 Review by lolwhat 
UPDATED: 1.2 years ago
member for 7.3 years, 3161 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Fishers,Hamilton,IN
 $20 per month (12 month contract)
 about 7 days
 AT&T
 "Fast install; good price; great customer service here at BBR."
 "Billing/sales issues aren't directly supported at BBR."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I ordered DSL from SBC-Ameritech in September of 2003, through a BBR member who also works in SBC DSL sales. I ordered the Standard Plus package - 1500 down, 128 up (soon to be 256 up, for free, within the next six months), and dynamic IP - with their one-year contract deal for $30/month over 12 months. I opted for the free modem and the self-install.
The due date for the line was nine days later, but the line was up and fully operational six days later, and I had gotten the DSL setup kit (modem, filters, and software) only four days after the order. I didn't even have to wire a home run for the DSL, thank goodness. The line filters worked perfectly, and I was getting about 1300 down and 135 up after tweaks, which is acceptably close to the full capability of a 1500/128 line that was run from an RT.
I also didn't bother to install their software. It's not recommended by "anybody who's anybody"; it installs various useless bloatware. Instead, I used Windows XP's PPPoE initially, I then switched to RASPPPoE, and I now have a router that does PPPoE.
I haven't experienced slowdowns, sync issues, ping spikes, or any other sort of connection problem since the line came up. The only problem I've experienced was while using their support over IRC-style chat. I was trying to find out how much speed my line could handle in each direction, if I got something like the Expert package (6000/608). (This speed "type" is called max attainable speed, as opposed to sync speed or connection throughput.) The support rep with whom I was chatting would simply not give me that information. Instead, he gave me a scripted spiel about how the speed I was getting was perfectly acceptable, even though that didn't answer my question whatsoever. So, I ended up requesting the info from another BBR member who works in SBC DSL tech support. He told me that, unfortunately, since my DSL is RT-based, a technician would actually have to come out and plug a device into my line to get me that info. Eventually, however, SBC techs - at least, those in his "department" - will be able to get that sort of info without a tech visit.
Which brings me to tech support. I haven't needed to use SBC's phone support, and their chat support was useless the one time I tried it. However, their support here at BBR is top-notch. From my experience (and somewhat from hearsay), every tech who works the SBC forums here does all they can to get problems fixed and questions answered. And yes, "works" is the correct term; the support here is official* - part of their paid duties as SBC employees is to answer questions here. Hardly any other ISP out there does this at any level. In fact, this is the main reason I ditched my 3000/128 cable Internet connection for SBC.
* Well, as of a couple weeks ago, sales and billing issues aren't officially supported here anymore. Several kind folks were able to support such issues unofficially for a while, but that was ended after a situation involving one customer (not myself) that could've turned out very badly for the SBC people involved - as in, it was the customer's fault, but SBC heads would've rolled anyway. :-(
7/19/04 UPDATE:
I'm still satisfied overall with my service. I've had no major hiccups with it, so I decided to renew my contract last week, keeping the lower-speed plan (now called Express). Just now, I checked my line status at rolande's site (see the SBC-Ameritech forum to find out what this site is), and I noticed that the ping times for my line dropped a few milliseconds a couple hours ago. Hmm... So, I Remote-Desktopped to my home PC, ran the SBC speed test, and sure enough: 1299/218. So, I finally have 1536/256 sync; so far, my line can handle the higher upload.
11/11/04 UPDATE:
Still satisfied. About two weeks ago, my line got bumped again, to 1536/384 sync (1300/330 actual). The line seems to be able to handle the higher upload.
1/31/06 UPDATE:
Still satisfied at 1536/384 sync, 1300/330 actual! I rerated to $20 plus taxes and fees over a year ago.
5/18/06 UPDATE:
I moved to a brand-new house. AT&T's ordering system is such that even though new construction may be served by a DSL RT, phone service must be working for several weeks before the provisioning system goes, "Oh, OK, your line is DSL-able." Since I wanted to have no gap in my DSL service, I had to order new POTS at the new house, wait for it to go green for DSL, then move DSL from my POTS line at the old house to the POTS line at the new one. AT&T apparently had to send out another tech to move my phone line at the RT from a POTS-only jack to POTS+DSL.
Anyway, the DSL at my new house isn't quite as stable as I'd hoped. I get a noise margin of at least 24 at the NID, so it isn't AT&T's fault, but sometimes it's only 7 inside the house whenever it's raining. Yay, now I have to yell at the builders...
11/15/06 UPDATE:
I had to get another phone line run within the house, but the noise problem's solved. It's been rock-solid with a 20-24 noise margin.
7/21/07 UPDATE:
One day last week, an AT&T person who was doing some work in the neighborhood accidentally futzed up our phone line. It resulted in a loud hum and a nasty echo on the voice portion; the DSL signal was also horribly degraded. When I called phone repair and they quoted me an ETR (estimated time of resolution) of a week later, I was expecting the worst; however, both voice and DSL were completely fixed the next day!
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of AT&T Midwest |
|
AT&T Midwest
(59)
(18)