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Review by nhdunhill 
Posted: 8.4 years ago
member for 8.4 years, 2 visits, last login: 8.4 years ago
 New Haven,New Haven,CT
 $89 per month (12 month contract)
 about 127 days
 Choice One Communications
CLEC party: Choice One Communications
 "none"
 "everything"
 "this company is a complete nitemare"
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I signed up with them February 12, they told me it would take 4-6 weeks to get up and running. I did not have DSL running until June 14.
They tried to nickle and dime me with all these extra charges, they made promises to me and lied to me. Now my bills are all screwed up, they tried to bill me for some of the months I didnt even have the service.
Its July 10th and Im still chasing them down to make everything work smoothly,,its a matter of principle now.
It just seems like no one cares,,they all want to make their quota and cover their butts so so one can yell at them when things (inevitably) go wrong
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Review by mudak1
Posted: 8.4 years ago
member for 8.4 years, 2 visits, last login: 8.4 years ago
Albany,Albany,NY
 Business customer
$170 per month (12 month contract)
about 48 days
Verizon
CLEC party: Verizon
"Very organized"
"many but minor.."
"if you want a business class isp that will stay in business..they are good"
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I work at a shipping business in latham ny..and at home i review under my real dslr name of "Chlen". We got a service here at work..,where I am only one of the 3 employees, for 5 voicelines and a basic 128/128 sdsl package for about $170 its very cheap with the other bundled services. Verizon came in and put in the sdsl loop about 30 days after the order. We are 9000 feet from CO. about 18days later a tech from athother tech company put hooked up our line. He tested it to max 768/768 (i asked him to leave it at that but he said we only payed for 128/128..haha). THIS GUY LEFT NOTHING BEHIND. NO wire or anything exept the modem. I went out ang got 3 25 foot cat 5 peices and connected them toghether with rj38 plugs. then there is no ethernet light on the modem. I called tech maybe 10 times over 2 months period. Most of the techs are not too knowlegble, but some like Bob were good. He is the one who finnally realized that for our modem ,Paradyme, we need a CROSSOVER CABLE, the westell one i worked with did not!!. I got the cross over..put it in. I put in the information gateway..ip..dns and so forth and now im online. my speed are 119/118 kbitper sec. my dl speed often goes up to like 50kbutes..and stays therer..dont know why..but im not complaining. I only got it running today. But connection light had been on for 2 month with no change so reliebility is good.
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Review by swamprat
Posted: 8.5 years ago
member for 8.6 years, 318 visits, last login: 4 days ago
Fitchburg,Worcester,MA
$204 per month (60 month contract)
about 14 days
Verizon
CLEC party: Choice One Communications
"Quick with install BUT it doesn't perform as purchased."
"Lousiest InterNet connection we have had yet!"
"Go to someone else..."
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Our first sDSL provider was Vitts which are now debunked.
Because there are not a lot of options in this area we decided to go with Choice One in April of 2001. The install went great but when we started testing the throughput we discovered the lopsided download upload ratio and also packet drops.
Most people either don't know or care about upload speed, but because we have an SMTP feed for our Exchange server and we also upload our databases to our web sites. So, needless to say, uploading VERY is important to us.
I contacted Choice One and explained the problem. They said they would look into it. I never heard back from them so I compiled a weeks worth of information at DSL Reports. I also did ping times, tracert to their DNS servers. Additionally I discovered the gateway i.p. they had assigned to us was incorrect. I e-mailed the complete compilation of information to them.
Two weeks later I finally got a phone call. They said that 'Yes, there is a problem! I mean, what could they say at that point.
They checked the firmware at the DSLAM and on our DSL modem, which just happened to be a few revs off. They then flashed both to the most current revision and said 'That should take care of the problem.
Well it didn't make a ANY difference AT ALL! So another call was made. Again, after a week, they called and said they would send over a tech to see if it was a line problem.
Naturally ANOTHER week goes by.
The tech finally shows up. He attaches his laptop to the line and gets the SAME results of our tests. (Funny how that works.) I show him the report and point out to him where the drops are and the high ping times. He tests the line in the building and it tests ok. He then says ' I can't find any problems here so I'm going to the C/O and check there. Either I or some one from Choice One will call to let you know what we've found to be the problem.
Well it's been yet ANOTHER week and not one phone call!
We recommended Choice One's Fractional T1 lines to one of our customers. (May I say, for a VERY SHORT time and may GOD forgive us!)
When I set up one of our customer's new proxy server on a 512 Fracline I ran some speed tests. Guess what? Yep the same lopsided results (and this is a Fractional T1, NOT DSL!). I didn't push the issue as the customer was happy anyway (at this point).
We're in the process of switching to another DSL provider. I say 'It can't happen soon enough!
There have been days where an aDSL connection would have been faster. Heck, even days that a modem connection would have been faster. At least I get better than 25k from MY modem!
My advice to you is if you want the best bang for the buck DON'T GO WITH CHOICE ONE!
When I find a good provider I'll be sure to let everyone know.
Oh... one more thing... Choice One only got the rating of 1 star on SOME of the items because I couldn't choose NONE... so the overall rating is inflated.
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Review by MEDPRAC
UPDATED: 8.7 years ago
member for 9.3 years, 111 visits, last login: 7 years ago
Kingston,Luzerne,PA
$500 per month (60 month contract)
about 45 days
Verizon
CLEC party: Choice One Communications
"Fast Speed....depending on your location."
"Double check your contracts with a lawyer! They'll try to CHEAT YOU later on! Terrible Support - 72 Hrs or more for call back!"
"FIND SOME OTHER sDSL ISP !!!!"
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There was much delay in getting paticipating telephone company (Verizon) to bring loops to two locations (home & business). Some lack of knowledge of what modems to install for a network with many IP's. Much problems in setting up alias addresses for forwarding mail to alternate computers (business, home & portable computers). Some problems in getting sDSL speeds for which you are paying. They had no idea what Usenet groups were or where to get it!
The ChoiceOne people have cheated me. The sales persons have sold one package deal to me (home & office) and then 7 months later changed the deal and tried to bill me twice as much for the same service. Now they are sending me three bills. DO NOT GO WITH CHOICEONE IF THERE IS ANY WAY TO AVOID IT!!!!! Tech support is TERRIBLE! Dont expect any service from them (or even a call back) for 72 hours or more! THEY ARE TERRIBLE! Find somewhere else to go to get internet service!!!!
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Review by dmorrone
Posted: 8.8 years ago
member for 8.8 years, 8 visits, last login: 8.7 years ago
Westerly,Washington,RI
Business customer
$179 per month (60 month contract)
about 46 days
Verizon
CLEC party: Choice One Communications
"Installation took 20 minutes, Speed is very reliable"
"Verizon still had its hands in the deal"
"You will pay a slightly higher price, but its worth the reliability."
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The area I live in is bereft of DSL providers, due to the fact that we're not a major city.
Along comes HarvardNet, promises me insane speeds at equally insane low prices. We jump at the chance. One day before installation HarvardNet shutsdown its DSL operations. They are kind enough to send us a brochure with alternate providers.
DigitalBroadband. We give them a call, and they fax out a modest contract with great speeds and pricing. The day the contract reaches us, our salesperson contacts us and informs me that DB is going out of business. Before she hangs up the phone, she tells me to stay away from Vitts. A wise premonition.
So - we stumble across ChoiceOne. We came across their page via DSLReports, and since they don't heavily advertise in my area (hint hint) I decided to give it a go.
They stated they could provide service, and they did. Within 45 days (Verizon took its time of course), we had a live business SDSL. The final installation took all of 20 minutes. The Paradyne modem isn't the best in the business, but it gets it done.
The pricing is a bit steep, but I think we were spoiled by the providers that promised the world. We all know what's happening to them currently. I'm ready to pay a little more for a reliable stable connection - and a reliable, stable company.
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Review by (hidden by request)
Posted: 8.9 years ago
(review was emailed from domain phasorcorp.com)
Kingston,Luzerne,PA
$160 per month (24 month contract)
Verizon
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Hi,
I'd like to fill you in on my experience with my new DSL ISP, Choice One
Communications. I live in Wilkes-Barre, PA where I had struggled for years
with dial-up ISPs while I waited for DSL or Cable access. Cable came around
first, but it was only one way service. I wanted to setup a web server at
home and needed to have good transfer speeds both ways (not stellar). Then,
I stumbled upon Choice One who could give me DSL (256k/256k). I was inside
the radius of the CO and I was good to go.
Now, on to the real story...
I ordered the line at the end of September, I didn't have access till
December. Somewhere on the order of 10 weeks for the initial installation.
I get the call from the field technician that he's ready to come and get me
setup. OK, so I leave work and meet him. Well, none of the lines were
identified by Verizon and the Tech refused to do his thing until Verizon
marked the lines. OK, round 2 (ding ding ding). I get the call from the
Tech, I leave work, again. This time, the lines still weren't marked by
Verizon, but the Tech pushed on and found the line. They try to test it out
and find a short. All action HALT! So, the Tech leaves and Verizon
attempts to fix the line, which they kind of did. Round 3. I get the call
and leave work, again. This time the Tech works it out and gets me up and
running, so I thought. I use the line for a day or two and notice that it
really doesn't work much better than my dial-up. Now I'm getting a little
annoyed (I have a lot of patience). So I run a bunch of tests on my line
and find that I have 10-20% packet loss and have a throughput of less than
45% of what I'm paying for. So I call up Choice One and give them an
earful. Verizon had stray voltages on my line which were causing some
havoc. Verizon brings a bucket truck out and went down the line and really
fixed the problem, this time. Everything is working absolutely great, now!
I have to say that Choice One was actually very good to me throughout the
whole ordeal. Verizon was the guilty suspect here. One thing I don't
understand is I called Verizon for DSL service and they told me I couldn't
get it. 2 minutes later, I called Choice One and they said sure. But
Verizon still had to do the work to get it to me. Whatever, it works and
I'm happy! It was just an installation nightmare.
Thank You,
Matt Kuhn
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 Review by JRBlood
Posted: 9.2 years ago
member for 9.9 years, 1487 visits, last login: 30 days ago
Syracuse,Onondaga,NY
Business customer
Contract price not specified. (12 month contract)
about 90 days
Verizon
CLEC party: Choice One Communications
"sDSL kept us ahead of our customers and got us working more efficiently"
"Problems with their network, DSLAM, and unknowledgeable techs cost them a customer."
"Be SURE to have some kind of Quality of Service (QoS) contract, so you have a reliable connection. If not, go elseware."
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Service: sDSL 128k Download/128k Upload on dedicated copper pair
DSL Equipment: Paradyne MVL Modem
Network Connection: Dedicated NT server (166MHz Pentium w/ 64Meg RAM)
NICs used: 3Com 3c509TPO for DSL connection. SMC 10/100 for LAN.
Gateway software: SyGate v3.x 6-User License
Security: Built-in firewall in SyGate, NAT, Private LAN IP addresses (Class C)
Public IP Address: Static
Performance: So-So
When xDSL was first introduced in Syracuse, NY, ChoiceOne was one of the first companies to offer it. We jumped on the chance, since we were using a 56k dial-up connection for Internet sharing. Since xDSL was new in this area when we got it, the only painful part was waiting for the connection to the CO. This took two or three months! NYNEX (Now Verizon) got our extra line in for the sDSL line in within the first month. However, ChoiceOne ran into the typical problem (at the time) with getting access to the CO. This delayed the up-and-running day much longer than we wanted. Once they got it installed, things really started to fly. We started with 128k/128k speed, then later we got upgraded to 256k/256k when I started to notice some problems.
It's ran great since the beginning of Sept. 1999, until April or May 2000. I started to notice that files we're not completely downloading. This included FTP, Web pages (graphics mostly), and Java apps (like the Speed Test here on DSLReports). Since I'm the network guru here, I started to investigate the issue. For some reason, we were getting a lot of lost packets and high latency. To this day, they still haven't found the problem. What ever happened to QoS?
The problem is completely random. For instance: Until tonight, we haven't had this issue for almost two weeks. But it's back... We have other clients that have the same service through ChoiceOne, and they haven't complained to us about their sDSL line, but they may not be calling us to let us know they have the same problem. The best we, ChoiceOne and I, can figure, it's related to the CO on Genesee Street that we're connected to. ChoiceOne has told me that they now have at least 5 other customers that are connected to the same CO, that are experiencing the same problem. If your connecting/connected to the Genesee Street CO, you may have a lot of problems.
In conclusion, be cautious of ChoiceOne. Their own people need to get better training, better equipment, and better monitoring systems to keep problems like this from happening. And if they do happen, they should have a solution within a week, at most (Thank god our web and e-mail servers are hosted elsewhere  .
Since then our sDSL is no longer hooked up. We've switched to a new system called Point-to-Point wireless through a different ISP.
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Choice One Communications
