine."

By the way, Speakeasy now has a promotion and is giving a free XBox, PSII, or Gamecube to new subscribers for certain plans.

To sign up for Speakeasy, click here to give me credit for the referral.

I'm in a similar situation. I ordered DTV DSL a week ago (based on recommendations from friends) and literally just got it installed and running yesterday. I have really been pleased: the ordering process was easy, I got the modem quickly, and installation was a breeze (of course I'm a computer engineer and have had many kinds of broadband, but still, it is nice.)

Boy was I surprised when I browsed to http://www.directvdsl.com tonight and saw this news. This is just annoying. I would rather have no home internet or flounder on dial-up before getting stuck with BellSouth again (PPPoE can go to hell.)

To those of you like myself who would like to find another provider with similar features to DTV DSL, here are a few to look into (I work for none of these):

DSLi
Speakeasy
SnappyDSL

I think most of you would agree that using smaller companies like these instead of the HelLECs is just smarter: the customer service is bound to be better (hey, it can't get much worse), plus you are helping out one of the little guys. Big nasty corporate monopoly monsters are just evil.

By the way, before you up and cancel your DTV DSL service, wait at least until Tuesday (December 17), when another announcement will be posted on http://www.directvdsl.com which may indicate the provider they will be migrating us to. Hopefully it will be one of the above (or similar.)

Profit margins for DSL are pretty low. A lot of the ISPs were forced to fit in a small market, so some of them were destined to buckle. I've heard mixed reviews of DirecTV, but if you were with them for the static IPs/power-user benefits, Speakeasy offers much of the same, and it's one of the only growing DSL ISPs in the nation. They're also running some damn nice promotions that make me a tad jealous of our customers (I am an employee).

One of the problems with a lot of the providers is their failure to differentiate. Its hard to tell the difference between a lot of these ISPs because they don't provide any one thing better than other companies. Most of these companies shot for bill consolidation, which is nice, but hardly something you can sell yourself off of, since so many internet access companies provide it (direcTV dsl, any ILEC ISP, cable broadband, etc.). There's just too many competitors shooting for the bargain/cheap-goods approach.

Having offered a plug for Speakeasy, I must warn you, they're not cheap, because you pay for what you get (or you get what you pay for, depends on how you want to approach it, I guess). That said, you get a lot of things most other ISPs wouldn't dream of offering.

As always, if you want a good medium to get recommendations, DSL Reports is a good place to go. Don't take my word on Speakeasy, their reputation there will speak for itself.

However, there is one thing to keep in mind - being in the DSL business, at the consumer level, is asking for a potentially complicated relationship. Installation can be quite a pain, and this has as much to do with any one of your phone lines, local phone company, and fate, as it does with the ISP itself. Some people aren't aware of this or don't realize it, and they get frustrated, and since the ISP is the front line of service, they're the ones who get the blame.

Since you didn't provide a link, I'll provide one to speakeasy.

If anyone subscribes with the above link, I'd even split the $50 referral fee!

I can't believe that if you can get DirecTV you can't get another provider... since their lines are probably carried by Covad or Worldcom. I have a Worldcom line from Speakeasy, which I can't say enough good things about. It's pricy, but I got free Xbox (or PS2)for signing up, free setup after rebate, 2 static IP's, and a host of other features. Good luck!

Speakeasy is growing in area. Check them out. They have plans for 2 IP addresses right now.

I disagree with your assertion - I live in Manhattan, and I know a number of people with problem-free DSL installs and none with Verizon. Personally, I have had two different DSL lines in two different apartments here, with no problems at all (Mindspring/Covad in the past and Speakeasy/WCOM at present). I don't entirely disagree with your assertion about large companies, but I don't think it's as pervasive as you think. There are plenty of large corporations (the one I work for, for instance) which are totally commited to their customers and the satisfaction thereof.

I get DSL through Speakeasy and they allow hosting of Web sites. I pay $160/month for 4 static IPs and 768Kbps SDSL. Medium speed hosting and I host dozens of Web sites off my connection. Great deal!

One caveat- you will be best off if you can find a decent ISP - one that will provide you with a static IP and wont block ports. That may be impossible or very expensive.

Speakeasy does all that.

No transfer cap, pay a little more, get a lot more

Usenet service, 1G/day, $5/month

I use these people, I'm happy with them, I don't have any other business relationship with them.

I think this article comes from the painfully obvious department ...or ripped from the pages of Duh magazine