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Review by jedialfred 
Posted: 7.3 years ago
member for 7.3 years, 4 visits, last login: 5.9 years ago
 Orem,Utah,UT
 $49 per month (24 month contract)
 about 14 days
 Sprint
CLEC party: Sprint
 "Faaaaast"
 "upload sucks"
 "love it"
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best service ever
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Review by radougherty
UPDATED: 7.3 years ago
member for 10.3 years, 3329 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Mundelein,Lake,IL
$49 per month
about 42 days
"It works"
"Long lead time to install, network performance all over the place"
"If you have no alternatives go with them, they're better then satellite (at least in my case)"
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UPDATED 8/13/02
For the past 8 months I've been fighting with Sprint over excessive packet loss (>10% which is the level that Sprint has told me that they agree is excessive). Techs have been on site and done remote testing and say that everything is fine, but I still have the packet loss. This loss is between my home and the first hop on their network (Sears Tower) and not thier ISP connection. While Sprint has at least taken the time to try to correct the problem they just can't seem to get it fixed. What's upsetting is that there are times (no particular day or time, it's all over) where it works fine, 2% - 4% loss which I can live with, and other times where it's 18% - 20%. I've got a lead on another provider that just started to provide wireless that I can get (no IDSL/ADSL/SDSL or cable modem) and hopefully will be able to dump Sprint next week.
I live in bandwidth hell, no DSL from anyone (even thought there's an SBC project Pronto remote terminal less then 1,000 feet from my house) due to Ameritech's poor infrastructure and no other wireless provider is available. I need access to our corporate network via VPN so DirecPC and Starband are no good. When SBBD first arrived in Chicago I tried to get their service but was 2 miles too far for their authorized coverage. In late August I was notified that they had expanded coverage and was not eligable to receive service so I ordered right away. I went with a month to month service since I didn't want to get locked into 12 or 24 months based on some of the reviews that I've seen on DSLR. Install was to occur on Saturday 10/6 between 11AM and 2PM, at 2:30 nobody had shown up or called yet. Thanks to the folks here I was able to get the phone number for support since the only number of SBBD's web site was the order line which is closed on weekends. They checked and said the installer was running late and would be there between 4 and 4:30, he finally showed up at 4:15.
SBBD tried to do a pre-install site survey but they didn't have a ladder tall enough to get on my roof so he check when he got there. He couldn't mount the antenna where I had hoped but said I could get a signal with a 5 foot mast (he could visably see the Sears Tower from my roof) so we proceeded. Took about 70 minutes from the time he started to when we had a signal up and running. He ran the cable where I requested, which caused him a bit more work, but he didn't charge anything extra for it.
So far the service is OK, nothing great, but a lot better then POTS dial or ISDN. Ping times are all over the place, low end 30ms high end 180ms with occasional 400ms, plus I see anywhere from 5% to 11% packetloss. Download speeds range from 128Kbps up to 1.4Mbps with 400kbps to 500Kbps being the norm, upload usually around 60Kbps. Again not great but better then dial.
I've had to call service twice, first to see if there was anything they could do to fix the packet loss, he tried pushing down a new config, which he said sometimes helps, but it didn't. The next time was I lost the connection for a couple of minutes then say my IP addresses had changed again so I called to see what they were supposed to be this time (I have two), the tech said I now had 7, so he changed the config, which caused another download and new addresses again. Usually not a big deal by my Linksys BEFSR81 has a firmware problem where DHCP and the SBBD modem aren't talking properly, you get an address but no gateway or DNS info.
Overall I'm fairly happy with the service so far. While I wish I still had my Telocity/DirecTVDSL SDSL 784Kbps service which I had at my old home this is the best alternative that's available to me at this time. The system does work with the VPN system (Shiva/Intel Netstructure) so I'm happy. Service has answered the phone within 60 seconds of getting in the queue, not bad compared to some other services I've had to deal with for home broadband service. The biggest problem I have is with the wife, she's not at all happy with the antenna on the roof, first thing out of her mouth was how long do we have to have that thing? When Ameritech finally decideds to start Project Pronto in Illinois again maybe I'll consided switching to ADSL, but only if they up their downstream speed, 768Kbps for $49.95/month is a bit on the high side compared to many of the other ILEC's out there offering DSL service.
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 Review by liht
UPDATED: 7.3 years ago
member for 9.3 years, 3128 visits, last login: 5 days ago
Scottsdale,Maricopa,AZ
$50 per month (24 month contract)
about 4 days
"pretty darn fast"
"uploads are rather shoddy. some downtime, bad pings"
"its good if its all you can get."
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ISP: Earthlink
Provider: Sprint
System: Sprint Wireless broadband (formerly Speedchoice)
Modem: Hybrid Modem
ethernet card: linksys 10/100
Tech support: VERY FRIENDLY, VERY HELPFUL
Installation: about 4 hours, had to do some drilling and such. Nice
installers too.
Speed: It depends. The system is a BURST system. ive had up to 1MBps and
as low as 140kbps. It usually just depends on the internet congestion.
My connection has settled down to about 300kbps, but it fluctuates
(usually higher) often. from ftp.netscape.com, i was getting in excess of 180KBps.
Price: $39.99/m ; equipment$: $99/2yr ct, $199/1yr, $399/m.
Installation: Free.
Drawbacks: MUST have LINE OF SITE to South Mountain and Shaw Butte(?)
If theres Trees in the way, you either have to cut them down, OR have a
big ass pole mounted to your house OR have a big ol' tripod on your
roof. Also, must be within 35 miles of these mountains (AZ)
Very pleased!
**update**
well after about 6 months of this, my modem fried out, and i had to get a new one. the darkgreen one. and the guy moved me into a new sector. speeds went up, and ping got better. but of course over time, all good things must come to an end.
its generally 2mbit down/15kB/s up. pings are around 80ms with online games, its bearable.
thank god im hopefully moving to cable in a month or so. the contract is up and they raised the price by $5 so now i *think* we're paying about $50/m. cable is cheaper for us since we already pay all that money for the digital stuff, so $35/m for better service...hm...sure!
its been fun.
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Review by pdog3
UPDATED: 7.3 years ago
member for 8.7 years, 89 visits, last login: 5.7 years ago
Pearland,Brazoria,TX
$45 per month (12 month contract)
about 3 days
"Fast, reliable downloads. Efficient installation. Good reliability."
"Upload speeds are slow if that is important to you."
"Very effective alternative to cable and DSL"
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===Update - 7/29/02 Change from SBB to Earthlink Cable====
Originally had Sprint Broadband. Was one of the fortunate ones who actually had reasonably good luck with them - must not have been too many people in this sector.
Anyway, when my yearly contract expired, Sprint decided to up the monthly fee $10/month, and only $5/mo if we ditched earthlink as our news/mail provider - all in all close to $60/month. Of course this didn't sit to well with me, so decided to check out other options in the area. Earthlink was running a $41.95/mo, no installation, modem, or contract fees (think this may be a nation wide promotion - where available, of course). Decided to try them out. The sales rep indicated that would be contacted by the cable provider in 24 to 48 hours.
In this area, Time Warner is the cable provider for the service. Encountered a few problems with the coordination of the installation. They didn't call to set up an appointment. When I called back earthlink to ask for their help, the customer svc. rep. put me on hold on and off for 20 minutes as they tried to find out where my order got dropped on Time Warner's end. This went on for nearly two weeks, when finally someone came out and installed the service. (Perhaps I was too patient, though was not completely betting the farm the the installation hassle was going to be indicative of the internet service).
Once the installation was completed, it has been reasonably smooth sailing. Download peak speeds are not quite as fast as I had with SBB, however, the downloads are more repeatable without the packet loss (800 - 1200 kb/s). Uploads are considerably faster, too (200-500 kb/s) (anyone familiar with SBB knows this is certainly an issue).
All in all, earthlink has been good value for the money. Being a hick from OZ, kinda disappointed that the KS based Sprint let me down...in the end, Adam Smith could have foretold the future of this experience.
===========================================================Signed up online for Sprint BBD, and the web site indicated installation would be one week. Sprint called to confirm my order the next day and indicated that they could come out even sooner for installation. Very professional and friendly customer service support.
When they came out to my house, the installation tech. indicated that he needed to mount the digitial transceiver on a 10' pole atop the pinnacle of my roof (to get the necessary line of site with the transmitter). Realizing that this would not be too attractive to the neighbors, we came up with an alternative. Got lucky...the transceiver was instead mounted on the backside of the chimney (unnoticable from front side of the house). Total installation time was less than 4 hours. Has been up and running since without any issues.
Below is a sampling of the speed tests in the last few days:
3/10/01 12:00 3762/95 Megapath - SJC, CA
3/11/01 10:01 1698/125 Nac.Net - NY
3/12/01 06:02 2057/211 Linkline - LA, CA
3/16/01 19:02 2907/112 Megapath - SJC, CA
3/17/01 10:08 3710/80 Megapath - SJC, CA
Average download/upload speeds: 2722/136 kbps
Overall, Sprint BBD is a very effective alternative for high speed internet access.
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Review by pills0
UPDATED: 7.3 years ago
member for 8.4 years, 96 visits, last login: 4.2 years ago
Salt Lake City,Salt Lake,UT
$65 per month (12 month contract)
about 1 days
Sprint
CLEC party: Sprint
"at first was good,, now its the most pitifull thing iv ever used"
"everything about this POS service is a bad point"
"65 bucks a month for really bad speeds is highway robbery"
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service was really good when first installed,,, now service sucks,,,, micro outages,,, low low speeds (their range for judging whats considered broadband is so "broad" that having just a tich over ISDN speeds qualifies as promised service)
tech support is horrible,,,, all they can tell u is either go and do the gheyish speed test of thiers,, or they cant help you at all.......
in total ive had this for over a year now,, why u ask?? cause it has been thee only alternative to dialup.... but i just found out tonight that i can get att cable in my area now so ill be on the phone with sprint ASAP to cancel the service and to have them come and haul off that POS dish of thiers......
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Review by waterrat
Posted: 7.4 years ago
member for 7.4 years, 1 visits, last login: 7.4 years ago
Clovis,Fresno,CA
 Business customer
$150 per month (24 month contract)
about 18 days
"It was available when nothing else was. Static IP."
"Upload speed and packet loss."
"Unacceptable for "business class" service."
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After Sprint Broadband installed, initial tests were good. Within a few months, though, I began to notice problems communicating with the main office billing system (we are a satellite office), but thought problems were in the computer systems (main and satellite). Extensive checks and tests have narrowed the problem to incredibly slow upload speeds (avg 43 kbps), high latency, and/or unacceptable packet loss rates. All or some of these problems exist in every test over different times. Sprint does not guarantee upload speeds, so basically I live with it or switch. The person I spoke to on the phone didn't seem to care much either way. Our office is in a pocket with no dsl or broadband. I'm looking into satellite...
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Review by SStrike
Posted: 7.4 years ago
member for 7.4 years, 12 visits, last login: 7.3 years ago
San Jose,Santa Clara,CA
$39 per month (24 month contract)
about 10 days
"Technician did a good job of installing the service"
"Tons of packet loss, never on 24/7, Bad for gaming"
"Your better off with DSL"
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I've had sprintbroadband since last september because i couldn't get DSL and this is the worst wireless isp you could want aside from DirectPC. From upon ordering they gave me a certain date that the technician would be there to set it up. I waited that day taking off work and he never came. So i called them up and they said he'd be there tomorrow same thing happen. This happen until about the end of the week when the technicial finally came. Talk about bad service! The only upside to this was the technician was friendly, did a good job of installing the service and was honest about it. He said that there would be some downsides to this service and people would eventually get screwed over so becareful.
The first few months were a smooth ride then everything began to go down hill. I recieve a ton of packet loss and its always down at night. Thats right it doesn't stay up 24/7 like DSL does. Sprint will do what they need to cheat you, then screw you over. Their speeds aren't whats advertised. 1.5mbps? nah.. I'd be lucky if i could get anything over 200kbps.. I've had the tech support guy tell me that it was the site problem not the service. I've tested my friends dsl on a t3 server which he got speeds around 1.5mbps while sprint 50kbps.. now would you consider that sprints problem or the site? Its not heavy traffic either heh..
If your a hardcore gamer you don't want to bother with this, you'll get pings around 50-100 then it'll spike up to 2000 and be constant.
The problem with line of sight technology is something as simple as a bird or tree blocking your dish can render your entire service useless.
Sprint Overview:
$39.99 a month
2 Year Contract(300$ termination fee)
Free installation, & equipment
1.5mbps/256kbps(yeah right..)
I have the 2 year contract and 11 more months to go. If i attempt to cancel it now they will charge me a 300 dollar termination fee which sucks.
Pacbell on the otherhand which finally became avaliable in my area is 29.99 for the first 3 months then 49.99 with one year contract is constant 1.5 mpbs. I've heard eariler that somebody got into an argument with sprint and he got his termination at no charge.
The tech support isn't much help if you guys are trying to improve your speed. They put me on hold for several hours then dropped the line sigh.. When i actually got to talking to the tech support guy he made up all these excuses that it was my computer problem. But if you know computers and technology well you can't be fooled by anyone. It was their service that has problems not my computer its been fully tweaked to maximum performance. I've also heard that they've been told to lie to customers at times or come up with any excuse because they can't do anything at this point to back up what they say. Bottom line don't bother with tech support they aren't going to help you.
I don't know if you guys heard but a while back somebody sued DirectPC for false speeds advertised. DirectPC is a satellite dish same wireless technology as sprint. The guy was pretty much experiencing what we all are now on sprint. He practically put the company out of business because they had to pay back all loss damages to customers. Now i wonder why none of you try to go after sprint. I'm considering it myself sometime. Now i have a choice between paying the termination fee or arguing with them and getting lucky so i don't have to. An advice to anyone, if your thinking about getting a wireless isp don't bother, its still in its early stages so you don't want to go through what everyone else did, save yourself the trouble and get real DSL or Cable,
-Rich
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Review by c4four
Posted: 7.4 years ago
member for 7.8 years, 29 visits, last login: 7.1 years ago
Denver,Denver,CO
$65 per month (36 month contract)
about 5 days
"Speed"
"PacketLOSS, hard to find the good tech to help you, ping on some servers"
"Better then cable speeds, ping needs work"
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I had this ISP for over a year. But now that they have shut down adding more people. There service is turning in to crap. I get 40-30% Packetloss just to the first hop to there network. 30-40 goes to 3000-6000 ping each 11 seconds. I have talk to about 5 techs and each tell me new diffent things about why there is nothing wrong. Even when they see the bad test they get pinging my modem. They have yet to try ANYthing to fix the problems and this has been going on for a month.
Websites stop loading, DL speeds just drop to about modem speed. This ISP is just sad
update 6/12/02
had the tech come out today. I guess I was not getting a good signal. I would get about 700/99 DL speed of dslreports. Now that I have a new dish and a better signal. Im getting on dslreports 3000+/99 up/down speed. ANd I was DLing CS 1.5 off fileplanet with DL speeds of 350+ kb/sec. I avg about 80-120kb before..Lets just hope this fix the very bad 20-30% PL on friday-MOnday. Then I will be VERY happy. I final get a good tech on the phone, and he sends a VERY good tech to my house. and gets the job done
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Review by IAmTheEvilest
UPDATED: 7.5 years ago
member for 8.9 years, 2570 visits, last login: 2 days ago
Milpitas,Santa Clara,CA
$49 per month (24 month contract)
about 109 days
"Warp-speed Downloads, Static IP, and Good Value"
"Slow Install, Unknown future, and service unstability"
"A fast connection with a reasonable price from a reputitable company"
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Update 05/26/02-
I was reading the forums at BroadbandReports/DSLReports.com and I got this nagging screen telling me to update my review. So here it is!
The service more recently has been both trouble-free and relatively fast. However, it wasn't always this way. During December 2001, I had various issues with the service. Due to the combination of extreme winds and rain, there were problems with the equipment provided by Sprint. The LOCK light would go out and come back on again. During this time, the customer support representatives were very responsive and they immediately dispatched a technician to come to my house and to inspect/repair my equipment.
The problem was that water had gotten into the antenna and the modem had problems as well. They replaced my antenna and modem, as well as increased the transmit power and cross-sectored me. Once the technician left however, I found out that the a IP address had not been properly provisioned for the modem! I called them, and they sent a new configuration to my modem and I was on my way.
But that site visit would not be enough to fix my issue. Soon after it had been repaired, it rained again and the LOCK light went out again! I called the support representative, but this time they were not as willing to send someone out until more testing was done. But after 5 minutes, the technician told me that I was experiencing 99% packet loss...
The second technician was more than 2 hours off schedule, but he was able to fix it. It turned out that the antenna had more problems. In addition, he told me that the boost on my transmit power had been reduced when a second configuration file was pushed to my modem when it had worked after the 1st tech visit. The 2nd tech was able to fix the problem, for good (at least temporarily).
More recently, I have found a greater service loss during evening hours. However, the off-peak hours have also been faster. For $50 a month, I think that it is a reasonable price to pay. Blazing downloads...
More Updated Info:
Sector: 202A
IP: Static (It is still mine)
Average Download Speed: 3.0 mbps (4.5 mbps off-peak, 1.5 mbps peak)
Average Upload Speed: 130 kbps (no change between peak and off-peak)
Average Ping while Idle: 120 ms (160 ms at peak)
Average Ping while Downloading: 40 ms (no change)
Update 10/23/01-
It has been some time since I last updated this review, so I thought I do it now. As you may already know, Sprint Broadband Direct is no longer accepting orders. That may be good, but it can also be bad. The good part is that the service probably wouldn't degrade (I haven't experienced this very much though) as much. The bad part is that Sprint may decide to exit the fixed-wireless market all together, and I won't have my blazing connection any more.:) That probably won't be too much of a loss to me though, as Pac Bell DSL is now in my area. But I know it will be much more of an issue for others.
More Updated Info:
Sector: 191
IP: Static (It is still mine)
Average Download Speed: 2.5 Mbs (a small increase, but a increase nevertheless)
Average Upload Speed: 130 kbps (yes, that is a decrease, but I am still satisfied- better than most DSL)
Average Ping while Idle: 120 ms (160 ms at peak)
Average Ping while Downloading: 40 ms (no change)
Update 6/29/01-
Now that I have had the service for a few months, I think that Sprint is getting better. I have noticed some people have believed differently, but I think Sprint is slowly improving. While I was never complaining before, I think upgrades have greatly improved the service. My pings have dropped to an average of about 130 ms and speeds (up and down) have gotten much, much better. The reliabilty is getting better, all in all, Sprint is improving vastly. Disclosure: I live very, very close to the Sprint BBD tower, which may explain for slighty (or vastly for some) better speed and ping, and I have a very fast new computer with a Intel Ethernet card (I have found that some cheap ethernet cards hamper transfer speeds). For those who are having a terrible time with your Sprint BBD, cross your fingers, pray, change religions, pray some more, powercycle your modem, tweak your network settings, buy a brand name network card (Intel or 3Com preferred), get a new computer, tweak your network settings again, buy a router, bother Sprint, demand to speak with a supervisor, and if all else fails, repeat the above or cancel your account demanding that the cancellation fee be waived.
Updated Info:
Sector: 191 (still!)
IP: Static (It is still mine)
Average Download Speed: 2.1 Mbs (I was a download freak, now I am a download demon)
Average Upload Speed: 175 Kbs (I was satisfied with what I had, now I am happy!)
Average Ping while Idle: 140 ms (Not too shabby, compared to AOL)
Average Ping while Downloading: 40 ms (Online gaming, here I come!)
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Original Review-
I ordered Sprint Broadband the week I found out that it was available in my area, Milpitas. They came within three weeks but the installer was unable to find the signal because he was new, and probably not properly trained. He said that his supervisor would check again, but since I live in a gated home inside a gated community, he was never able to come and check for the signal.
Because I was unable to get Sprint Broadband Direct, I contacted virtually every DSL provider. Think of it as an everlasting quest for faster internet. Only MSN said I was in the coverage range, so I ordered but they found that I lived too far.
I started looking for alternatives, like Starband and DirecPC, but because of the heavy winds in my area, they probably won't stay of the roof. I had a 18" DirecTV dish that flew off twice, and I was pretty sure an 36" dish would barely be able to survive.
After attempting every solution (I tried T-1 too, no avail), I went back to Sprint Broadband. The sales representative was very nice and informative. They also had very good hold music, something MSN didn't have. After all the horror reviews I found here, @DSLReports, I thought I would hear it often. They said they found my old order and they would send someone in three days.
My new installer was experienced and found the signal as soon as he left his van. I live a little more than a half-mile from the signal, if you calculate it as the crow flies. He installed it in a little more than three hours and I was connected to the internet. However, I was only getting speeds of about 120/50 (Down/Up). After I tweaked it though, I was getting speeds of over 2Mbs!
Over the last few months, I have experienced one large outage and a few micro-outages. The large outage lasted two days, and the micro-outages lasted about 10-15 minutes. But more recently, the reliablity has gotten better and I have not experienced any outages.
Overall, I love my Sprint Broadband Direct connection and after many years of suffering from AOL dialup, Sprint Broadband is many times better even with it's faults, and valuewise, it is cheaper too (less money for each kilobit when compared to AOL dialup). The speeds recently have gotten better as well.
Other Info:
Sector: 191
IP: Static
Average Download Speed: 1.7Mbs
Average Upload Speed: 92Kbs
Average Ping: 200ms
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Review by sulewski
Posted: 7.6 years ago
member for 7.8 years, 19 visits, last login: 4.9 years ago
Houston,Harris,TX
$159 per month (24 month contract)
about 15 days
Southwestern Bell
CLEC party: Sprint
"Fast, Fast, Fast! T-1 speeds for less"
"A great option for those needing FAST service, for less than T-1 prices"
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I had ordered Sprint ION XT4 service last June. LOVED IT! Then they decided that they could not make money on it (Short sightedness on their part, and piss-poor advertising and availability) and cancelled it in December. They did convert me to Sprint Business DSL (Transparently other than my porting voice lines).
Now I have had to move, and shudder the thought of giving up my Sprint speed.
But, I find that they are still offfering Sprint Broadband, at the Ion type speeds. For the $159/month (Same as ION), I still get the speed and 5 useable IP addresses.
I am very happy that the install time is only about 15 days (Instead of the 45+ that ION took)
Since I work from honme ALOT, I would be lost without these speeds of access (About 5.2 Mb down, and 1.2 up).
The order process is still as good as it was... You call and place the order...the rest is communicated via e-mail sent to you. Makes it very efficient.
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Sprint Broadband Direct
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