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Review by berabis4 
Posted: 6.1 years ago
member for 6.1 years, 3 visits, last login: 6.1 years ago
 Northfield,Rice,MN
 $49 per month (12 month contract)
 about 8 days
 Qwest
 "fast, reliable"
 "cant use router, has to go through long install, only allows arescom modem"
 "if your using one computer, get it; more than one, forget it"
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cant even use linksys router, msn isp and they wont even let me use a different modem. asked the guy if u could use it, he said yes, and i guess i cant.
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Review by misbehave
UPDATED: 6.1 years ago
member for 6.2 years, 14 visits, last login: 2.1 years ago
Renton,King,WA
$50 per month (month by month)
about 8 days
Qwest
CLEC party: Qwest
"A few dollars cheaper than most other ISP (which is not worth it.)"
"Low Speed (25kb/s download), Non-remove-able Firewall, ABSOLUTE NO online gaming allowed."
"Go get free 56K dial up service instead even if you only use internet for checking e-mail."
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I live in Renton Highland area in Washington State.
I bought the MSN dsl service thru a promotion from Qwest for $40 dollars + Tax, which included a free DSL modem, a few cables and some line filters, and $21.95 of the amount is for the Tel.Co DSL line/signal charge.
I haven't got my first month bill yet so I am not sure if they apply any sur-charges or shipping & handling fee for the modem yet.
As you have already notice from the above sentence that I have only used the MSN DSL service for only a month, but I have already had enough of it.
1) The line speed is unacceptable.
The browsing speed is average, but somehow MSN locked up the downloading speed. Whenever I download data to my PC, the max download speed will always be 25kb/s.
I called MSN customer service and asked about the download speed and even the staff there told me they cannot do anything about the speed. (and I found out that their staffs don't even know their MSN service has this 25K download speed lock)
2) No online gaming whatsoever. The DSL modem MSN provided and their DSL connection are both firewalled. The staff from MSN told me there is no way to remove the firewall at all, even their staff admited that most games cannot be played thru their DSL service. I tried to play a famous game called Diablo2 with it and I could'n even log on to battle.net.
For the quality of customer service, I can say it's fair. You can get no telephone wait time if you call them during week days between 2:00am to 5:30am. For the rest of the time, expect 20 to 30 mins wait time.
Bottomline: If you ONLY use internet to check e-mail, it serves you well. But there are much cheaper or even free alternatives out there that can provide you the same services. So, run away from MSN DSL if you are a real internet user.
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Update:
I have now switched to another DSL company, and I have found out that my new connection can download the latest version of MSN messenger 10 times faster than using MSN DSL to download it. What an irony! Its own company DSL connection can't even get the benefit of downloading file from the same company.
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 Review by CCTVTech
Posted: 6.1 years ago
member for 6.6 years, 2557 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Tolleson,Maricopa,AZ
$39 per month
about 15 days
Qwest
CLEC party: Qwest
"Solid Connection, Never been down."
"Modem (DSL1000) that came with service sucked, reflashed firmware to SBC"
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Speed: 256/256
No Longer With MSN as ISP
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Review by RussSprague
Posted: 6.2 years ago
member for 7.4 years, 20 visits, last login: 4.9 years ago
Helena,Lewis And Clark,MT
$32 per month
about 20 days
Qwest
"Incredible Reliability and always 80% or above advertised speed"
"Tech Support isn't very supportive"
"Great service, best deal in my area"
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I ordered 256/256 (the price for this plan was $39.99) over the phone with Qwest in May of 2002. Everything went as the salesperson said it would, the modem (Arescom NetDSL 800) arrived on time, and my connection was up and running on time. Installation was simple, a couple of filters and a couple of wires. I do not need to log in to use the internet (unless I am using the MSN browser). My connection was incredibly reliable, never any down time, and my speed tests where always 214 up 217 down +/- 3.
August of this year (2003) I upgraded to the 640/256 plan - $32.09 for the next 12 months (more for less!). The upgrade was completed on the due date with no complications.
Some of the support techs might as well be pumping gas, and others go above and beyond.
Encapsulations: PPPoA
Line Mode: ANSI T1.413
Others have made statments that they cannot play online games and that they have an unremovable firewall. This is not so in my case although there is NAT. I have played 3 blizzard games on battle.net with absolutley no problems. I have however had problems with hosting games ONLY on Gamespy arcade because of NAT, but that's no problem ... don't host games, join someone elses!
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 Review by eve
UPDATED: 6.3 years ago
member for 6.9 years, 2810 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Alexandria,Fairfax,VA
$49 per month (12 month contract)
about 22 days
Verizon
"Speed is consistent...Not too bad for the price"
"Tech. support has no idea what they are doing."
"Not too bad of an ISP"
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Ordered MSN December 29. Got the 39.95 deal for 768/128. Package arrived January 20. Install was a breeze. Speeds are fairly decent....averaging about 720/90. Considering im 5,570 feet away from my CO I consider that decent. Download speeds average about 112 KB/s, which I'm pleased with since my dial-up was about 5 KB/s on good days. Will continue to update as needed. Bottom Line: It's good if you dont have problems.
Guess I'm one of the lucky ones who haven't had any problems with MSN.
UPDATE August 6, 2003
Everything is going fine. No problems whatsoever. Have this on a network and speeds are great during online gaming with great pings on both computers.
UPDATE October 7, 2003
We're cancelling MSN and going to Verizon.
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Review by smbrewer
Posted: 6.3 years ago
member for 6.3 years, 48 visits, last login: 2.5 years ago
Havertown,Delaware,PA
 Business customer
$49 per month
about 21 days
Verizon
"Speed"
"Tech Support"
"Works just fine for my Home Business/Family combo"
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1. Received modem within a week.
2. First attempt failed and MSN said they would schedule Verizon to check lines.
3. Verizon made modifications within a week.
4. Second attempt success!
5. Speed generally 730/136
6. Called Tech Support several times, not for DSL problems but for configuration issues with other programs. They were very helpfull. Average wait was 15-20 minutes.
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Review by dsltechqwest
Posted: 6.3 years ago
member for 6.3 years, 0 visits, last login: 6.3 years ago
Boise,Ada,ID
Contract price not specified.
Qwest
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It was just announced today that we will be taking over msn technical support for dsl. Qwest tech from boise idaho.
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 Review by bedame
UPDATED: 6.3 years ago
member for 7.9 years, 524 visits, last login: 81 days ago
Tacoma,Pierce,WA
$49 per month (12 month contract)
about 28 days
Qwest
"Terrible communication within tech support!"
"Don't go with Qwest or MSN if you have any other possibilities"
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Ordered Qwest/MSN DSL on Dec 5. Qwest said line would be provisoned by Dec.25 Called back Qwest a few days later to make sure everything was on schedule and was informed that I had never placed an order. So I ordered again and was told that my provision date was now Dec. 31. 31 Dec. comes around and no modem so I call Qwest expecting the worst and find out that my line has been provisioned by the promised date and there is nothing else they can do for me since the modem comes from MSN, but I should expect it in 5-7 business days. Jan. 8 still no modem, call MSN (on hold 105 minutes) I am informed that they don't know what the status of the modem is but they want to verify my mailing address and come to find out, they have the zip code wrong in their system, tell me to wait another 3-5 days for the correction to take place. Call back on Jan. 9 to make sure that the person I had spoken with the night before had filed the paperwork and was told that they didn't know and had no way of finding out but that they had shipped my modem on Jan. 3 but they wanted to escalate me due to the invalid address. Jan. 11 Still no modem, called back MSN was informed according to their records I had received the modem on Dec. 31. I told them that their information was incorrect so they rechecked again and said that it was on its way and gave me a tracking number. I asked what address it was shipped to and of course it was the wrong one. Told me to contact Airborne Express and try to get them to change the shipping address on the package that was already in route. Called Airbore and they were very helpful in updating the address on the package. Still don't know if MSN has ever updated my address. Modem arrived Jan. 14. Never loaded setup cd that came with installation kit. Have a Linksys BEFSR41 Router with 4 boxes connected. Followed Setup proceedure posted in forums by jmanos3. Everything works never had to load the software from MSN and most important, don't have to use MSN Explorer! Speed is very close to what I ordered 640/256. Service was down Jan 17 for about 4 hours. Have to wait and see how it goes.
Update: For the most part everything worked fine. Dropped MSN in May 2003 and am now with earthlink. Better speed for the same money.
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Review by jjhall
UPDATED: 6.4 years ago
member for 8.2 years, 45 visits, last login: 1.6 years ago
Nampa,Canyon,ID
$39 per month
Qwest
"Probably great for switching AOL users"
"Not compatible with standard PPPoE networks"
"If you have more than one computer, or want to have a connection outside the browser, don't even try MSN!"
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I ordered DSL under the new MSN/Qwest "Alliance" on Aug. 13. The Qwest representative promised me I would have my equipment by the 21st (so I would have service the moment the line was provisioned,) and that my line would be provisioned on the 28th. I would pay $39.95 per month (plus standard taxes) for 256K up and down.
The 21st came and went, no modem. I began calling daily, and was told each time "It should arrive in the next day or so. The 28th came, still no modem. I called customer service and was told that they would be sending out the modem, and I should expect it within 3-5 business days. They explained that they provision the lines and then send out the modem to ensure the line would "hold a DSL signal" before the customer receives the equipment. I asked for a tracking number and they told me that their system did not show one yet, but ensured me it was sent.
I called daily from that point on, each day telling me there is no tracking number showing in the system yet, and still ensured me the modem was sent out on the 25th (Tuesday.) Friday came, still no modem, no tracking number. But I was told they send it 3 day, so I should receive the modem on Saturday th 28th at the latest. I call in Tuesday (Monday was a holiday) and ask for the tracking number. She tells me it was in "delivery attempted" status and gave me the tracking number. I coordinated with the local Airborne Express office to pick up the package from them after work. The package showed the ship date of Aug. 30... 2 days later than they promised.
I got home and opened the box, discovering a shiny new Arescom 860VUE modem sporting the MSN logo on the front. I connected power and phone line, and the modem would not sync with the signal. I installed the filters on the rest of the phones in my house, and the modem synced right up. (Note to self: phones need filters regardless of whether or not they are being used at the time.)
Next I installed the cable between the modem and my Linksys router, and configured it for PPPoE, as Qwest promised would work when I signed up. The router could not connect to a PPPoE server. I called Technical Support and began my 2 hour hold time.
I finally got on the phone with a "tech" person and explained my situation, and for each question I asked, they placed me on hold and came back with the answer, but providing no help. I asked to speak with Level 2 support, and they stated there is no such thing, and gave me to a supervisor. He was very helpful in answering all my questions, but it did not help my connection. He explained to me that the only way to authenticate to their service is through their propriotary MSN Browser, and that no other authentication (including PPPoE) would work. I asked to cancel my account, and was given the number (and menu options) to cancel my account.
I called this number and entered the menu choices, but was promptly (and rudely) told that I had to call the same number with a different set of menu choices in order to do so. I asked to speak to a supervisor to inform them of the mis-information being passed around, and she told me there was no supervisor there. Of any kind. I asked for her name again and she hung up on me.
I called the number again, this time entering the new menu choices, and was placed into another hold queue for another hour. The person I spoke with was helpful and apologised to me for the troubles and for the way I was treated through the whole process, and told me he was sending a pre-paid UPS label to send the modem back.
MSN may be great for the AOL user that wants to switch to something faster, but for the power user with a home network, the service is absolutely worthless. Their customer service centers need a supervisor on duty to complain to, and their tech support needs more "techs" so the hold time can be reduced down from 2 hours. Same with the cancelation line. I do have to give customer service a pat on the back though, the hold time was always 2 minutes or less to speak with them.
I do feel bad for all of the Qwest.net users who are being forced to go to MSN, as I know quite a few of them who have similar requirements to mine. I have warned them, and they are all looking for a good provider in our area.
UPDATE 9/13: I just wanted to note that last night (9/12) I was contacted by a representative doing a survey of my satisfaction with my call to Tech Support. He asked all sorts of questions, and was very apologetic when I explained my difficulties. He modified his questions based upon my responses (didn't ask why were you satisfied or dissatisfied with your call, instead asked Why were you dissatisfied with this call...) I told him if his management wished to contact me regarding my experience with MSN, I would be more than happy to go into detail as to what happened.
I'm still not even considering MSN as a possibility in the future, however they are making a couple of attempts at damage control.
Also, I have still not received a return label yet.
Update 2/28/02: I figured I would fill everyone in on how this absolute MESS came to an end. After canceling the account, re-instating, canceling, re-instating, and canceling the account again, Qwest and MSN's computer systems finally synched up. The problem here: Since MSN orders the DSL carrier on your line, you can't tell Qwest that you want to change ISPs. MSN has to send a cancelation order to Qwest, which has to be completely processed, before you are able to touch your line again. After escelating the issue through a special department created just for MSN-Qwest issues, I was able to get my line released around October 1st, a full month after I canceled my account. I'm not sure which part is worse, the fact that it took escelation to that department, or the fact that there are so many similar situations that they had to create the special department!
I then had to wait on Qwest's waiting list for new DSL service. Once I received my modem, and my latest install date came, I got home AND HAD SERVICE with my new provider, Velocitus. What a relief.
I have made several calls to MSN over the last few months, was promised the shipping label to return their Arescom modem to them. During the re-order and cancel process, they actually tried to ship another 2 modems to me, which I refused shipment on. So to sum it up, I STILL have their modem. They haven't asked for payment for it, or sent me the label. I guess I'll hang on to it for a little while longer then eventually dispose of it.
My recommendation is if you want WORKING DSL service, avoid MSN and stick with a known good DSL provider, even if their monthly fee is greater. I'd rather pay more for working service, than any for non-working service.
Update 8/14/02: Well, it has officially been a year, and no return label has shown up, and no extra charges on my bills. I am planning on holding on to the modem for a while longer, just in case. It isn't taking up much space, but I wish there were something I could use it for until it gets disposed of in some way.
Update 7/17/03: It has been almost 2 full years not, and still no word from Qwest or MSN on the modem. I just moved out of the house where I had the modem installed, and canceled all service with Qwest. My wife and I have decided to go to cellular only for phone, and the new home only has cable modem service available anyway. I'm not too excited about going back to cable after being on DSL for so long, but it is better than dialup. I did pack the modem and put it in my storage unit so if they do eventually ask (I'll give them another year or so just to be on the safe side) I will still have it and be able to return it.
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Review by Xios
Posted: 6.4 years ago
member for 6.4 years, 26 visits, last login: 5 years ago
West Sacramento,Yolo,CA
$40 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
SBC
CLEC party: Qwest
"Its DSL, decent speeds, mostly reliable"
"Cannot open ports on built in modem firewall, sometimes have connectivity issues"
"Nice and fast internet surfing, but haven't had others to compare it to."
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I signed a contract that came with my computer about 2 and a half years ago with MSN. I had dial-up for a while and was satisfied with it, or as satisfied as I could be with dial-up. Anyhow, when MSN Broadband became available I immediately upgraded my account and was soon surfing the web with DSL. For a long time I was not aware of what my advertised speed was or if there were any upgrades, so I just stuck with this.
I get good speeds, about 100Kb/s from a good server and have no problem downloading music and such from P2P programs.
However, the real downfall is the modem, when I recently tried to host an FTP server I found out that my modem doesn't allow that port, and there is no way to change that. I guess others have had problems with online gaming also. Another downfall is that every once in a while I will have problems connecting to the Microsoft servers once it took my modem 3 days to connect to the server, I wasn't using my computer so I didn't call tech support, however, when it happened again and I called tech support, they gave me the usual run around with how to solve the problem, which didnt work. Usually i had to unplug my modem, restart my computer, and usually reset the modem settings, then it would connect some time during this procedure, and as soon as I got off the phone with tech support, it would disconnect again. This got me really frustrated, but as I still have 7 months left on the contract, there is nothing much I can do.
So, all in all, its DSL Internet for what seems like a reasonable price, I get great download speeds, and can load pages in seconds. However, there are some modem problems which advanced users may not like.
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