 Review by andunn 
UPDATED: 1.1 years ago
member for 8.2 years, 2618 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Indianapolis,Marion,IN
 $49 per month
 about 30 days
 "It has good speed (could be better though). I can use my dial-up as a back-up with no hassle at all :D!!"
 "Tech support isn't that great. It took over 4 weeks for Ameritech to get their acts together. Network card isn't that great."
 "Try it before you buy it (Meaning go to someone that has Ameritech DSL if you're looking into getting it)"
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(ratings match consensus)
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I ordered Ameritech DSL and I live in Indianapolis. Originally I ordered the 768/128 SBC reward package ($100 gift card, and a $50 gift card), which would cover for the equipment and activation fee, however you also have to agree to one year of service with them. Shortly after ordering the SBC reward package I found this website (dslreports.com) and read some of the reviews from Ameritech. So I quickly called Ameritech back up and stated that I wanted to get the 768/128 package and not the 768/128 SBC reward package. I did this because the reviews didn't sound to good and I didn't want to have a commitment to a service for one year that isn't very good. The positive note was that it was changed with no hassle and also since I originally ordered my DSL service over the internet before 7/31/01 I didn't have to pay the $50 activation fee. So, what I have to pay for is the $99 for the equipment and the 49.99 monthly fee. It'll be interesting though to see if everything is straight on my phone bill when I get it, but knowing Ameritech it will be screwed up. Well about 2 weeks after I changed my order Ameritech started to move forward with the DSL service. (SLOW)
I chose the option of the customer self-install. My home equpiment consisted of the Efficent modem, ethernet card, filters, cable, and software. I didn't like the length of the phone cable that was provided because I had to run a line from my kitchen to my computer (I live in an old apartment), so I had to go to Radio Shack and purchase a longer phone cable. Then there is the network card. Before I installed it Windows 98SE would boot up in about 25 seconds. Now, with the card in, it takes about 1 - 1 1/2 minutes to get it up and running. Sorry, but I have friends that have network cards in their computers with the same OS and it doesn't take as long as it does with mine and I have a very powerful computer. When I first logged on after complete installation, I was disappointed with my speeds. They were about 450/168. However, the more that I've been on the higher the speeds keep getting. For the past 3 days I've had speeds over 600. My highest has been 648/132. The dslreports.com speed test states that I'm getting 12 times the speed of a 56k modem. Also, another note is that I'm using Netscape Communicator 4.78 and most people know that Netscape browsers are generally slower the IE (Internet Explorer). The reason for this is because the version of IE that came pre-installed on my computer was very unstable. Even when I upgraded to 5.5 I had the same problems. So, I ordered the new IE 6 which is suppose to arrive in about 5 weeks, and I'm hoping that it will be a lot better then the versions that I have. I'm really hoping that IE 6 gets me to web pages faster then Communicator. Although I do like Communicator because I haven't had 1 illegal operation error compared to IE's 7-8 every 15 minutes. With that said I am happy with Ameritech's service. I've never lost my connection, although, after I write this something will probably happen, but then I have my back-up 56k. 
10/4/08
No longer with them. This review needs to be closed.
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