Re: [tlug] ADSL or Hikari Fiber

[Joe Larabell <fred62@example.com>]

> Depend on the cable company, some only offer a connection behind NAT
> only, so make sure before you join.  OTOH, USEN used to give out /29
> subnets (5 usable static, global IPs) if you can get their fiber
> directly into your home (for standalone houses only I think).

It's funny how Usen seems to be thought of as a "cable TV" company these 
days. Good marketing, I guess. Usen made it's name selling Internet-based 
karaoke systems to snack bars and karaoke box places then branched out 
into FTTH services. The TV service is relatively new, as it wasn't fully 
fleshed out when I first contacted them.

I had Usen at my last two apartments. In the first case, they installed 
the optical adapter in a common area and ran a 100Base-T connection to my 
apartment. In the second apartment, the landlord didn't want the shared 
box in their common area but they did approve having Usen pull the glass 
all the way to my apartment. (The landlord suggested I "call NTT and have 
them pull the fiber all the way through" but I correctly surmised that 
they really didn't care *whose* glass it was and Usen was willing to do
it... but I had to pay for installation as if it was a standalone house.)

When we moved earlier this year, I was disappointed that Usen doesn't 
serve this area but my local CableTV company (CTN) has a 130Mb downlink 
service so I went with that for now. CTNs wiring apparently brings fiber 
to some local hub on a pole somewhere and then runs coax from there to the 
house in what they call a "fiber/cable hybrid" service. The performance 
isn't bad -- but the contract explicitly prohibits home servers.

If you have a choice, go with Usen. Besides the /29 subnet, they have no 
restrictions on what you do with the connection and, to my knowledge, do 
not block ports. The optical converter has an RJ-45 on one side and it's a 
direct Internet connection -- no PPPoE or any other setup. Just plug in a 
comnputer or a router (with a good firewall setup, since Usen apparently 
does no filtering whatsoever) and you're in business. Plus you can opt for 
Internet-only service and you don't end up paying for web space and an 
email address that you probably don't need (you can get that, of course, 
but it's an add-on to the basic connectivity). Most importantly, at least 
in my old area, Usen owns their own glass so little, if any, of your money 
will end up in the hands of NTT.

My CableTV provider's connection is also straight Internet but you have to 
use their box (two boxes -- one to convert the cable to a PPPoE connection 
and another to log into their servers and provide the Internet access).

---
Joseph L (Joe) Larabell            Never fight with a dragon
http://larabell.org/                    for thou art crunchy
http://thelemicleague.org/        and goest well with cheese.