Two ISPs in one house- phone lines not used?

Question

My house currently uses Comcast for internet and phone (phone is VOIP). I would like to get a second internet connection (from a separate ISP) coming in.

Since we use VOIP, the phone lines are currently not in use, right? Would it be possible to get a second internet connection coming in (DSL via the phone lines), without paying to have a second phone line connected to the house? Since the phone line is already there, if I got DSL, would I also have to pay for phone service, or could I get DSL sans phone service?

Answer 1

Comcast probably has a single RG6 cable coming into your house that brings your Cable TV, Voip and internet service. Meaning your regular phone lines from the street are completely unused.

This would allow you to get DSL service from any Service provider in your area. I know for a fact that Verizon will allow you to get DSL service on their copper phone lines without signing for actual telephone service. This does not mean you have to get DSL service through Verizon (if they are your local telco) just that they allow it.

I am pretty sure most other phone companies allow the same thing, but just call them up and find out before hand, find out and then find the best DSL provider in your area.

Answer 2

I don't know of a telephone ISP that requires you to have phone service to get internet service.  Just call their DSL number and tell them what you want - DSL service without phone service.  Make sure you tell them that the line and the jack are already existing, so they don't have to make a prem visit.  (A visit to the premises - they charge - a lot - for that.)  See if you can get them to waive all one-time charges - you just pay for the first month in advance plus tax.  (it can't hurt to ask.)

Also look in your local malls to see if they have a booth (or if a contractor has a booth - it'll look like the company's booth).  They usually give you deals when they have that - like 3mbps service for the cost of 768kbps service, and a free wireless modem.  Or some such deal.

Answer 3

You are correct that if you're using VOIP (Voice Over IP [networking]), you don't have a standard phone using copper (or fiber) connections from a local exchange carrier (i.e. LEC or telephone company).

I can specifically speak for Verizon, having dealt with them on several DSL installs for residences and businesses. If you have no phone service to your residence and you want DSL, Verizon will charge you more for that DSL than if you already had phone service. That may sound unfair, but it's actually not. Verizon's pricing structure assumes you already have a pair of wires for your phone. To add DSL, they will piggyback the service on the same pair of wires using filters on your voice devices like phones and fax since voice uses very little of the available capacity on the copper. If you don't already have phone service, Verizon will have to provision your residence with a pair of copper wires coming from the nearest central office (CO) to your house. That's a very large portion of the effort and cost required to give you local phone service. Since, those wires can't be used by anyone else for their phone service Verizon charges more to reserve those wires for you (but less than just going ahead and getting local telephone service as well as DSL). In my area, DSL without phone service is about $5 more a month than DSL in addition to phone service.

Assuming you are willing to pay that, you still may or may not be able to get DSL in your house. The two contributing factors are distance from your house to the telephone CO and whether or not copper wires are available. One of the best ways to get an idea on the first point is to go to http://www.dslreports.com/find-broadband and enter your address (by clicking "Use Address instead") or phone number. I'm not sure that a VOIP number will get you valid results. (You used to be able to get an actual distance from your address to the CO, but the phone companies apparently won't allow anonymous queries any more.) Locate a couple DSL providers in your area and try their web sites. They can generally tell you right away if you are close enough.  

Unfortunately, even if you are close (< 15,000 feet) that still may not be enough. I know of one case where there were no spare copper wires in on segment between the CO and the residence and they were told they could be put on a list with an expectation of waiting several months. The first time I got DSL (not from Verizon) where they ran a data-only line (in addition to my phone line), I had to wait a couple weeks to get the line provisioned. In another area near me, the phone company ran only fiber-optic cable in one entire subdivision. DSL requires copper wires, so DSL was not an option. (Interestingly, they recently got Verizon FiOS, but couldn't use the fiber already in the ground. They ran new fiber.)