consumer DSL problems

Tue Nov 1 09:03:14 UTC 2011

Hi folks,

It would seem that my home broadband provider (Orange, formerly known
as Wanadoo/Freeserve) have made some networking changes at the
weekend. The first I knew of it was when my DSL router refused to
connect. It's a vendor-supplied Siemens Gigaset SE572. While it's
probably not the best router in the world (most consumer routers are
risible), it was generally fine. On complaint, they tell me it's
'old'. Closer inspection reveals it's picking up the DSL carrier
signal fine, but failing during LCP negotation

Is there a common policy on rendering vendor-supplied CPEs unusable?
As a network operator to residential users, would you notify any
potentially affected users before making such a change? I am grateful
for any insight.

Kind regards,
Mike