Thursday, February 23, 2006

High speed internet . . . oh really?

In my last post I mentioned that Libya had the wonderful thing called ADSL - yes... it's available . . . maybe?!?

I decided to take the plunge and get off the frustrating dial-up - graduate to something speedy and fast. I had dreams of being in another realm of the internet at the click of the mouse. Of course, my husband said 'NO WAY! - You play enough on the internet as it is. Just what we need is to have you able to do it at high speed!!' He also didn't like the idea that I could be on the internet and the phone would be able to ring. How on earth could he tell if I was on the internet then when he called to check up on me? Oh the life of an internet addict is a tough one!

But I'm a woman with my own money, so when I got paid I spoke with one of my students who said he would arrange it all for me. The plan was that I wouldn't tell hubby, I'd just leave the phone off the hook once in a while to throw him off. As usual when I try to pull one over on the man of the house my plan fails. (I should know this by now - 23 years is a long time.)

While hooking up the service the company somehow messed up the telephone line. I had internet but no telephone. This was a problem because the internet company (LTT) said the problem wasn't theirs and I should contact the phone company. This sounds like a simple thing, but let me assure you that this is far from simple. Hubby gets involved - and you have to remember that he knows nothing about the ADSL connection. He drops in at the phone company to tell them the phone's not working and they say they will get to it.

Get to it . . . when??? After a day and a half of waiting for them to 'get to it' I go down the road to a telephone exchange and call the phone company's repair service myself. I have this stupid idea that I can solve the problem:

Barid: Hello
Me: Asalamaualaikum
Barid: Walaikumasalam
Me: (In my best broken Arabic) I'm having a problem with my telephone
Barid: What's the problem
Me: I ordered the ADSL service from LTT and when it was hooked up the internet connection works but the phone is not working now - no dial tone, I can neither make nor receive calls.
Barid: Are you Pakistani?
Me: That's not necessary. I just need you to fix the phone please.
Barid: Are you mixed? Where are you from?
Me: Sigh . . . are you going to help me with my phone problem?
Barid: Are you Italian?

He's not going to give in and I am not going to get the phone fixed. God this is so frustrating!

Me: Sigh . . . No. . . further away than that, but it isn't necessary. Please can you help me with my telephone problem?
Barid: Are you English?
Me: No. . . sigh . . American.
Barid: Oh!! Welcome! What is the problem exactly?

I repeat what the problem is and he says he will get right on to it. He also wants to chat me up some more but I cut him off by hanging up on him. I am pissed off, mostly with myself for giving in and telling him where I'm from. He had no business asking where I was from - and I was an idiot. I should have said I was a Russian doctor or something. I decided to tell my husband who became furious and went down to the phone company and had a shouting match with them.

I ended up having to tell my husband that I was having ADSL hooked-up. And of course he wasn't thrilled with that. So I had no phone, problems with the phone company repairman and now an angry husband who happened to be jealous about the phone company repairman chatting me up. Everything has to be a huge production!

Finally after 6 days and countless trips to the phone company, the telephone gets turned back on. But surprise, surprise - the internet connection gets turned off.

More headaches - I contact the internet service who tells me the problem is with the phone company. The phone company says the trouble is with the internet service. Back and forth we go. Now the internet service finally says 'OK - it's the problem with the phone company, but we will take care of it.' And they've agreed to credit my account for the week of internet that I haven't been able to use. They said MAYBE it will be fixed today.

Sigh . . . I am still on dial-up until they get their act together.

9 comments:

  1. Hahaha seriously....talk about going to all that trouble only to be called a Pakistani and chatted up to. Mind you, you should have said yes to that question and started speaking in a really indian/pakistani english acccent instead. "I have prawblems vid my fooon connacshan".

    Ah well, hope you get your fast connection going, poor hubby. (I mean poor Khadija) lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Teri

    If you have ADSL connection, then you should be able to use internet and have your phone line simentaneously, without having to disconnect to the use the phone.

    zak

    ReplyDelete
  3. zak - I know you can use the phone at the same time - that's nice - but hubby likes to be able to call and find out if the phone is busy - that way he can say ' Ahha! you've been on the internet!!! I caught you at it! And this is why the house looks like a tornado hit!!' hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  4. Feeling no one except my self.
    How big is this ? Made in USA or may be CIA !? Taliban cannot do that

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gee, after the last anon. entery I am a little scared to write but well we all know I have to speak !I am waiting to see how this saga ends up before I commit to ADSL too!I find it easyer to just say I am a Russian Doctor when asked where I am from than to stand for hours arguing with some moron ! As if it matters anyway !!!!!ANON

    ReplyDelete
  6. Khadijateri :) I have ADSL here in Libya and I must say it worked perfectly since day one. The only problem I encouter is because my telephone line is really 'naked' and twisted etc.. so when it rains or is very very windy then the phone is full of noise and this ruins the connection..sometimes on really bad days even the dial up won't work. I'm waiting for when they install our new cables here ( underground) it should be smooth sailing. You know with ADSL even if you have 'fatma omar' on your line because you did not pay your bill ...internet will work regardless isn't that a plus ;) knowing that your hubby hates to go pay the bills ? You should have just told that guy you were Paki , he would have been put off ( no offense meant ) and tried to not chat you up lool . With ADSL you can use the skype and yahoo messenger or google talk etc... and have a real conversation with your family back home ..saves the phone bills . Mustafa will adore you for that. International phone calls are very expensive in Libya as you know. Good luck , let us know what happened . Usually after they install ADSL you get a phone call from the 'barid' and they ask you to confirm your number and name and they tell you you can use it now , if you have not got that call then it has not been installed. it took me only 3 days to install it, and I did it myself ..no wasta , no phone calls nothing ( I don't sound or look Libyan either).

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm still waiting - they now say it won't be until Sunday - Yeah! We have two day weekends here now! I rarely call home - I just email or use messenger and I usually find my sister online nearly everyday.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well of course your nationality is important to get the phone working. Its important for everything of course :)

    I hated the ADSL here in Saudi I switched to Sattelite and love it. I'm surprised Saudi allows it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am a speed testing field and checking speeds of internet of various users on their request. I prefer check-speed dot com as a mode to check speed.

    ReplyDelete

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