Comments (0)

By pfuetz, January 6, 2010 16:57

On Friday, I expect to get VDSL 50, which is the DSL offering of T-Home (the Deutsche Telekom End-User Branch) providing 50000 KBit download and 10000 KBit upload. I did order an upgrade to my existing contract (in a bundled offering, which currently is only available for registered DSL customers), which is called “Call & Surf Comfort Plus VDSL 50/Universal (ISDN)”. As it’s only available from the online “Kundencenter” for contracted subscribers, I can not provide a link here. The “Plus” option was the one, that I needed, and that’s also the reason, why I waited so long for upgrading my “Call & Surf Comfort Plus DSL 16000” contract, as VDSL up to now was only available in bundles with IP-TV (which is useless to me, as I do live in an appartment, where I already have digital Cable-TV (including radio, not only TV, as IP-TV does!) (as part of the rent for the appartment)) or without IP-TV but then also without the “Plus” package. This offering is currently only available to those, that already do have some sort of DSL contract. For me the “Plus” pays off, as it contains a WiFi HotSpot Flatrate for all T-Home and T-Mobile WiFi Hotspots in Germany, which allowed me to select a cheaper contract for my iPhone from T-Mobile, as there I did not need the HotSpot Flatrate. What use are two such Flatrates, if you are a single person?

As for that newer version of DSL I also did need a new DSL router (the old didn’t do VDSL!), and as the only attractive offering is a lease from T-Home also (the SpeedPort W920V) I choose the larger one, which did offer a couple of features I needed at home. There’s also the SpeedPort W722V, which would not have offered as many consolidation features as the W920V. Also, looking at the differences in prices (2,95 EUR/Month versus 3,95 EUR/Month) and given the fact, that these prices are valid only in the first year (rates go down in the following years! And you’re not BOUND to a duration, you can return the router whenever you like!) I never ever thought about buying an AVM Fritz!Box. And also sadly, AVM’s top of the line VDSL product still is not shipping… ;-(

So, that SpeedPort W920V does offer an integrated VoiceBox, an integrated DECT basis-station, an integrated analog phone-system, an integrated WLAN, an integrated router, an integrated printserver or CIFS server (if you connect those to the USB port), and especially an integrated ISDN S0-Bus, I was able to retire my old VoiceBox, I was also able to retire the phone-cable running from my old phone-system to my old handheld basis-station, and I was able to retire my close to 20 year old ISDN system (a remarkebly reliable Ackermann Euracom 181 system) plus my old DSL router. Retiring 3 systems (the old DECT basis is only needed as a charging station, so I could not retire that completely) and replacing them with 1 new will save energy, and especially it did reduce my need for cables running through my appartment (wireless DECT phone basis station and VoiceBox). Also positive is, that I now have a Web-based configurator for the Phone-System, whereas the old one did require a serial cable (or the ISDN line) to configure. The integrated ISDN-S0 Bus is needed, as I still have ISDN cards in many systems, needed for Faxing (and seamlessly recording of TelCos) and stuff like that, so this was the real first option to upgrade my ISP speed (to something more speedy then some of my old systems at home…) and keeping functionality at the same level then up to now at a competitive price…

Let’s see, if I will be able to really get the advertized speed, but I’m optimistic, as the DSL 16000 (with 1Mbit upload) also worked to full specs here at my appartment. It’s really amazing, what can be quenched through those old phone cables nowadays. I still remember running analog modems with 14400 Baud across the same copper…

Matthias

Update: Discussion partially continued in german on: http://blogs.interdose.com/sebastian/2010/01/12/vdsl-ohne-telekom-router-nutzen/