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Review by nma851 See Profile

  • Location: Indianapolis, Marion, IN, USA
  • Cost: $202 per month
Wide-Array of channel selection, Internet Speeds, & Single-Bill for all Services (Including Wireless) w/nice rates (Bundled)
Higher-speed Internet stability/speed needs some work
Pricing for services (Bundles) are competitive, retention pricing is always welcome, but technicians needs some training
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

BACKGROUND:

As a (going on) 7 year customer of AT&T U-Verse, I have always kept up with the "latest & greatest" while also being loyal to AT&T. Therefore I don't even look elsewhere, which is only one other provider for my area anyway (BrightHouse Cable). It is unfortunate that having such a great TV lineup and being able to "Bundle" all my AT&T services into one bill (TV/Internet/Voice/Wireless) are all being put at risk due to the inability to resolve the inability to achieve AT&T's advertised 45MB Power-Tier Internet speeds. I am no longer even dealing with "regular" customer care, I must now deal with Tier 2 and corporate levels only.

As a loyal customer of seven years, AT&T has done well for 5-6 of those years; it has been this last year of services that now have me exploring any/all other available options.

SERVICES (THE "GOOD"):

I have the U-450, Premium "add-on's" (HBO, SHO, etc.), 2HD/2SD at $109/month.

I (now) have the "45MB Power-Tier Internet" at $60/month ($75-$15 for a year for being a "loyal" customer). Previously had the "Max-Turbo" Internet at $51/month/

THE DOWNFALL(S) AND INSTALL/REPAIR (STILL ONGOING):

When the U-Verse Power Tier (45MB) became available, I was sure excited & ready to get it. I already had the Motorola NVG589 Modem capable for this service & all that was required was the outside installation of the "Bonded-Pair" to bring that 45M's to life. The only reason I had the modem already was due to connectivity issues & one of the several techs out here swapped it to the Motorola NVG589 bringing the TV/Internet back to life PRIOR to the Power Tier upgrade. As a loyal customer, I received $15/month off for a year for the upgrade to this speed. That was what was supposed to happen, not what actually happened.

However, since the "Power Tier" upgrade, I have had 2 months to the day of HALF the advertised 45MB speed. 6 technicians later, we're no better off than we were with the previous speed (Max-Turbo). Despite the 2 months of speeds FAR less than advertised, I am beginning to believe it is simply NOT capable of obtaining the Power Tier speeds. At least 5 "Inside Premises Techs" have been out in 2 months, at least 3 "Outside Line Techs" have been out in 2 months, and as of the date of this review, the latest SpeedTest's are still around the following:

MAX ATTAINABLE SPEED (LAST 2 MONTHS):

17.69 Mb/s 5.29 Mb/s 50 ms

(Test# #841954295 Indianapolis, IN in the U-Verse 45Mbps Tier Users Needed for SpeedTests" thread/forum »U-Verse 45Mbps Tier Users NEEDED for speedtests...).

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This is quite unfortunate that I am now battling AT&T at the corporate level and their only answer, instead of getting to the root of the problem for their loyal 7 (seven) year customer, is to continue sending out more & more techs to keep swapping modems/gateways. On the bright side, at least we have one GREAT selection for the TV side of things. The U-450 offers much to watch/record/etc. ALL at the same time (2HD/2SD) so that $109 is spent VERY WELL! :). However, as far as the Internet-side goes, AT&T is obviously NOT ready to have rolled out this particular "Power-Tier Internet Speed Package" in Indianapolis.

UPDATE 20 OCT 2013

Given the nature of the problems associated with failing to achieve anywhere close to the 45Mbps Tier, I have to give credit where credit is due to the last set of three technicians that spent 10 hours here yesterday. They DID get the service restored by finding a "main line" that runs into the VRAD, being damaged from rodents & water, which was likely the original problem all along. New lines have been installed from this VRAD box to my home as well, just to ensure NO splicing has occurred, and this type of dedication to getting the job done right is WORTH NOTING. I applaud the efforts, although the timing was awful, as I can honestly sit here & say I now feel U-Verse has exhausted ALL options as far as "Premises Problems" are concerned.

U-verse did what it took - and again, credit is being given to these 3 guys for the hard work done to get the service back up & running 95% "right". This all being said, the ratings for tech, reliability, and value have all been raised. Granted, this should not have taken an email to the Executive Offices to gain their attention in the matter, however after 10 hours of what was done to get me back up and running deserves an overall change in the "Grades" originally given. In other words, U-Verse redeemed itself with this customer & I want this rating to reflect such.

member for 10.4 years, 106 visits, last login: 9.6 years ago
updated 10.4 years ago


David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David

Premium Member

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