Review by jonathanv_00 
Posted: 9.7 years ago
member for 9.9 years, 81 visits, last login: 309 days ago
 Santa Monica,Los Angeles,CA
 Contract price not specified.
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My DSL saga began back in October 1999 when we decided to get DSL service for our three offices. On the recommendation of a consultant, I contacted Linkline and found sales support to be very helpful. Unfortunately, they don't offer service in the Denver area, but offered to do a "remote backhaul" through Covad lines to set them up. That proved too expensive, so we went with another provider up there. But I found Loren and Philip (the President, apparently) very helpful in trying to meet our needs.
We did not want GTE service, having been pretty unhappy with ISDN service through GTE Internetworking. (How many different phone numbers _do_ they have, anyway?) So we elected to go through Covad for our two California offices. Unfortunately, after placing the order, Covad said they had a "space issue" and couldn't offer us service in one office. So Linkline, understanding our reluctance to use GTE, offered us a no-risk deal -- we use GTE, but if we're ever not happy, we can cancel and they'll eat the disconnect charges.
So we're getting GTE Platinum service (circuit only, $119/month) for one office (1.5/768), and Covad 768/768 ($299) for the other. (The ("Monthly cost" above is therefore an average.) I have to say that speed test results generally confirm that the Covad circuit is faster. We had some problems with the GTE line at first -- 56K and slower speeds at times. Turned out the modem hadn't been synched properly. Dealing with LinkLine tech support has been a bit variable; sometimes they really know their stuff, other times not. They also sometimes seem like they're geared more to consumers rather than businesses. The installation process was pretty good; everyone showed up when they were supposed to.
One of the reasons we went with LinkLine is that they let us use our own routers (Netopia) for the Covad circuit. The GTE circuit comes with a Fujitsu/Orckit "modem." We have one static IP, and use NAT on our routers. As said before, the Covad circuit seems faster or at least as fast as the GTE, even though the GTE is rated higher. Different technologies: GTE is ADSL, while Covad is SDSL. Also, GTE uses frame-relay vs. ATM for Covad, which I learned in a discussion with LinkLine techs about why one was faster than the other.
In any case, I would recommend Linkline as a good provider that will give you personalized attention. Staying on good terms with your sales rep will help, as that's your best point of contact if something needs to be corrected.
Jonathan
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