DSL For Your Home

Cape.Com is pleased to offer DSL services to both business and residential customers throughout Massachusetts.

Special Offer!
Order DSL and we'll waive the activation fees -- an $85 savings! Plus, the modem is now just $49 outright for new customers or FREE* if you are an existing Cape.Com customer!

Can I get DSL?

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is a modem technology which converts your twisted-pair telephone line into a high speed connection to the Internet. It's 'always on' and does not interfere with your existing voice grade phone and fax service. A residential DSL-workstation connection can achieve a downstream data rate of up to 3.0M and an upstream data rate of up to 768K.

DSL vs. Cable

DSL is a direct dedicated connection to the Internet, unlike cable, which is a shared access. A cable internet connection can be shared by up to 500 subscribers, and is vulnerable to capacity overload problems, outside security intrusions as well as outages. In addition, cable speeds are often unreliable, and slowed considerably by many siumultaneous users.

DSL provides your own personal high-speed connection via telephone line which is not compromised by multiple users sharing the same equipment. Speeds are available up to 3.0M down/768K up. Plus, DSL allows for greater privacy when transferring data and keeps your computer much more secure. And have you noticed that when cable and electrical outages occur, your phone line still operates? - it has to, telephone service is mandated by law.

How We Do It

Cape.Com strives to provide a broad range of Internet services and superior levels of support and technical expertise. We are the only locally-owned, full-service Internet company in eastern Massachusetts offering DSL at this time. Our carefully planned deployment of a high-speed regional network has kept our DSL offerings intact, while many other companies have come and gone. Read what others are saying about Cape.Com DSL service.

We encourage you to fully read the requirements and restrictions involved with DSL service before submitting your information for qualification. To review the most frequently asked DSL questions, see our DSL FAQs section.

Share your Cape.Com DSL experiences with others at DSLReports.com. Click below to email a review:

To qualify for DSL service, customers must meet a number of telephone-company mandated requirements, and be within a 3.5 mile radius (18,000 ft.) of their telephone company central office or remote terminal. Please review the reasons why DSL may not be available at your location. If these reasons do not presently pertain to your situation or you are unsure, please complete the DSL Loop Qualification form to verify whether service is available on your line. If you don't qualify for DSL service now, don't despair, it's likely that you will qualify in the near future.

Residential DSL: Description & Pricing

DSL-Metro features a speed of 768/128, and includes one email account for a monthly rate of $29. DSL-Metro is designed for the recreational surfer or those who want to economically upgrade from dialup to high-speed DSL. DSL-Metro does not include the extra services which come standard with the DSL-Workstation plan (as described below). Any additional services desired will be charged separately.

DSL-Workstation provides speeds of up to 3.0M down/768K up, should the line qualify*, for a monthly fee of $49. In addition to DSL service, the DSL-Workstation plan includes a private static IP, an email account, backup dial-up Internet access (150 hours per month, $1/hr for every hour over 150), and a 10MB Basic FTP/Web site for publishing your web pages. Additional private IP's can be allocated to a DSL-Workstation plan at a cost of $5/month.

Our monthly fees include line charges, taxes and Internet access fees related to your DSL service, and technical support via phone or email for Internet or DSL connection-related problems. There are no surprises on your bill!

*Speeds of 3.0M/768K available. However, some locations and lines may not qualify and will be supplied with the fastest speed available. Existing Cape.Com DSL accounts (with the exception of Metro plan users) can upgrade to the 3.0M/768K speed, should they qualify, for FREE. Please contact technical support to order this free speed upgrade.

DSL-Metro and DSL-Workstation service are intended for use on one computer (if you have a home-office network, please see DSL for Business). This computer will be provided with a single, private IP number. A workstation with a private IP cannot be seen from the broader Internet, however, it can access all sites on the Internet. Upstream Cape.Com routers use a technique known as NAT (Network Address Translation) to convert Private IP traffic into a corresponding Public IP. NAT is used to conserve precious public IP numbers, and has the added benefit of securing your home computer from external intrusion or attack. Outgoing access to smtp is restricted to smtp.cape.com only.

One-Time Charges:

1. A one-time, non-refundable startup fee of $60 is required when placing a DSL order. If this is a new Cape.Com account, a $25 account activation fee would also apply. Through April 1, 2006, these fees are waived.

2. A DSL modem is required. Cape.Com sells the following qualified modem: CastleNet AR502 SOHOSpeed DSL modem ($105 plus tax.). Special through April 1, 2006: $49 + tax or free to existing Cape.Com customers. DSL modems can also be purchased elsewhere; However, please contact us to confirm specifications and compatibility with Cape.Com's DSL network.

   For a DSL modem to work over Cape.Com's DSL Network, the modem's chipset must support Bridged Ethernet RFC 1483/ATM with a Virtual Path Identifier/Virtual Channel Identifier (VPI/VCI) pair as follows:

   VPI:0 VCI:35

   The VPI (an 8-bit field in an ATM header), combined with the VCI (a 16-bit field in an ATM header), is used to identify the next destination of a cell as it passes through a series of ATM switches. The modem (chipset) must be compatible with this series of events to operate properly.

   Many DSL modems auto-negotiate the VPI/VCI, while some must have the VPI/VCI set manually, either via a telnet connection or terminal/console access. For example, the Efficient Speedstream 5260 Ethernet DSL modem must have the VPI/VCI set manually, while Westell's Wirespeed "White" auto-negotiates the settings.

3. A Cape.Com representative can visit your home and install the hardware and software for DSL service. This process typically takes about one hour. The charge for an DSL in-house installation is $100/hr., including travel time.

4. Please note that a $60 Order Change fee will be charged to an account should the customer request the DSL be provisioned or moved to a different telephone number AFTER the order has already been placed. A $60 Cancel Request fee is assessed if DSL service is ordered during a fee waiver promotion period and then cancelled within 1 year of the date of the order.

Technical Support for DSL Plans

Cape.Com will happily provide DSL technical support to email and DSL/Internet connection-related problems. Cape.Com will support IP issues only to the extent that the IP in question was assigned by Cape.Com, in accordance with the DSL plan currently in place with the customer. Connection issues relating to routers will be supported on all DSL plans that require a router to be in use. However, support for router issues for DSL-workstation and DSL-SOHO plans are not supported by Cape.Com, as these plans do not require a router, but rather a modem to be in use. Please note also that Cape.Com will support DSL on the number of workstations specified in a particular plan, but will not offer support beyond that number.

Detailed technical support beyond the above parameters and including network, hardware or unrelated software issues is charged at the rate of $100/hr., whether provided via telephone, email or on-site/in-person.

Should you have questions about the level of support for your DSL plan, please contact Cape.Com for clarification.

Residential DSL: System Requirements

• Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 Requirements

  Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000
  Intel Pentium/Pentium Pro/Pentium MMX/Pentium II, AMD K5/K6, or Cyrix 586/686 processor
  32MB RAM
  25MB free hard drive space
  Windows 95 requires Dial-Up Networking 1.3
  Windows NT 4.0 requires Service Pack 3 or higher
  
  10-baseT Ethernet interface
  

• Macintosh Requirements

  PowerPC processor
  MacOS 7.6.1 through MacOS X AND Open Transport 1.1.1 through 2.0.2
  32MB RAM
  25MB free hard drive space
  
  10baseT Ethernet interface, stock on iMac to Power Mac G5 computers.

• Linux Requirements

  All distributions, kernel compiled with IP forwarding enabled.
  10baseT Ethernet interface.
  One should be very familiar with the Ethernet HOW-TO.
  

DSL Order and Installation Information

1. Please complete the DSL Qualification form to verify whether DSL service can be provisioned on the line. Preliminary results will be available online after inputing your information. We will confirm these results in a separate email. Here are a number of reasons why DSL would NOT be available:
   • It's too far from the Telephone Company Central Office.
   • It's being serviced by a 'remote switch' or vault.
   • It's not all copper from location to Central Office
   • ISDN, Foreign Exchange (FX), Direct Inward Dial/Direct Outward Dial(DID/DOD), service on line.
   • Line is resold by a different phone company, and, not billed to Verizon, e.g. Quest or RCN.
   • DSL already on line
   • First number in a Centrex hunt
   • Dial tone at more than one location on the line
   • Toll-free number
   • Digital interference on line
   • Central Office temporarily not accepting new DSL orders due to capacity
   • New phone line not yet installed (loop-qualification generally requires an active phone line)

2. If DSL service is available on the phone line, place your order for DSL service with Cape.Com. All order, provisioning, and trouble resolution issues are handled by Cape.Com; there's no need to contact Verizon. DSL service should be turned up within 10-15 business days from the day the order is placed.

3. Within 5-7 days of your order, Cape.Com will send you a DSL installation kit. Included with this kit are the following:

   • Some small, in-line telephone filters. These filters must be connected to all voice-grade devices (phones and faxes) which are on the line that will receive the DSL service. When DSL is turned on, a high-frequency tone will be heard on any phone line that does not have this filter.
   • A DSL modem or router, if it's been ordered from Cape.Com.
   • Installation instructions providing a detailed description of the hardware and software installation.

4. When the DSL service has been turned up, Cape.Com will notify you that it's available. If you've ordered an installation service from us, or one of our affiliated consultants, we'll schedule a convenient time to visit your home or office to install the service.

Get Qualified for DSL today!

Just complete the DSL Qualification form to verify whether service is available on your line. Preliminary results will be available online after inputing your information. We will confirm these results in a separate email. If DSL is not available at this time, we will get back to you with other high-speed alternatives.

* Fee waivers ($60 DSL setup and $25 Cape.Com new account fee) and equipment promotions effective through April 1, 2006. To be eligible for the free use of the modem, new DSL service must be an upgrade from a lesser connection service, and be billed to an existing account in good standing and established for atleast 30 days, else the charge is $49 outright. Loaner modem must be returned to Cape.Com in good working order when DSL service is terminated (minimum of one year service required, else $60 early termination fee applies), or user will be billed the modem's full retail price ($105) .  Massachusetts 5% sales tax applies to all modems leaving the premises of Cape.Com, whether they are paid for or part of a free promotion (based on the $49 price). The $60 DSL speed change fee waiver applies to existing DSL customers who qualify for a higher rate of speed, and who commit to atleast one-year of DSL service from Cape.Com.

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