Review by Sahrin 
UPDATED: 342 days ago
member for 4.2 years, 103 visits, last login: 10 days ago
 Houston,Harris,TX
 $19 per month (12 month contract)
 about 11 days
 AT&T
 "Great service (No exagerration, best tech service I've ever had)"
 "DSL is distance based."
 "Fair prices, allows you to get out from under the Teleco Monopoly - but DSL has technical limitations that you have to face down"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
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I dropped Cable in Houston after the Switch to Comcast (It's Sucktastic!). Following this change, I sought out a new ISP. I was done with major corporations, and given that Comcast owns the only major network in town my choices were fairly circumspect.
After a perfunctory search of Broadband Reports and the Web at large (Google, thank you) I turned up a small independent ISP called Oplink. I read their plain website and communicated exactly what I was looking for - people who understand what they are doing, but don't have the orgy of usless 'features' shoved down our throats by corporate America.
I placed an order for their "Basic" (1.5/385) service a day after ordering my landline service from AT&T (I was wire-less until the decision to do DSL) - this is how Oplink recommends you order new service, and then sat back and waited. In response to my e-mail, withing 12 hours, Oplink had replied with a very informative e-mail telling me exactly (to 100 feet) how far I was away from the nearest DSL head-end (13,200 feet), what service I had ordered and how soon I could expect it to "go live."
The modem arrived on schedule, and given my unfamiliarity with DSL modems I am as yet uncertain of the ultimate quality of the hardware, it is a Westell Wirespeed (Model number not clearly listed, perhaps 890?).
Initially, due to the existence of several "bridge taps" on my line, I was unable to get connectivity on my line. This was an egineering problem of AT&T's - and from the moment I detected the problem, Oplink was on the ball - and within 4Hours had an answer to me from AT&T - explaining very clearly what the problem was, and how long it would take to fix it. (It's AT&T's crappy network design, not Oplink - who is 'leasing' the last mile from them). This issue was resolved within five days (despite requiring AT&T personnel to actually go out and repair the lines), and my service was active a day earlier than Oplink promised. I received a phone call the day before the issue was to be repaired informing me that it would be fixed, and service was restored that day (1 day before promised).
Please note that the 11 days quoted in the notes above includes 1) Labor Day weekend holiday, and 2) 5 days to repair the poorly executed lines on AT&T's network.
Following the service activation, I began running speed tests as the connection felt much slower than what I was accustomed to with Cable. (Of course, with a drop from 6Mbps to 1.5Mbps, what would you expect).
Initial results were disappointing. On all servers tested, my results have been in the neighborhood of 300Kbps upstream and 250Kbps down.
I state this with the caveat that given my inexperience with DSL and my past experience with more bandwidth I may be unfairly judging the service provided, however as compared with the stated maximums I am disappointed with performance. My distance from the cable company may be a function of this "failure," an issue I am trying to get clarification from Oplink on as we speak.
So as of right now, my final thoughts are:
+Excellent Customer Service, best from ANY ISP I have dealth with, by far
+Seamless installation process
+Works great with the obstinate and belligerent local phone company to get results for their customers (or at least answers)
+Great communication with customers
-Bandwidth measured doesn't match with bandwidth quoted
Overall, I recommend Oplink, especially if your distance from the Phone Company is very low, if only to support small business and competition (though their killer service helps out quite a bit).
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
After getting in touch with Oplink on the bandwidth issue, they confirmed my suspicions that due to my distance from the DSLAM, I would be unable to receive the quoted bandwidth. They were completely up front about the technical issues, and offered me the opportunity to "opt-out" of my contract (a 12 month deal) as a result of the service issues.
While I am disappointed that I can't get the max speed, still - Oplink handled this situation incredibly professionally, and their understanding and willingness to "level with me" as a customer was refreshing.
I am uncertain if I will be remaining with Oplink, but let me say that their service thus far as demonstrated is a massive vote in their favor. I will definitely be considering continuing service with them, even with the bandwidth reductions. If you are closer to the DSLAM - I would recommend them over any other carrier.
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