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Review by Kendrick 
UPDATED: 48 days ago
member for 48 days, 5 visits, last login: 35 days ago
 Starksboro,Addison,VT
 $45 per month (12 month contract)
 about 3 days
 "before their line was damaged it was rock solid."
 "tech support cant/wont look in to their phone line troubles. speed is a bit slow for distance. 1mi =1.5mb"
 "while the lines work its decent service."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
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I was supposed to be provisioned at 6/1M. Due to being a ways out I accepted the 1.5m sync when I first got the service. It ran well for me most of the time for the first 9 months or so. had 1 big storm come through and the DSL went down for 30 min or so. I had good pings even in Europe, I was getting decent download speeds. I asked about the reverse DNS and found I had to call for the webmaster 9-4 week days to get that setup. I was a little frustrated with that policy. It also took a call or so to get the speed and such right when it was first turned on. due to being a computer tech I had no need for setup at my end.
approximately 3 mo ago just before the big thaw when the storms started coming through. High wind or a good storm would shut down my dsl and phone service. we called about it a couple times and the tech said wait till the summer and we can get that line fixed proper. once it all thawed and the rain storms started even a little sprinkle would kill service. called several times and a couple more service tech's later no good. I had even ran commercial grade phone line direct from the box to the modem. that is the only line connected and was the only device, no phones, Same result. After a couple more calls the response was more of what do you mean its not normal to loose service after/during a rain storm. last month was daily showers for most of the month we were lucky to be able to make calls at all. I had from no internet to 200k my upload was normally faster then download. i had a long stretch of 33k and this was all from their diagnostic speed test page. I had been told that any thing above 600k was considered good/normal.
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 Review by palbri
UPDATED: 1.8 years ago
member for 7.8 years, 2604 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Bristol,Addison,VT
$40 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
"Customer Service, Performance (now), Upstream"
"Fast, rock-solid connection; a tad more expensive"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
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UPDATE AS OF 10/17/06:
Sad to say I disconnected Green Mountain Access since I am now an Adelphia/soon to be Comcast subscriber.
I had a rock solid, fast connection with GMA, always averaging 3300 down and 730 up on a 4/800 profile.
I chose Adelphia because of past history with Comcast and its Cable offerings over DirectTV. Moreover, the monetary savings over 16 months is phenomenal, due to satellite switch, promotions, bundles, etc.
With that being said, GMA announced they are upgrading their speeds to 6 MB down while reducing monthly cost to $35/month plus taxes.
Should Comcast become undesirable, I WILL switch back to GMA and I HIGHLY recommend their service.
Nice knowing you GMA!  Your customer service was stellar! THANKS!
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UPDATE AS OF DATE AS OF 9/27/06:
I still consistently achieve 3100-3300 and 733 up 24/7! This connection is rock solid!
However, I recently signed up for Adelphia but am now wavering since I RARELY achieve their 4/512 profile (mostly 900k-1.5MB most of the day and weekends).
I would hate to leave Green Mountain at this point and I HIGHLY recommend the new speed profile, if price is not at condieration.
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UPDATE AS OF 8/19/06:
It has now been 2 months since I upgraded to the new Elite package.
I consistently get 3100-3300 down and 733 up on a 4/1 profile.
VOIP works beautifully with the higher upstream. I can also surf comfortably.
For the most part, the connection has been reliable.
I am quite happy.
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UPDATE AS OF 6/19/06:
Perseverance has paid off! Speeds have now been corrected and I am now obtaining the proper profile.
It appears there was a coding error somewhere along the line and now the modem is picking up the correct speed profile.
I am happy to report that I am now averaging 3300/740 on a 4000/800 profile. VOIP works even better, but it did disconnect when speaking on the phone while surfing.
Tech support was very good, diligent and responsive.
However, I am a bit flabbergasted it has taken over 8 months for the problem to be solved, that of improperly coded pieces of equipment (or at least that is what has been conveyed).
This is the first time since my subscription that I am actually "getting" what has been advertised.
Therefore, I will correct my "grade" but will continue to monitor since it is the first 24 hours.
Thank you GMA!
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UPDATE AS OF 6/16/06:
Technicians were out again looking at my speed problem. Was told I was upgraded to new 4/880 profile. However, speeds are not being closely achieved. I am averaging 1100/420! And...I am getting charged $5 MORE PER MONTH.
When a test is done from outside of the house, tech indicates speeds can be achieved. However, when connected to modem in the home, it isn't happening. Next up is a wire check throughout the house.
I don't know what the problems are. Modem was even swapped out. I have tweaked using DrTcp and that has not even worked.
I am losing patience with this company and its technology.
On a happier note, the cable to my home is 80% completed. The cable needs to be strung between the outside box and the house. That should be done within a week. I am sooo looking forward to Cable service!
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UPDATE AS OF 5/21/06:
Customer Service has been very responsive and a technician arrived at the home promptly. While tests confirmed I can obtain their speeds, it was pointed out I am 16,000 feet from the "box". Planned speed upgrades may not alleviate the predicament in their opinion.
However, my concern is that the speeds have dropped within the past 1+ month during most of the day (8AM-7PM thereabouts) and are "normal" or within overhead standards very early morning or very late evening. I feel I can achieve most of the speed profile but something has changed. There does not seem to be any "leeching" from others since I have a highly encrypted 62 character WPA key. No other outside activity has been noted.
Patience is wearing thin and I am impatiently waiting for Comcast to complete installion.
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UPDATE AS OF 5/5/06:
My speeds have been shot to hell this past month: half of what they were on a 1.5/512 profile.
Calls to Greenmountain have been handled politely and patiently, but with no fix or solution. Politeness does not equal a solution in my book! I would rather deal with a gruff NJ/New Yorker who gets things done than a polite yea sayer.
I am in the process of getting wired for Comcast and CAN'T WAIT TO DUMP GREEN MOUNTAIN ACCESS.
I do NOT recommend this DSL service which is 3-5 years behind everyone else.
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UPDATE AS OF 2/25/06;
Now that Adelphia, soon to be Comcast, has prepared additional areas for service (the line from the road to the home will be completed in May), Green Mountain has introduced a higher speed to 4Mb/1Mb. The 1Mb upload is a great offering. However, that speed is only offered in very few areas. Of course, the new speeds will cost an additional $5 per month. Upgrades have been promised through year 06 and then it won't be 100% complete.
With that being said, VOIP does not work very well under the current GMA profile of 1.5/512. Real world speeds are closer to 1/313. Vonage seems to stutter and sputter with DSL than with cable.
Looking forward to the faster speed package (1 Mb upload is enticing), but am betting on cable since connections are here and imminent.
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UPDATE AS OF 12/4/05:
Adelphia has strung the cable in our area and a site survey was taken for the dig on my property. Digging has also begun in my neighborhood and my property will be completed any day now. I anticipate the choice and the new offering
With that being said, Green Mountain Access' did drop their pricing as noted below. I will adjust my review accordingly.
Despite the price drop, this is still an expensive and SLOW service for the speeds being offered, though an improvement over the prior offering. Speeds are not consistent and there are many disconnects, though not long-lived. Claimed upload speed is 512, but I rarely go above 288, which was the old speed. It appears they never really "opened the throttle" on that end. Download speed averages 1100-1200 on a GOOD day and is within reason and the industry overhead rate on a 1500 profile.
Customer Service, however, is top notch.
Something IS better than nothing in a rural state. But, it will now be curious to see what happens when a choice is presented to the consumer.
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UPDATE AS OF 1021/05:
NEWS FLASH: Adelphia (soon to be Comcast) was at my property today measuring: cable is imminent here and they are preparing to wire the rest of the neighborhood. They showed me how they would wire from the road to my box.
HOORAY! Finally some competition and the possibility of faster speeds. Will keep everyone posted! You have to do better Green Mountain!
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UPDATE AS OF 9/13/05:
A nice surprise: speeds have increased to the 1.5 Mb package. I am now averaging 1-1.2 Mb down and anywhere from 222-288 Kbps up. I believe the new upload should accomodate VOIP, but I do remember VOIP working better when Comcast upgraded to the 384 upload speed (of course I miss the 800 upload speed from Bell Sympatico in Ontario!).
Moreover, speeds are not rock solid and they tend to fluctuate quite a bit.
All in all, this was a nice surprise, but compared to the rest of the world, these speeds are woefully slow, especially for the price! True, this is a very rural state with a smaller subscriber base, but I anticiapte Cable knocking at my door.
I give an "A" for effort, but....well, let's just say an "incomplete" for the final grade. Thank you, nevertheless, but keep on trying!
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UPDATE AS OF 8/8/05:
I could not connect to dslreports.com for about 2 weeks. I could connect to ANY other site, but not dslreports. I COULD connect to dslreports.com if I utilized IP Scramble, a feature found in Ad Muncher. However, as of this date, I can now connect but only after restoring an earlier image or back up of my system from 2 weeks ago using Acronis True Image.
Coincidentally, GMA staff members posted on dslreports.com that they do not block this site and offered assistance on the same day I could connect, but i did not take the online assistance because my problem had corrected itself...for now. However, I do find it strange that this was the only site I could not connect to.
I have upgraded my review to include an improved grade for tech support.
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Green Mountain Access is the main DSL competitor to Adelphia Cable HSI in this area [many portions of the area are not yet cabled]. The borough and county is serviced by a local phone company, Waitsfield Telecom.
Though Green Mountain Access provides excellent customer service, pricing and speeds are not very competitive, and they are downright budget busting!
The 3 most popular tiers are:
Home Office DSL
$39.95* monthly (Includes DSL charge and Internet Connectivity)
* 512k downstream, 256k upstream**
* Dial-up account
* Up to 5 e-mail accounts with Clam AntiVirus Scanning and SpamAssassin Spam Filtering
* 10MB of personal web space
* Toll-free technical support
* Static IP address available
AdvantEDGE DSL
$54.95* monthly (Includes DSL charge and Internet Connectivity)
* 512k downstream, 512k upstream**
* Dial-up account
* Up to 5 e-mail accounts with Clam AntiVirus Scanning and SpamAssassin Spam Filtering
* 10MB of personal web space
* Toll-free technical support
* Static IP address available
Home Office Plus DSL
$51.95* per month (Includes DSL charge and Internet Connectivity)
* 1000k downstream, 384k upstream**
* Dial-up account
* Up to 5 e-mail accounts with Clam AntiVirus Scanning and SpamAssassin Spam Filtering
* 10MB of personal web space
* Toll-free technical support
* Static IP address available
So, if you can't get cable, this is the ONLY option for broadband in this area. Adelphia did not totally lay cable for most areas here. Unfortunately, I live in one of those areas.
Moreover, Green Mountain and Waitsfield don't seem to be upgrading anything for the pricing charged. I haven't seen any infrastructure improvements.
So, with the sale of Adelphia, I am looking forward to the emergence of Comcast and their deep pockets to help upgrade this county and borough, while providing much needed competition.
If cable is not a choice for you here, then you have to bite the bullet and go with this overpriced and slow DSL service. Otherwise, avoid Green Mountain Access and Waitsfield Telecom and pray that Comcast arrives quickly!
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Green Mountain Access
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