dslreports logo

Review by MysticWizard See Profile

  • Location: Union City, Alameda, CA, USA
  • Cost: $39 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 6 days
Great Downloads (250k/s + all the time)
Slow Upload (usually below 20k/s)
Over all Great! Definetly worth the money!
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:



Well where should I start? I could go on for
hours about their wonderful service!! I first checked into it early in June,
then I decided to order it on June 27, 2001. They offered a good service, saying
the speeds would be about 512kbps-1.5mbps, for a fairly good price of just 49.95
a month, 39.95 a month with Sprint Long Distance and 9.99 a month for additional
IP Addresses (yah right, that's what a broadband router is for), with the
install fee waived. The equipment was cheap enough, 299 if you go on a month to
month contract, 199 for a 12 month contract, and 99 if you go for a 24 month
contract. So I decided to go for the two year contract, and even changed my long
distance to Sprint (saved some big $$$ there!) So they set an install date of
July 3, 2001 between 3 and 7 PM. They showed up at 3:15 PM on he scheduled day,
and the install took less than 3 hours (I did give them a hand being an involved
person) I had never before seen anything above 56k modem running at


member for 22.2 years, 103 visits, last login: 17.1 years ago
updated 20.8 years ago


SMCinAZ
Premium Member
join:2000-11-29
Glendale, AZ

SMCinAZ

Premium Member

Try sending an E-mail

with a file attachment of say 1mb, then get back to us on the result.

They SUCK for sending E-mails and anything else requiring uploading. Their uploading system is AWFUL.
spatula
join:2001-10-22
South San Francisco, CA

spatula

Member

Re: Try sending an E-mail

Unfortunately, poor upload speeds (especially inconsistently poor speeds as are typical with SBB) can affect your download speed, especially with smaller files. Try downloading something 320k and you'll see what I mean.

TCP streams require acknowledgment, and when it's delayed, especially by varying amounts of time, the sender sits and waits to send you the next window instead of being able to continue on if your acknowledgment hadn't been delayed.
jolt64
join:2001-07-23
San Jose, CA

jolt64

Member

Re: Try sending an E-mail

TCP RWIN tweaks help with that problem
emeraldco
join:2002-01-02
Glendale, AZ

emeraldco

Member

Sprint broadband and how they breach agreeements!

I would like to share with you my experience with sprint broadband. I own a computer store in Glendale Arizona. At a local business mixer I talked to a guy from sprint broadband and he said that they were looking for computer stores to help sell their product and in exchange the computer store would get free connectivity and would also receive a commission in the amount of the customers first monthly payment. This sounded good to me. We signed up and two weeks later we had the service. Within that first week we sold three accounts for sprint. At this time the people in the marketing department, were saying that because we were new to them our marketing account still needed to be set up but we should be assured that we would receive the proper credit. We signed up another 5 residential account and 2 business accounts. Now they owe us about $400 and it was two months so we decided to stop selling their service. On the technical side we were having many problems with our service. We were mostly told it was due to the popularity of the service in my section of town and the fact that they were doing upgrades to the system. The service was down many times for hours at a time.

After being with sprint for 5 months our service stopped working one day and as usual we called tech support, this time they said it was intentionally disconnected due to a request by customer service. So I called customer service, and they said that my account was not set up as a free account and that I owed them almost $500. In my mind they still owed me $400. I told them the whole story and they talked to the marketing dept and many people there remembered us but the final answer was that they have decided not to market using small shops but only national chains. I asked them what about my credit and what about my free service, they had some very rude guy call and tell us that we are nothing and using all sorts of swear words told me that they don’t think much of small computer stores and that I should not bother selling their product any more cause they were huge and they did not need me. (I must have got him in trouble with his boss.) I talked to another guy at the company who said that I just needed to pay up the amount that I 'owed' them and they would let me have the service for the rest of the contract because that is what I signed up for. I gave them a credit card and the service was restored. The service still was lack luster. (I also discovered two months later that they never actually charged my card.)

Eight months later things were going well, they finally got the service fixed...it was stable and good. It almost never failed, it was getting quite fast and stable. They finally stopped sending us bills and everything seemed the way it should be. They even sent us a 'referal packet' saying that we could sign people up and get a commission equal to 1 month payment again. This was great, we signed up 5 more people in less than 2 weeks. Then one day I opened my mail and I had a letter saying that I now owed almost $1400 and had 10 days to pay or else I would be disconnected. Now I was pissed, I promoted them, I suggested them, I got customers for them and this is what they do to me. I called them and they would not help at all. Just before this I was told that this sprint project was not doing very good and that they would no longer be signing up new customers. I decided that now that Cox was available I would just let them disconnect me. Well finally about 2 months later they disconnected us. I called them and they again would not budge, they wanted full payment (Now almost $1600) I felt this was unacceptable. They did something they call a soft disconnect. What it does in technical terms is not give you a lease on any IP address, and it tells windows that your IP address is already taken. While I was on the phone with them one of the other people in the store said that the Internet was working. So I told the person on the phone that I would think about it and call them back. We always used a Linux box to proxy for all of the computers other than the main one that I used. It did IP masquerading and DNS and for some reason it was able to get an IP address from sprint. So now all of our computers go through this Linux box.

So now that we are 'disconnected' from sprint we are having some of the best service from them ever. With them not signing up any new customer and people disconnecting like crazy the service has become VERY stable and VERY fast. I can download a 10 meg file in under 15 seconds. Eventually they will probably figure it out and disconnect us for good, but hopefully not before they totally fold. We already have had cox survey us so that if this happens we can get cox in under two days.

They have a great idea and a great product, too bad they had to buy out speedchoice and create the worst example of customer service I have ever seen, especially to a company that suggests ISP to many customers each day like ours. Maybe they should have treated companies like mine better and maybe they would still be a viable project. The people who buy from smaller computer stores are usually the more techie people and are much more likely to put a 30’ dish on their roof to get broadband. I think that the marketing department of sprint will go down as one of the largest goofs of the .com age.

Jason Dragon, CEO, EMERALD COMPUTERS
MysticWizard
join:2001-12-18
Union City, CA

MysticWizard

Member

1 Year, 2 Months, Still Happy

What can I say... I'm still pretty happy, I haven't noticed any slow down in this time, although I do see inconsistant pings and a packet loss of 6-9% Lately the packet loss seems to be picking up... and I did discover just how bad this connection is for online gaming, but it's the downloads I was after. I really can't complain... the price was right and nothing else was available... but I do plan on getting DSL once my contract is up with Sprint. Not bad Sprint... Keep up the good work!
jwroot
join:2001-12-14
San Jose, CA

jwroot

Member

Re: 1 Year, 2 Months, Still Happy

I also live in UC but I'm only getting 772/110. Did you tweak?
Zonis5
join:2003-01-19
Albany, CA

Zonis5

Member

Sprint's Marketing Wisdom

This is kinda old, as I heard they discontinued it, but what the heck.

A while ago I was looking into Sprint Wireless DSL/Internet, as the listed speed advertised on their site was great. I looked around and found a shop that sold it. It was a Cell Phone shop, and Sprint, in its marketing genius, decided that to display their service, they would use an old either 486 or Pentium to show how blazing the speed was. Well, considering the thing was running Windows 98 (which it could barly support), and took 10 min to load the browswer alone, it was not the greatest of choices. I asked the store owners about it, and they said since they were a Cell and Pager store, they did not have the money to buy a display computer, and they had been begging sprint to give them a decent speed computer to show customers their service on, and were flatly refused, and given the formentioned hunk of junk instead.

Clearly, Sprint is the national leader in marketing.
shel777
join:2001-01-24
Pacifica, CA

shel777

Member

HAD IT FOR 3+ years

I am really lucky with sprint. At the beginning, I had allll the same problems as everyone else.

When Sprint stopped selling service is when their service has been great...My speed tests are between 3500-7000, evrytime I check (you can go to the Sprint speedtests and see what my numbers are.

I happened to call support recently for email and I asked the tech why I was getting such goods speeds...He said,"let me check". He came back and said that I almost have a dedicated line to myself. (I guess most have canceled their service since)

about the uploads...yeah, they are slow, but I have been able to send 3+ meg files...I'v sent about 15, and they have all gone thru

I hope sprint NEVER signs anyone up again, but does NOT go out of business
calray
join:2001-02-14
Fresno, CA

calray

Member

Re: HAD IT FOR 3+ years

My thoughts exactly
I,ve had this service from the begining here in fresno and it rocks,feel like I,m damn lucky to have it considering my rural location.i have been following this forum for almost 3 years and have heard the same people whine and moan and complain over and over.Works great for me,to download a 800 meg file at 5mbs is sweet.I just fear that one day I,ll get that email saying the service will be canceled
shel777
join:2001-01-24
Pacifica, CA

shel777

Member

calray

calray
we may be the only two that are happy with sprint
MysticWizard
join:2001-12-18
Union City, CA

MysticWizard

Member

2 years, 1 month, still with sprint

I'm Still with Sprint. I am still barely satisfied, and I'm really sick of slow Uploads. Packet loss seems to be a bit more of a problem lately than any time before. I am thinking that their equipment is getting older and beginning to break down.

I ran a web server for a while, although I know it's against the TOS of Sprint... but oh well. That showed me how bad my uploads really were.. even loading my page on a computer with dial-up was slower than usual. I could definitely tell a difference between loading my site and loading say... e-bay, even on dial-up.

I've still been getting downloads around 5 megabits, and I also have tested at or over 6 megabits at non-peak times.

My girlfriend recently got Comcast Cable Internet... I was pretty impressed with the speeds, pages load as quick as mine, although there is no stall at the beginning of loading, or any time during loading. The downloads on Comcast are only 1.7 mbps, although the uploads are 256kbps and it seems like they test pretty close every time.

Anyways seeing that, I am a bit more upset with Sprint. I want something with better uploads, so I can serve a web page. My contract is now expired.. the price also goes up 5 dollars a month after the contract is over... I am now paying 44.95 a month.

Needless to say I'm looking at other possibilities, thinking of 1.5/256 DSL, since cable is not available in my area. The question is what company to trust?
MysticWizard

MysticWizard

Member

No Longer Happy at ALL!

Well, I'm experiencing about 16-25% packet loss for the past 2-3 weeks, and I just realized they took away our ICMP, which mean no more pinging. I have a tech coming out on Thursday, just to figure out the packet loss. Truthfully I would be done with Sprint right now, if I had another choice. I have looked around for other options, so far, NOTHING! I can get 384/128 DSL, but no companies seem to be able to offer me any higher speeds. Comcast HSI is supposedly becoming available in 1-3 months as of a month ago, although it's still unavailable. As soon as Comcast is available, I'm signing up. It's actually going to be cheaper, by 3 dollars, since I plan on purchasing my modem. Download Speeds are slower, number-wise (1.5/256) but uploads are close to 250 all the time, and download is surprisingly higher than advertised (1.7) on my Girlfriend's connection. Plus the DNS servers are faster, and there is 0-2% packet loss, and pings are in the 60-80 range and as low as 30's, which shows that it's going to be much quicker for browsing and such... so much for 5 megabit downloads on large files off fast servers. I'm sick of Sprint at this point, it definitely started out alright, but died slowly, and now no ICMP, which ended my satisfaction all together. I'd take anything that offered me less than 5% packet loss, and download of 1.5mbps, uploads of 256kbps, and low pings (150), if the price was right.
MysticWizard

MysticWizard

Member

Re: No Longer Happy at ALL!

Well.. It's Sunday now, Sprint was down a good part of the day on Friday, and now Service is WAY better! On Thursday, the Tech came out as scheduled, he decided it was time for my Transceiver to be replaced, and he did so. I'm now seeing packet loss of 1-4% and thus far, no higher than 4. Pings are now down into the 40-50's. I found an IP I can ping for Packet Loss Testing, on sprint's side. I am willing to bet that it won't stay this good for long, but for now I'm happy once again as it is. If problems start up again, I will be moving on, but hopefully this good service lasts until something else is available. I guess we'll see.

Review by composition4 See Profile

  • Location: Stafford, Fort Bend, TX, USA
  • Cost: $40 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 5 days
Extremely High Speeds, Static IP, 24/7 Tech Support, Free Installation, Good Price
Low Upstream Speeds, Unstable Speeds, Lightning-Prone Antenna (10-ft)
I still prefer SBBD over DSL & cable..
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Sprint advertised a speed rating of 1000/128.. However, I typically get 3200/160.. bad down/up ratio, but it's enough to get the high-speed download.. Off-peak hours can reach speeds in excess of 4000k.. Just to make it better, I get a static IP to boot.. Installation went smoothly, though I was one of the last customers in the Houston area to get this service.. Though Sprint's acquisition of new customers has been suspended, their customer service hasn't deminished yet.. When I need my antenna mast rasied from a 5-ft to a 10-ft mast, they did it, no questions asked.. Even their phone customer support is still running smoothly.. Even when there's a network problem at the worst hours, they're there to fix it, or at least start to fix it.. In all, I would recommend it for anyone that doesn't mind a steel tripod mounted on your roof.. I WON'T disconnect unless I was forced to..

--- C4

member for 22.1 years, 175 visits, last login: 13.5 years ago
lodged 20.9 years ago


Review by L0GiX See Profile

  • Location: South Bay,CA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • Telco party Sprint
  • CLEC party: Sprint
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

company went out of business... this was originally for a client of mine.

member for 23.7 years, 2515 visits, last login: 5.4 years ago
updated 20.9 years ago


Cursim
join:2000-09-16
Boynton Beach, FL

Cursim

Member

7000 kpbs?

Thats 7 Megabits per second dude! How is the latency?

Cursim

crazyc0ol
join:2000-07-17
San Francisco, CA

crazyc0ol

Member

Re: 7000 kpbs?

what daaaa.... 7 megabits per sec?? thas insane.. i live in san francisco and i have never heard of such speeds
Steber
join:2000-11-27
Eloy, AZ

Steber

Member

Can't be true!

I think this is a plant from Sprint to try to overcome all the bad comments. Speeds of 7,000kbph are nearly impossible, especially since they only claim "up to 2mbps" on their webpage (and I was getting 27kbits/sec last nite that's slower than a 56k modem). Also, they use static IP, not DHCP as claimed in the review!

mldbss
@aol.com

mldbss

Anon

Re: Can't be true!

7mb is perfectly possible. Sprint allows 10mb over any given channel..of course there are usually up to 200 users on any given channel so it's not normal to achieve those speeds, but given that Sprint is relatively new to the Bay Area(I live there too) it is not surprising. Too bad I live in a canyon or I would sign up for it too.
Steber
join:2000-11-27
Eloy, AZ

Steber

Member

Re: Can't be true!

Where in Sprint's documentation does it say 10mb? I want proof!
It's so damn slow here tonight that I'm having trouble posting a reply because it stalls each time!

L0GiX
When all else fails, theres always L0GiX
Premium Member
join:2000-06-30
South Bay,CA

L0GiX

Premium Member

Re: Can't be true!

I am sure the latency is atrocious, but for a user who is just going to surf the web, and check email, this is perfect.

I am also certain due to the speeds I was getting that day, that my client is probably one of two persons in that area with this service.

As for the 10 megabits per second comment I found this at this web address: http://www.sprintbroadband.com/availability/residential.pl

"Note: No matter how fast your connection to the Internet, speeds on the Internet itself can affect download performance. While Sprint Broadband Direct users are connected to a shared channel operating at 10 megabits per second, actual downloads from the Internet will vary in speed. Factors that govern an Internet download speed include the performance of the server hosting the website requested, the bandwidth of the connection between the website's server and the Internet, Internet traffic patterns, router latency and backbone usage. FTP file transfers will be received at higher speeds than HTML web pages. Certain times of day tend to have higher Internet traffic than others. Components in user's PCs may also impose certain speed limitations."
Steber
join:2000-11-27
Eloy, AZ

Steber

Member

Re: Can't be true!

Like I said, can't possibly be true, and isn't!
They are using ethernet internally, so naturally it runs at 10Mbps FOR THEM but there is no way you can get anything approaching that speed TO YOUR HOUSE! You don't have a direct connection to their network.
If you read the whole thing you will find the speed THAT YOU CAN GET! In the case of Sprint BBD they claim
for Residential Products:
Maximum Download Speed 5 MBPS
Typical Download Speed 512 Kbps to 1.5Mbps
Maximum Upload Speed 256 Kbps

Of course those are maximums and nobody is going to get anything close to that.

L0GiX
When all else fails, theres always L0GiX
Premium Member
join:2000-06-30
South Bay,CA

L0GiX

Premium Member

Re: Can't be true!

I know what I saw from the results of the Speed Test tools here on DSL Reports. I did the test a couple of times to make sure it wasn’t just a fluke, the lowest I saw it was 6000kbps.

It may have been that all the right elements in the world were aligned for me to test at that speed. I will test it again next time I am there and add an update. As with Cable and other such shared devices on a network, my client’s speed will decrease. Again its far much better then dial up and much better the waiting for 6 months for DSL to either be pushed back another month before installation or not show up at all.

I still think it is a good service that it was installed within a week of the date ordered on the scheduled date, and that tech support actually followed through on what they said they were going to do.

It’s a sad state of affairs that it is a rare occurrence to see a company keeps their scheduled times of installation and maintenance, along with providing adequate support for their services.

Well everywhere but Arizona it seems.

[text was edited by author 2000-12-05 23:43:24]

DCobra
@mediaone.net

DCobra

Anon

Re: Can't be true!

I'm a Sprint tech in the SF area, and the fact is that this service is capable of 8 megabit per second download, however Sprint won't guarantee that. I see those speeds daily on installs. Not everyone will get those speeds all of the time, alot is dependent on internet traffic, website traffic and all of the other normal bottlenecks. Ping times are a little high, Sprint doesn't recommend the service for onling gaming, but I'd still like to try it when the service becomes available where I live.
Steber
join:2000-11-27
Eloy, AZ

Steber

Member

Re: Can't be true!

Gaming? Forget it! With the long ping times, long delays and frequent outages, it will never work!
daimig
join:2000-12-20
Lathrop, CA

daimig to DCobra

Member

to DCobra
I've been using BBD in San Jose for about a week, and other than a 30 sec burst of 224kbps I generally never get over 56kbps. That, along with the frequent dead stops, it just about make my 56K dial-up look fast. My rating so far for BBD = I want my money back!

SMCinAZ
Premium Member
join:2000-11-29
Glendale, AZ

SMCinAZ to DCobra

Premium Member

to DCobra
Hey, Sprint Tech, why does the guy in SF get Speed 3950(down)/215(up) kbps and I in San Jose get 101 down and 9 up tonight? Is that just fine with you?

haha
@sprintbbd.net

haha to L0GiX

Anon

to L0GiX
For the last few days or so, I think their services are kind of unstable. Are you guys out there experiencing the same? I live in San Jose and am using Sprintbroad band since early November 2000. Before this week, the bandwidth I was getting was just awesome though haven't seen 6 mbps. The best I have gotten so far is 5.5 mbps. I guess that is close enough. However, for the last few days, I am getting something like 300 - 400 kbps down and less than 100 kbps up. Also, their DNS and upstream connectivity would go down every now and then. Is this anything to do with the power shortage that we have in SF Bay area? Before this, it was averaging about 1.8 to 2 mbps. BTW, I usually use it around 9-10pm. I guess as more and more people get on it, we get less and less share of the channel. I wonder how many users Sprint is putting on the same channel, or how many channels are available for our area. I would hope that they will just keep adding more channels quickly as demand increases.

nomoresprint
@home.com

nomoresprint

Anon

Re: Can't be true!

Have you ever wondered why Sprint doesn't offer a 30 day free trial or money back offer??

Welcome to SPRINT. Get used to it, cause this is your life from here on out. It always works great in the beginning. Now you get to experience the lesser side of Sprint....."Customer Service".

Laughable

AZGuy
@208.24.x.x

AZGuy to Steber

Anon

to Steber
I work for Sprint, it is 10Mbit like the gentleman says.
dslag6
join:2000-09-07
Tucson, AZ

dslag6

Member

Re: Can't be true!

AZGuy, Do you use SBBD in AZ and what do you get? Anywhere near 7000??

ThomasP
@uswest.net

ThomasP

Anon

Re: Can't be true!

My brother lives in central Phoenix. His dl's range from around 1.2mbps to 4mbps. He did get around 6.7 mbps one night but has never gotten that speed again. He has gotten a few dl's of 300kbps a few times but rarely. But his uploads are always around 170kbps to 250kbps. The others I know who have SBBD has had crappy service like dl's of 200kbps to 600kbps. I would have tried SBBD but my apartment complex did not grant me permission to put one up. I am forced to use Qwest DSL which I am happy with getting dl's up to 550kbps and uploads of 240kbps.

broadbndgeek
Premium Member
join:2000-08-03
Graham, WA

broadbndgeek to Steber

Premium Member

to Steber

Speed Chart with Accurate Info. [Updated]

10Mbps= 1,220KB/sec
9Mbps= 1,098KB/sec [ 1MB/sec]
8Mbps= 976KB/sec
7Mbps= 854KB/sec
6Mbps= 732KB/sec
5Mbps= 610KB/sec
4Mbps= 588KB/sec
3Mbps= 366KB/sec
2Mbps= 244KB/sec
1Mbps= 122KB/sec

128KB/sec= 1,024Kbps [ this is true. however when you have 1,000,000 / 8 = 125,000 / 1024 = 122KB/sec ]

I just want to say thanks for the moderator, who nicely pointed at my mistake.

[text was edited by author 2000-12-18 14:21:59]

justin
..needs sleep
Mod
join:1999-05-28
2031
Billion BiPAC 7800N
Apple AirPort Extreme (2011)

justin

Mod

Re: Speed Chart with Accurate Info.

Actually that is wrong!

10Mbps = 10000000 megabits-per-second (note.. data bit rates K, M etc are NOT a factor of 2!!! .. ie 56k modems are 56,000 bits per second!!!)

10000000 / 8 / 1024 (to get "K" per second of data) = 1220kbps

which is not 1280 like you said.
Minor point of order, but... your title did say "accurate"

nsevenkn
@centurytel.net

nsevenkn

Anon

Re: Speed Chart with Accurate Info.

Uh, hmmmmm....
How about a little fly in the ointment.
We refer to this as "powers of two".

1K = 2^10 = 1024
1 meg = 2^20 = 1048576
1 gig = 2^30 = 1073741824

justin
..needs sleep
Mod
join:1999-05-28
2031
Billion BiPAC 7800N
Apple AirPort Extreme (2011)

justin

Mod

Re: Speed Chart with Accurate Info.

powers of two / factors of two .. sorry my typo.. but the point was that data communications bitrates are not measured as powers of two..they are measured as quantities of 1000 and 1000000 ..

so a megabit of communications speed is not the same number of bits as a megabit of memory.

broadbndgeek
Premium Member
join:2000-08-03
Graham, WA

broadbndgeek to justin

Premium Member

to justin
If you do notice that I converted all of my speeds to KiloBytes a sec not Kilobits a sec. So actually it is 1,220KB/sec not Kbps.

BandMan
@mindspring.com

BandMan to broadbndgeek

Anon

to broadbndgeek
You calculations confuse me!
"128KB/sec= 1,024Kbps" As 128,000 bits per second generaly
does not equal 1,024,000 bits per second.
Bytes per second is not a command data transfer rate.
Frames/sec or cells/sec

aurugeno
@152.xx.164.Houston1.

aurugeno to Steber

Anon

to Steber

Re: Can't be true!

10mbps maximum, possibility of 7mbps CAN BE CONFIRMED, I don't know about you other guys, but you people from Colorado have some slimey stuff on your hands...
System

to Steber

Anon

to Steber
I can't believe it, Sprintboardband make me so disappointed.It's usually lost packages around 5pm to 9pm everyday, ping is not too stable, and several re-tranmissions. I always got cut off in the middle of the game. I don't know about u guys out there, for me (don't even think about use it to play multiple players game on the internet!! "sigh". Forget it, im Really MAD!

Matt in SF
@megapath.net

Matt in SF

Anon

Re: Can't be true!

I agree with almost every post on this thread--except the first one.

I am going back to DShell it's that bad.

Terribly unreliable connection. 3:30pm - 7:00pm is unusable. I use a proprietary program that uses internet access--I've used it at 300 baud back in the day and at 384k on DSL and there has never been a problem - rock solid connection. Not now.

And I call sprint tech "support" and sit on hold for up to 44 minutes listening to the God awful 9 minute music loop, then a pimply faced teenager comes on and says, "Hmmm I looked at your stats and it looks fine. Are you sure it's not your firewall? Maybe your nic is defective." Yeah okay.

My DSL was only iDSL because I live too far from the CO. But a reliable 100k connection is better than 400 sometimes 1000 sometimes 30 sometimes 0 sometimes...
da_insider
join:2000-12-10
Olathe, KS

da_insider

Member

Just wait!

[text was edited by author 2000-12-16 23:42:12]

[text was edited by author 2000-12-16 23:42:58]
rccp
join:2000-07-07
Union City, CA

rccp

Member

Re: Just wait!

I have install my Sprint broadband service two days ago. After installation. The technician tell me us the www.dslreports.com to test Down/Up load speed. The first day reading was 654K/27K
I have test again yesterday the reading was 395K/11K. I have face the extremely slow this morning. I have had test two time in the morning. I get the reading 27K/*NA and 311K/2K this king reading. Gosh what¡¯s happen. It is slow than 28K modem ?

Sikki
join:2000-09-19
Moosup, CT

Sikki

Member

So how is your job with SBBD???

There is no way in the world that SBBD can give anyone 1/10th of what they say. I've been screwed twice by them. Those results MUST be to their private FTP and not anywhere else. If by some stroke of magic your message is true, enjoy it while you can. Knowing Sprint they will sell your sector into the ground and your speeds will be a lot slower than a 56k with packet loss in the double digit range.

L0GiX
When all else fails, theres always L0GiX
Premium Member
join:2000-06-30
South Bay,CA

L0GiX

Premium Member

Re: So how is your job with SBBD???

In no way do I work for Sprint.

I am only reporting here from what I have seen at my clients site in San Francisco, Sunset area.

I have seen other places in San Jose that have major problems and those have been reported by the customer that has that service.

This client has had service for four months and for a person that only needs to browse the web and download some files every now and then this is a fine product for her as long as the product keeps up to what has been providing.

I wish you luck on finding other way to get on broadband internet service.

SMCinAZ
Premium Member
join:2000-11-29
Glendale, AZ

SMCinAZ

Premium Member

What really chaffs my hyde...

...is that SF and Oakland get damn fast speeds, down and up, and 45 miles away. those of us in San Jose get slow downloads, pathetically slow uploads, huge timeouts/dropped packets, and pings that are satellite-like much of the time.

Then, after overselling the wholly Holy Hell out of our area, they skip over us for sector splitting and do Arizona, CO, and I now believe all of the other areas of the country they cover.

Unbelievable.

•••

WHOISEEIT
@dialsprint.net

WHOISEEIT

Anon

Sprint Board Band Direct dish

Today in my neighborhood I say the dish who its on a real long tower attached to the top of the house. My question is the poll was long and it was no trees near. My house has a big tree in the back would my poll be bigger also Im positive by the height this thing will get a shock of lightning. is it grounded. Sprint sounds like a good deal its a Tier-3 at teh fraction of the cost!






Review by cat445 See Profile

  • Location: Western Springs, Cook, IL, USA
  • Cost: $40 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 7 days
Fast downloads, system seldom down
packet loss
Good service for browsing and downloading files. Happy with it.
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Installation was professional with no problems. Few service problems. In two years, service was down four or five times and then for less than 30 minutes.

Very fast downloads, but variable. Somedays slow, but then reverts to higher speed. High latency and packet loss are problems on many ocassions. Other times very low latency and packet loss are observed. Would not want to be a gamer and use sprint.

Sprint BBD has been great for our family. Hope it continues in business.


member for 22.2 years, 1035 visits, last login: 13.6 years ago
lodged 20.9 years ago


Review by shutrbug See Profile

  • Location: San Jose, Santa Clara, CA, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 6 days
Blazingly fast downloads; No more waiting for Godot (I mean PacBell)
They drilled a hole in the wall of my house for the cable!
No more waiting for DSL to come to my neighborhood...
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Edit: Well, it's goodbye to Sprint Broadband Direct. I've made the switch to SBC Yahoo! DSL. They installed an RT near my home and I'm getting about 1200/130 consistently with DSL and nice, consistent ping times. So now it's time to cancel my SBBD and take the monstrosity of an antenna off my roof.

I've wanted DSL ever since I first heard of it. Unfortunately, I live too far (22,000 ft) from the nearest CO, and Pac Bell moves at glacial speed in terms of adding new COs. I hoped that IDSL would be more reasonably priced, but alas it is not to be. I just happened to check the Sprint website on the way to checking my PCS service when I saw the tab for Broadband. Lo and behold, they have service in San Jose and the on-line prequalification was positive. I called up last week and scheduled an on-site evaluation for Monday, 10/16. After some fussing around with a defective signal meter, the installers told me that the line-of-sight to the tower on Monument Peak was clear of trees, and that I would have good signal. Unfortunately, I had to go to work, so I called that afternoon to schedule the installation for Wednesday morning.

To make a long story short, I've got the 18" diamond-shaped antenna on a three foot mast atached to the gable of my roof with the coax cable routed under the shake shingles. I don't think my neighbors will complain... they haven't so far! The installers ended up drilling a hole through the exterior wall for the cable into my home office to my dismay. DSL would have been neater but much more hassle! The tech tried to install a 3Com NIC in my Compaq 5170, but it conflicted with something, perhaps the on-board Ethernet port, so he removed it. Now I'll have to buy another NIC or a router to share the single static IP address. Total installation time was about four hours.

As posted earlier, Sprint bought WavePath along with their licenses to select markets in the US. The WavePath site says that the equipment and installation used to cost $800 and the service was $150 per month. We're getting a heck of a deal with free installation, $100 equipment (with two year contract), and $50 a month! Sprint is doing a careful roll-out here in San Jose; no advertising so far. I'm sure there will be a backlog once the ads hit.

Advertised performance: 0.5 to 1.5 Mpbs download typical, 5 Mpbs burst download, 256 kbps max upload.

My performance: 4.8 to 6 Mpbs download (as measured on DSLReports after tweaks), 100 to 220 kpbs upload. DrPing reports 16 to 17 routers as not responding... maybe those are the cause of poor gaming performance reported by others. The average of the sites that do respond is 85.

Lots of people have complained about the Earthlink ISP that Sprint provides. I'm happy with the six e-mail address and six home pages with 6 MB storage each. I downgraded the tech support just slightly in that they seemed a bit annoyed that I called to ask the name of the mail and news servers.

Overall, I'm really glad that I signed up with Sprint Broadband. It exceeds my expectations in almost every way!

member for 23.4 years, 2103 visits, last login: 12.6 years ago
updated 20.9 years ago

System

Anon

Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

I also could have gotten Spring BBD in Campbell, CA but wanted good pings. So I'm still in the process of waiting for my DSL line to be activated by PacBell. BTW, did you try asking them to be a beta tester??? I was offered that (50 bucks a month but no installation or EQUIPMENT charges, plus, I didn't have to sign no contracts). I know it's saaaaad....but my parents just wouldn't let me get service that would leave the house with holes in its walls (damn it). GO WESTMONT WARRIORS!!!!!!!!!!!
--
--You are nobody until you've got a WordDoc.

shutrbug
join:2000-10-18
San Jose, CA

shutrbug

Member

Re: Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

I wish I had known about the beta test opportunity! :-( At least I'm up and running though, which is better than I could say about my attempts to get DSL.

anon
@sprintbbd.net

anon to Anon

Anon

to Anon
Everyone reading this review remember 1 thing: Sprint broadband is a SHARED service. If you can get DSL or cable, get those, as they are much better for games. Leave sprint broadband for us people that can't get anything else. If you want to play games at all, don't even consider sprint, 56k is probably better for games.

To the person who wrote the review, what tweaks did you do to achieve those speeds? Could you give exact details please? Thanks!
cajun4x4
join:2000-10-02
Rayne, LA

cajun4x4

Member

Re: Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

Yea! leave Sprint BBD for us that really need it. I have had no problem playing AC on my connection. Ping times are around 200ms basically because of the internet latency. Just two days ago they must have done some re-engineering of the connection to Genuity because ever since I have been getting lighting fast downloads from the net and the latency problems have disappeared. Time will tell.

Mark
avermeer
join:2000-09-27
Phoenix, AZ

avermeer

Member

Re: Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

Cajun -- me too. It started to suck and then did suck horribly for about a week and a half and now, suddenly, it's working fine. What did they do?
rjensen2689
join:2000-07-20
Phoenix, AZ

rjensen2689

Member

Re: Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

What sector are you located in? Im am receiving a 1-3Mbps down and 80 - 100Kbps up. I contacted the prez. Thus, the sector i am located in has improved to what the download and ping time ought to be. I can know run software than need no request time out to operate.
avermeer
join:2000-09-27
Phoenix, AZ

avermeer

Member

Re: Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

I'm in 110 and it's still working well -- even at peaks. You? However, I think the reason I'm better is more of a system-wide thing, not just the sector based on Cajun's observations.
rjensen2689
join:2000-07-20
Phoenix, AZ

rjensen2689

Member

Re: Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

Sprint BB divided sector 110. They installed some of the person in sector 110 to another sector called Southmountain 350. I was receiving 220kps download/2kbps upload. I was install with sprint BB in June. Before, I was Speedchoice with no problem. I contacted the prez of Sprint(BWG) Broadband wireless group, about the non-broadband. I emailed on Saturday. I spoke to the west regional director on Monday at 9:30 a.m. Fiveteen minutes latter, I spoke to the director of Arizona. He sent an engineer out on Tuesday. One hour after the engineers left, the arizona director called to find out if I was satisfied. I received the phone number of the western regional director and arizona director. They both informed if there is any problem, call me personaly. Not tech support. And, if I was ever nonsatisfied, they would purchase the equipment and break the contract. Part of section was splite up on Monday evening and installed into southmountain section 350. Which is a new section.

Southpaw
join:2000-08-04
Newbury Park, CA

Southpaw

Member

Wow! That's impressive!

You make it sound so easy to get hold of the top brass! If you have a strategy for doing this kind of thing so painlessly (with corporations in general), you should share it.

I work for Sprint and provide Network/PBX/PC support for the BWG folks in SF, so I know many of the sales and technical folks responsible for getting the product rolling in the Bay area. They are an awesome group of people very dedicated to providing a great product; The kind of concern you got from others definitely runs very strongly through their organization (and through Sprint in general, in my opinion). It will be very cool to watch this product really take off here.

[text was edited by author 2000-10-25 22:27:47]

swamie7
join:2000-09-22
Tucson, AZ

swamie7 to rjensen2689

Member

to rjensen2689

Re: Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

Awesome...everyone who has SBBD, remember this tactic, when you notice all those little diamond shaped antennas going up in your "hood," and your speeds have gone into the toilet...
Steber
join:2000-11-27
Eloy, AZ

Steber to rjensen2689

Member

to rjensen2689

rjensen is a Liar!

You are lying! You can't get hold of anyone important at Sprint! You can't even get a supervisor at customer service to complain about how bad the customer service is because they say there aren't any! I had to contact Kin Komando to get help turning my service back on again after Sprint was out for a whole MONTH!

shutrbug
join:2000-10-18
San Jose, CA

shutrbug to anon

Member

to anon
This was the first time I ever manually edited the Windows registry, so I just followed the instructions on DSLreports --> Tools --> Tweaks, then jumped to Registry 101. The tweak test said that my MTU was okay, but my RWIN was too low. I followed the instructions in Registry 101 and set DefaultRcvWindow=65535 just like in the example. This morning I was downloading MP3s from MP3.COM at speeds up to 1MBps (thats megabytes, not megabits)! Hope this helps....
shutrbug

shutrbug

Member

Re: Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

I finally was able to do a line quality check. I have no idea if they are good or bad nor how they compare to wired DSL connections. Here is the link to my line quality test:
http://www.dslreports.com/quality/nil/234863

Any comments would be welcomed!

Southpaw
join:2000-08-04
Newbury Park, CA

Southpaw

Member

Re: Wanted to get it too....but what about gaaaaaames!

Pretty good stats! Way better than my DSL connection.

cmaenginsb
@208.45.x.x

cmaenginsb to anon

Anon

to anon
Cable is also a shared service. In fact I've seen @home as slow as a dialup connection due to oversubscription.

Although they don't want to tell you, DSL is in a way shared. While it's an independant link to your house, you will be sharing the provider's connection to the internet which is usually the ration of 40 DSLs to a single T-1 or more.

DCobra
@mediaone.net

DCobra to anon

Anon

to anon
Here is the page with the registry edit. Happy surfin'! http://www.sprintbroadband.com/utilities/index.html
System

to Anon

Anon

to Anon
Hey pactastic!
I live in campbell also. I went to Westmont! Wow small world... But I was wondering how your DSL is going? I have DSL from Flashcom and it really sucks. I'm think bout jumping on the bandwagon for Sprint BBD. Let me know if what ever dsl company you are using is any better.

-lil girl

[text was edited by author 2000-11-16 17:49:13]

Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: Tucson, Pima, AZ, USA
  • Cost: $49 per month (12 month contract)
When it works it's very good @ <>60 KBYTES per.
Once you get through the DNS servers, that is. DNS resolution is VERY bad
It's the only game in town. I can only get 28.8 BAUD in my location.
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

For the Tucson, Arizona area.

Sprint Broadband Direct (from now on SBB) is not very good. While the download speed is excellant the DNS resoultion appears to be terrible. It appears that there are dozens of DNS requests made to download a single page. I regularly get 404 errors for CNN.COM, MSNBC.COM, and other MAJOR pages. What else can this be but a failure in SBB's DNS server.

I wish there was a way to use someone elses DNS server but wouldn't that require going through Sprints on the way?

(review was emailed from domain lycosmail.com)
lodged 20.9 years ago

cjkeeme
join:2003-01-06
Tucson, AZ

cjkeeme

Member

Better wireless in TUCSON - SimplyBits.com

In Tucson Sprint BB has (1) tower servicing the entire city. I would suggest calling SimplyBits a local company with (30) towers and growing.

Great company. Here is the phone number: (520) 545-7293.

Jeff

Review by dneumark See Profile

  • Location: Berkeley, Alameda, CA, USA
  • Cost: $40 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 7 days
Fast and reliable
The upgrade to a web cache server has caused me problems
Pretty good unless you need to deal with a proxy server (actually this is OK now)
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Well, here I am about two years later. Sprint has basically been OK, with speeds similar to those given below in my earlier review. The major problem has been that they did something to their transmitter in San Jose that required my antenna to be lengthened from 10 to 20-25'. This did not go over well with the family. So I am planning to switch to Comcast, which just became available in my neighborhood (Oakland, in the hills behind the Claremont Hotel). It sounds like Comcast has its own problems, so let's see what happens. Incidentally, does Sprint have any interest in reclaiming its old equipment? Or do I need to take the antenna down myself?

After building a new house with hard-wired networking capability, I was extremely annoyed that neither DSL nor cable modem were available. So I went with Sprint Broadband. I don't particularly like the 10' high antenna on my roof, but I guess I'm used to it now. And it is reasonably fast- about 2 Mb download and 150-200 Kb upload. It has worked reliably; the one day it was down I was able to fix the problem with a phone call.

The one problem that has caused me some irritation is associated with Sprint's recent upgrade to a web cache server. I need to access research info from the University of California, and web cache server apparently acts as a firewall to the proxy server used by UC to restrict access to their databases. I have complained to Sprint about this situation but have not made much headway toward getting it resolved.

member for 22.9 years, 92 visits, last login: 15.7 years ago
updated 21 years ago


SMCinAZ
Premium Member
join:2000-11-29
Glendale, AZ

SMCinAZ

Premium Member

What Web Cache Server?

I have seen nothing to suggest that Sprint uses this or "switched" to it recently. Where did you get that information? I share it with Sygate 4.0 with no problems at all.

Also, do you REALLY get 150-200kb upload speeds? Hard to believe since no one I have heard of gets anywhere near that in the Bay Area.

How are the pings?
dneumark
join:2001-05-04
Berkeley, CA

dneumark

Member

Re: What Web Cache Server?

Maybe 200 kbs is a bit high, but I think I got it once. 150 is more typical. Pings are fine.

Regarding the web cache server, this was a change made around April 1. I had no trouble with the UC proxy server before then. I was able to track this down because when I sent comments to the UC proxy server folks, they said the IP number from where my message was sent differed from my actual IP number. I called Sprint with this information and they said the anomalous IP number corresponded to their web cache server. So that's how I got this information. Sprint was not exactly forthcoming with it.

SMCinAZ
Premium Member
join:2000-11-29
Glendale, AZ

SMCinAZ

Premium Member

Re: What Web Cache Server?

I do not think that they are using a proxy cache or serve for all sectors. When I go to any site that "ID's" my IP address (like DSLR, for example-see 'tools') my IP is correctly identified as the one assigned to it by Sprint and the modem. Sometimes for kicks, I will put in the address of a public proxy server in my browser to see what IP shows on sites.

I wish I could get 150 up and good pings. Typical is 25-50 up and variable pings in the 100-1100 areas. Totally horrible. Maybe they will finish the sector splitting for real this week and I get some improvement. Has been just freakin' God awful the last few nights.

Gorkypah$
join:2001-01-06
Riverton, UT

Gorkypah$ to dneumark

Member

to dneumark
Have you tried to access the site on port 8080? I posted about this earlier today. See my forum post at »SBBD Transparent Proxy on Port 80?.

If it doesn't work, then I don't know what to say. Apparently anything that goes through port 80 is transparently proxied by Sprint, although it probably varies by sector.
dneumark
join:2001-05-04
Berkeley, CA

dneumark to SMCinAZ

Member

to SMCinAZ
For what it's worth, I checked my upload speed just now and got 210 kbs.

SMCinAZ
Premium Member
join:2000-11-29
Glendale, AZ

SMCinAZ

Premium Member

Re: What Web Cache Server?

Lucky you. Mine is 39.

Dragons Bane
@sprintbbd.net

Dragons Bane to SMCinAZ

Anon

to SMCinAZ
I am not sure what people are talking about here. I have NEVER seen good upload speeds. My dl are fine (100-300k) but my ul are terrible (12-20k)! Anyone have thoughts on this?
System

Anon

Speeds all over the place

In my sector in Oakland the speeds vary all over the place. So does the packet loss and the time outs. It's dynamite when it works and it does so often enough so I could recommend it BUT it is frustrating when you drop off now and then for no reason and the upload speed esp. drops to nothing. I have been on for two months now.
SPFiredrake
join:2003-03-04
Salt Lake City, UT

SPFiredrake

Member

Speeds? HAH!

I dunno about you guys, but I am lucky if my connection is even close to 500kbps down (which is still pretty good, mind you). I only have about 21kbps up, which is really quite sad. For some reason though, I'm connecting through the California server, even though I live in Utah :/

Go figure that they would screw up something to that extent...
dbert
join:2000-12-21
Bountiful, UT

dbert

Member

Re: Speeds? HAH!

Love my Sprint Broadband Direct. Had it since they first came to Utah over two years ago. Uploads are weak but downloads are usually great. I hope they dont throw in the towel. Still no Cable or DSL in my neighborhood.

Review by rab See Profile

  • Location: Saratoga, Santa Clara, CA, USA
  • Cost: $54 per month
Reliability and speed have gotten excellent over the past year
Do not accept new customers
Works for me!
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:

This service has stabilized since not accepting new customers. The wireless service is apparently immune to weather, etc. I am a 5 year (+/-) customer. I have no viable alternative (no cable or DSL) and am very happy with the service.

This may be due to the fact that they are no longer adding installations.

member for 23.2 years, 633 visits, last login: 1.7 years ago
lodged 21.1 years ago







Review by Rubicon6 See Profile

  • Location: Flemington, Hunterdon, NJ, USA
  • Cost: $59 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Telco party Sprint
Offer good bandwidth despite high home-to-CO distance.
Little Pricey.
Once you have tasted OOL, you'll never be satisfied with anything else.
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've dealt with DSL in the past so I was extremely skeptical about getting quality service especially considering the distance limitations of DSL. At approximately over 15K feet, I am getting consistent 1500/256 speeds and latency.

Also, they are as efficient as they can be for a DSL service provider. With Sprint, they can address any issue directly unlike other CLECS that do their occasional finger pointing. Time from order and installation was about 1 week.

Not much more I can say - which in most cases - a GOOD thing! They delivered what they promised.

update:
This needs to be moved to Sprint's Fast Connect services. Also, I recently read about security issues with their service:

»Sprint DSL's Gaping Security Hole

member for 23.1 years, 2419 visits, last login: 13 years ago
lodged 21.1 years ago

Bobcat79
Premium Member
join:2001-02-04

Bobcat79

Premium Member

Well, I'm confused!

You submit a review for a wireless provider, talk about DSL, and even mention OOL. Huh??

Rubicon6
Premium Member
join:2001-02-20
Philly

Rubicon6

Premium Member

Re: Well, I'm confused!

Haha. My mistake. Moderators at this time have moved this to the appropriate thread. Still hasn't fixed my problem of finding where to post a new review. I have some RCN experiences that I'd like to share

Go Chargers7
Fa Shizzle Ma Nizzle
Premium Member
join:2002-09-24
Huntington Beach, CA

Go Chargers7

Premium Member

Re: Well, I'm confused!

I IM'd a mod to move this to Sprint "FastConnect" which is their DSL department. Sprint BB direct is wireless only according to their website.

Review by mdh95 See Profile

  • Location: Chambersburg, Franklin, PA, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month (12 month contract)
  • Telco party Sprint
Setup was easy. The dsl modem is better at maintaining the ip address than Comcasts cable modem but is much slower
If Sprint didn't have people with their heads up their A@$, it would be a wonderful company (see below)
Be sure to document the package you ordered, every person you speak to (get their employee #). Record the calls if possible.
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Since I've had both Comcast service and Sprint service in the past 6 months, I would go with Comcast hands-down. Their 1.5mbps connection is way faster than the dsl. It never slowed down on nights or weekends, although I suspect that this may vary depending on the area.

FYI: the only reason I went with Sprint is because Comcast did not allow VPN connections on their $40/month service. They required the $95/month service (3.5mbps) service to use VPN. Comcast has changed their policy to allow the $40/month service to allow VPN, so their is no justification to go with dsl. Also, Comcast lets you go month-to-month. Sprint doesn't

Below is the detail of my experience with Sprint:

Everything started off just fine. The self install kit arrived quickly and setup was easy. The problems started when the bills arrived. The first months bill had 3-4 errors on it. It took about an hour of analyzing the bill and speaking with customer service to get it (supposedly) straightened out.

When the second months bill arrived, there were 18 (yes, 18) errors on it. It turns out that the customer service rep that I talked to for the problems on the first months bill had done the following without asking me (or even mentioning it).

1. Upgraded my dsl service from the 512/128 to the 1.5mbps/384 service, which is $10 a month more.

2. Signed me up for some service policy for $5.95 a month in case I have problems with my phone lines in my house.

3. Somehow deleted the intro package that I signed up for, which included the first 3 months for $29.99 instead of $49.99.

The third months bill arrived recently and there were only 2 errors on it. On this call to the customer service (I am only speaking to supervisors at this point) they give me a flat credit for ~$10 more than what I am owed. I have to say this is the absolute worst experience I've had with a company in my entire life.

As far as a technical standpoint, the dsl is very reliable. I can talk on the same line with no problem and dial out on a modem (RAS connection) with no problems. Sprint provides a good supply (5) of line filters so your regular phones don't get any static overflow from the dsl connection.



member for 21.2 years, 1 visits, last login: 21.1 years ago
lodged 21.2 years ago


spk037
@208.24.x.x

spk037

Anon

Sprint Broadband ?????

Now if you only had a clue to which service you ordered o perfect one. Also, were you really suprised your 512k service you ordered was slowrer than the 1.5 service from comcast ???????