 Review by dslwanter 
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 5.8 years, 2740 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Lowellville,Mahoning,OH
 $21 per month (12 month contract)
 about 7 days
 Ameritech
 "AT&T Direct, No Caps"
 "Random sync loss, frequent during thunderstorms (service is unuseable when this happens!)"
 "Only option in my area"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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***UPDATE 11/03/06***
Well I've had this since April of 2004 and have had the same issue since day one, random sync loss especially when thunderstorms are in the area. Still to this day this issue seems to be a mystery. When technicians come out they see absolutely nothing wrong with the line, tell me I have one of the cleanest lines they've ever seen, and then give me the speech about my distance to the central office, mind you I've been told 11k, 12k, 13.5k, 14k, 16k, 18k, 19k and my favorite of all, 22k feet. Well if I'm too far, how come I have sync to begin with? So basically I'm praying that the RT that my POTS is on goes live since I'm only (according to sales) 5k-6k feet from it. If that goes live and if I can get on it and if the problem still isn't solved, at least they can't say it's my distance. There is a HAM radio operator down the end of the road and my pair passes right past his antennae farm, not sure but maybe he isn't properly grounded. That's the only other thing I can think of, I've done just about all I can do. I had mentioned in my last review that being capped at 384/384 was helping even during thunderstorms, this has changed. With some storms back in August I've concluded that I will still lose sync regardless if I'm running at 384/384 or 1536/384 sync profile and there is no point in taking the slow speeds because of it.
The PPPoE side of things is very reliable, whenever I "lose connection" it's usually because I lost sync. There's only a couple of times since I've had service that I remember there being a network problem.
Speeds are always consistent at around 1.3mbps/325kbps on a speed test. I use a lot of bandwidth. I'm running an internet radio station and I'm constantly broadcasting 64kbps, so the more speed I have the better. Thank goodness they don't enforce any caps. I would love to go faster but can't. I also have been getting into online gaming and will likely be even more so once I purchase the new PlayStation 3 that is set to debut.
Tier 1 tech support can actually be OK if you get a call center within the country, but if you call especially late at night, expect Abdul to answer and when you tell him your PPPoE is out he'll try and blame it on your sync and run a line test looking for faults like in the summer of 2005 when I called in to report I had no PPPoE connectivity. The last tech that was out gave me a number directly to tier 2 support and told me to call it when I have trouble. Generally that works fine and more effective then anything I get from tier 1. But apparently mostly field techs are suppose to call this number, so one time when I called a guy was real smart with me, practically thought I was stupid. Then of course there is AT&T Direct which is the finest tech support I've had from any company period.
The new cable company that has come here is supposed to upgrade the system and offer cable modem. I would much rather have DSL though so hopefully the RT goes live before that happens. If not I’ll be forced to switch to see if cable is more reliable. I'll update again in the New Year, sooner if the RT goes live or if I happen to get cable modem.
***UPDATE 6/23/06***
Currently paying $19.99 a month (plus fees) for the Express package. Called in to re-rate at one year but the girl told me the $12.99 was for new customers only. So I thought well whatever $19.99 is still cheaper than the $29.99 I was paying.
I've had DSL from AT&T (Formally known as SBC) for over 2 years now. I am quite a distance from the central office with no RT available. So the only sync rate I can be at with the least amont of trouble is 384/384 Interleave. Still lose sync during thunderstorms, though not as intense as with higher sync rates. Sadly my line was able to hold sync even at 1536/384 for weeks at a time but thunderstorms knocked it right out. They still knock out 384/384 but not nearly as bad. I know I'm a distance from the CO but I still say telco is avoiding my line due to the fact that the lines are bad up here, and I can hold 1536/384 at any other given time. If the real reason was I'm too far from the CO then I would have other intermittent issues, not just during thunderstorms. So I'm fed up, I'm sick of calling for a tech. to come out because they always say "no trouble found". So I just stopped calling. I'm waiting for either a RT to go live or Cable Modem to come out. What AT&T doesn't seem to realize is if they put even a small DSLAM in the cross-box on the corner of New Castle Rd. and Bedford Rd. it would make virtually the rest of the 330-536 exchange before the 330-534 exchange qualify. I am on the very edge of the feed, people at the corner of Villa Marie Rd. and Bedford Rd. on up towards Rt. 422 do not qualify for DSL. Cable modem is suppose to be coming out with the new cable company that has come out here. I don't think AT&T realizes the kill they could make up here before that happens because people want broadband but can't get it. People are getting really sick of seeing the ads on TV for $12.99 or hearing on the radio and calling in and getting turned down.
Currently have the 4100 Speedstream with a Linksys WRT54G router. Nice set up. Both pieces of equipment do a fantastic job. The speedstream seems to hold sync better than my 2wire Homeportal 1000HW did. But I wish the speedstream had the diagnostic features that the 2wires have.
I do enjoy the fact that there are no caps with AT&T. I think this is a feature people tend to overlook. I run an internet radio station and I am constantly transmitting 88kbps (64k stream and a 24k stream). This of course is the biggest reason for me complaining about the sync loss, as the DSL is my "transmitter" and when that gets disrupted, it's a major domino effect.
***UPDATE 1/24/06***
It's getting to the point where the only things I like about this is the speed and the price. To this day I still lose sync and random times and it is useless during thunderstorms. Every tech. that comes out thinks I'm on crack as when he tests the line it comes back perfect. But if only I can get one here when a squall line is moving accross the state. But by the time a trouble ticket gets through and a tech. is dispatched, it is the next day and the storms are long gone. The actual network connection to the IP is always up, but the sync is so damn shaky. With that said, it gets a 2 for connection reliability.
I'd like to share what I've been told by local area techs I've ran into over the last year (nearly 2 years now). I've been bluntly told that the lines are pure crap out this way. Last tech. I've talked to told me how my line is the "talk" amongst the group and the lines up here are so bad guys won't even touch them. OK, if they are that bad, FIX THEM! That says a lot about this company's motives. I gave tech. support a 2 and that's being nice, only because the only good tech. support I get is from SBC Direct. Other than that I call in I get some guy named Tim, yeah, sure your name is Tim, It's probably really obduley or something. I can barely understand them.
If the day ever comes where cable modem comes out or I can afford a T1, this is out the door. I have been more than patient!!!!
***UPDATE 11/10/05***
I've had DSL for over a year and a half now. Currently on the Pro package at 3008/512. The speeds are smokin! SBC Direct techs are still great. However, SBC still cannot seem to figure out why I occasionally lose sync and why I lose it so often during thunderstorms. Sync will be strong for about a week or two then all of the sudden drop out then be fine for another week or two and so forth. But when a thunderstorms comes in, dial-up becomes more reliable. It cuts out so bad it's nearly useless. I've been having this issue ever since I got DSL back in April of 2004 and still can't get it fixed. It's really destructive when you run an internet radio station and your DSL cuts out dropping your audience, and it's even worse when it does it in a repetitive manner like when a thunderstorm comes in. I've been on every speed package just to see if my line was higher than it can handle, but no, still lose sync, makes no difference.
If Cable Modem was available, I'd consider at least trying it to see if it was more reliable, because I need reliability more than anything else, especially since I run an internet radio station. My internet connection is vital. And if I had the money for a T1, I'd be all over it. But there is no reason why this shouldn't be fixed already and I have been bluntly told by a local tech. "That's the best you're going to get out there."
***UPDATE 05/23/05***
Things are still smooth. One thing I am sick of however is the sync loss during thunderstorms, it is very, very, very sensitive to thudnerstorms. Usually when the storm is about 10 miles away my sync will begin dropping out and it will continue and get worse as the storm gets closer. Basically to the point of not even being able to use it. This is a devistating blow to my internet radio station because everytime that sync cuts out so does the feed to the server thus all my listeners get cut. It's been a year and they still can't fix it. This is reflected in the connection reliability rating.
Speeds are excellent. Always get the same speed test of 2500kbps/439kbps, day or night. Unlike I would probably get with a cable provider. I've been running several line tests and I have been pretty lucky when it comes to high hops and packet loss.
The techs in SBC Direct are second to none, they are the reason I give tech. support a good rating. If it weren't for them I would have given it a 1.
I will update again towards 4rth of July.
***UPDATE 03/30/05***
I figure I'd update once I moved to the pro package. With SBC offering the pro package for $29.99 I could not pass it up so I had my line re-rated for one more year.
All is smooth as of now. I had my 2wire homeportal replaced with an Efficient Speedstream 5100b and have not lost sync yet since I hooked it up on 2/23. Using a D-link DI-624 and it's a terrific combination. Since the set-up change overall connection reliability is nearly perfect. Big question is how will this act during a thunderstorm? That's when the 2wire lost sync the most.
Speeds are great. I'm getting 2500kbps/439kbps as expected with the slight overhead from the modem to the computer. I always read the same speed test, nothing more nothing less at all times of the day or night. Had some problems with high pings about a month ago but I think it was the 2wire as I would run pingplotter and have packet loss right from the modem. This is no longer a problem.
I can't speak highly enough of SBC Direct and in particular Beach Boy, he's the reason I gave tech. support an excellent rating. Tier 1 is nothing but the opposite, I'd rather have no tech. support than have to deal with tier 1 so thank goodness for SBC Direct.
All is perfect right now, I will update again towards summer.
***UPDATE 1/09/05***
Well I still have my sync loss problem. There is line noise, and yes I have confirmed this at the NID. Can't seem to get a fixed, every tech. that comes out here thinks it's the best I can get and gives up on my line. Well I can tell you of other people on my road who are hearing other phone conversations and have interference on their line, not going to be pretty when people begin contacting the government about crappy line quality (rumors from around town confirm that), because that can get serious, what if they need to call 911 and do so but they can't hear the operator because someone else's phone conversation is interfering or the person can't hear the operator? I guess it's good to know you're not the only one having trouble. Goodness forbid heavy rain/snow/thunderstorm comes in, my DSL is about useless. Thus I rated the connection reliabilty low.
Here's whats really strange, I generate little if any ATM or cell errors in a day, my speeds are always consistant at 1.3/324, never any faster nor slower, just rock solid. Just can't seem to get this occasional sync loss resolved and frankly I'm quite sick of it. So it's not ASI nor the DSL end of it, they have an excellent and reliable network. It's telco that needs to get off their @$$es and fix these old corroded lines already!
Tech. support is horrid with the exception of the guys here in SBC Direct, those guys are incredible but they need to have more guys in, it's becoming too much I see so many posts there daily I almost hate to post and bother them, but they're the only one's that I know understand what the hell they're doing. They're the only reason I gave tech. support a 4/5, if they weren't here, it would be a 1/5.
Still well worth the money and it is the only option in my area. My cable company doesn't even know what cable modem is so forget that. But even if they did, 1.5/384 for $26.95 is incredible considering any cable packages in the Youngstown area are $40+ for usually 3.0/128.
So SBC, if you can just fix my sync loss problem you'll be the BEST.
***UPDATE 11/04/04***
I still love my DSL. This intermittent sync loss is starting to get very old and I can't believe they can't fix it. I have had everything done from a NID split to a modem replacement, just can't seem to fix it. I know the issue is outside especially since it it worse during thunderstorms/heavy rain. I'll lose sync only once or twice a week on any fair weather week. I have a constant "eee"/buzzing sound with occasional static on my line that won't seem to go away. Since the problem is so intermittent, when a field tech. comes out my line tests perfect and they can't find anything. Most of them come out with the attitude that the wires in my area are pure crap and that's the best I'm going to get out here. Well I'm sorry, if the lines can't hold a steady signa; at only 12,000ft then there's something wrong with that. Also I have neighbors down the road with the exact same issues. When the techs come out with an attitude like "that's the best your gonna get" or "not this guy again" the problem isn't going to get fixed. How do I know they think this? Because I'm fortunite to have a friend that does basic installation for SBC listen in when these techs see a trouble ticket for my line.
Teir 1 tech. support is horrible and I could probably get better DSL support out of a 2 year old. But the techs on here are SMOKIN' when it comes to DSL. Can't get any better tech. support from any company in the world. For these guys sake I keep my tech. support rating high. But if it was just tier 1, it would be a big fat 0!
Speeds are great, I always get the same speed results of about 1.29mbps/324kbps, that has NEVER flucutated on me. Which kills me...why is my sync intermittend and my margins, pings, and speeds great? Once this line noise is fixed I believe I will have a perfect connection.
Everytime I call in a ticket to SBC repair I say it's a voice problem because I know saying DSL will just send it right to tier 1. I just wish this issue would get fixed it is older than dirt. I will update again towards the Holidays, hopefully this will be fixed by then.
***UPDATE 9/08/04***
All in all I love my DSL. Only problem I have is the occasional sync loss, making it only about 50% reliable. When you're running an internet radio broadcast with hundreds of listeners and you lose sync, it's not a pretty thing. That is the only negative I have, I can't think of any more. The tech. support they have here on DSLreports is outstandly terrific! I have had a few truck rolls to try and fix my sync problem, I was at one point losing sync once or twice a day, now it's down to once every 3 or 4 days. Which is getting better but I still should never lose sync. I've had at least 5 truck rolls on it, all the techs that came out where extremely nice and did a lot to find a problem. The last visit a "Class A inspection" on my line was ordered and they did find that the jumper cables down at the CO were reversed. Since that has been corrected the sync problem isn't as frequent. And most of the time they've found insulation rips on the wire and as those were repaired, I don't have too much trouble when it rains anymore. But since I lost sync only for a few seconds, as one tech. put it unfourtinitly it's hard to find a problem that isn't occuring. So my chances of it happening when a tech. was here was slim & none.
And I appreciate the upgrade with the upload speeds from 256kbps to 384kbps, I get 1.288mbps/324kbps consistantly. I know cable could burst faster at times but it doesn't stay like that, at least with the cable services around here. Good thing about DSL is unless there's a problem with the line or modem, you'll have the same speeds.
Hopefully we can get the sync retrains fixed other than that I strongly recommend getting DSL through SBC.
***Original review***
After about 4 years of being told, "We're sorry, SBC DSL is not available in your area", I finally got DSL. Originally back in October 2003, I tried DSL on my 1rst line. This did not work, it was out of service range (they denied me service), therefore they would not pay to condition the two load coils and the bridge tap.
Well on Friday, 4/9, I put in an order for my second line (Special thanks to a certain tech. on here). As it turns out, my second line is closer to the CO than my first line, I can only assume because it is newer. Install was a breeze, it took my literally not more than 5 minutes to set up the modem, connect it and put the line filters in, no way I would ever pay $150-$200 for a tech. to come out and do this. My activation date is not until Thursday 4/22, because I requested a wireless adaptor for my computer in the basement, well on Friday, 4/16, I got sync! I can only get the basic package due to my distance (384/256). I am currently getting 312/212, this is not bad at all considering that I've been stuck with AOL for 4 years and I have the only cable provider in the area that doesn't offer broadband.
But SBC DSL is fast & extremely reliable, and I can't thank the techs on here enough for getting me here and giving me the knowledge I've obtained about DSL.
I hope this stays smooth, I'll update in a few months.
****UPDATE 05/13/04****
I wanted to update here after I upgraded to the 1.5/256 package from 384/256. I don't know what they did to my line, but before it said I was 19.4k from the CO, then I had an order for DSL and they conditioned this line so good that I am on the 1.5/256 package getting about 1.48/247, this connection is extremely solid and you can't go wrong without it. I can't thank the SBC tech. support on here enough for all of their help. I did have one sync problem for about 10 minutes yesterday, I want to blame this on the thunderstorm though because one was moving it when it happened. Service has been excellent, I've now had it for about a month and can't ever look back at dial-up again! I will update again here in the summer.
****UPDATE 07/01/04****
Still a fantastic service. However, the only good tech. support they have is the tech. support on here. When I call the support number, I always get someone that can barely speak English and I feel I know more about DSL than they do so the only helpful support techs are the ones on here. I won't put tech. support down as a bad point on my review as long as the support from the real techs on here stays excellent.
I'm getting speeds of about 1.290/212 now, tweeking did not help. However, I do have the 2wire home portal and the 2wire monitor application says I am getting 1.536/256, so the problem would be between the modem and my computer, and not my landline.
Service is solid, never actually went out, and I always have the latest firmware for my modem. The only trouble I have is during thunderstorms, you can forget about using DSL. I live here in Lowellville, and everytime storms begin to movce through the Cleveland/Sandusky area, which is 60/70 miles away, I begin to lose sync for about 30 seconds and it happens once every 10 minutes or so, and gets more frequent as the storms move in. Ironically this stops as soon as the storms move into PA which is Verizon territory. So it sounds like some protector is defective somewhere and since I am one of the few around this area that has this problem, I want to say it's close to my line.
But that's really the only complaint I have, I just wish storms so far out wouldn't effect me. But I hope this stays as cool as it is, I am now happily hooked up with DSL for 3 months now! I'll update again towards fall.
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