 Review by mikeky 
UPDATED: 1.2 years ago
member for 7.9 years, 2172 visits, last login: 66 days ago
 Kentucky
 $39 per month
 about 14 days
 AllTel
 "Reliable connection, good download speeds."
 "Tech support inconsistent, unreliable."
 "Once setup and provisioned correctly, works great, just hard to get to that point."
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Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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Update: Windstream was spun off from Alltel to handle local Telco and internet. In general, they've been rock solid in terms of uptime, download speeds, latency, etc. I've had the 1.5 Mbps, 3 Mbps, and 6 Mbps packages from them, and each performs very well. Unfortunately, while in the beginning it was very good, tech support now is inconsistent and unreliable. The outsourced techs blindly follow a script, with 90% of the time the only solution they offer is to send a tech out to check the lines inside the house even though it seems clear the issue is related to provisioning. To make matters worse, the tech never shows, and it takes several more calls to get issues corrected.
Bottom line: Once you're set up, Windstream is great, but getting to that point is unnecessarily long and frustrating.
Old review of Alltel follows:
When Verizon pulled out of Kentucky, Alltel took over as the DSL provider in the former Verizon service area. When the transition finally occurred, it was as simple as releasing and renewing to get an Alltel IP address. It appears the backbone of Alltel is AT&T, as opposed to Genuity with Verizon. The 1.5 Mbps/128 kbps package performs very well in terms of reliability and download speeds (I'm consistently getting 1.4+ Mbps).
While the final transition to Alltel was easy, there does seem to be a lack of coordination between their technical support and customer service, although I'm sure the transition from Verizon was no small task. It's also difficult to get pricing information for the different packages available, I'm guessing because they assume most only want to order the 768/128 package ($49.95 per month based on what customer service told me for Alltel as Telco+ISP). I was told the 1.5/128 package was $76.95 per month (Alltel as Telco+ISP), which is more expensive compared to Verizon's same package, but evidently the package prices vary according to area. I was told it was possible to pick other ISPs with which Alltel had agreements, with the Alltel Telco charge being around $41.50 per month, so it may be possible to get a lower cost ISP and so overall lower charge.
To sum up, so far, Alltel's DSL performance has been excellent, although the price seems a little on the high side.
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