[ale] OT: DSL in older house (no NID)

[Robert Story]

My sister just called me to ask about getting DSL at her place. She lives in an
older house that has a really thick one-pair wire running from the pole,
through a hole in the wall, to a screw-down connector in the middle of the
basement.

The Bellsouth people are trying to sell her a self-install kit. I'm concerned
that she'll sign-up, I won't be able to get the self-install kit work, and
she'll end up having to pay some exorbitant fee to have them come out and
install a NID or some other inside wiring work.

Has anyone used DSL with such a setup before? Since Bellsouth is supposed to
only be responsible to the outside of the house, is there some magic phrase to
make them install a NID w/out having to pay?

The only reason I'm thinking of letting her go with Bellsouth is my recent
fiasco w/my Speakeasy line, with them, Bellsouth and MCI all pointing fingers
at each other when my DSL went down. I figure still w/Bellsouth the first year,
and if it seems to be working ok, switch to somewhere cheaper later. But if not
having a NID doesn't present any special problems, then starting w/Speakeasy
from the beginning might be the way to go.


Any thoughts, suggestions or stories of similar experiences greatly
appreciated.