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Using DSL Modems for Point to Point Connections?

Posted by Cliff on from the cheaply-providing-network-service dept.

Tommydog asks: "Any techies out there? I'm living in a rural area and would like to know from anyone qualified, if I can hook up 2 DSL modems point to point, and connect to a neighbor's home network who is running Internet Sharing. We do have a dry pair (we can only get one pair) of TELCO wires between our houses, which are about 2 miles apart. Before investing in a couple of single pair modems (T-1's require 2 pair), I'd like to know if anyone has been able to make something like this work. It turns out that I'm just a bit too far for DSL, but this neighbor does have it and will share it if I can get a good connection going. So, anyone have 2 DSL modems working point to point, back to back? Are there any caveats or precautions? Thanks!"

2 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. Re:danger will robinson - stupid by erpbridge · · Score: 3, Insightful
    you can not send enough power to electrocute someone over a low guage phone pair

    Maybe not enough power to electrocute someone, but there is enough power on a phone line to cause a tingle (especially if you touch the bare copper while a ring is sent through). Thing is, dry pairs aren't the only ones that can do that... all lines can do that.

  2. Re:One caveat by Wonko42 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    That's news to me. I've used five different ISPs over the last few years, through both work and home, both DSL and dialup, and none of them have prohibited the use of connection sharing at a single address. Each one did prohibit reselling bandwidth or providing secondary dialup service through my own account, however.

    Prohibiting an action that could take business away from the ISP is entirely logical, but prohibiting an action that has no effect on the ISP whatsoever is not. If I'm paying for a 768Kbps DSL line and I'm not reselling that bandwidth, the ISP should keep its nose out of my business. I'm paying for that bandwidth and what I use it for is up to me until it begins harming the ISP.

    I also have a real problem with ISPs that crack down on users who do lots of filesharing. Since I pay my ISP for 24 hour 768Kbps access, I expect to be able to utilize all the bandwidth I'm paying for (minus TCP overhead, of course) all the time. An ISP telling me I can't use all 768Kbps all the time because they haven't got the capacity is like the cable company telling me I can only watch HBO fifteen days out of the month. It's their job to have the capacity, since I'm paying them for it.