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 Review by cbrigante2 
UPDATED: 5.9 years ago
member for 7 years, 3159 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 North Aurora,Kane,IL
 $65 per month
 about 45 days
 "Very responsive to quality of service issues."
 "Have been worked out."
 "Very good speed, even for gaming."
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I wanted to wait a bit to review this service on it's own merits, but I have never had that luxury. Ordered the service and waited 45 days for install to occur because of sales volume that DLS is dealing with currently. Antenna is installed very professionally and looks as good as it's going to look. The radio unit had a bad connector shipped with it, so to get service up the installer jury-rigged the connector. (I look at this a a positive, doing what it took to get me going) Had another technician come out later the same day to fix, and he had the wrong parts to get the job done. (Again, no fault of DLS, going above and beyond in my book) Connector finally fixed about a week and a half later. Speeds and latency (use for gaming) pretty good. (actally great for my area) Life is good for about 2 weeks, and then the upload and latency speeds hit the crapper. Now this would not normally be a problem except that they have yet to give me an answer to it. They have told me it is a problem with the tower we get the service from. (they don't own the tower) I'm just waiting for an answer on when it "could" be fixed. (They claim it needs to have more bandwidth added.) They tell me they know it needs work, and they plan on doing it....why can't the customer know the planned fix date (month, week, just the ballpark timeframe when it should happen) when our service is running at 26k (yes...dialup speed) upload and not much better than 200 down? I will update this review with any new developments.
UPDATE 5/30/03
DLS has been exceptional in service quality for about the past month. Speeds are rocking, and gaming rarely hits a snag. Customer service has been very good. I wouldn't hesitate to order the service if you live in the coverage area.
UPDATE 12/22/03
Once again DLS is hitting all the right marks. I updated my lone 4 star rating on my review for install process. Just had the 10/10 service upgrade which requires a new equipment install. (have a dish antenna now instead of the larger one) This install went as planned and all speeds have been exceptional. Add to this the inclusion on a fax to email service for free and the possibility to use VOIP in the next few months and what do I have to say other than good job!
Gaming is still lag free as far as I'm concerned (usually have the best or 2nd best ping times on the server) and customer service is still a proactive approach at DLS as opposed to the "what did you do wrong" approach of the big companies. Cable internet is just now going live in my area, but I could care less with DLS and Sat TV.
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Review by derekcb
Posted: 5.9 years ago
member for 7.2 years, 33 visits, last login: 1.2 years ago
Round Lake,Lake,IL
$75 per month
about 10 days
"Fastest and most reliable service for the money."
"None so far."
"I wish I discovered them earlier."
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I was referred to DLS by a friend after complaining about my Earthlink DSL service. I was getting tired of losing sync on my line all too frequently and then getting useless technical support to resolve issues. Anyhow, I called to inquire about the service and spoke with the wireless sales person / installation coordinator - Cindy. She was spectacular to work with! She answered all my questions/concerns satisfactorily so I faxed in my order form on Nov. 24th. I received a call the next day with an install date of December 12th. I had a conflict on the install date, and instead of pushing me to the next week, she was able to squeeze me into a slot on December 4th. How is that for customer service!?
On December 4th, my installer Chad, actually showed up about 15 minutes early. I think my DSL installers were always late or no shows. He came in to survey the office area, and then went to work on the roof to make sure he had line of sight to the Lake Villa tower. He let me know where he was going to install on the roof, and told me that the sight line was good enough to get the 10 Mb equipment. Hooyah!!! He was on site for less than 2 hours, did a very professional install, and left after showing me a working connection off of his laptop. (note: If you are going to connect through a router - they allow it, but don't configure it for you, unless you purchase the router through them.) No big deal. After changing my Earthlink settings around on my D-Link wireless router, and correctly configuring my PPPoE settings I was off and surfing. I needed to download some CD images from my corporate network, so I VPNed in and started downloading. I was quite estatic when I noticed my download speed was averaging around 550KBps (thats kiloBYTES per second!!!!!) The best I had seen with my 1.5 Mb DSL line was around 130 KBps. Joy!
The only mishap during the install was not having my static IP provisioned and given to me during installation. I had to call technical support later to get that provisioned - it took all of ~5 minutes...including holdtime!
My first speed test - using the Speakeasy test at chi.speakeasy.net was 5860 down and 6172 up. For some reason I get better speedtest results using Speakeasy's Chicago speedtest than on DLS's speedtest.
The only loss of connectivity I've had came late in the evening on the 4th. For some reason the radio equipment stopped responding. Technical support couldn't see it either (no phone holdtime contacting support!) He had me recycle the power to the radio unit and I was reconnected in less than 30 seconds.
The morning of the 5th I noticed some poor/erratic performance - ranging anywhere from just over 300Kbps to over 3000Kbps on the download. The service guarantee is 256 kbps so I was still within contract bounds but very disappointed considering the performance I was introduced to. By mid-morning the speed was back up and was downloading large files again at around 300-400 KBps and has remained so all day.
The details of the agreement were $50 account activation fee, $200 installation fee, no contract, $75 per month with a 1 static IP, and 10Mb synchronous wireless service, with a guarantee to not go below 256 Kb synchronous. You just can't beat this price or performance. The other wireless providers were getting $400+ for installation with annual contracts for 1.5 Mb service and anywhere from $30-$50 per month. I have more bandwidth than I have in my corporate office at a price less than what some of my friends are paying for 1.5 Mb ADSL service. They installed what looks like a satellite dish on my roof with the radio equipment. The wiring coming into the house is an RJ45 twisted-pair cable that plugs into a surge protector. My router plugs into the other end of the surge protector and voila! 10Mb service.
Since it has only been a single day with the service, I will post a follow-on to this in a month or two (after the euphoria wears off.) I should have a better feel for the Mail, DNS, and connection reliability by then.
As for the lower scores for tech support and connection reliability...well I lost connectivity briefly that first night. And some earlier problem in getting a PPPoE issue resolved - I was told support would call back within an hour - it actually took more like a conservative six hours for the call back. Since I resolved the issue myself, and I realize they were tracking down a DSL outage I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
I hope you found this useful.
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Review by Nougat
UPDATED: 5.9 years ago
member for 6.6 years, 51 visits, last login: 1.7 years ago
Aurora,Kane,IL
$65 per month
about 30 days
"It works, and it's plenty fast for my purposes"
"My wife doesn't like the antenna on the roof (I couldn't care less), shared bandwidth"
"It's all I can get for broadband anymore, but it's the best speed I've had yet."
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UPDATE: Comcast cable just came to the neighborhood. I was disappointed in the speed I was getting (usually less than the 256/256 guarantee), and cable was cheaper. So I swithced. They came and got their equipment off the roof.
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Let me set the scene. I used to be a DSL installer, back in the days of milk and honey, when everyone was rolling in dough and dry line 1.5mbit SDSL was $40/mo residential. Those were the days ...
I used to have 608/128 ADSL from Focal. Focal (like Rhythms and Northpoint before them) filed Chap 11, and is killing its DSL division. My ISP (Speedsite) was moving everyone to Worldcom (who, by the way, bought a lot of Rhythms network, but I digress).
As it happens, FCC regulations have tipped back in the favor of the ILECs; mine is SBC. Any residential DSL service must now be provided with line sharing, and a prerequisite for that is that you must have local dialtone service with your ILEC, and not with, say, AT&T - like I have.
I like AT&T, and I'm not switching. I came across DLS.Net offering fixed wireless service just in the nick of time.
They're very busy with installs these days, so it took about a month from order to installation. I was somewhat disappointed with the communication from the company prior to installation; I faxed my order in back in Feb, and didn't get an email with any confirmation of an install date or that my order had been received until a couple of weeks later.
The guys were out to install it yesterday. They were very professional, shoes off in the house kind of guys. They tested (with a bucket van) in the driveway for about 90 minutes before I went out to see how it was going. I was getting real worried that I didn't have line of sight or something, but they had the big parabolic dish and a tripod assembled in my front yard.
The antenna is way up at the very highest point of my house. It's tall, and big, but not really taller or bigger than an old school TV antenna. My wife isn't the happiest about it, but it's that or dialup, and she's as spoiled as I am. The radio unit is down with my computer bits in the basement, and it's pretty small. I reconfigured PPPoE on my router and I was in like flynn. Speeds at the time of install were ~850/650.
Yeah, it's a drag that it's shared bandwidth, but whatever. And I actually kind of like the big freaky antenna. Makes it look like I'm guiding smart bombs from here or something. The only problem I've had is that ZoneAlarm Pro on my router box did not get along with POP mail after the switch. I contacted their tech support via email (they called me back!), since I had only changed my PPPoE settings, and everything had worked fine before with the old mail account. They helped me narrow it down, and I just caved and went to buy an actual Linksys box in the end.
All in all, so far so good. Speeds are just fine and last night's wind did not blow my antenna into the neighbor's back yard.
UPDATE: I'm much happier with their news server than with my old ISP's. All the sections of multipart posts are *there!* Imagine that! And oh yeah, here are price/service details I left out before:
$65/mo., PPPoE fixed wireless up to 1mb shared bandwidth. Some of their tower locations support up to 10mb (Lake in the Hills and Lake Villa area). They say they will eventually upgrade all of their towers. That would be muy sweet.
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 Review by lwool
Posted: 6 years ago
member for 6.3 years, 752 visits, last login: 3.3 years ago
Mundelein,Lake,IL
Contract price not specified.
about 10 days
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Today a technician from DLS came over to re-align my antenna. He told me that they needed to move the antenna to work off another tower in the area. I was unaware that DLS was switching towers, but happily let the technician do his job.
This is the only time I have done business with a company that will take the time to "fix" an issue even before it happens.
Although the new alignment required more holes in the roof, the technician assured me he would fill them and there would be no leakage. Everything was completed within approximately 30 minutes and now the speeds I've tested are even higher than before.
DLS is a consistently good company and I've recommended it to most everyone I know. The service and support have been excellent.
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Review by cdhough
Posted: 6 years ago
member for 6.1 years, 33 visits, last login: 62 days ago
Crystal Lake,Mchenry,IL
$69 per month (month by month)
about 1 days
"High Speed, reliable, reasonable price"
"email has gone done occassionally"
"Great value. I would highly recommend it!"
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The day I ordered, they installed my 10 Mbit wireless service! Talk about a quick install. I see speeds anywhere from 1.5 Mbit - 8 Mbit with the download usually always quicker, depending on the time of day. When there are a lot of people on it gets slower but slower is still WAY faster than my old DSL. It is VERY fast. I had problems with my Linksys wired router where it was dropping the connection. Now that I have a new Linksys wireless G router...no problems. It is an extremely reliable connection DLS was very helpful trying to find the problem. I have had the email go down a few times but it was not more than for a few hours and has not happened many times. There was also an email that I sent out to a lot of people informing them about my email change. For some reason it got stuck in the email server output queue and got sent out over and over again. I called and tech support cleared up the problem. The install was done very nicely. There is a small antenna on the roof and no visible wires because the installer hid them in the downspouts.
Networking: Linksys G wireless router (firmware 1.30.7), PPPoE. Windows XP, 2000 and 98se
It is a great service and I would definitely recommend it.
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Review by Diznog
Posted: 6 years ago
member for 6.1 years, 3 visits, last login: 6 years ago
Cary,Mchenry,IL
$65 per month
about 5 days
"FAST, compatible connection, no contract"
"Was hoping for 10mbps service, had to get 1.5"
"Excellent so far, with courteous service from order to installation"
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I just cancelled my Direcway service after having DLS wireless installed this week. GOODBYE Direcway! So far the move to DLS has been worth the $300 early cancellation fee from Direcway. I wish I had known about DLS before I installed satellite service with its latency and incompatibility with anything else (ethernet, 802.11b, doing business!). And DLS is month to month so they have to perform to keep my business, no contract. The only concern I had was that I was under the impression I would have a good chance at getting the 10mbps service when I first talked to them on the phone, and it turned out I could not. But don't get me wrong, this is still very fast. I have not used tech support yet. Pricing is similar or better to any other option I have for similar speeds in Cary, IL.
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 Review by johnruder1
Posted: 6.1 years ago
member for 9.3 years, 538 visits, last login: 4.3 years ago
Crystal Lake,Mchenry,IL
$65 per month
about 7 days
"Friendless and Helpfullness of Sales, Installation, Support"
"So far, ABSOLUTELY NONE!"
"Excellent Service, MAYBE a bit pricy, but WELL WORTH if PRICE=RELIABILITY"
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******* I OOPSED When I Wrote The Review Yesterday, TECH SUPPORT SHOULD Be FIVE Stars *********
Have just moved from the Northwest side of Chicago to Crystal Lake, (off Swanson between MILLER and ACKMAN). In the City I had BIG NET for a year, (COVAD CLEC), then EARTHLINK for 2 + years, (COVAD, CLEC). Earthlink was between average and above average, few service disruptions over the time I had EARTHLINK.
When I moved to C.L., DSL was NOT available, due to newness of subdivision and distance from CO. Although I have recently received infor from COMCAST saying, "Work", is being done in my area and should be available within a few months.
Contacted DLS.net, placed order for DLS. Net WIRELESS on 09.Oct.03, spoke to the sales cooridinator, Cindy, (Extremely friendly and patient,, answering all my questions. Was given an install date of 16.Oct, after 1:00 PM.
Came home from work on the 16th, just past 1:00 PM, and Scott the Installer was sitting in the Driveway, RIGHT on schedule. He walked around, went in basement and sized up install. The house I am in is one of the higher in the subdivision, so Scott was able to use the shortest Mast, and smallest antannae. It is mounted on back of house, and barely visible from anywhere BUT the back of the house. I also had him install, (for an EXTRA charge), a LINKSYS Wireless-B Adapter for one notebook, a MICROSOFT Wireles Base Station, (MN500). So, one laptop has the notebook adapter, the PC is hard wired in the study, and the new laptop TOSHIBA P25 S607, has an integrated wireless adapter. When Scott left, everything was workinh flawlessly, and was probably on the the neatest installs I have ever seen. I have no qualms about recommending DLS.net. I have spoken with there support group twice, both ISSUES on my end because I, "DUHED", and both issues resolved while I was on the phone.
I can go in and out of the house, connection has been ROCK stable, and NO loss of service. I cannot speak highly enough for DSL.Net's professionialism, politness, attention to detail, and there willingless to insure that they have a 100 % satisfied customer BEFORE the installer leaves. We could ALL learn....
As far as price, 65.00 a month. If, (And when), COMCAST is here, CABLE modem 59.95, if you bundle they discount about $17.00(?). I would NEVER have cable or digital cable, have both Dish 5000/6000 service, and an happy with that.
Speed tests have been excellent, 3.5 to th5 5.5's down, and about the same up, am in line of sight about 4000 ft to tower.
Sorry about being long winded......
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Review by Skornzbolt23
Posted: 6.1 years ago
member for 6.2 years, 151 visits, last login: 1.9 years ago
Hamlin,Monroe,NY
$40 per month
"Great speed, decent service"
"if service does come, they don't look like they know much"
"definately worth the 40 bucks"
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at first the signal was shotty, but i recently moved and now get speeds of 2900 / 360, and that is at peak hours. ping for games is good, and downloads of files can be anywhere from 350 - 420 kbps, beaaaaaaaaaautiful lol. no complaints here
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Review by boilem
Posted: 6.3 years ago
member for 6.3 years, 0 visits, last login: 6.3 years ago
Lake In The Hills,Mchenry,IL
$65 per month
about 3 days
 DSL.Net
CLEC party: DSL.Net
"Extremly fast connection!!!"
"Sort of pricey monthly payment (however good customer service offsets this)!!"
"Adios SBC and Comcast!!"
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Sales rep (Cindy) is a pleasant person to talk with. She is knowledgeable and courteous. The Chap who installed the system (Darren) was also professional and knows what he does well. I live about a mile from a 10 mb tower in Lake in The Hills and I have a really fast connection. The antenna is really small and unless you look for it, you will miss it! He installed it on my chimney and run the cable through the gutter. I was really happy the way it was done.
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Review by vic714
Posted: 6.3 years ago
member for 8.2 years, 61 visits, last login: 1 year ago
Grayslake,Lake,IL
$75 per month
about 7 days
"GREAT Speed FAST install"
"None so far"
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I've has SDSL service for the last 5 years through various companies Rhythms/Verio, Covad/Verio & Covad/IWC. All were in the $110-$144 / month range. IWC finally decided to not carry the service anymore so I was stuck. Turned out to be the BEST thing that could happen. Installation was FAST due to a cancellation and went really FAST. Paid extra for the static IP and have no real complaints.
Will update my post later.
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