Teacher
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23 Messages
Fixed wireless internet available at my address but no signal???
So I have been checking regularly, eagerly anticipating that fixed wireless internet would be available at my address. For 6 months I got the "not available" message. About 2 weeks ago, I check again, and it says that fixed wireless is available at my address. I set up the installation, the date was set 1 week from my order date. The tech shows up, arrives in a timely manner and is a nice guy. He checks for signal but can't get one. I know for a fact that there is a third party owned tower 3 miles away, direct line of sight, from my house. There are also Verizon and other towers within 5 miles or so. The nearest AT&T, owned tower is 15 miles I believe. I was under the impression that AT&T were also upgrading third party tower sites, as well as building new towers, in order to meet the CAFII obligations.
So I live chat with customer service, not quite satisfied with what the tech was telling me. The customer service rep tells me that it is indeed available and that he will make a second appointment for 03/31/2018. He tells me that he has contacted the supervisor tech who deal with my installation. He also tells me that they are working on running DSLAM to my site to get me up and running. I am now a little confused. I am not an expert on the technical side of things. What is this DSLAM? Is it a part of Fixed Wireless Internet service?
I guess my real question is, was the customer service person right or will the second appointment just be a waste of everyone's time? Does installing DSLAM mean that they are fitting the tower that is closest to me, (the third party owned tower), to be able to send my wireless signal?
JRAYBO
Teacher
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23 Messages
5 years ago
Thank you for the reply. If that is the case, what was the customer service person talking about, I wonder? I presently have DSL service which is very slow because I am 3 miles from the exchange. Does the customer service person think I am getting Uverse or fiber, or some sort of wired service installed instead? I'll eat my hat if they actually run fiber to my home. I guess I'll find out on Saturday. Anyone with any insights, let me know. Could he have meant that they are doing tower work perhaps?
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JRAYBO
Teacher
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23 Messages
5 years ago
I didn't get an email but on my account there is an order summary: Fixed Wireless Internet installation: Your order has been confirmed, and your Internet installation appointment is scheduled for March 31, 2018, between 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM.
Order #: 71-000003842539583.
So apparently someone is coming out on Saturday.
I don't know what he was on about talking about DSLAM? I already have DSL service and it is working just fine, albeit slow. From my own reading, I didn't think that DSLAM had anything to do with fixed wireless, which to my understanding, works by installing an antenna on my house which communicates with the nearest tower. The tower is fiber connected and gives very fast speeds. The first tech that came out must have been searching for signal from the nearest AT&T owned tower, which I believe is about 15 miles away; no wonder he didn't get a signal. They need to be looking for a signal at the towers that are near me, within 3-10 miles. There are I believe at least 3 towers, one is 3 miles (owned by American Tower Corporation) in Milner, Lamar county, the others about 5-7 miles (Verizon towers I think), in Barnesville, GA. None of them are AT&T owned but from what I understood, fixed wireless would sometimes be deployed on 3rd party tower owner sites to provide maximum coverage to meet CAFII obligations. I am pretty sure that if they provided my service from the American Tower Corporation site just 3 miles away, that I'll get a very strong signal and probably very fast internet service.
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CAF_II
Mentor
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35 Messages
5 years ago
LOL, your not even supposed to get Fixed Wireless service. Even if it truly becomes available. You stated you currently have DSL.....no matter how slow or pathetic it is your stuck with it. I have been waiting for broadband since Window XP service pack 1........17 years!!!!!! 2.5 Billion dollars and I don't have service yet. They have fiber in Uganda!!!!
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slowGA
Mentor
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65 Messages
5 years ago
The tower that services fixed wireless is specifically equipped to provide the 2300mhz band 30 LTE signal that fixed wireless uses and there is usually only one in your area, it isnt related to cell signal at all. The closest tower to you isn't necessarily the fixed wireless tower.
I live very near you evidently and I finally have the service, the tower is located northeast of Zebulon
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JRAYBO
Teacher
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23 Messages
5 years ago
Hi. I actually have the service now myself too. I got my case escalated, had a two techs come out at the request of the office of the president. They tried 3 towers, and got signal from one of them. The service is very good. I get in the high 30s download speed and between 1 and 2 upload speed. They said my signal was weaker than typical but as of yet I have had no issues with it. Solid performance, even in the rain that we had on Sunday. Based on the direction my antenna is pointing, it looks as though it is pointed towards Meansville/south of Zebulon/north Upson sort of direction. Glad you managed to get it too, we are finally in the 21st century. It feels really good to have a decent internet connection. I am getting about 25 times faster download speed and about 5 times faster upload speed, than my old DSL service. I would highly recommend getting this service to rural customers.
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Majestyk16
Contributor
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1 Message
5 years ago
How did you manage to get the case escalated in order to have the techs come out?
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CAF_II
Mentor
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35 Messages
5 years ago
that was fairly high up actually call themselves "Office of the president"
don't know what that really means but it got the ball rolling. That person
introduced me to another. They got the fixed wireless engineering
department to confirm I should be able to get the service. Things stalled a
bit. I then was able to obtain the contact number for the person
responsible for external affairs of my state (Ohio) for AT&T. I do not have
the service yet, had tech out 3 times. I have done all the work. These
installers are great on installing direct TV but have no training
whatsoever on fixed wireless. I am not faulting them, they just don't know
what to do. When antenna is provided to them it is set up to handshake a
certain tower if it doesn't they need a new one to communicate to a
different one. I could go on and on....
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lhgolfer50
Tutor
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5 Messages
4 years ago
I keep calling AT&T for Fixed Wireless Internet but they say I can't have it as I have uVerse Internet (DSL). But my internet is sloooow. 5Mbs at max.
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