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Using DSL Modems for Point to Point Connections?
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!"
Are there any caveats or precautions?
You may have already considered this, but most ISPs that I'm aware of have a line in the ToS that states that you may not share the connection with other people. And they do check; I remember a friend getting his house checked by Road Runner due to his daughter using P2P out the wazoo.
This statement is false.
most telcos are clued into the 'dry pair' (whatever you wish to call it) orders, and will deny them.
a tech for sbc (who i have no reason to believe was lying - we were speaking friendly at a resteraunt) told me that they screw with service on local lines and can cause techs to get electrocuted because the lines aren't flagged.
But assuming that you own the property in between...
Have you considered putting in a fiber link? On ebay, I just saw a 9k ft spool for ~$200 buyitnow awhile back. $30 for some 10baseT transcievers at each end. Renting a trencher for a weekend would cost what? Hell, it might be alot of work, but in 2 years when you decide you want a 100baseT link, or even gigabit, you buy some more (by then) cheap transcievers. For that matter, you might even be able to find the equipment to multiplex cable tv over the damn thing, if you wanted.
Just a thought.
keep poking your test leads into the can, you should find another dry pair for the Telco to, ahem, 'lease' to you.
i dont suppose you have any sort of cable (ie co-axial) connection running down those poles do you? might be able to get a dry line there and convince an old BNC'd ethernet card to shove data down it.
also remeasure your distance. is he two miles straight down the road or two miles across a field and thru the woods?
looks around im sure ive seen some people using microwave, wi-fi, laser, and radio over those distances jsut in case your DSL doesnt go.
yea im sure this post helped you a lot.
If you want the consumer-grade stuff (the 3com or dlink RTUs that you buy to hook up to your telco's network), then no. They need a DSLAM.
If you want to spend a few bucks ($1000 per end), Adtran makes some good HDSL gear - such as the Express-L768, and Express-L1.5, that will do what you want. The L-768 is probably what you want, as it uses a single pair, and runs 768K bidirectional. (The 1.5 runs at 1.5M, but uses 2 pairs.. it can also run 768K on a single pair.)
We use these at a number of sites, and they work pretty well.
There are caveats.. the maximum distance you can drive them is 18000 feet.. and if you're leasing copper from the telco, you have to watch the distance.. the telco here bills length as crow-flies distance, so unless you know their distribution network, you may not know the exact footage.. for example, we have two schools that are about 3 feet away from each other (next door), but the actual cable distance was over 20000 Feet. (The copper for each site runs back to the telco's distribution point.)
If you own the land between the sites, I'd do as another poster suggested, and run fiber)