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 Review by lacibaci 
UPDATED: 76 days ago
member for 8.4 years, 3240 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Export,Westmoreland,PA
 $40 per month (12 month contract)
 about 10 days
 AllTel
 "Servers allowed, no ports blocked, rock solid 12000/640 speed"
 "1st level support in India"
 "Good value for the money"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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This is my third broadband provider. After 'beta testing' Bell Atlantic/Verizon DSL and inconsistent cable service I signed with Alltel DSL. Advertised speed (tier 1) is 768/128 for $35 for the first 12 months and $49 after. The ordering and setup could not be smoother. Modem (SpeedStream 5200) arrived when they said it would and line was also turned on time. I even got a phone call from an Alltel technician to make sure everything was OK.
Update (3/24/2004)
Well, it's been a couple of months and the connection is rock stable. Alltel recently upgraded their tier1 to 1500/128 so it is a better value for the money. Called tech support a couple of times (DNS problems) and in all cases the wait was under 10 minutes. The techs were helpful and admitted that there was a problem right away. Try that with Adelphia!
Update (11/22/2004)
Recent upload upgrade (to 384) makes it very competitive. In addition, I was able to lock the monthly rate at $34.95 for another year. The best ISP I've had so far. Still rock stable.
Update (7/18/2006)
Upgraded to 3000/384 package for $29.95 which makes it an excellent value. One wish: naked DSL so I could ditch the local phone. Other than that the service is very reliable.
Update (12/25/2007)
Still rock solid. I wish they would upped the upload though.
Update (1/10/2008)
Big thumbs down for implementing DNS redirection. Also, forget what I said above about good technical support. It's been outsourced to India and you know what that means. Non-English speaking people reading of scrips.
Update (1/14/2008)
The DNS redirection issue has been resolved and WS now offers clean DNS servers:
nsvip05.windstream.net 166.102.165.32
nsvip06.windstream.net 207.91.5.32
The (1st level) support is still horrendous but if you manage to get transferred to the level 2, they usually know their stuff. On a positive note - the connection (and speed) is still very stable.
Update (7/22/2008)
Got Windstreamgram in mail to upgrade to 12Mbps service. My first reply got lost somewhere in marketing blackhole. I called and upgraded by phone with no problems. When I received new modem (SS4200) I called again for instructions to switch it to bridge mode. It took about half an hour with support in India to discover that they didn't know how. Called the same evening - got somebody in US and in 2 minutes I was surfing... Overall, the service is still great (sans the Indian support)
Followup comments:  FaRty Pants
join:2006-12-31
Nicholasville, KY | Wow Maybe I should move to PA. | |
| dturner357
join:2002-02-27
Atlanta, GA
| Windstream Service Reliabilty out the window. Service is down for days at a time. You call their support numbers and the hold time is out the roof. I complained about Comcast in the past but this service it the worst I have ever encountered. How many times to you have to turn your modem off and on? | |
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