From: malassimQRMilation@gmail.com   
      
   My callcentric VoIP phone stopped working yesterday, and it's still out.   
      
   I have a new ISP: they bought out the old local company which was   
   providing cable TV and Internet service, and I've been having trouble   
   ever since. Streaming media such as Reuters and CBS news have gaps in   
   their audio feeds, and even missing video while the audio continues   
   on, and the online Zoom video call I (and others) used yesterday to   
   attend my Quaker meeting without risk of Covid-19 was so intermittent   
   that I had to drop out and log back in twice.   
      
   The new Cable TV/ISP owner started their operations a few weeks   
   ago. On the day they took control, I lost the ability to log in to the   
   T-D servers at M.I.T. I had to install VPN software to regain access,   
   and then when I tried to find out which North Carolina government   
   agency regulates such companies, the TCP port which is used for "ssh"   
   connections was suddenly not blocked anymore.   
      
   Yesterday, my VoIP phone went dead. It's a three line phone, and there   
   are two VoIP services I use it for: Callcentric, where I get my "home"   
   phone number, and the Hamshack Hotline, a free VoIP service for   
   Amateur Radio operators like me. They both quit at the same time.   
      
   This morning, I talked to a person at the new cableco's "trouble"   
   number, and she told me that she was going to reset my cable modem. Lo   
   and behold, the Callcentric line came back, long enough for me to make   
   a call to my sister's home in Massachusetts: I talked to my   
   brother-in-law for a few minutes, and said 'goodbye,' and hanged up. A   
   few minutes later, the line was out again.   
      
   I called the new cableco's trouble department again: they told me that   
   it's a problem in my router and demanded that I call the company that   
   made the router for help. I told them they were wrong, and demanded to   
   speak to Tier 2 support, and they said they would submit a ticket but   
   that the departement which handles that isn't open today.   
      
   This reminds me of what Comcast was caught doing a while back: they   
   would block any port that they didn't like, and when anyone   
   complained, they'd open the port for a few days, and then go back to   
   blocking it again.   
      
   I'll call the new cableco tomorrow, and ask what it will cost to   
   restore VoIP connectivity. Suggestions welcome.   
      
   Bill Horne   
      
   --   
   (Please remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)   
      
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