Changing ISPs can be quite an adventure
Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id
It was actually a fairly bright day in the part of Jakarta where I live, although there were some gray clouds in the sky. Suddenly, I heard a cracking noise from behind my computer, followed by a little spark. Before I could determine anything, I heard a very loud clap of thunder right outside my house. I knew there and then that the cable modem had been hit. After that, I lost my Internet connection to LinkNet.
Three weeks earlier, I had to replace the Ethernet card on my PC, which presumably blew because of lightning. Not surprisingly, this time my first reaction was, "Do I have to replace it again?" I called LinkNet's Technical Support, and a very helpful Gunadharma University graduate helped me determine what was wrong with the connection.
The LED light on the newly replaced Ethernet card was still blinking when I used it to connect to my wife's PC, so the conclusion was that it still worked. The power indicator LED of the cable modem was on, but its Internet status LED was blinking orange. "Chances are the modem can no longer be used," she convinced me.
* DOCSIS
I had been using LinkNet since cable Internet service became available in my neighborhood. At that time, the only choice was between LinkNet and Indosatnet, and I chose the first because the company seemed to be expanding aggressively. I decided to just rent the cable modem from KabelVision for Rp 65,000 per month, thinking that they might change the standard eventually. I had no intention to invest in US$300 for a device that would end up in my storage room.
There were a couple of problems, although I never really complained about them. First, because I did not want to use my credit card to pay my monthly subscription to LinkNet, I would have to go to an ATM BCA to make the payment. I had to be especially careful when entering my ten-digit customer number, and I had to be careful in keeping the transaction slip.
Afterwards, I had to stick the slip on a larger piece of paper and fax it to LinkNet. It was tedious, and I thought it would be nicer if I could just use klikBCA to make the payment. CBN lets us pay for our Internet subscription through klikBCA.
Actual bandwidth was also a problem, especially during the day. One possible reason is that LinkNet also had a lot of corporate customers. The speed was usually much better late in the evening. My wife, who uses the Internet for work a lot, often complained that because of the slow connection speed she could not really work during the day -- and would end up watching TV instead.
I was also told by LinkNet that I could not get a replacement for the old cable modem, as they were now migrating to a new standard called Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS). The old modem had a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to it, and that is why it had a Static IP address. The ISP had to pay for each of these modems because of its permanent and unique IP address. On the other hand, the new standard assigns an IP address each time you turn on the PC, and that is why it is called a Dynamic IP address.
And then I was told that I would have to buy my own DOCSIS cable modem. I had learned that ASUS has a good cable modem that is quite popular on the market. So I went to Dusit Mangga Dua, found a friendly store that could get one for me for Rp 1.6 million, and bought one. Of course, ASUS is not the only vendor to offer cable modems. These modems are also available for LinkSys, US Robotics, ZyXel and others.
* Switching ISPs
Back home, I called LinkNet's billing department and told them I would like to terminate my subscription to their cable Internet service. Surprisingly, they were understanding and helpful. Rini from the billing department even reminded me to send her the Request to Disconnect form before the 20th of the month so that I would not be charged the following month for the service that I was not going to use.
Then I went to CBN's office to register in person. There was a problem there, though. I was told I could not keep my dial-up account and start a cable modem account using the same username and e-mail address. This is something that I think CBN should be more flexible about. I would not mind at all paying for two accounts, as it is exactly what I have done since I had the cable Internet service. As I use the Internet for work, I have always kept a backup account. When something went wrong with the cable Internet service, I always had the dial-up account to turn to. So, finally, I upgraded my CBNNet dial-up service to the cable modem service with my username, password and e-mail address all intact. Then I had to open a new dial-up account using a different username and a different e-mail address. As you can guess, I did not need a different e-mail address.
Mbak Tati from CBNNet's Customer Service said that I might have to wait between seven and 10 days before I could start using my new cable Internet service. However, three days after I registered with them, I got a call from them informing me that I could already use it. That was fast!
After I received the call, I immediately changed the IP parameters of my Ethernet card, determined to try to set it up on my own first, before calling CBN's Technical Support for help. I selected "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically", and then clicked OK. To my delight, everything worked right away.
Am I happy I made the switch? The answer is positive. Today, CBN has just increased its bandwidth to the U.S. to 71 Mbps. Its Website graphically illustrates its bandwidth utilization, the ample bandwidth is evident in the speed at which Web pages open on my computer screen, even during the day.