Background info:

 

I have fiber optic internet, doesn't use TV cable (so no cable modem and demodulation necessary), doesn't use ISDN (no shared data/voice) and it isn't dialup.

 

Fibter optic line comes to the building, through hardware and into a regular switch. Ethernet cable is unthreaded, and the actual copper wires in the cable are patched onto 4 of the 8 phone line wires to my suite. Because the distance to the building suites/apts (and thus copper wire impedance) are small, relatively speaking, there's virtually no loss of using cat3 phone cables to transport the ethernet signal. It sort of works like ADSL, but doesnt use an explicit Rj11/Rj45 converter and is infinitely faster (~24Mbps) than 1.544Mbps.

 

So I decide to get a new landline phone number installed. Yada yada, dude comes in, plugs in his phone signal tool and says, you're all set. The retard just went to the service panel in the building basement, cut my old line and plugged in a Telus line from their phone box.

 

I look at him:

 

Me: (laughs) You're kidding me, right? You just cut my internet.

 

Him: Oh, don't worry, we're trained technicians. TV cables and phone cables are independent.

 

 

Him: Oh, well you can still use dial up. Just remember that you cant use your phone at the same time.

 

Me: Uh huh, except that it's not dialup.

 

Him: So you use some sort of wireless?

 

 

Him: Hmm. So you want to disconnect your internet then? We offer 128k internet too. Here's a brochure.

 

 

Him: Ok, well, do you want a second phone line then?

 

 

Him: So, you want to cancel our service?

 

 

So, him confused, we head down to the basement tech/service room. He shows me where my suite line port is. I ask him for a pair of cable cutters.

 

Him: Do you know what you're doing? You could damage property.

 

I looked at him, and cut his precious Telus cable right in front of him. I located the old line that he just unplugged, rolled into a ball and stuffed away, and he tells me that he thought it was the old tenants phone service provider. Fair enough.

 

I exposed the phone copper wiring, and manually bus-muxed it together onto the jack with the internet line. So now, 4 of the 8 copper wires are my internet connection from my ISP, 2 for the plain old phone line by Telus, and 2 free, potentially for another phone line. Two services, two service providers, one phone line.

 

Him: Will that even work?

 

 

I have no patience with incompetent people. I can be a really nice guy, but I simply expect people to be able to do what they're paid to do. Still kinda funny though.

 

My new line is set up, then about a week later its down. Why? because for some reason the stop order for my old line shows my new address too and they like to cut both.

 

Then I lose email for a few days because of the stop order on the old address.

 

I tell them what happens everytime I move and everytime it happens even though I warn them before I move that it will happen.

 

I did learn though that if you order internet from Cox and do not order cable tv they have install a filter on your line at the box to prevent you from getting free cable tv. I moved once and it took them a bit to figure out the prev. occupant was set up that way. My girl was driving me nuts because she had to go without tv for a week. I kept calling and got the same response, "If your internet works then the problem cant be their's, did I check to see if my tv was set for cable and not antennae"