Michael D. Sullivan wrote:
>> There is at least one technology issue, and maybe more. Verizon's
>> many millions of ADSL/POTS lines are identified by telephone number.
>> The POTS telephone number is, in effect, the key, the unique
>> identifier, used in the databases of both Verizon's LEC and Verizon
>> Online, which markets DSL to the public. Both companies' databases
> Nope, Verizon's predecessor Bell Atlantic had no trouble billing
> for dry pair leased lines in the 1970's. They had a circuit number
> which we used when calling in trouble tickets, but no phone number
> was associated with them. I am quite willing to bet there are still
> dry pair leased lines here and there. In fact I'll bet just about
> every ATM machine has a wire pair with no dial-tone or phone number.
> Those things use leased lines with modems set up in leased line mode.
> At least that is how they used to work. No bank wants to have its
> ATMs on the switched phone network, but they do lease wire pairs from
> the local telco. The only difference for DSL is the type of modem.
Many ATM's now use dial-up access. Of course the encryption must be fairly robust but from what I know about banks, I tend to be pessimistic about it.
> will have to be significantly reconfigured to use an identification
>> other than simply the telephone number in order to run their
>> businesses before Naked DSL is offered. If you have ever called
>> Verizon Online's customer (dis) service number, you will know that the
>> first question asked is, "What is your DSL line's phone number?"
> That is just the easiest identifier. If their database programmers
> were even halfway competent there will be other wire pair circuit IDs
> that are unique identifiers. In fact a phone number isn't a unique
> key anyway. It can change while the wire pair does not, and the wire
> pair could change while the phone number does not.
My Verizon account number was NPA-NXX-XXXX XXX XXX X where those last seven digits were 616 005 1 - and it was the same before I changed my BTN. That's probably the switch port that I was assigned to.