 Review by JRBlood 
member for 12.3 years, 1558 visits, last login: 2 days ago
updated 2.2 years ago
 13224
 Contract price not specified. - (12 month contract)
 about 90 days Verizon "sDSL kept us ahead of our customers and got us working more efficiently" "Problems with their network, DSLAM, and unknowledgeable techs cost them a customer." "Be SURE to have some kind of Quality of Service (QoS) contract, so you have a reliable connection. If not, go elseware."
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Service: sDSL 128k Download/128k Upload on dedicated copper pair
DSL Equipment: Paradyne MVL Modem
Network Connection: Dedicated NT server (166MHz Pentium w/ 64Meg RAM)
NICs used: 3Com 3c509TPO for DSL connection. SMC 10/100 for LAN.
Gateway software: SyGate v3.x 6-User License
Security: Built-in firewall in SyGate, NAT, Private LAN IP addresses (Class C)
Public IP Address: Static
Performance: So-So
When xDSL was first introduced in Syracuse, NY, ChoiceOne was one of the first companies to offer it. We jumped on the chance, since we were using a 56k dial-up connection for Internet sharing. Since xDSL was new in this area when we got it, the only painful part was waiting for the connection to the CO. This took two or three months! NYNEX (Now Verizon) got our extra line in for the sDSL line in within the first month. However, ChoiceOne ran into the typical problem (at the time) with getting access to the CO. This delayed the up-and-running day much longer than we wanted. Once they got it installed, things really started to fly. We started with 128k/128k speed, then later we got upgraded to 256k/256k when I started to notice some problems.
It's ran great since the beginning of Sept. 1999, until April or May 2000. I started to notice that files we're not completely downloading. This included FTP, Web pages (graphics mostly), and Java apps (like the Speed Test here on DSLReports). Since I'm the network guru here, I started to investigate the issue. For some reason, we were getting a lot of lost packets and high latency. To this day, they still haven't found the problem. What ever happened to QoS?
The problem is completely random. For instance: Until tonight, we haven't had this issue for almost two weeks. But it's back... We have other clients that have the same service through ChoiceOne, and they haven't complained to us about their sDSL line, but they may not be calling us to let us know they have the same problem. The best we, ChoiceOne and I, can figure, it's related to the CO on Genesee Street that we're connected to. ChoiceOne has told me that they now have at least 5 other customers that are connected to the same CO, that are experiencing the same problem. If your connecting/connected to the Genesee Street CO, you may have a lot of problems.
In conclusion, be cautious of ChoiceOne. Their own people need to get better training, better equipment, and better monitoring systems to keep problems like this from happening. And if they do happen, they should have a solution within a week, at most (Thank god our web and e-mail servers are hosted elsewhere  .
Since then our sDSL is no longer hooked up. We've switched to a new system called Point-to-Point wireless through a different ISP.
UPDATE: 2010-02-26 Switched from now-defunct Syracuse Wireless to Verizon FiOS a few years ago and have never looked back. We still have a few clients left on ChoiceONE (now One Communications), and their service hasn't improved after all these years. High latency, slow speeds, but still better that Verizon DSL.
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