 Review by KoolMoe 
UPDATED: 200 days ago
member for 7.4 years, 3426 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Annapolis,Anne Arundel,MD
 $100 per month (12 month contract)
 about 14 days
 Verizon
 "Most installs well done, service reliable and speedy"
 "Billing was a PITA for a short time"
 "Solid service, great TOS, competent techs"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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We had three RTHM lines for work..well, two for work and one for my house. Was very pleased with the RTHM lines...
But with notice of bankruptcy, had to find alternatives. With three office locations, picked SpeakEasy's MultiOffice offering, mostly cause we pay to outsource our website/email, and with 384k SDSL Multioffice, webhosting was free.
Install for Location 1 was no problem: Signed up, Verizon made a loop qualification within two weeks (!!), install date given, tech showed up, line was installed, speeds are good.
Hassle: we wanted DHCP/NAT, but they couldn't get it working on the Netopia 7200. No idea why. IMO, they should have sent us a new router... So we just setup our own firewall anyway.
Location 2 was no problem either. This was at home, so pretty basic. Installer came, ran wire, service up and running at advertised speeds and no problems since.
Hassle: I needed a line run about 15 feet from MPOE. Installer said no problem. He was onsite for about 45 minutes. At end of install, was asked to sign his 'inside wiring invoice'. I assumed it was just so he could account for his time. However, few days later, an $88 wiring charge appears on my bill! When inquired, turns out installers are only allotted 15 minutes per house, and more is charged to the customer!
Neither SpeakEasy nor the Covad installer mentioned this extra charge to me. I had to bitch and withhold all payment for a month, but finally got the charge credited back. No way I was gonna pay this blindside bill, especially paying $155 a month! They resolved it to my satisfaction.
Location 3, a little more of a problem, though I think most blame lies with Ameritech. They continually missed their loop qualification dates, so Covad had to keep pushing back the install date. Was JUST installed, 6 weeks after contract was signed. Thank GOODNESS the RTHM line was still working!
SpeakEasy not to blame here, maybe Covad, likely Ameritech.
Still trying to get DHCP/NAT working there, but hopefully will be resolved. If it doesn't work, will need to do a firewall there too. If they can't get it to work, a little suspect of their Netopia capabilities (though they've been very friendly  .
Overall hassles:
Billing's 'voicemail box is full' happened too often. Get more message space or check and clear them more often. But overall, not a big thing. Just tried later. And some credit for problems related to WTC tragedy.
They MUST make installers tell you, or otherwise notify you, that more than 15 minutes of installer time will be billed TO YOU. I was stunned at the charge, and was pissed, though finally satisfied.
'MySpeak' (aka 'TAC') needs a little improvement. Our IP ranges, Gateway, subnet, etc have changed for 2 of 3 locations, but MySpeak page does not reflect those changes. Have been a couple hassles using wrong IP's, needing to call and get new ones. That's the only defficiency of that site- overall, their site is very helpful and well put-together!
**update** TAC is better, but the billing/payment section still needs improvement...
Overall opinion:
Very happy with SpeakEasy since they did the right thing and fixed the inside-wiring billing hassle. Tech support wait not unreasonably long, and helpfuly, friendly folks on the other end. A little pricey, but hey, I could get Residential service if cost was the biggest factor. Keep my lines running at good speeds and answer my questions in a timely manner, and I'll be a faithful customer for years!
So, when is VoIP coming?
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Update 11/12/2004
I continue to be very happy with SE. I've gone through a couple upgrades over the years (that last review was 2002, I think) and my costs have gone down or stayed the same.
I now have the 6.0/768 package which gives me about 4.5/640 fairly reliably (sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less - I've yet to break 5.1 down).
My house has apparently moved over the years. I'm now at 9700ft as opposed to the 6000ft when I first got DSL here. But for that distance, I'm pleased, though faster would be cooler (esp. upload - 1mb someday!).
The value, though, I think is the best part. As more and more ISPs crackdown on usage, SE remains solid in their committment to allow the ability to run servers and no caps. With the work I do (large multimedia files), this is crucial.
Very pleased with stability, very pleased (mostly) with tech support when I need it. Very pleased with the overall deal. Would love faster, would love cheaper, but it's worth what I pay so far.
Looking into OneLink and VOIP. Not yet - waiting for the whole thing to stabilize a bit - but someday, no doubt.
I continue to highly recommend SE to those who need the flexibility and service they provide. If you need a basic connection and don't mind it up and down, go with your ILEC or cable. You want a quality connection and company (and ain't too far out), go SpeakEasy!
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Update 07/01/2006
I switched to OneLink. If you do this, definitely get it installed and running before you cancel the current shared ADSL service. Once I was satisfied OneLink was solid, I cancelled. I spend about $5 more per month and got slightly better down speeds (pretty consistent 5.0/640).
I run SunRocket VOIP over that OneLink line as a secondary business phone and fax line.
I still have 1 line with Verizon for main house and 911 reliability.
My connection still drops when it rains a lot which kinda sucks, but I can live with it.
Still pleased with the service. I do hope they work out something to resell FIOS as it's coming very soon. Not sure how loyal I can be....
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Update 03/26/07
Speakeasy has been purchased by Best Buy. I'm pretty sure my contract is up, or is shortly. Will give them some time to work out a current speed issue and see where it goes.
Ever since the Feb. ice storm taking down my POTS line and VZ taking down my OneLink line when fixing the POTS line, then the FIOS installers rigging the DSL signal from the pole-to-house using the POTS line's 2nd pair (which, with Fios, doesn't/shouldn't have a dialtone runnning through the 1st pair any more)...about two weeks after all that, my line is only stable in Safe Mode.
So if that's resolved, I'll may just wait and see where the Best Buy purchase leads. If not resolved, I'll likely bag it for FIOS (or alternate [LB]DSL) sooner than later. Not gonna pay this premium for 3.0/768.
I am also reducing my rating with the change from 5 to 4 for 'Connection reliability' and 'Value for money'.
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Update 01/08/08
Goodbye Speakeasy.
With the same speed (slightly faster) available via FIOS for more than half the cost (doing triple play, so essentially $40/month), I just can't justify the premium anymore for unreliable service. The line did stabilize for the most part, but would still go out at the slightest hint of thunder. Then more recently, would have significant routing issues when trying to watch online shows (nbc.com, etc).
Was sure to ask the VZ installers to LEAVE my POTS copper up, just in case, and I do miss the ease of running servers at home via my SE static IPs... But as long as the VZ line is stable and up, no regrets so far, even if I am feeding the behemoth.
SE should have worked harder at reselling VZ's FIOS service.
-KoolMoe
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