DSL For Your Business

Cape.Com is pleased to offer DSL services to business and residential customers throughout eastern Massachusetts (508, 617, 781 and 978 area codes.) Read what businesses are saying about Cape.Com DSL service.

ADSL or Asymmetric 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.

How We Do It

Cape.Com provides a number of DSL services for businesses. Choosing the best service will depend on the number of computers at your office, and your speed and IP address requirements. We also offer specially-priced DSL/Web Hosting packages for qualified businesses. The Cape.Com DSL team will assist you in choosing the plan that's right for your needs.

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.

To qualify for DSL service, customers must meet a number of telephone-company mandated requirements, and be within a 3 mile radius of their telephone company central office. 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 contact dsl@cape.com with your address and phone number to verify whether service is available on your telephone line. If you don't qualify for DSL service now, don't despair, it's likely that you will qualify in the near future.

DSL Business and Residential Services and Pricing

All Cape.Com DSL accounts include an email account, 10 hours of backup dialup access per month ($1/hr for every hour over 10), a 10 MB Basic FTP/website, and access to our news server. Additional dialup, web hosting, mail services, and e-commerce solutions can be added to a DSL account as needed.

Service	Target Use	Public IP	Private IP	CIR	24x7 Monitor	BW Stats	CPE Hot Spare	Monthly Price
DSL-Workstation	Residential, 1 workstation	no	1	no	no	no	no	$56
DSL-SOHO	2 to 4 workstation network	0 or 1	3 if you require 1 Public, or, 4 Private	no	no	no	no	$84
DSL-100	Office, 5 to 15 workstations	3	16	100/100	yes	yes	yes	$160
Custom 384/384	Suited to your business needs	5	Suited to your business needs	100/100	yes	yes	yes	$190
Custom 768/768	Suited to your business needs	5	Suited to your business needs	200/200	yes	yes	yes	$280

Pricing is subject to change without notice. Contact Cape.Com for additional connectivity options for medium to large sized businesses that require greater speed and support beyond the our Custom DSL plans.

PublicIP: A workstation or server with a public IP is accessible by machines on the broader Internet. Any server, eg. mail or web, that you would like to access from remote locations would require a public IP.

PrivateIP: A workstation or server with a private IP cannot be seen from the broader Internet. Upstream Cape.Com routers use a technique know as NAT (Network Address Translation) to convert PrivateIP traffic into a corresponding Public IP. NAT is used to conserve precious public IP's. It has the added advantage that workstations in a private IP space are much more secure from external intrusion or attacks.

CIR: Committed Information Rate is the amount of bandwidth that Cape.Com guarantees will always be available for your use. All ADSL connections are able to burst to the maximum available bandwidth when available, typically 768K. The CIR is the minimum guaranteed bandwidth that you should expect.

24x7 Monitor: Once every 10 minutes your connection to the Internet is tested to verify that it's properly working. If a failure is detected, a Cape.Com system operator is immediately notified and corrective action is taken.

BW stats: Real time bandwidth consumption on your line is automatically collected and made available to you via a password-protected web site. The web site provides you with a graphical representation of bandwidth consumption on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

CPE Hot Spare: Customer Premises Equipment Hot Spare. Cape.Com maintains spares of all ADSL equipment that it deploys at the customer's site. If a failure occurs with your ADSL equipment, Cape.Com will provide a working unit while your equipment is sent back to the manufacturer for replacement or repair.

ADSL Network Requirements

Depending on the DSL plan that you choose (DSL-Workstation, DSL-SOHO or DSL-100), Cape.Com will provide your company with IP addresses, private or a mixture of public and private, for your internal servers/workstations. A workstation or server 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 computers from external intrusion or attack. Workstations or servers that must be accessible from outside of your internal network will require public IP addresses.

Installation Charges

1. A one-time nonrefundable startup fee of $60 is required when placing an order. If this is a new Cape.Com account, a $25 activation fee would also apply.

2. For DSL-SOHO (2-4 workstations), a DSL modem may be used. Cape.Com sells the following DSL modem:
   
   
   • Westell Wirespeed ADSL modem ($349.00)
   
   
   
   For DSL-100 (5-15 workstations), if your network already has a router, the Westell Wirespeed ($349) may be used. If not, an ADSL router is required. Cape.Com sells the following qualified routers:
   
   
   • Efficient 5861 ($599.00)
   • Cisco 827 ($649.00)
   
   
   
   ADSL modems and routers can also be purchased elsewhere, however, before purchasing an ADSL router, please contact us to confirm that it is qualified.

Both routers above can perform DHCP as well as NAT, yet only the Cisco 827 is proficient at a mixture of Public and Private IP schemes. Should you have any questions about routers, please contact Cape.Com's Network Provisioning Department prior to placing an order, or email netprov@cape.com with your questions.


3. A Cape.Com representative can visit your office and install the hardware and software for ADSL service; $70/hour (1hr min.) door-to-door. A technician from our Network Provisioning Department will contact you to discuss the details of the installation. There may be certain LAN-specific variables that Cape.Com will not be able to address, however, Cape.Com will assist you in determining your exact needs and suggest an installation path that will provide minimal disruption to your existing office LAN/WAN.


Should you choose to install the hardware and software yourself, an installation document will be shipped out when you place your order for DSL service.

DSL Order and Installation Information

1. Email dsl@cape.com and provide us with the phone number and address that DSL service will be provisioned on. We'll run a 'loop qualification' to verify whether DSL service is available.

   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. CTC or RCN.
   • DSL already on the 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 DSL orders due to capacity
   • New phone line not yet installed (loop-qualification 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 the phone company. DSL service should be turned up within 20 working 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.

Dedicated Connection Comparison Chart

The following chart provides a quick comparison of the various types of Business class Internet connections that Cape.Com provides. If DSL is not available at your location at this time, this chart offers alternative access solutions. For businesses with multiple offices, the connection to each office may be different, depending on the location of the office and the level of service required. For a detailed analysis of your connectivity needs, contact Cape.Com to schedule a meeting.

* Availability Codes:

• Area1 All of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
• Area2 Eastern Massachusetts, the areas included in the 508, 617, 781 and 978 area codes.

** Distance Restrictions:

• The mileage figures are maximum distances from your location to the Telephone Company Central Office. Contact Cape.Com to request a "loop qualification" to see if ISDN or ADSL is available.

*** MultilinkPPP:

• This technique allows you to dial into our network using multiple modems and phone lines and combine these lines into a single, higher speed connection to the Internet. For instance, if you were to connect with three V.90 modems and each modem was able to make a 50K connection, then your effective download speed would be 150K.

Leased Line vs. ADSL Comparison

When looking at the various options available for dedicated connectivity to your office, the decision frequently comes down to a digital leased line vs ADSL.

A digital leased line includes 56K Frame Relay, Fraction T1 Frame Relay, point-to-point T1 or a T1 ATM connection. Each of these leased line options have different speeds and price points. As a technology group, though, they're quite similar in that they are proven, mature, and reliable. ADSL, by comparison, is a promising and exciting new broadband technology.

The following items should be considered when deciding on the most appropriate technology.

Price

For a given amount of bandwidth, a DSL connection will be cheaper than a leased line connection. DSL is appropriate for small or medium sized offices that need 24x7 connectivity to the Internet. Leased line connections are more reliable and appropriate where higher speed is required or where the applications are mission critical.

DSL pricing ranges from $56 to $280 per month and includes all telephone company line charges.

Leased line pricing from Cape.Com will range from $140 to $1200 per month and does not include telephone company charges.

Speed

ADSL is asymmetrical, providing a higher download than upload speed. Download speeds can be up to 768Kbit. Speeds are dependant on phone line quality and distance from the CO. Leased line digital connections are symmetrical. A T1 provides 1.5M bit in each direction. There are no distance constraints with these connections.

Availability

DSL circuits have a distance limitation and are only available if you are within approximately 3 miles from the telephone company Central office. Contact Cape.Com to see if your office 'loop qualifies' for DSL service. Leased lines are available anywhere.

Reliability

Time to Repair, and other quality issues, on leased lines are specified by State and FCC regulations. Verizon has a very good history on quickly resolving any problems with leased line circuits. DSL is given the same priority by Verizon as voice grade circuits. Whereas a failed leased line problem will be repaired within an hour or two, a DSL line failure may not be fixed until the next business day. If your connection to the Internet is mission critical, a leased line is the preferred solution.

DSL FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

• What is ADSL?
  ADSL, or, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, is a modem technology that converts existing twisted-pair copper telephone lines into high-speed data communications paths.

• Do I have to have another phone line installed?
  No. Use of ADSL does not require the installation of a separate phone line. The modem technology uses the existing twisted-pair copper telephone line in your home or office.

• How fast is ADSL?
  A residential ADSL connection can achieve a downstream (download) data rate of up to 768kbs (kilobits per second). Compared to a 56k connection, ADSL is much faster, capable of achieving downstream data rates that are about 12 times faster than a 56k connection. The upstream data rate is 128kbs.

• Do I need a new modem?
  Yes. To utilize ADSL, a special ADSL modem/router is required. External USB and Ethernet modems are available. If you're connecting a network, an ADSL router is available to connect to your Ethernet.

• How much will ADSL cost?
  ADSL services start at $56 per month. Startup and equipment costs are listed above in the Services and Pricing section of this page.

• How long does the installation process take?
  It takes up to 20 business days from the date of order for the service to be switched on. The actual time of installing the service at your home depends on what type of modem you are going to use, but should take no more than an hour or two.

• How about technical support?
  Technical support via phone or email is available for Internet/DSL related problems Monday - Friday 9AM to 7PM and Saturdays from 9AM to 1PM.

• Is ADSL the same as broadband cable access?
  No. Unlike cable, ADSL is a direct, dedicated connection to the Internet. As a result, ADSL users see no degradation of throughput as more people use the service, and, their computers are much more secure. Both services are 'always on', available 24 hours a day.

• What do you mean when you say I need to 'qualify' for the service?
  The twisted copper phone wires that run from your home to the telephone company central office is known as the 'local loop'. The length of this 'local loop' must be no more than roughly 3 miles (15,000 feet) as measured from your home to the telephone central office in your town. Cape.Com can verify this loop and confirm whether or not you 'loop qualify' for ADSL.

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