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Review by kenrb 
Posted: 8.8 years ago
member for 8.9 years, 7 visits, last login: 3.5 years ago
 Loveland,Larimer,CO
 $45 per month (12 month contract)
 about 54 days
 Qwest
CLEC party: Sprint
 "good fast connection"
 "had a dslam issue on first attempt at install, took 2 more weeks to get resolved and installed"
 "I'm very happy so far"
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The dslam problem was happening in all their installs north of Denver, they said it was a problem at the CO. I talked to the person from Qwest who did the line drop, and he said that I should get in the 600-700 range, because of my distance from the CO. I was quite pleased when we ran the speed test, after install and it clocked in at 1275Kbps! There was another company in town that was $65/month for a 384 DSL connection. The ION ad says up to 1.5 meg ps. I got the ION Direct, so it didn't effect the current phone lines. It is a static IP address. The dates given for install were honored when they came up, and they called the day before to verify, and also got a call the morning of the install.
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Review by rbone
Posted: 8.9 years ago
member for 9.4 years, 103 visits, last login: 1.8 years ago
San Francisco,San Francisco,CA
$119 per month (12 month contract)
SBC
CLEC party: Sprint
"(Potentially) tremendous speed and an additional line"
"Horrible customer service thus far"
"The jury's still out..."
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I called to order my Sprint ION service on Monday, 1/8. I currently have a single phone line with PacBell DSL (1.5down/128up, which I'm reasonably happy with, but which I would give up for the 8down/1up promised by ION. Anyway, the ordering process went smoothly--I got the xt2 service with two voice lines.
Today, 1/11, I got a call from from the sales department. The woman on the line said that because I had only a single phone line, and that PacBell was unwilling to release any additional phone numbers, they would not be able to get me an additional voice line. As a result, I could not get ION. Now this seemed somewhat fishy to me, so I contacted tech support. After talking to two guys over there, I was eventually connected to Shelbra in the Sales Order Completion Department. She felt that the reason the single line was going to be a problem was that because DSL was already running on that line, a loop test would be impossible. Either I would need to order a new line from PacBell, or I'd have to have my DSL connected indefinitely to have the loop test done. However, she couldn't actually confirm this. She promised to call me tomorrow.
I understand that the interface between the ILEC and CLEC is a pretty big nightmare, but the Sprint customer service people just don't seem to know what's going on. They also don't seem to communicate with each other. The initial call I received was from someone who was just making phone calls. She was not knowledgeable enough to explain herself after she delivered the news, nor was she very helpful beyond telling me no.
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Review by brianmurdock
Posted: 8.9 years ago
member for 8.9 years, 6 visits, last login: 8.7 years ago
Kansas City,Jackson,MO
$120 per month
about 14 days
Southwestern Bell
CLEC party: Sprint
"Installed within 2 weeks, UTLRA fast, NEVER a problem**"
"Resolving the nonexistant problem** took FOREVER"
"Wouldn't change unless they offer DS-3s for CHEAP :)"
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**Once, before the line was actually burried, yet still functional, it was mowed over by the groundskeeper. The cable was completely shredded all over the yard. SWBell took forever and a day to fix it and Sprint had no clue what to do, I've never seen a more idiotic tech support group in all my life.
Other than the problem**, I've had no complaints, I RARELY see a connection as fast as this and we have not gone down since the problem** was fixed. We are getting 75% of the advertised line capabilities, and considering our distance from the CO, I'd say that's not too bad. We ordered 8MB/1.5MB service (down/up) and are currently capable of 5.7/890k. I've tried every tweak I can possibly find and this seems to be the limit, but when you've got service this fast......who cares 
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Review by slivingston
UPDATED: 8.9 years ago
member for 9.2 years, 9 visits, last login: 8.8 years ago
Cardiff By The Sea,San Diego,CA
$120 per month (24 month contract)
SBC
CLEC party: Sprint
"Sounds too good to be true - turns out it probably is."
"Sprint seems to think using its customers as guniea pigs is an acceptable business practice."
"If you want broadband installed before three months have gone by, call your cable company."
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UPDATE: 15 Jan 2000 10:00am
Today, I got a call from my order manager who made the following statement:
"WE ARE USING YOUR ACCOUNT INTERNALLY AS AN EXAMPLE OF MANY OF THE PROBLEMS WE'VE BEEN RUNNING ACROSS WHEN PROVISIONING THE SERVICE".
This speaks for itself. No status update. No ETA. Nothing. Almost 60 days and (still) counting...
UPDATE: 11 Jan 2000 9:00am
Since I didn't get a call back from my order manager (I feel that two days is long enough to wait for a return call), I called back today and asked to speak with him directly. Now I am told he is away on vacation for a week (so much for expecting a return call any time soon). I spoke with another order manager who has informed me that my order is on hold "indefinitely" because there were some provisioning "issues" (exactly WHAT issues could not be determined, of course, there are just "issues"... way to go, Sprint) with my order.
Sprint ION's order process is a game. If you treat it as nothing but a game, it can actually turn amusing rather than head-banging-against-a-brick-wall frustrating. Today, I plan to cancel my order completely, call back as a "new" customer, and take the chance that someone with a brain will pick up this "new" order. Yeah, right. The cable modem is working great.
UPDATE: 9 Jan 2000 9:40am
I got an email a few weeks ago that told me to "Mark January 3rd on your calendar" because a Sprint contracted technician would be at my home to install the line needed to run the Ion service. Since my telco box is outside, the email said I didn't need to be at home. I decided to call Ion today to see how the installation went. Of course, Pac Bell stood the Ion technican up and it's now been "escalated" (yeah right, whatever) with no ETA (naturally). I requested that my order manager call me back ASAP and even waited while the rep wrote my name and number on a Post-It and stuck it to his monitor.
My advice: If you want broadband service any time within the next year, call your cable company. I called Cox Communications YESTERDAY and had a cable modem put in TODAY with 256k up / 2100 down. I plan to string Sprint along for as long as they have screwed me over... maybe even stand their technicans up a time or two... it hurts a little more when you've got to take your own medicine, doesn't it?
UPDATE: 14 Dec 2000 1:16pm
Better news. A short conference call with both of the persons I've been dealing with at Sprint revealed that the facilities issue that put the brakes on my install was due to a clerical error when the order was orginally entered. Thus, it's now up to Pac Bell to provide a clean loop. Estimated time to install is 20 days.
It seems now that Sprint has taken an active interest in customer satisfaction and that they are genuinely concerned with the issues that brought us to this point. I hope this will continue in the future.
UPDATE: 14 Dec 2000 12:05pm
The service supervisor contacted me with assurances that the problem is still being researched. I "should have an answer in 24-48 hours". It would appear that Sprint is at least TRYING this time...
UPDATE: 14 Dec 2000 11:30am
Just spoke with a manager at Sprint who has assured me the situation will be researched, and that I will be provided an answer as to what's going on sometime today.
===
I ordered my ION service on 28 Nov. 2000. I was told on the telephone that I met the requirements for the service (close enough to a CO, they had the facilities, etc...) and that I would be getting a phone call in about two weeks to verify my installation date.
Two weeks went by. No phone call. On December 13, I decided to call Sprint ION to see what the situation was. (name removed for privacy) at extension xxxxx told me she would research my account and get back to me that same day. 5 PM rolls around. No phone call.
Today, I called back and had the fortunate opportunity to speak with (name removed for privacy) again. After a quick reminder who I was, she profusely apologized about not being able to get back to me - apparently the people who actually have the information (but are not allowed to interface with the customer for whatever reason) did not get back to her that day. I asked to speak with a supervisor.
(Name removed for privacy), a supervisor for the Sprint ION solutions center, came on the line and told me that he was surprised that nobody had contacted me previously, and that the reason nobody had called me back was due to the fact that Pacific Bell did not have any more available ports (loops) to bring the service to my residence. Thanks for the update, Sprint. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't called them.
Now, I will back up to my first phone call with Sprint ION. Since I had just moved into a new home, I did not call Pacific Bell for a telephone line, as I figured since I was getting Sprint ION service anyway I wouldn't need it. However, Sprint would not enter my order until I had purchased a phone line from Pacific Bell - their reasoning being that they needed a good pair and phone number to "hi-jack" from Pacific Bell, and that the ION service would be brought over this existing line.
The logic here is flawed. Sprint ION has told me that Pacific Bell has no remaining pairs to bring their service into my home, yet at the same time, according to Sprint, I don't NEED another pair since they will just be using the line they forced me to order from Pacific Bell.
Sprint has told me that the only way they will be able to provide service to my address is if someone else cancels service. They may not even get that opportunity.
This situation, or scenarios quite similar to it, have happened to three other people I know - two in the SF Bay Area, and another in Orange County. We have concurred that Sprint knows beforehand that they cannot provide the service as advertised, yet they still have no qualms about collecting vast amounts of personal information to add to their marketing databases. Other reports listed here seem to validate my assumption, though I'm sure Sprint would be the last to admit to it.
What I have suggested to Sprint:
- Educating their CSR's on the service: It's difficult to sell and support a product you know nothing about. Simple questions like "what are the dimensions of the ION hub" or "Does Sprint/Earthlink provide DNS service so I can host domains from my IP addresses?" could not be answered.
- Reviewing the qualification process: Time and time again, their web applet will come back with "Congratulations, it appears Sprint ION is available in your area" yet a phone call to verify will yield the disappointing news that it is in fact NOT. What becomes of all of the personal information I've provided to Sprint? Are they simply just qualifying the market? Trust is lacking here.
- Rebuilding relationships with the ILEC's: It is no mystery that the ILECs and CLECs are in a constant state of finger-pointing, refusal to take accountability, and total lack of communication. Sprint should take action in this case and attempt to make up for the Bell's typical lackluster approach to customer service.
- Maintaining communication with the customer: We are the reason Sprint, or any other business, remains profitable. Don't insult the customer by promising a call back and not following through. Don't make the customer take a day off from work and not send a technican out. Provide regular callbacks or emails with installation status.
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Review by 63SG
Posted: 8.9 years ago
member for 9.2 years, 217 visits, last login: 196 days ago
Kent,King,WA
$150 per month
"Fast"
"Horrible customer service, not a fully working product"
"fast DSL, lots of irritating problems with customer service"
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I'll try to keep this short since most of my experiences have already been written about by others. I have had ION for close to a year and it has NEVER been fully functioning.
Here's my rundown:
Original customer service reps had no clue about the product and gave info that was far from reality(ie hub is small and sits on your desk, reality was about 1 1/2ft X 1 1/2ft and attached to the wall in my garage). They no showed for my first scheduled install date, then took another 3 weeks to get back to do the install. Install was a joke, they were here for 10 hours, couldn't figure out how to install their software(which I was later told to remove because it wasn't used for anything), and couldn't get the right IP. When they left I was downloading at 300/800 (its now around 2500/720), which they said was about right(a long discussion ensued about what 300/800 meant). Near daily service calls for the next 4-5 months lead me to the brink of a breakdown. Their policy is to contact you everyday you have a trouble ticket open. Which would normally signal a team that is staying on top of things, but in this case all it means is that it is someones job,seemingly each shift, to call and ask if everything is working now and the info never seems to go anywhere(they argue this point but from the other reviews I feel its more true than even I would like to believe). A couple other problems with this system. For some reason Sprint employees haven't been informed that they are nation-wide. I'm on the west coast, they're on the east, so I frequently receive calls between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning(yes, they do work weekends). Also should you not respond to a tech call within three days, that trouble ticket is cancelled. After I learned about this I asked if I could call and let them know I would be away, so they wouldn't cancell the ticket, I was told "NO". And to once again compound the problem, when you do get back to them, they start a new ticket for the old problem, which means they start from the very beginning again(Sprint denies this is the case, but after a year of going through it I don't believe them).
For the last 8 months the echo on my ION numbers has been so bad that I couldn't use them. And for 8 months they said they were working on the problem. Not until the last month did they admit the problem was with their echo cancelation equipment,not my line or equipment, and that the faulty equipment was to be replaced. Had they admitted that earlier tech support wouldn't have had to call me everyday in the morning, ask if there still was an echo then call me at night, ask the same thing and act surprised when I said there was still echo, because somebody did something that should have taken care of the situation(I can't even count how many times I heard that). The echo has decreased but is still there, but because of the holidays I didn't want to be bothered by them calling morning noon and night so I'm living with it for now.
All that said I can't blame the customer service/tech staff. They have been personable, but are limited in actuall helpfulness since the organization as a whole is so disjointed.
I have also had issues with high ping in games. I use to have a much slower DSL connection(250/125) through US WEST, and my pings in game would be between 50-90. With ION, my pings, on the same games and servers, range between 110-160. Tech support has no idea why.
Okay, so I couldn't keep it short, but believe me I left a lot out. To wrap up I would say that the internet connection smokes and is reliable and the organization horribly run (this product could/should be great).
Good Luck if you choose ION.
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Review by DougJrS
Posted: 8.9 years ago
member for 8.9 years, 42 visits, last login: 7 years ago
Overland Park,Johnson,KS
$150 per month
about 100 days
"Would Have been FAST"
"Customer Service, Installation, Tech Support"
"Pas it up!"
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Started the order process with Sprint ION in September, and finally in October was able to complete my order. After they completed my order I was told that Service should be installed in about 2 months. I called back several times and each time my account was being handed off to a different person, or the person assigned to my account was not there. I did finally get some one to tell me that I had passed all the line testing and that within a week I should be called to set up an installation appointment. Well three weeks pasted, so I called ION and they told me that I had not yet passed the line testing and that someone is working on that. By this time I was not happy no matted what I did I could not get a straight answer, and NO ONE WOULD CALL BE BACK! Finally I was able to talk to my account manager had he was able to run line testing and have my line checked out in about 45 minutes. At that point I was informed that I was probably too far for service and that my service was not working because I had load Coils on my lines. I called SWBell to have the Coils Taken off, and I was told that their would be a $100 dollar charge for that, and $9.95 pre month. I called ION back and told them to come get their equipment and cancel my service. The rep told me I would have to talk to a Manager, so I proceeded to wait on hold for 45 minutes. I hung up after that. And them to my amazement about an hour later A manager called me back to cancel my order. I told her that it the only people you ever call back are mad customers canceling their service they wouldn't be in business long. She told me that Sprint is working to improve that service and I needed to be patient and wait for my area to be upgraded.
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Review by jezzriv
Posted: 8.9 years ago
member for 8.9 years, 26 visits, last login: 8.5 years ago
Duncanville,Dallas,TX
$119 per month (24 month contract)
about 70 days
Southwestern Bell
CLEC party: Sprint
"Great Product, All in One Service and Bill, Good Customer Service, Fast Connection"
"Long Install Date"
"Overall I am satisfied and my personal expectations of surfing speed was exceeded"
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I ordered the Sprint ION x2 plan that gives 2 phone lines, 2 voicemailboxes, with the internet provider being Earthlink at a super fast connection. (Newly entered Dallas market late Sept) My order was placed at about 10pm on 10/13/00. I was amazed they were around that late. The phone order took about 45mins with all my questions and with what they needed to share with me. Lots of info was shared, which I think i forgot most of it by the time the install date rolled around.
The given/promised install date was 30 days out here in Dallas, Texas which put it at about 11/13. However, a week before that date I call their service center to follow up and was informed that it was being delayed because the local telco SWBELL had not yet performed a LOOP test. Another two weeks passed and all along I had been calling Sprint ION with status checks etc. Then finally, I received a call at work to confirm that the loop test was a OK and all was a go. (not sure why that long of a delay?) Yet, they reminded me several times that this still did not ensure I would be able to get the service..because a last minute test on install date would confirm services is a GO or a NO GO. A couple days later which puts it at about 12/10, a CONFIRMED install date was provided having it completed on 12/18. I took the day off and informed them that I did and if any cancellations of such should be communicated to me prior to that day or ELSE I would be extremely mad. (advice from other postings here) Well, after a few emails from SPRINT ION about what to expect etc.. the day came and 2 installers rolled up in a SPRINT ION van at about 9am that morning.
They reviewed the interior and exterior of the house and created a plan of where the outlets, HUB , phone numbers etc would be assigned. They also informed me at this time (the first time I was told this) that they had to rewire my lines because SWBELL lines are not able to provide multiple phone services etc..(technically stuff) on its current lines in the house. So, they had to rewire everything which put it at $88 for the hour. (they billed it to my first months invoice)
Installation was completed at about 4pm CST and I was up and running shortly after. I ended up with two phone lines in my computer/office room where the HUB is located, two phone lines in 2nd bdroom, and the main line assigned to living, dinning and master bedroom.
I have within the past two days been surfing, downloading MUSIC, viewing videos video conferencing etc all very VERY fast compared to my previous 56k modem and previous DSL service with SWBELL which by the way sucked!
A added benefit is that they were able to port my existing SWBELL phone line to Sprint ION, and gave me an additonal phone line each with voicemail. I like the command center website that allows me to change/add features to my phones i.e. caller id, call blocking etc. (great IDEA) Also, the ability to create global distribuition lists on the voicemail and send out one global voicemail to multiple people. I use for both my personal friends/family and mostly for my business associates of whom use Sprint PCS. (Of course the phone numbers of friends/family have to be Sprint ION customers or Sprint PCS)
All in All, although a very slow role out of installation, lots of follow up on my part to the service center, I am more than satisfied with the actual product itself and the performance both for surfing the internet, voicemail, clarity of phone lines and above all else the ability to make changes to my phone features online. GREAT PRODUCT !! I can't wait to see future enhancements and I am confident that their roleout will be smoother and quicker as they become more experienced with the entire process themselves. I say another innovative product for them just like Sprint PCS was about 4 years ago. KUDOS!
2 year contract signed
$119 p/month
400 minutes of long distance free a month
Installation fee waived
HUB Free
Total savings of about $199 with a 2 yr contract
2420 down/590 up Kbps was tested today. Which is about 48 time faster than a 56k
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Review by dm000
Posted: 9 years ago
member for 9.3 years, 36 visits, last login: 8.3 years ago
Long Beach,Los Angeles,CA
$120 per month (12 month contract)
Sprint
CLEC party: Sprint
"None noted yet."
"Didn't show up for scheduled install appt. Didn't notify me of change"
"I wonder if they are just doing market research."
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I currently have DSL so I'm wasn't 'deseperate' for DSL service, but Sprint-Ion looked like a good value...
After a 50 day wait, no one showed up for the install. I took a day off for nothing. When I called they told me it wasn't an install date, but a 'request by date'. They had confirmed the installation date about a week earlier. No one contacted me to tell me it changed. I cancelled the order and the representative was only too happy to oblige.
Conclusion:
Based on my experience I expect that the customer support is probably miserable.
Advice:
If you live in my area, your better off going with MMInternet, at least they do what they say.
If you sign up for Sprint-Ion these people, don't take the day off for an install until you get a very solid agreement from them that they will show up. Call them the day before to confirm again. Confirm that your record shows this as an 'install date', not a 'request by date'.
Question:
Anybody out there that lives in the Long Beach area actually get Sprint-Ion installed? Please post your experience, good or bad.
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Review by kcmoGaryS
Posted: 9.1 years ago
member for 9.1 years, 12 visits, last login: 8.7 years ago
Kansas City,Clay,MO
Contract price not specified.
"The idea is good"
"customer service communication is poor"
"They will have to wait for my business"
| Pre Sales information:
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I contacted SprintION on July 5,2000 and was told that the service was available in my area. The rep. told me the the service would be ready by Aug 2,2000. As August approached, I decided to call and find out how my order was coming. After talking with 2 different people, I was told that someone would call me. A week later, I called again and was told that they were still waiting for the line test report from my local phone company. I called almost weekly for a month and was either told someone would call me or that they would look into it and find out why it was taking so long. At one point they said that they had the line test report, but the numbers looked strange and they were waiting on a new test report. On or about Oct. 3, 2000, I received a call from a SprintION tech, who said that the equipment needed was not installed in my area to receive this service. I asked what kind of equipment was needed, different from that of DSL because the phone company had been calling me with their sales pitches for DSL. He told me that, the phone company would probably do the same thing " take my order and then tell me that I couldn"t have it ". It took them 3 months to tell me that it wasn't available. I called and placed an order for DSL from SWB. They were out yesterday to test my DSL signal, He said that it was a good strong signal and that I should get excellent speeds. I'm scheduled to have it activated next week. I don't know what Sprint's problem was. Update 11/6/2000- I have my ADSL from SWB up and running. Approx. time from call to install 3 weeks. Go figure Sprint
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Review by hughmcl
Posted: 9.1 years ago
member for 10.1 years, 31 visits, last login: 5.4 years ago
Kansas City,Jackson,MO
$45 per month (month by month)
about 30 days
Sprint
CLEC party: Southwestern Bell
"Fast, consistent speeds!"
"None so far!"
"Good consistent fast speeds."
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The service I'm on is the Sprint ION HSD (High Speed Data). This is a 1500K/sec
down and 384K/sec up max service. I've been averaging 1241K/sec down and 320K/sec up (only + or - 10K/sec on both!). The install was really good. With
this service you get 1 static IP so you know what your IP will always be.
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Sprint ION
