dslreports logo

Six Month Rating
2621 reviews
1571 good · 474 bad
Submit a review by email click here

Review by bmn See Profile

  • Location: hiatus
  • Cost: $32 per month (12 month contract)
  • Telco party BellSouth
Stable, fast, no usage caps, static IPs now available...
PPPoE, no server applications allowed without the static IP option
Probably on par with Cox in this area, but not nowhere near as good as (the now defunct) Telocity.
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

UPDATE: 07/29/2006

Nothing much has changed... Same service... Support has gotten slightly worse since the last review, but the line is stable and there haven't been any outages other than would be normal for maintenance.

UPDATE: 11/14/05

Just an update to say that Bellsouth is doing very well still... After Katrina, for example, DSL was out for less than one week in our area, an area that was hit pretty hard (lots of trees down, tons of roof damage, etc.).

They recently reduced the price for the Ultra service... The only problem was that you had to call to ask for the new monthly rate instead of them automatically giving you the new rate. Not really a problem, just a minor inconvience.

Their routing is excellent and they weren't affected by the Cogent/Level3 fiasco...

Keep up the good work Bellsouth. The only thing they need to do right now is to up the sync rate on Ultra users to something like 1700 or 1800kbps in order to give us the full 1500kbps we pay for like they did with the Extreme users...

UPDATE: 05/23/04

Okay, tech support is loosing some points in this review.

Less than one week ago the internet here died during a thunderstorm and, as usual, it happened at the worst time. I was certain it wasn't related to the storm since we have been through far worse storms and the internet has remained connected. So its time to call support.

The problem was that the DSL modem was able to sync and transmit, but was not receiving data back from the DSLAM. Problem sound familiar ? It should since its the problem in my previous update. Knowing that this should have been logged in our account, I told the tech to look it up. He refused to do so, but claimed there was nothing there (another tech verified at a later date that it was there) about the last problem. Huh ? Yes, he refused to look, but stated that nothing was there. So we go through the motions and reload the software and still no luck. That was it, tech decided without any other checks on the line (he only check the provisioning database) or the wiring in the CO that it was a bad modem and that we needed a new one. After reluctantly agreeing to the terms of getting a new modem (you have to stay with Bellsouth for another year or you get charged for the modem), he sends it. Three hours later, modem and connection are working fine. Apparently there was some line trouble (wow, big surprise there) based on some other problems we had (static).

So now I have to waste time because one tech was lazy and, according to another tech I spoke to, did not follow procedure. However, the second tech I talked to about returning the modem was VERY helpful (thanks dude!)... Howeer, it doesn't matter really in the grander scheme because the first tech should have been on the ball.

UPDATE: 11/06/03
Bellsouth honestly has some of the best support in the industry, especially compared to my old ISP, Cox.

A few days ago there was a problem with my line which allowed it to sync, but it would not receive data, only transmit. The tech support rep and I worked on this at around midnight, with help from a deiligent C.O. tech who had it repaired under an hour. Any other provider would have made us wait until the next day to have the problem worked on if it was their equipment, but at around 12:10AM the C.O. tech repaired a loose connection on the crossconnect on the wiring frame.

Yep, Bellsouth really has earned their awards for customer satisfaction.

UPDATE: 9/27/03
Updating to put Bellsouth back as my ISP...

Also, Bellsouth seems to have been tweaking their routes to use Level3 and UUnet. The inclusion of Level3 routes has greatly improved speed from some sites and lowered latency to others. Keep up the good work.

UPDATE: 9/14/03
Bellsouth is still doing very well... The only problem we seem to be having is when people join our HalfLife games from the outside world and time out after playing for a few minutes. We're still trying to figure this out.

-- ORIGINAL REVIEW --

I wasn't around for the install and ordering process, so I'm not going to be reviewing those. I do know that we signed up for a free (after rebate) modem (a Speedtouch Home ethernet, now hacked to Speedtouch Pro) with a 12 month contract.

The connection is rated at 1500kbps / 256 kbps and we are averaging about 1300kbps / ~250 kbps. That speed has been very consistent, with no noticeable periods of slowdowns (such as with my previous provider). The line sync and IP connection have been EXTREMELY stable, with the only problems being when the PPPoE session reconnects.

Tech support has been very knowledgable and VERY helpful. The last time I used them (several months ago) was with an intermittent sync loss (turned out to be a phone cable problem). The technician realized quickly that I have extensive networking experience and am fairly well versed on DSL. There was no "reboot the computer" garbage and I was treated with respect...

I'm not using their mail servers for incoming mail and do all of my outgoing mail via SMTPS to my hosted sites.

They have recently started allowing users to host server applications from their homes if you order a static IP package. Although it still uses PPPoE (bleh!), this is a step in the right direction for Bellsouth.

More to come if need be, but so far all is good.

And now, the numbers...
Speed tests:
www.speed.fastaccess.com:
1.3Mbps / ~256kbps

atl.speakeasy.net:
1226 kbps / 216 kbps.

dfw.speakeasy.net:
1237 kbps / 217 kbps.

sea.speakeasy.net:
1198 kbps / 216 kbps.

nyc.speakeasy.net:
1213 kbps / 214 kbps.


member for 23 years, 2721 visits, last login: 13.6 years ago
updated 17.6 years ago

jljohn0605
join:2002-12-30
Arabi, LA

jljohn0605

Member

Bettr all over

It is better than COX in almost all areas.
ctoliver
join:2002-01-06
Calhoun, LA

ctoliver

Member

bellsouth rocks

i have had BS for 2 years now and had zero problems! speeds stay constant just wonderful! i had road runner cable yeck!
www.bos.speakeasy.net
1217 down
210 up
all day long!
robfwb
join:2001-01-07
Mary Esther, FL

robfwb

Member

Re: bellsouth rocks

did you know you can get 1.5/1.5 on bell south for $49.95 a month??! damn i wish i could get dsl here but im too far out. COX sucks and im very pissed off at them

Rob
--
»www.cband.info - come join us on IRC and ventrilo voice chat.

PlacerBSTech
@12.153.x.x

PlacerBSTech

Anon

Re: bellsouth rocks

Where were you finding 1.5/1.5 for 49.95???

Is this something Bellsouth came out with that they haven't told us about!?

Proud BS Customer...clean 1.5/256 connection at just over acceptable looplength. Weak signal but still getting ~1100/190.
weedahoe6
join:2003-09-14
Duluth, GA

weedahoe6

Member

1.5 up and 1.5 down

these speeds arent for residential customers but for businesses who likely have business liscense and some type authority for use through E-commerce i would imagine