Review by philipsj 
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 7.8 years, 23 visits, last login: 54 days ago
 Columbia,Richland,SC
 $47 per month (12 month contract)
 about 14 days
 AT&T
 "Good connectivity. Good speed"
 "Many restrictions on usage. Contract does not allow server usage."
 "Reliable, but fairly expensive, with many restricitions. Poor Tech support unless you get"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
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Update to original review:
I had pretty good service with BellSouth for several years. However, since the merger, I have had significant DNS problems, problems with excessive latency, problems sending mail, and a general decline in speed and QOS. When calling tech support, if I have gotten to speak to a person, it has been someone in India, who could barely speak English, and was unable to answer any technical questions -- he would only follow a script.
Definitely a decline in the overall product and service!
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Original Review
Bottom Line - provides basic DSL at a fairly high cost, although some ports are blocked. Only allows outgoing mail to BellSouth Servers. Contract does not allow you to run any server of any type, and is restrictive in many other ways. Exact same service as a "business" account allowing user to run a server is approximately $250 more a month. This is a good example of a monopoly in action. No other residential DSL service is available in NE Columbia, SC. Requires a POTS home phone connection which is about $35 additional, but does NOT provide VOIP service in lieu of the POTS telco service.
Tech support is generally very poor -- people who barely speak English read from a script, unless you get lucky enough or annoying enough to get one of the "smart" techs, who understands the technology and the terminology. (I talked to 3 different tech reps one night who did not know what DNS referred to -- all admitted that they had no real knowledge of the concept and just thought it was some random numbers put into the Wetsell modem configuration.)
Advertised as 3 Mbps - normally get about 2.2 - 2.5 Mbps download (quite a bit more than the 13% DSL overhead -- Note that the tech reps said it "my house wiring,and wanted to send out someone to "fix" it at a cost of $100 to $200, until I until I told him that I had it plugged directly into the Subscriber access point on the access box.) The Wetsell modem was somewhat flaky during installation, but no problems since. Static IP was included with high speed service, yet contracts do not allow you to use any type of server.
Followup comments:  
pjo9h
@tiaa-cref.org | for DNS problems use OpenDNS
go to OpenDNS.org | |
| spincycle9
join:2007-12-05
| tech support The BS tech support team has been good to me too. Except from my experience their best guys are their tech guys from Bagiou. the manila guys werent all that helpful and the baguio guys alwas corrected or finished up everytime. it happens as most of the time, specially in wee hours of the day only the florida and philippine tech centers are open. | |
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AT&T Southeast
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