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Review by McLovin See Profile

  • Location: Kenai, Kenai Peninsula, AK, USA
  • Cost: $92 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 18 days
Is there any?
A bit high priced compared to GCI; PPPoE
If it is your only option, do you have a choice?
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

OK, after my crap report of ACS, and me constantly calling, and emailing. We are getting DSL on the 26th of July.

ACS trys to play off of the success of GCI's "bundling" plans. We went ahead with the DSL Speed Pack, which is their step up from their very highly priced 320K/240K, which is part of the standard pack.

The speed pack comes with POTS, long distance, internet, and some pretty nifty phone features. The pack supposedly is $69/month, but it only comes with 100 long distance minutes, so I spent the extra $10/month and upgraded to 300 long distance minutes.

Breakdown:

1Mbps/320Kbps - Dynamic IP, PPPoE
POTS
300 Minutes Long Distance
+Taxes
______________
$92/month

I'll be posting again in the future after we are all set up.

UPDATE: 8/7/06

Two days before the truck roll comes, I get a phone call. "Sorry, due to equipment on your line, we can't commence with your dsl order. Sorry for the inconvenience."

OK.....

So, on their website, about a month ago, I looked up the DSL availability for both of my phone numbers (main line, dialup line), and my physical address, ALL 3 results came back like DSL was available. And guess what, IT STILL DOES. I HATE THIS COMPANY. GRRRRRRR!!!!! 5 years of my whining to their CSRs, and I even talked to the regional president. I can't seem to get anything done. Throw me a frickin bone here!

UPDATE: 10/28/06

Still tired of waiting.....This would be the six year anniversary since the first order I made. It kind of sucks if you ask me. Waiting on cross connects now, so they tell me. GRRRRR...

UPDATE: 6/3/07

Still tired of waiting, not necessarily whining anymore. Still pissed off, but I've kind of given up caring. CSRs tell me that it is coming, slowly, but still coming. Local techs say that they have received a lot of flak about this area because of the dense population and lack of service. Not really sure what to think about the subject anymore. I'm planning on moving pretty soon, and you can bet that I won't be getting DSL through these guys. Like all of the DSLRers say, "Netscape before you landscape!". I'll make sure I'm moving into a 10Mbps/384Kbps cable connection before too long, make sure you check back up with me for THAT review!!!

UPDATE: 3/24/08

Moved out of my old place and into a new dwelling. Currently have internet access provided by the University of Alaska who is my current employer for remote access if neccessary. I currently use that link for commodity browsing, but that is not the intention of that connection. I will be pursuing a commodity connection with GCI in the near future. Expect this to be the final update as I refuse any further dealings with ACS.

member for 18.8 years, 2415 visits, last login: 1.2 years ago
updated 16 years ago


koolman2
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
Anchorage, AK

1 edit

koolman2

Premium Member

Re: Review

"DSL is available 30 miles out of town, I live in town......and I can't get it! They say I am about 11 Miles from CO. Gee, funny, because I clocked 1.2 miles with my Jeep."

The way they measure the wire isn't how the bird flies- it's how the wires are underground. It is quite possible that you are 11 (wire) miles from the CO.

"They also told me that the wiring inside of my house is too old."

I think they were just trying to get you off their back.

"I was unable to get DSL because I was on a 'Seizcore carrier system' which enabled them to put our LARGE NEIGHBORHOOD on the same system."

I think what they were talking about was pair gain, which happens to kill dialup connections to 28.8k or worse (usually 26.4), and also kills DSL.

"'And all that needs to be done is a repeater needs to be placed in the wire center...'"

That tech is a complete moron. DSL cannot have any sort of repeater or amplifier whatsoever- they kill the signal.

"And another (and last) thing. This past spring (March '05), I submitted an extensive petition of about 80+ signatures and phone numbers, and nothing came of it. They basically just shunned it away like it was a waste of paper in their office."

It costs a LOT of money to provide DSL- if the demand is so high, then they are probably working on getting a DSLAM in your area.

"...who I'm sure get hired off the street because none of them seem to know what they are talking about."

You're probably right.

"I would love to take this company to court, but I can't afford it."

Over what, that they won't provide you DSL right this instant? They don't HAVE to provide you anything; it's not a God-given right, so get over it. I do know that there is cable available in town; if you can't get it, then I feel for you. Do you play games all day, every day? What about downloading large files every day? If you can handle and average about 350MB/day, then 10GB of throughput is fine; if not, 20GB would be about 675MB/day. I think most people can handle that.

UnKnown
The Underground Network
join:2002-09-08
San Pedro, CA

UnKnown

Member

what is court going to accomplish?

Apparently you dont understand the way the united states is run. If they dont want to provide DSL to you then they dont have too. Sure they may lie to you about availibility but that is only to get u off the phone. Im enthralled about your excitment to get broandband, however it is not a right to have it.

McLovin
Chicka chicka yeah
Premium Member
join:2005-06-12
Fairbanks, AK

McLovin

Premium Member

Re: what is court going to accomplish?

This is a reply to both comments.

It's not so much the fact that I can't get DSL, I just don't like the different stories I get. I've been stuck on a 26.4 (during the evening I get connected as slow as 9 due to congestion).

I find myself at all of my friends houses almost every night because of Halo 2. I'll admit it, I don't have broadband, and I have a Live account. I just bum broadband off of my friends.

GCI does not yet offer CATV yet in the area. Their customer service however is much nicer. I emailed them, they told me CATV wasn't available in the area. So the customer service rep forwards my CATV request to the Kenai office manager, who will (hopefully) approve running CATV to my neighborhood. I live in a semi-urban area. 120+ homes in kind of a rural setting. All of which are stuck on dial-up, connecting at 26.4Kbps.

I want to move......
McLovin

McLovin

Premium Member

Re: what is court going to accomplish?

Also, about the court thing, I was pretty enraged at the time. I'm sure you all understand. I just want something to be done. I've been stuck at 26.4 for 5 years now. I would like another solution.......

koolman2
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
Anchorage, AK

koolman2

Premium Member

Re: what is court going to accomplish?

Yes, I can see how that would get me mad... I'm lucky enough to be able to choose between cable and DSL right now.

Maybe if you're lucky, they'll get some form of broadband going? Maybe you could do it yourself if the demand is high enough... A T1 line and some wireless equipment and you're set to go!
kajmal
join:2002-08-20
Mount Holly, NJ

kajmal

Member

only DSL?

Isn't cable or satellite internet available in your area? Last I checked, DSL wasn't the only way to get broadband.

McLovin
Chicka chicka yeah
Premium Member
join:2005-06-12
Fairbanks, AK

McLovin

Premium Member

Re: only DSL?

Cable isn't available, which is really weird because it is available just up the road from me, I guess they just don't want to install a repeater and/or run more cable. And we can't get Satellite because of 3 trees in the way, which I would love to cut down, but unfortunately, our homeowners association restricts cutting down more than 50% of the trees on our lot due to some conservation crap. From what I know, DSL is in very high demand down here and has been for a while, but it still isn't here.
TheRageAK
join:2006-10-01
Anchorage, AK

TheRageAK

Member

ACS DSL...

Your not missing much, Im in anchorage and have the "speed pack" , rarely do I ever see that MB, even after running all new cat5 line.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Trees

if you don't like the rules of the complex you live in then you should move to an area where you can do what ever you want. Maybe into town where they get DSL and CaTV.

McLovin
Chicka chicka yeah
Premium Member
join:2005-06-12
Fairbanks, AK

McLovin

Premium Member

Re: Trees

That would be nice. Maybe move to a nice little town in Ohio called Fremont.

baw
Premium Member
join:2006-03-26
Kings Mills, OH

baw

Premium Member

Re: Trees

Stop whining.

Review by koolman2 See Profile

  • Location: Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA
  • Cost: $49 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
reliable, little or no outages, no caps
slow (compared to the rest of the country), speeds sold don't include ~20% overhead
ACS (PTI) is a decent provider, although prices are high compared to GCI
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

When I first started looking around for broadband (there wasn't much to see), I kept thinking about getting it, even though my 49.3kbps connection was fine as it was. Anyway, I finally talked myself into ordering it, and was at school at the time that it was fully activated. When I got home, I saw the sync light was on, so I immediately started downloading everything I could. WOW! This was blazing (slow now) fast!

Connection rate: 320kbps/240kbps
Price: $49 (when I ordered, it was $54.95, but they have since lowered their prices)
Order and install: Great! I picked up my DSL interface at the office in town, and had it hooked up and ready for the provision within a day!
Home equipment: Nortel 1-meg modem provided, PPPoE, router optional
IP: Dynamic

Before I learned too much about computer security (thanks, BBR!!!), I contracted a trojan horse, and my firewall caught it before it got out of hand. I called up ACS and reported this, along with the IP address which was bombarding my computer. The guy I talked to was very nice, and led me step-by-step to report it to the proper authorities.

There was a problem up until about a few months ago which caused the DSL to lose sync whenever the phone was picked up or hung up (it would gain sync soon after), but that has since been fixed.

member for 21.5 years, 10692 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 19.6 years ago