Life, Code & Idiocy

I know it’s been a while since I posted. Busy summer, we’ll leave it at that.

I was contacted by a reader of my blog – Nolan Haycook – who uses RoadRunner with Time Warner Cable. He called them up and gave me some interesting information from a tier 3 support technician (T3ST):

• TWC really doesn’t have a net neutrality opinion
• There are no monthly bandwidth limits
• They don’t filter any traffic via port blocking, DPI or any other methods
• Their TOS is pretty open regarding activity
• The advertised speed is WYSIWYG
• RR never goes down for maintenance, everything they do is done very smoothly
• Sometimes shit happens and lines get messed up by a backhoe that didn’t call to dig
• TWC/RR probably wont be bought out, if anything Verizon FIOS will sellout RR broadband
• Bandwidth isn’t throttled by time of day, more or less it’s the network load. Look into RR boost capabilities to find out more information on how they trying to give you MORE bandwidth than advertised.
• The modem is an NAT device with an IP address of 192.168.100.1, and it allows port forwarding and DMZ, but minimal configuration otherwise.
• Residential IPs last as long as the connection is live, the T3ST was unsure about the DHCP lease times but he said his was active for about a year and a half.
• RR installs the coaxial cable needed (1 line) free of charge when you purchase their services.

Some of these sound more believable than others to me – specifically the claim that they never go down for maintenance and that their TOS is pretty open. I did a little looking around and (thanks to a link from Nolan) found their subscriber agreement and operator policy. A few interesting quotes:

(iii) If I receive HSD Service, I agree not to use the HSD Service for operation as an Internet service provider, for the hosting of websites (other than as expressly permitted as part of the HSD Service) or for any enterprise purpose whether or not the enterprise is directed toward making a profit. (emphasis added)

(d) I agree to provide TWC and its authorized agents access to my premises during regular business hours upon reasonable notice during the term of this Agreement and after its termination to install, connect, inspect, maintain, repair, replace, alter or disconnect or remove the TWC Equipment, to install Software, to conduct service theft audits, or to check for signal leakage. I agree that TWC may have reasonable access to easements and TWC Equipment located on my grounds.

(b) If I receive HSD Service, I acknowledge that TWC has the right, but not the obligation, to review content on public areas of the HSD Service, including chat rooms, bulletin boards and forums, in order to determine compliance with this Agreement and the Terms of Use.

And finally the kicker…

In using the ISP Service, you may not use an IP address or client ID not assigned to you, forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in an e-mail or newsgroup posting or probe, scan or test the vulnerability of any system or network by the use of sniffers, SNMP tools or any other method.

So strictly according to the TOU, I can’t use nmap, and supposedly I can’t host a website. Nolan told the T3ST that he hosts a website through his connection and the tech said it was fine, and who’s gonna care if you scan a friend with nmap to help them test their port forwarding configuration or something? (Yeah, I do UDP scans for one guy all the time.) Furthermore, the information about the modem seems a little fuzzy, but they say I can use any DOCSIS-compliant modem. So if their modem’s defective by design, f*ck it, i’ll buy a better one and harp on them until they give me my money back for their modem.