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Review by jackars 
member for 8.8 years, 0 visits, last login: 8.8 years ago
lodged 8.8 years ago
 Saint Johnsbury,Caledonia,VT
 $2300 per month- (350 month contract)
 about 45 days Broadslate- CLEC party: Broadslate
 "Racist" "Racist" "Racist"
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BROADSLATE NETWORKS SUPPORTS RACISM
»www.scumoftheweb.com/
This company is big time Racist. A Chinease woman fired me for another Chinease person to work on some php customer support program.
I would stay away from this crappy company and anyone involved with it. For sure dont go work for it!
Oh, and Chinease woman......................I know who you are.......and I won't forget.
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Review by (hidden by request)
(review was emailed from domain benchmarkxerox.com)
lodged 10 years ago
- Arden,Buncombe,NC
- $199 per month
- (24 month contract)
- BellSouth
- CLEC party: Broadslate
- "Excellent service and phenomenal technical support. Great value for SDSL + advanced features!"
- "Out of business March 15, 2002"
- "A great but DEAD provider"
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We have been extremely pleased with our Broadslate Networks service since we
installed it approx. 6 months ago.
Unfortunately, Broadslate is currently notifying its customers that they
will cease operations as of March 15, 2002, leaving us in the by-now-common
DSL lurch.
This is doubly disappointing for us since the overriding reason we signed
with Broadslate in the first place was that they told us that they has
secured financing that guaranteed they would be in business for the next
three years: "We don't have to sign one contract during that time to stay in
operation," they said.
C'est la vie.
James Atkinson
Benchmark Document Solutions
Asheville, NC
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Review by Mictain29
member for 11.1 years, 64 visits, last login: 7.6 years ago
lodged 10.2 years ago
- Milford,Clermont,OH
 Business customer- $369 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 10 days
- Cincinnati Bell
- CLEC party: Broadslate
- "Excellent Speeds, Hardly no down time."
- "Pulling out because of Cincinnati Bell is not coroporating(Greedy)"
- "This was an Excellent choice for my Business SDSL Sorry to see ya Go"
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I had originally Ordered the 2388 line SDSL but was only able to get 1.168, wich was fine with me since most of the time the speeds matched that of a T1.
The service was Excellent, THere where a few crinks in it but once they Fixed it everything was running Smooth !!! unfortunitly (please don't mind the Spelling) Cincinnati Bell is a Greedy Pompus, and they don't want to work with any other Company that Offers DSL in there Market area. and since because of this, i am losing my SDSL connection and will have to go with either a full T1 @ 700+ a month, or just keep dialup wich will not work with me. in order to get Cincinnati Bell service i would have to Purchase the Equiptment and pay a Installation fee, NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!! I am though thinking about Cable with static IP, but aqm still allitle weary about that Tech.. But my advice to any out there, Business wise, is to Stay away from Cincinnati Bell Internet anything, and maybe they will get the Hint. Go with Cable if you can stand it,. Service = 1168SDSL UP/DOWN 5 static IP's Web Hosting /Email Hosting / Excellent Customer Service / Excellent Techs / Overall BROADSLATE ROCKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Review by worlddreams0
member for 10.5 years, 32 visits, last login: 9 years ago
updated 10.5 years ago
- Oak Ridge,Anderson,TN
- $500 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 30 days
- BellSouth
- "They are still in business and the previous provider Bluestar has shut down"
- "They had trouble wanting to support NAT on the local router or private local IP addresses"
- "Had to configure the local Lucent Pipeline router myself and basically get my self online in the final stages."
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The local provide we did use was Bluestar/Covad but they closed shop in my area so we were forced as a business to find a new provider. Broadslate was quick to get us online to their two year deal. The DSL line was installed quickly and did work. My major complaint was that my local network uses private IP (192.168.0.0) addressing for security reasons. Some how this was missed in the initial meetings with the engineer. Once the DSL line was installed the Lucent/Acesnd (nightmare eq) router was dropped off and the installer was able to connect to the Internet as expected.
Here is where it became interesting. The router was set to give out ip addresses to the local network through the Broadslate network. This would not work as I would have had to reset IP addresses on all systems (servers, printers,desktops) at my business to the ip addresses they had chosen. So I got on the phone with the technical support and they just keep asking if I want to keep the public IP addresses or the Dynamic ones. They were unable to provide the NAT I need locally or on their side. I was told this is in the works on their side but is not ready yet. The lead tech I did talk to could have set this up but would not because she had trouble with this in the past. Meanwhile I am still not online through their service. Bluestar was still online at this time so no problem.
So I called the original engineer from the sales part and ask him what needed to be done. He told me to buy a Linkysys router/gateway (excellent eq) and he would get the ip address setup in the router so I could keep my ip address scheme.
So I am back to square one but on my own this time as they have done their part or so they think. We are still not online with their service. So the ball being in my court I setup the local router to provide NAT and access to the Internet for my network. It works as expected and we are online. For a time I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep the service or ever use it.
During this whole process the router that they set up had a public IP address and was wide open on it's address for telnet access. I also closed this security whole when doing the final configuration. A few notes on performance. When testing through »speedtest.broadslate.net/ I only get around 800kbs down and 500kbps up while we pay for 1.2bps both ways. Also I have noticed the connection, and the DNS servers they provided go up and down in the middle of the night. I use Servers Alive to monitor connections. So it is not over yet.
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Review by KippH
member for 10.9 years, 102 visits, last login: 115 days ago
lodged 10.7 years ago
- Phoenixville,Chester,PA
- $300 per month
- (12 month contract)
- Broadslate
- CLEC party: Broadslate
- "Great Tech Support"
- "Got off a little shaky."
- "Great all around provider!"
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BroadSlate has been providing our DSL for the past 3 months with no problems or downing, well without notification from Tech. support aleast 1 hour prior.
784/784 (SDSL) connection at 14,600 feet from the CO and I have been seeing 1024/800 on our monitoring device. I would really suggest taking a look at BroadSlate if you are pissed at Verizon's Infospeed DSL. BroadSlate has their own equipment at the CO. No more blaming it on Verizon.
www.broadslate.com
For anyone pissed that you are outside that magic number of 18,000 feet from the CO, broadslate has a solution for you also. Extended loop a T1 connection at a fraction of the cost ($172.00 a month, since I last checked, compared to $465.00 for T1).
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Review by KippH
member for 10.9 years, 102 visits, last login: 115 days ago
lodged 10.7 years ago
- Phoenixville,Chester,PA
- $300 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 3 days
- Broadslate
- CLEC party: Broadslate
- "Great Tech Support"
- "Got off a little shaky."
- "Great all around provider!"
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BroadSlate has been providing our DSL for the past 3 months with no problems or downing without notification from Tech. support aleast 1 hour prior.
784/784 (SDSL) connection at 14,600 feet from the CO and I have been seeing 1024/800 on our monitoring device. I would really suggest taking a look at BroadSlate if you are pissed at Verizon's Infospeed DSL. BroadSlate has their own equipment at the CO. No more blaming it on Verizon.
www.broadslate.com
For anyone pissed that you are outside that magic number of 18,000 feet from the CO, broadslate has a solution for you also. Extended loop a T1 connection at a fraction of the cost ($172.00 a month, since I last checked, compared to $465.00 for T1).
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Review by haci
member for 10.8 years, 38 visits, last login: 3.6 years ago
lodged 10.8 years ago
- Virginia Beach,Virginia Beach City,VA
- Business customer
- $218 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 66 days
- Verizon
- CLEC party: Broadslate
- "Money back guarantee, friendly customer support."
- "Installation problems, not "full" internet service, minimal Macintosh support, speed subpar"
- "Jury is still out -- 30 day moneyback guarantee with cancellation ability is looking pretty good right now."
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Ordered Small Office SDSL 400 kbs package.
Installation was difficult - wiring was quick once Verizon was done upgrading our area. I was specifically told by Broadslate that on installation day that someone would come with all required configuration info, along with the five public IPs that I'd asked for, and information on setting up the e-mail access. On installation day the installer had information that didn't cross over to the terminology that a Macintosh user needed for TCP/IP setup (although Macintosh installation was specifically addressed in their user's guide to the point where they used the same terminology that I'd need to configure TCP/IP, but the installer did not have the required info even though I made it clear during the sales/pre-installation discussions that our office is all Mac).
Also, the installer did not come with any public IPs and had no information on e-mail accounts/set-up. Essentially, the installer completed the wiring (with the exception of mounting router) and then showed me that he could access the net from his Windows laptop. He told me that he knew nothing about Macs and told me that I could call customer service if I needed more help.
I then called customer service, and found out that they had forgotten to send the master account name/password that I'd need to login to e-mail for the first time, and then found out that they had also neglected to set-up the e-mail addresses and public IPs for me. They promised a call back from someone who could help with Macinstosh set-up and later that afternoon I was finally able to reach a Macintosh knowledgeable tech, but by then I had pretty much guessed my way through the installation on my own (although he was helpful in setting up one public IP address for our server).
Once online, first thing that I found out was that I can't access newsgroups. I was told by a senior manager there that Broadslate has made a decision to not offer this service, justification being that few if any customers would want it, and they claimed that other DSL and cable internet providers do not provide it in their packages either. I argued the point with that senior manager, given that their marketing materials provides that they are the "one source for all your needs" and "full web and internet access" and that "Broadslate offers a full Internet prescense to handle all your online needs" and was told that they couldn't meet "everyone's" specific needs, just what most people wanted and that essentially my "need" for newsgroup access didn't really count.
Not having access to newsgroups is a major drawback IMO as I had been regularly accessing a variety of those related to our business, to get virus information/updates, and also subscribed to software update/beta testing groups. They however, so far, consider this one to be a non-issue that doesn't need to be further addressed (as in they told me that I could just go sign-up for them on my own).
I do know that I'm getting newsgroups with my personal (at my house) @home cable internet account, and I'm betting that there are DSL providers out there that do offer newsgroups as a part of their packages. This is especially frustrating as I'm confident that Broadslate could have easily and economically outsourced newsgroups (as they have for their e-mail) and provided newsgroups as a part of their service for a neglible cost.
The second thing that I found out was that due to their usage of non-public IPs/NAT configuration that I cannot do trace/ping/tcp/udp from my side of their firewall. I found this out when I received several spams and was trying to traceroute the headers (Note: Broadslate's package says that it includes "spam protection" but I haven't thus far found anything that would indicate that there is any as I have daily received a nice variety of spam that used to be filtered out by Earthlink's Spaminator). Broadslate thought that they might be able to offer me public IPs at additional costs, or that they could possible credit me for some of the non-public ones that I can't use to offset that cost some. I've been waiting for several days for a promised call back on that issue.
The third thing that I've learned is that for some unknown reason, using a Mac running Netscape Communicator (I have access to v4.75 and later versions) that even though I have the preferences set to remember e-mail login passwords, that ever since being on the Broadslate net I now have to reenter my password on a random basis. This is not apparently even associated with for example, a first daily login, or any other pattern that I can see. Broadslate is investigating that issue also (using their one available Macintosh).
The fourth thing that I've learned is that I'm not getting the speed that I should. On installation day and for the next two days I typically got about 360-380 kbs on speed tests. So far this week I've hit a top speed of 310 kbs, with the average speed of all tests being about 260 kbs. The lowest speed was 64 kbs, and for a long period the typical speed was about 210 kbs. Broadslate is supposed to be monitoring my line now and also promises to get back on this issue.
So far I'm waiting to see what Broadslate is going to do, and is willing to do to resolve these issues. Cost of service seems to be pricey, and is getting more expensive by the time I add on having to purchase a newsgroup account, and to purchase public IPs. They do have a 30-day money back guarantee (I'm now one week into that), and the way that things have gone so far...well, that might be the best part of the service.
I did NOT ask for this review to be provided as a part of Broadslate's participation in the complaint escalation program, as these issues have already been discussed by senior Broadslate managers (who are already aware of their ticket numbers).
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Review by author4
member for 11.1 years, 40 visits, last login: 6.1 years ago
lodged 10.9 years ago
- Alexander,Buncombe,NC
- Contract price not specified.
- (12 month contract)
- about 120 days
- BellSouth
- CLEC party: Broadslate
- "Achieved a miracle; installed DSL where others claimed it was impossible"
- "Took four months from contact signing to installation; but all's well that ends well"
- "A great company that does what they say they're going to, no matter the obstacles (and there were several!)"
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What's the difference between a horror story and a success story? In my case, solid DSL service at blazing fast speeds. All the more amazing, by the way, since we are located over 50,000 feet from the nearest CO! Two nice sales people, Vince and Caroline, visited in October of last year, promising the broadband solution we'd been desperately seeking. (Ever try to run a book publishing company with 26000bps dialup? It sucks used press wash! In years of trying, we could never get dailup to connect any faster than 26K, just too far out in the sticks). The magic it would take, I was told, is an extended loop, like T1 lines have; only the price would be hundreds of dollars per month less! So I signed on the dotted line for November installation.
Now the waiting started. November came and went, no installation. Ditto December. Ditto January. But, unlike a lot of the horror reviews you read here at »dslreports.com, the Broadslate folks made a point of calling and keeping us informed, especially my favorite in Charlottesville, Rosemary. She's a GREAT customer rep who really cares As an old-timer on the Internet and in computers (30 years), I understood many of the problems they were having, and the phone company's seeming reluctance to cooperate. So I cut them a little slack (it wasn't like we had any other choice, anyway 50,000 feet, remember?) We were among the first in the Asheville area to get Broadslate and there were problems getting the CO lit up.
FINALLY, the phone company installed the line and Broadslate sent up an installer (after driving 200 miles, he was aghast to find out how far back in the mountains we are. I know this for a fact ycause he told me durn city guys). He was a contractee, not a true Broadslater. And the installation went badly. Wrong IP number, wrong configuration, and so on. So he gave up and left, just leaving the router lying on the floor of our equipment closet blinking forlornly. I couldn't get an exact date out of anyone when he was going to try again (the installing company is in Raleigh, that's like most of North Carolina away from us and dang far downhill).
Although Broadslate had been very nice to us, I was starting to feel a little abandoned. Then a week ago, Caroline (who's GM for this area) calls me up. 'I'm bringing a crew in, she says. Well, she did. Driving 60 miles up here with Phil (a VERY knowledgeable engineer) and another guy in training. They had the right IP numbers and everything else. It took them a couple of hours but, BLAPPO!!!, suddenly we were on at near T1 speeds (pure heaven over 26000).
For the past week, it has worked flawlessly with only one brief outage yesterday evening (traced to some yahoos from another company messing around in the CO trying to install a line for someone else and messing up MY line). But the Broadslate tech support got right on it and kept a fire lit under the phone company until it was fixed. And, hey, you don't gotta wait on line for tech support either. They come on right away and know what they are talking about . Oh yeah, so today this installer guy from Raleigh who don't like the mountains shows up again. 'I've come to install you for sure this time, he says. 'We've been up a week, I inform him smugly. He's crestfallen, but redeemed himself by mounting the router on the wall of the equipment closet. Bottom line: Broadslate has performed a miracle and DSL is miraculous! We loves it a LOT! I highly recommend Broadslate Networks. They get the job done. In our case, they made the impossible possible.
Ralph Roberts, author
REBOL FOR DUMMIES
CEO
Alexander Books
Alexander, North Carolina
»abooks.com
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