jwz

Great moments in the internet service industry.

Nobody will sell fiber internet to DNA Lounge. But it turns out that the condo building next-door-plus-one has Google Fiber. So I got our neighbor who lives there to put us in touch with their service...
https://jwz.org/b/yktW

Aug 15, 2025 at 9:09pmjwz.org
Show threadstilescrisisAug 15, 2025
@jwz Why wouldn't it be legal? Did they say?
Show threadjwzAug 15, 2025
@stilescrisis Of course not, but there was no way they were going to give me an answer to that question that made sense or that I would believe.
Show threadangst-ridden wandererAug 15, 2025
@jwz I had a similarly frustrating time with a vendor. We have a copper line to the property that's needed for some unrelated reason. They absolutely won't run fiber to the house without taking out the copper.They'd happily bring separate fiber connections to different structures on the property using multiple accounts, but not if any structure on the property has a copper connection.
Show threadWulfy—Speaker to the machinesAug 15, 2025

@jwz

It sounds stupid, but you can thank big telcos for that.
The way the law is written means anyone running cable from the address becomes a "data carriage" and it's regulated how THEY deal with that entity.

System works as intended...bribery enshrined in legislation.

Show threadjwzAug 15, 2025
@n_dimension Your theory of "Big Bad Telco Keeping Little Guy Down" doesn't track when the Little Guy In Question is Google.
Show threadWulfy—Speaker to the machinesAug 15, 2025

@jwz

Back in the day (and this does sound like an old tale) companies paid lip service to regulation..
...there's usually a reason for madness

Show threadLog 🪵Aug 15, 2025
@jwz I think the problem here is that you are actually buying service for a unit in that building, and they don't need to know anything about what happens on your side of the demarc.
Show threadrex❗ (he/him) ♿🏴Aug 15, 2025
@jwz google just seems to really hate you for no good reason... 
Show threadSean OFarrellAug 16, 2025
@jwz Out of curiosity, what was the bandwith and how much were they going to charge you?
Show threadDave MangotAug 16, 2025

@jwz love it!

I had something similar in 2005. I was trying to get DSL at my house we just bought but everyone refused because I had a "DAML" on the phone line.

No one was allowed to touch it.

PacBell said they would give me service and had to remove their DAML to do so.

I think I had PacBell Internet for like 2 days before it was switched to Speakeasy. (RIP)

😂

Show threadBen Ford Aug 16, 2025

@jwz @david we had a fun story like this about 20 years ago. We had space in buildings on both sides of the street, one could get service and the other couldn’t. It was just beyond rated distance for CAT6 but we decided to give it a shot — a few dropped packets is better than nothing at all. So late one night we shot a fish line across the street with a bow & blunted arrow (think bowfishing) and then ran for years on it.

Fun fact: we missed the first shot and had a nice visit with the downstairs tenant the next day explaining why the potted plant on their balcony had an arrow in it.