 Review by myosh 
member for 12 years, 2985 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 2.1 years ago
 Cupertino,Santa Clara,CA
 Contract price not specified.  about 4 days SBC "Easy Installation, Consistent Download Speeds" "New 150 GB cap and possible overages... yuck!" "Sorry AT&T but you lost me when you implemented caps and overages"
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I have been a cable internet subscriber since the late 90's when TCI was my local cable company and @Home was the service provider. Well, after a number of transitions (TCI@Home to AT&T@Home to ATTBI to Comcast HSI) and a number of price increases, I wanted to switch to DSL but it wasn't available where I lived.
In March of 2005, I got a flyer in the mail saying that DSL is now available in my area. I checked for availability using my phone number on the SBC website and it said I qualified for the Pro Package (3000/512) and the current promotion was $29.95 for a 12 month contract. Still leary about whether I would get the full 3 Mbit/s, I held off until I discovered the SBC Direct forum here on DSLReports.com. I put in a pre-qual request and within a day or two, a tech posted that I should be right at the 3 Mbit/s cap. With that resolved, the decision to order SBC DSL became a really easy one because by switching to DSL, I could save $13/month for the same speed I was getting from Comcast (3000/384, $43/mo).
In May of 2005, I placed my order through the SBC website for the free equipment and the free self-install kit. Within a week, I received a package from SBC containing my modem (SpeedStream 5100) and the self-install kit (filters, cables, software, etc). On the date my service was activated, I installed the modem and the software and I was up and running in no time.
The very first thing I did was run a speed test from DSLReports.com and I was surprised to see my connection test at 1200 Kbit/s which was less than half of what I was expecting. I asked the tech that helped me with the pre-qual why I was getting such a slow download speed. A little later that afternoon, I get a response from the tech stating that, for some odd reason, the modem was sent the wrong config file (Express package, 1500/128). He told me that he sent my modem the proper config file for the Pro package and that I should run another speed test which I did. To my relief, it tested at 2500/400. The last thing I did was to put a Linksys Wireless router/firewall between the DSL modem and my home network.
It gave me great pleasure to tell Comcast to cancel my cable modem service because their prices were too high. I still have their cable TV service.
January 2006 Update:
For the first time, I'm experiencing some download troubles. I ran a speed test and my download speed is around 200 Kbit/s. I'm waiting to see if this a temporary glitch or something more serious.
May 2006 Update:
With my initial contract up soon, I was able to get a new one-year contract from ATT/SBC. The new contract is for 1 year and my new monthly rate will be $24.99/month, a $5 savings!!! The whole process took about 30 minutes on the phone with customer service.
May 2007 Update:
With my second 1-year contract up soon, I was able to get a new 1-year contract from ATT/SBC at the same rate I was paying over the past year, $24.99/month. For committing for another year, I also get 1 month free. All of this was done online so it took less than 5 minutes to renew.
June 2008 Update:
My third 1-year contract expired in May and now I am month-to-month at $30/month. I have not tried to contact AT&T to see what they offer for another 1-year contract. Service has been pretty good with no major problems or outages.
March 2011 Update:
Well AT&T danced with the devil and implemented a 150 GB cap on all DSL customers with overages after you exceed the cap three times. With that, my 6 year stint with AT&T DSL will be over soon as I head back to Comcast HSI. I signed up for the Performance promo-package (12/2, 15/3 with PowerBoost) for $19.99 for the first 6 months. Yes, Comcast has a cap (250 GB, 100 more than AT&T) but it's a soft cap with no overages and that's something I can live with. C'ya AT&T!
Comments:
 | | But you will be paying more. But you will be paying more. Might as well stick with ATT and even with the overage it will be cheaper then Comcast. Or go to U-verse they have a 250GB cap. others will have caps as well. Do you really use more then 150 / 250GB a month? | |
|  | | | Re: But you will be paying more. Streaming movies can easily put you over their cap very quickly. | |
| | | | | | | | | Re: But you will be paying more. Don't forget, the way that DSL technology works is that it's a direct line. There is no sharing outside of the central office, so there is no real stress on the lines. If there was, all DSL users would have constant issues with there lines.
AT&T is doing this only to make more profits on people they already have.
Thing is, they could have simply advertised that they offer unlimited bandwidth and most likely got more customers and made a lot more money that way. | |
| | | | cvbn
join:2003-11-03
Los Angeles, CA | but if u have ps3 or xbox for teens there goes the cap | |
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| myosh
join:2001-05-03
Cupertino, CA | It's the overages that I have a major problem with. I don't believe that I should have to pay more just because I went over some arbitrary number established by AT&T.
U-verse, while the equipment has been installed in my neighborhood more than 2 years ago, is still unavailable so that is definitely not an option.
While Comcast has a cap, it is 100 GB more than AT&T's and there are no overages. Comcast's download speed is also 4 times what I had with AT&T (12 Mbps vs 3 Mbps) and it's only $10 more a month ($35 vs $45). IMO, the extra download speed is worth the $10. Now, if Sonic were to offer their ADSL2+ service (called Fusion) in my area, I'd jump on that in a heartbeat. | |
| | |  lakinoPremium
join:2003-04-03
Campbell, CA | Re: But you will be paying more. Have u made the switch? How is Comcast? I may have to do the same. | |
| | | | myosh
join:2001-05-03
Cupertino, CA | Re: But you will be paying more. The switch has been made, and, for now, I'm satisfied with Comcast's service. I was able to qualify for a promo price of $20/month for the first 6 months and the regular price afterwards. | |
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