Switching ISP

Steve McCormick, 11 April:

In case any of you are making decisions in the wake of CU's discontinuing DSL IP service, I thought I'd give you the short story of what I did. I switched to Qwest Basic Service. It costs about $38 a month with no other costs because it was essentially just a provider switch. But it doesn't offer an email server, so I would have had to use VPN to keep my CU server and colorado.edu return address. (Otherwise, the CU server would not forward my email to non-colorado.edu addresses.) The problems with VPN are that you have an additional window on the desktop, you have to run it and enter your CU user name and password to use it, it disconnects when the computer goes to sleep, and it prevents local computer connections (e.g., mounting of local network disks). So I added one static IP address because Qwest then gave me an email server. That cost $25 setup and $6 per month. Now I use pop.dnvr.qwest.net as my SMTP server and colorado.edu as my return address. I don't know if this was the best solution. I could have got some other ISP that gave me an email server, but I think it would have been at least as costly. Anyway, now I have the added benefit of a fixed internet address that facilitates access to the computers in my home when I'm on the road. (However, to get this capability up, I have to figure out how to do port forwarding from my DSL modem. Any of you know how to do this with a Mac airport network?) If you have another reasonable way to switch from CU's ISP service (Comcast or whatever), you may want to consider sharing it with us.  (return to top)

Bruce Fast, 12 April:

I phoned some of the alternate ISPs listed on the web page http://www.qwest.com/residential/internet/isp_list.html and at least one of them, Awesome Peaks Internet, says that it would relay email with "colorado.edu" return addresses from trusted origins, that is, anyone on their "Peak-to-Peak" network. I guess that means Peak-to-Peak DSL + ISP. Their basic ISP service includes 2 email addresses. Contact info: 888-600-7325, www.dsl.peakpeak.com. This doesn't resolve the other issues, but the email issue may be the only problem for some. If anyone does try Peaks, i'd love to hear the results. For myself, since i only do email from newton via ssh (or sometimes using buffmail at webmail.colorado.edu), the email isn't a problem, and the cheapest Qwest ISP service will suffice for that.  (return to top)

Steve McCormick, 12 April:

I'm now looking into port forwarding so that my home computer will be visible on the internet. It's nontrivial I think because I have a wireless network at home (Apple Airport Extreme). Otherwise, it would be pretty simple because I would just configure the DSL modem for forwarding a range of IP addresses for FTP and then just configure my desktop for a static address in that range. At least I think I could fiddle and get that done. But the airport base station in the middle mucks that issue up. Anyway, I was going to talk to the modem company, Actiontec, who I can pay $30 to and they'll tech me through the process. I could then just tell other folks who might be interested how that goes, but it may of course be Mac/Wireless specific. Any better ideas?  (return to top)

ITS, 13 April:

CU-Boulder Qwest DSL Discontinuation Update A few weeks ago we sent a message alerting you to the upcoming discontinuation of CU-Boulder ISP services for Qwest DSL. We are now contacting you with some important follow-up information. In this message, we have answered some of your most frequently asked questions and provided information about the transition process itself. You can also find additional information about this transition at www.colorado.edu/its/dsl. What is the change? As of July 1, 2005, CU-Boulder will no longer provide ISP (Internet Service Provider) services for faculty, staff, and student Qwest DSL customers. This means that you will need to select another ISP for your broadband connection. Your new broadband connection will provide you the same level of service that you currently have through CU-Boulder. Why can't CU-Boulder just provide the service and charge a fee? We seriously considered this, but unfortunately the economics don't work. Due simply to the economies of scale, it would cost CU-Boulder more to provide the ISP service than it does for a commercial ISP to do so. Given those cost differences, it doesn't seem to make sense to provide this service ourselves. Will I still have access to internal campus services (i.e. Libraries)? Yes. To access campus online services, such as the Library system, you can download and use CU-Boulder's Virtual Private Network (VPN) software. You can use VPN software to access on-campus services that are IP address restricted. It gives you the same capability of a University IP address from your home session that you currently have. To download the software and learn more about using VPN software, visit www.colorado.edu/its/vpn. Will I be able to keep my current "colorado.edu" e-mail address? Yes. Some ISPs will offer you an e-mail address, but you can still use your "colorado.edu" e-mail address. How much will this cost me? If you wish to continue to use Qwest DSL service with a new ISP, there are three components that could affect the total cost of your service. They are: SPEED: Qwest offers two speeds of DSL service for two different monthly costs. Qwest currently charges $15 per month for the 256 kbps DSL service, which Qwest calls "Qwest Choice DSL" and does not include any ISP charges. Qwest currently charges $28 per month for "up to 1.5 Mbps" service, which Qwest calls "Qwest Choice DSL Deluxe" and also does not include any ISP charges. CU-Boulder never supported the "up to 1.5 Mbps" service, but we support connections up to 640 kbps download speeds. ISP: This cost depends on what ISP and associated services you select. Costs range from an additional $10 per month for basic ISP service to approximately $40 for ISP services with more advanced options. There are approximately 450 different ISPs you can choose for your Qwest DSL service. The most affordable ISP we have found is "Qwest Choice Internet Basic" for $10 per month. It only provides connectivity to the Internet. It does not provide e-mail accounts, domain names, web space, or any of the things that you already get from CU-Boulder. Another popular Qwest choice is MSN for $12 per month. This option would provide you some additional features that might make your Internet experience better, such as pop-up blockers, parental controls, junk mail blocking, and others. Other ISPs offer similar or additional features. MODEM: In a very few cases, you may find that your modem is outdated and is not supported by your new ISP service. In that case, you may need to purchase one (approximately $60 to purchase or $5 per month to lease it). If you are leasing your modem from Qwest, it will work with whatever ISP you choose. If you bought a modem when we switched to PPP last year, then that modem will work with most ISPs. The modem type that seems to work with most ISPs is the ActionTec. Are there similarly priced alternatives to Qwest DSL? Given that the lowest monthly cost for DSL+ISP is $38 or $40 per month for up to 1.5 Mbps service, you can certainly look at alternatives. For example, if you already have Comcast cable TV service, you can add Internet service for $43 per month for 3 Mbps download speed (plus the cost of a cable modem). What is the timeframe and process for this transition? This transition will begin this month, and will need to be completed by July 1. Because CU-Boulder will no longer be serving as your ISP, you will need to select another ISP for your Qwest broadband connection. Qwest has set up a special toll free number for CU-Boulder customers affected by this change. Please contact the "You Can Center" at (866) 796-8226, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. MST weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays. You will need to know your phone number and modem type. Additionally, Qwest representatives will be on campus in the upcoming weeks to help you make this change in person. Please look for upcoming notices to find out specific dates, times, and locations. You can also access Qwest's web site at www.qwest.com/dsl for more specific Qwest information. Please visit www.colorado.edu/its/dsl for expanded and up-to-date information. Thank you for your patience as we transition this service.  (return to top)

Steve McCormick, 23 April:

PORT FORWARDING I just set up my new DSL modem so that my home computer is accessible from the internet via FTP. I can do this because I purchased a static IP address as part of my Qwest DSL service. The procedure I used was to access the DSL modem's port forwarding page via advanced setup, where I set the port range from 21 to 21 (for FTP) and typed in the static LAN IP address of the home computer that I wanted to make internet visible. (I chose this address as 192.168.0.2 so as to be in the range that the DHCP server provides, which you can find via advanced setup by choosing DHCP Server and clicking next.) Now all you need do is change the computer to have the manual IP address that you just used (192.168.0.2 for me) and make sure an FTP server is running on it (which for Mac simply means that you click FTP access in the sharing panel of system preferences). Now I can FTP to my home computer from anywhere on the internet using the static IP address that Qwest had assigned to me. (To use other connection protocols, you need to enter the associated ports. If you want to use Apple's ``connect to server'' protocol, you need to know the port it uses. I couldn't find out which that was even after talking to Apple tech support, so instead I just put the port range at 1 to 42999, the biggest port number I could find.)  (return to top)