Bell NID (Network Interface Device) install
Here is a nice story for once!
For years I have been meaning to get a proper nid (network interface device) installed on the side of the house. A test jack for diagnosing inside wiring issues would make life much easier than using my own cobbled together lineman’s headset. At some point, I will also get off this legacy dsl that I have been using for years now so a proper nid would also be beneficial since the pots splitter could be installed directly in the unit itself. These ancient dsl filters would not be required anymore on each phone and the line would be prepared for future vdsl installs.
Convincing the customer service person on the other end of the line that a new nid was required was quite the ordeal. Explaining the purpose of a test jack actually is and notion of an easy way to test whether issues are my own or Bell’s did not seem to compute. Eventually I managed to convince them to roll a truck to install a new nid.
I must also mention that Bell has had an issue with my street address for years now. For some reason whenever I speak to someone from the company they always have ‘road’ instead of ‘street’ on my address. I do get bills to the correct address of ‘street’ but every time they come for repairs they always go to the incorrect ‘road’. After confirming that my address was ‘street’ not ‘road’ I got a call a couple hours later with the Bell tech at the wrong address.
The tech arrives and not surprinsgly was told the incorrect information about the issue at hand. I explained that I needed a new nid and after some convincing yet again it was installed.
The difference this time was that I was explaining the configuration of the lines and how things were routed in my setup. He understood what I was saying which is quite rare; I was extremely impressed with the installer. Not only did he know what he was talking about (this is almost never the case) but was very friendly and accommodating. He even replaced one of my ancient external phone jacks that split off the dsl line.
I must also mention that the installer arrived within 3 hours of the first install and during a major rainstorm in late June 2015.
Bravo Bell tech!
Outside housing
The joy of a pots splitter
Inside panel instructions