Anyone have DSL without a landline home phone?

You'd need satelite internet. Satelite internet usually has pretty good download speed but poor upload speed. You can also go with a mobile aircard, but they sacrifice speed for mobility. Cable internet is the fastest and most reliable. But then you're just swapping the phone line for a cable line.

 

Some of the business-class plans run over a dedicated pair. However, they are typically a minimum of $80 a month.

 

If I were you, I'd go for the local cable company's "Triple Play" package of cable TV, broad band internet, and internet phone service. It's plenty fast enough (and for most people, and certainly in my case, blazingly faster than DSL).

You should be able to get it for $89 to $99 a month (plus fees, taxes, etc.). And then when the initial 1 year subscription runs out and the cable company raises your rate by 50%, just ask them to keep the same initial rate. And if that doesn't work, tell them you're canceling your service to go with the satellite or phone company. When I politely told my cable company this, it immediately offered me a rate that was even lower than my initial rate, plus it guaranteed that rate for 2 years.

 

I have no idea. You'll pretty much have to make some compromises or bundle up like Boo suggests.

It all depends on where your priorities and needs lie.

" I'm already dreading changing my email addies."
Why would you use their address when you can use a Yahoo or Google address forever, for free, and from anywhere?

 

"I've been thinking of registering a domain"
Oly if you plan on hosting a personal webpage.

"If you don't log in to yahoo regularly it gets closed."

The account has to be idle for months for that to happen.
Also, you can set Outlook or whatever e-mail software you use to check the yahoo address and that, in itself, is activity which will keep it active. You shouldn't need to actually visit yahoo directly to keep it open.

 

A little hesitant since Australia is significantly different from the US of A.

However one of the options that is increasingly popular over here is called "Naked DSL". In this case, you still have the phone line from home to the exchange DSL equipment but the line does not connect to the equipment that manages the phone.

This arrangement came into being when the Govt forced the duopoly telcos to allow the ISP's to install their own DSL equipment within the exchange.

This scenario probably doesn't exist in the States as most everyone over there that I met in the year I was there, seemed to prefer a defacto "government" formed by big business rather than a democratically elected one; i.e. all govt is bad - business can do no wrong. hwell:

Cheers
Warwick
PS please forgive the cynicism.

 

I have it and it rocks.. I have pure 10m and 29.00 a month amazing
I use embarque Pure