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Do ILECs Misreport Distance to Shirk Their DSL Obligations?

Members of the ISP-DSL list discuss how far SDSL service can reach, how to determine your distance from the nearest CO, and why your local phone company might lie to you.

[May 11, 2000]

On the ISP-DSL list in April, DG issued a plea for help with an SDSL installation problem:

"I recently requested that an installation of an SDSL line through a Covad-supported ISP. Their distance software showed me at being 13000 ft or so from my CO, but now they tell me that I can't get it because I'm actually 30,000 ft from my CO (which is less than a three mile drive away). Is this a common occurrence, and how can it be remedied?"

A number of respondents pointed out that driving distance is not the same as wire distance:

[DD wrote] "It's very possible that there is 30,000 feet of copper between you and the CO, even if your building is only three miles away. The software that Covad provides its partners use is based on the database provided to them by the ILECs. Our experience has been that that database is only about 60% accurate."

[MA added] "The wire may snake around your town before getting to your location. Covad is, unfortunately, at the mercy of the local Bell in obtaining this information. Perhaps you should ask your ISP to place the order again, or use another CLEC. Keep in mind that if you are beyond 18,000 ft. you'll only be able to get 128 or 144K service at best."

[JK disagreed] "Unless there is a stream or some other obstacle that requires the wires to cross at a bridge, this should not be the case. Do a direction with mapquest to see if there is something unusual."

[ND noted] "I've had experiences where a location is originally wired to the CO in the area, and then a new CO is recently built closer in distance to this location. The assumption is that the DSL line can be wired through the new, closer CO location, but that's not necessarily true. One can make a request to re-route the circuit from the closer CO, but expect to wait 6-7 months if the local ILEC or CLEC must approve the request."

Another respondent suggested going to a higher authority to resolve the problem:

[JK wrote] "The problem is with the ILEC assigning the copper pairs. I would suggest you contact your Public Utility Commission and claim the ILEC is improperly reporting your distance. ILECs do this to come up with a reason not to install DSL in areas where they do not provide competing service. Getting the PUC involved may force the ILEC to do what is necessary to fix the problem."

[JG seconded that idea] "I would suggest a vendor meet between Covad and the phone company. That is what we always do as a last resort and it works. It's sometimes difficult to schedule a vendor meet with an unwilling phone company, but Covad should be able to pull the right strings."

[ZL asserted] "Inaccurate pre-qualification is definitely a DSL issue. Check out 2wire.com and DSL Reports.com, they both have checkers for you to compare. Also try www.mapquest.com to get an idea of driving distance; while not totally accurate, it can be a comparison point."

[Editor's Note: The checking tool at 2wire allows users to look up area DSL service providers. DSL Reports has tools for checking distances, locating Cos and finding residential DSL service providers.]

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