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Review by Subaru See Profile

  • Location: Bridgeport, Fairfield, CT, USA
  • Cost: $26 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 10 days
  • Telco party Southern New England Telephone
Price is good and the downloads speeds are nice
Had problems with it not taking the order, then finding out the dsl kit was shipped
cheaper then OOL and without the upload caps
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

First of all I used to have Optimum Online.. the price was nice but with the prices going up each month and so it just was too much, So I went without any broadband for 2 years. And decided to give Sbc Yahoo Dsl a try, So far i'm pleased with it. No problems at all, everything was in the box I needed. I did have a problem with the order because I ordered under my name, And not the person who owned the phone line so that held up my order until they checked their own selfs to see who owned the Line. Then my dsl kit was shipped off to me.

The service is a dynamic IP and it's PPPoE but I use my router with it, still don't have any problems with it.

no longer have this service

member for 22.8 years, 10011 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 13 years ago


Review by DocZac See Profile

  • Location: Grand Prairie, Dallas, TX, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Install: about 5 days
Speed, connection, reliability
Yahoo integration, tech support, customer support
GREAT...as long as you don't have to get support of any form
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I was with @home, comcast, and finally roadrunner for years. When they changed to roadrunner....I had to run. The service was expensive and the support was terrible. To get 6MB down, it was a substantial extra charge. It was bundled with my phone and television service and the TV service was down or out of focus most of the time.
I went to ATT and signed up for the Uverse service. The television is crystal clear and up about 98% of the time. I only lost the internet once and that was due to some idiot cutting the feed line.
I have fiber to the neighborhood and copper throughout. I get about 12mb down and 1.5 mb up. The tech and customer support is terrible. You are on-hold forever and when you get to someone (finally)..... they only have amateur answers! Other than that.... I am very pleased with the service.

***Update***
About 3 months ago, I was reviewing the pricing on the DSL page for ATT Yahoo. I found the 18MB download and 2 MB upload was CHEAPER than I was paying for
the slower speed. I called and within 2 hours, I was running 17.6MB down and 1.6MB up. Very pleased with the stability and the speed. So overall once again I say....

Try them....you'll like them.

DocZac

member for 16.7 years, 46 visits, last login: 13.1 years ago
updated 13.1 years ago


David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David

Premium Member

You can always stop by the direct forum

and speak to the uverse guys there.

»AT&T Direct

just post away and mmay149q usually isn't too far away. Plus there is two others.

Review by ILpt4U See Profile

  • Location: Lisle, Du Page, IL, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month
  • Install: about 12 days
  • Telco party AT&T
Consistent, Fast enough
Transfering Service is a PAIN IN THE . Dry Loop Price is too high
I like it. Dry Loop. Just High Speed Internet (Elite speed 5.2 Mbps down/.6 Mbps up)
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Updated Jan 30, 2011:

For whatever reason, I was experiencing some weird unexplained slow-downs, especially around peak times. However, I have once again given up on traditional AT&T ADSL service, and now have moved to CO-based ADSL2+ IPDSLAM "U-Verse" Internet

Updated March 7, 2010:

Dry Loop DSL still working as advertised.

I have heard rumors you can get a "bundle" discount by having AT&T Cell service. I have Cell Service & Combined billing, so I'll be calling sometime soon to see if there is any type of bundle discount

Updated Aug 28th, 2009:

Got Dry Loop up & running the day after the scheduled due date. Had an issue connecting the feeder pair to the correct Apt's IW -- but now it is all hooked up & working great.

Not really a big fan of the overhead loss with ADSL vs U-Verse VDSL internet, but oh well. Still getting about 5.2-5.3 Mbps down/.6 Mbps up. And consistent as a rock.

Had a little bit of an adventure migrating my AT&T email address from an U-Verse account to an ADSL account, but after a couple of phone calls to ADSL Tech Support & U-Verse Tech Support, got the email address disassociated from the U-Verse account so it could then be associated with my ADSL account.

If you cannot get U-Verse, then AT&T ADSL is a good alternative!

Updated Aug 5th, 2009:

I had to move to another apartment that is not U-Verse "green"/available. So I am going back to ADSL once again. Scheduled to be installed August 11th. I really do not like that the dry loop prices keep going up. When I first had Pro Dry Loop, it was $30/month. Then it went up to $35/month. Now Pro Dry Loop is $40/month. Decided to just pay the extra $5/month and get Elite Dry Loop @ $45/month. Don't understand how DSL is getting more expensive to provide... Will update again when service is up & running

Updated Dec 15th, 2008:

As of the end of September, I have ceased being an ADSL customer and am now a FTTN/VDSL customer of AT&T's U-Verse service. ADSL served me well.

Updated June 22nd, 2008:

I recently moved for work purposes. So naturally I wanted to transfer my service to my new place. I was told that Dry Loop accounts cannot be transferred, and instead I would have to cancel the old account at the old address and start new service on a new account at the new address. Fine. I set up the old account to terminate on the same day as the new account is due to go active....

Fast Forward to due date: I plug in my DSL modem, it syncs up, I pull up the AT&T DSL registration website, type in my new account number, and it gives me an error and says to call tech support. I pick up the phone. After doing basic troubleshooting, Tech Support then transfers me to Sales. Sales informs me that this new order had been canceled -- not just that, but that I called AT&T between my order date and the due date to cancel the order, because, as they told me, I wanted to keep my current POTS and Line Share DSL at that address. Well, I'll let you imagine my reaction to that load of crap. So basically, I have to order new service AGAIN and get a new account number, and of course, a new due date, 1 week later. I said you can get it sooner or I'm calling Comcast. The CSR said there is no way to speed up the order. I hung up. Called Comcast, heard their offer. Told the CSR there I would think about it.

A couple days later, I called AT&T back, spoke to customer care, they gave me some sort of account credit, took my new order (still due 1 week after this date), I expressed my concerns with this whole process, and in the end just let this new order go thru. Now here is the kicker: I had DSL service on this line the whole time this process was going on: The whole time my DSL modem would sync up to AT&T and I could go to AT&T's registration website, and some very limited browsing on att.com. All I needed to get the full internet was a valid DSL account number to complete registration. So basically, about 3 days before this final order was due, I tried the registration site again (with this new account number) -- and it worked. So I got my service going about 3 days before the official due date, but about a week and a half AFTER my original due date on that 1st order that I mysteriously called in to cancel because I wanted to keep POTS and Line Share DSL I never had at my new apartment...

Also, apparently AT&T has raised prices for Dry Loop DSL, as I was paying $29/month for the Pro Tier before I moved, but was told that for my new service at the Pro Tier level, it is now $34/month. I tried to negotiate into keeping the same price I had before, but did not have any luck. Oh well.

Original Review:

Ordered originally as line share, as I had not been educated as to Dry Loop (Thank you, DSLReports!). I originally ordered in July 07 with a 1 year contract, however the order did not get completed until mid-August. After the "live" date, found out the drop was not connected to my apartment's line at the apartment NID. AT&T fixed that, then I had service (had to have first bill adjusted from the "expected" live date to when they actually had the service up and going). I converted over to dry loop sometime around December 07/January 08 (still under the same 1 year contract -- no new contract was required). No issues there. I got a SpeedStream 4100b DSL modem (free after rebate). I also got a 3-month free service credit for coming over from Comcast (after 3 months of paid service).

Line Share price for Pro (3 Mbps down/.5 Mbps up) speed was $24.99/month, and now Dry Loop Pro is $28.99/month, no taxes or fees over that. And no useless landline phone charges either.

The only bad was reported in the AT&T Midwest forum here, where one of the routers in Elmhurst, IL was malfunctioning and roughly half the internet was inaccessible (any IP address that ended in an odd number would not route). That has been fixed. And the problem/issue was only there for I think a day. AT&T caught it very quickly.

The advertised speed and max speed may not be on par with Comcast's top (6 Mbps with powerboost to 12 Mbps locally), but I love the CONSISTENCY of the 3 Mbps. DSL does NOT slow down to dial-up like speeds between 3 and 9 pm on school days. My old Comcast line was notorious for that.

All around, I have been and am very pleased with my AT&T Pro Speed DSL.

member for 17.3 years, 8567 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 13.1 years ago

lvrdad_45
join:2001-09-18
Fort Worth, TX

lvrdad_45

Member

dry loop dsl charge

I think you will find you are still paying 2
$29 for your internet, the additional is the charge for the incoming line to carry the DSL.

ILpt4U
Premium Member
join:2006-11-12
Saint Louis, MO
ARRIS TM822
Asus RT-N66

ILpt4U

Premium Member

Re: dry loop dsl charge

There was no sort of line charge or taxes or anything beyond the $29/month for my Dry Loop Line at my old apartment (I still have a copy of a bill), so if there is some sort of line charge or tax on my new account, well I will be contacting billing for an explanation, at the least.

Review by Halfdead14 See Profile

  • Location: Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
  • Cost: $43 per month (12 month contract)
  • Telco party AT&T
Worked with no problems for years until now
Bad technical support and customer service.
If you have other options, don't go with at&t.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I'm currently paying 43$ per month for dsl elite package 6000/756 kbps. If my connection is actually working i get around 5000/550 kbps. The 2Wire included hardware is completely terrible, i'de recommend staying away from it.

I've been having issues with AT&T for so long now, their inability to send out the proper modem after specifying with a representative on the phone at least five times is just astounding. Constant reliability issues, dsl goes out for around 5 minutes every couple hours, Ive had latency issues for months now but they want to charge me around 150$ to send out a tech. After calling att and being transferred 5 times to find someone who can actually help me with a problem and then having that person not be able to understand them because of their accent is just ludicrous. If you run a technical support company and have people answering phones who customers can't understand there's no point. The only reason i stay with att is because Charter, which is the ONLY other provider in my area has usage caps. But i'm seriously considering charter again.

I guess what i'm trying to say is, STAY CLEAR AT ALL COSTS.

member for 15 years, 101 visits, last login: 12.3 years ago
updated 13.2 years ago

Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678

Member

The phone line repair help line is good

The phone line repair help line is good and fast. Call about a bad line and it's fixed next day or sooner.
dave sz
join:2001-06-04
Carpentersville, IL

dave sz

Member

How do I thumbs down a review on this site?

I've dealt with 2 modem/router gateways and 3 other modem and router combos and the 2wire is still what I preferred most. From signal strength to ease of setup.

Review by veloct See Profile

  • Location: Moosup, Windham, CT, USA
  • Cost: $20 per month (6 month contract)
  • Install: about 6 days
  • Telco party Southern New England Telephone
Connection reliability is awesome, beats cable in this area hands down
Slow speeds, slow to upgrade services in CT puts AT&T at a disadvantage against all other internet providers.
If you want bundled services, you can't go wrong. Pricing is better than cable.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Initial:
21 days total from order, live 3 days before actual date. I've been through ISDN, IDSL, DSL and cable while living in Texas so I had an idea of what to expect. For the price of $39 (12 month contract), I ordered the 768-1500/256 service. Right from the get go i'm averaging 1270/240 on the line and I'm expecting after the initial optimizing days that it will stay the same or improve. I'm quite happy with it. The support in the forum here is excellent and everyone is very helpful, it's a god send. Everything went very smoothly. One thing to note: I have my email and web hosted elsewhere and I don't read newsgroups so I can't comment on those services.

27 Nov 2003:
I believe service has been down a total of maybe half a day. To say that it has been rock solid would be an understatement. I couldn't be happier with the service.

25 Feb 2004:
Connection reliability has been great, BUT CT not getting the new tier due to billing issues is a bunch of horse***. I don't know how things will go now with SNET gone and SBC in place. Need to offer DSL without the additional voice services at a competitive price, improve (actually revamp) their whole support system (I hate calling and getting a different story every time I call) and get the new tiers in place, that's the bottom line.

1 Apr 2004:
No new tiers in CT yet. Connection is still rock solid even though I've noticed a slight slowdown and my speed tests aren't what they used to be. If I have a viable option aside DSL either with a different provider or Cable, I would definitely give them a try. SBC DSL is not the best value out there anymore, by a long shot.

16 Dec 2005:
Back on with SBC. This time I'm using the bundle service (DSL, phone and satellite). So far is very very good and at a very good price. (~$100/month + tax for all services). I'm on the Pro package (3.0/512)

21 Aug 2007:
Still with AT&T, service has not gone down once in the almost 2 years I've had it. Rock solid.

25 Sept 2008:
Service is still great, this is reliable service. It never goes down; I think in the 5+ years I've had service, it's gone down maybe once. The only thing I wish for is the availability of U-Verse.

March 2009
Went to Metrocast Cable, higher speeds with great local service. Even if a little more, it's worth it. Nothing bad to say about AT&T except the inability to roll out a competitive package to cable cost them a customer.


member for 21.1 years, 2792 visits, last login: 9.3 years ago
updated 13.2 years ago


David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David

Premium Member

What happend??

To the speeds??

Post in the sbc direct forum and let's check it out...

Thanks
David..

cmcgilton
join:2001-03-14
Stow, OH

cmcgilton

Member

Re: What happend??

Sometimes the user's computers will have spyware or trojans working behind the user stealing bandwidth and causing problems. Just something to think about.

veloct
Go Pats
Premium Member
join:2003-01-21
Moosup, CT

veloct

Premium Member

Re: What happend??

This is on a Macintosh. I doubt it's either of those.

David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David

Premium Member

Re: What happend??

I can still help...

I have used a few macs and have an OSx book here in my house so I can find my way around a mac if I have to. I took lev See Profile's laptop around for a drive and it worked rather well. A very nice mac...

veloct
Go Pats
Premium Member
join:2003-01-21
Moosup, CT

veloct

Premium Member

Re: What happend??

Posted on SBC Direct, no replies yet. So when are the "billing issues" going to be fixed in CT?

David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David

Premium Member

Re: What happend??

I just posted in there... A very, very clean line... That is about what my line did before the upgrade... Just an FYI I have a linksys BEFRS41 router and when I had speeds like this I found few problems with it, but with some other routers, I cannot say I was quite as lucky...

gamedevil
@ntplx.com

gamedevil

Anon

There ARE ISP Options

I'm an online gamer and have been with NETPLEX since they rolled out dsl here in CT. They are GREAT! Consistent and stable speeds and a free static IP with every account. You can VOIP, VPN and other services over their network AND reliably! Can't do that on cable or over SBC's network. Well worth giving them a shot or visit their website at »www.ntplx.net. You do have choices.

veloct
Go Pats
Premium Member
join:2003-01-21
Moosup, CT

veloct

Premium Member

Re: There ARE ISP Options

To have comparable service it would cost me $75/mo. and that would be 256k upload only. Thanks for the info. though

David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David

Premium Member

Thank you for the review

thanks for the review.

Review by justbits See Profile

  • Location: Chicago, Cook, IL, USA
  • Cost: $55 per month (month by month)
  • Telco party Ameritech
See other review
See other review
See other review
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Please refer to my primary review at:
»Review of AT&T Midwest by justbits

member for 21.2 years, 3719 visits, last login: 49 days ago
updated 13.2 years ago







Review by Jason See Profile

  • Location: Napa, Napa, CA, USA
  • Cost: $33 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 15 days
  • Telco party SBC
3 mb DSL..
Now having Sync issues..
Its okay, but I think I'm going to explore other options..
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've been a customer for *years* now.. About 2 years ago, after about 3 years of faithful service, my 2-wire modem died, (that I got free when I started the service here) I called for a replacement, and they were going to charge me $99 to replace it? Wont extend the same deal to a long established customer that they will to someone new? Oh well.. Dusted off an old Zyxel, and got that working just fine..

As of late, I've been having sync issues.. Every 5 to 10 minutes the modem has to resynch with the CO.. They've sent out 2 techs so far, and the 2nd guy said the line from the house to the street was bad..Swapped my line pairs, then tested it, and took off.. Still have the sync issues, and now theres static on my POTS telephone service..

I need to have HS internet, and 3000/512 for $33 is okay, I just wish we could figure out these new issues..

AT&T has been pretty good at trying to get me all patched up, and working solid, but their techs are just plain old falling short. Maybe I have an obscure issue or something..

I'll keep them for now, but I'm really exploring other options at the moment.. As it stands, I would hesitate to recommend their service here, to a friend.

member for 23.1 years, 7034 visits, last login: 328 days ago
updated 13.2 years ago


Review by cvrefugee See Profile

  • Location: Corona, Riverside, CA, USA
  • Cost: $40 per month
  • Telco party AT&T
Fairly stable connection, decent price
Intermittent slowdowns, price going up steadily
Thinking about switching to cable
Connection reliability:
Value for money:

Over the past year or so I haven't been thrilled with AT&T. Lately I've been thinking about switching over to Time Warner since my neighbor has them and he's completely satisfied, not to mention his speeds are much better and consistent than mine. I recently purchased a new DSL modem/router combo to see if my connection problems were alleviated, but not much has changed. The latest issue were the crap DNS servers AT&T assigned me. It took me a few months to figure out that the default DNS servers were behind my painfully slow web browsing.

member for 20.5 years, 4377 visits, last login: 4.3 years ago
updated 13.3 years ago


Review by peterdmar See Profile

  • Location: San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
  • Cost: $33 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
  • Telco party AT&T
Excellent value in the beginning
Crappy Software and noisy modem. This service is all right as long as you are perhaps under 12,000 feet from the central office
Excellent service so far with a little slowness during peak time sonetimes
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Our phone service was with Comcast with two phone lines with Bluelight Internet Service for grand total $58. Since I have two computers and wish to network them, I felt that it would be much better if I sign up for broadband. In order for me to get DSL from SBC I would have to switch my phone service back to them. So on April 20, 2005, I made the call to SBC to switch our phone service back to SBC keeping only the primarily phone line. Three days later, I've placed an order over the web for DSL at SBC. This is for their DSL Express service level ( 1.538 mbps download and 384 kbps upload with 1 dynamic IP address) for $19.95+ $1.46 per month with the 12 month contract, $99 credit for the self install kit and $12.95 for shipping and handling, free installation. Almost immediately, I receive a confirmation e-mail from them. They indicated that the service will become alive on May 3rd 2005. They sent someone out on April 27, 2005 to connect our phone line over to the SBC line. I've immediately, called Comcast to cancel our second phone line which we don't need anymore. I was told by someone at Comcast that they can't help me to cancel immediately because of their policies. I was told to call back in one week's time. I call back six days later, was able to cancel it than.

We received the self-install kit on the evening of April 27, 2005 via UPS. I've waited till the next morning to try to install the modem. The modem was hooked up to my new D-Link DI 624 router at my main computer. Immediately, I noticed that this modem is kinda of noisy so I mounted it under my computer desk. When on, it makes a little of high-pitched whistling noise. My secondary computer is hooked up to the wireless LAN via Netgear WG 311T. I was having problems in setting up my router. In order for my modem to coexist with the router, since by default both the modem and the router shares the same IP address. The router's IP address can be changed unlike that of the modem. I was finally able to set up everything. The router was set for dynamic IP and the modem was set for PPPoE. We are about 7000 feet from the phone company's central office.

Four years ago, I've replaced all phone wiring in my house myself with cabling similar to category 5 using two twisted pairs for my two phone lines having two twisted pairs as spares. So for DSL service I only need to use one of the low pass filter since I have four twisted pairs at every phone jack after some minor modification. That filter was install at the head of the line for the phone service with a separate home run for the phone jack where the modem is plugged into. That modem home run line is on the secondary phone jack connection with the primary for phone service. Right now the DSL modem is hooked up using a line swapper. This way so the phone jack can be used with dialup modem as well. While all of the other phone jacks in the house are wired for primary and secondary phone service only with the secondary phone line unused for now.

I did not install the crabby software from the provided CD. But I did install the connection manager when I was trying to see if the connection is alive. It was already causing problems on my computer so I immediately uninstall it. Next I tried logging into the modem and typed the default password and username for new members. Initially, I wasn't able to connect to the authentication server yet the DSL modem indicated activity. I tried again, 1 1/2 hour later with and was able to login so I can register and activate the service. I've logged back into my modem and typed in my new username and password then restart the modem. I've immediately went to dslreport.com to do a speed test. The test result was: download, 1240 kbps and upload, 300 kbps. That test was saved at dslreport on April 28, 2005. I've noticed, that the speed was pretty consistent no matter what time of the day. I've also run a speed test at SBC own speed tester web site. The test result on that site was slightly higher. I've also try downloading to see what kind of speed I am getting and the result was at least 157 kbps for single stream and better than 200 kbps for double stream. It has been alive for more than a week and has never been down. So far, I have been very happy with the service. For the first year, I would end up paying less than I did with the old two phone lines and dialup Internet access and also both computers can be online at the same time. And it's possible to browse the web on both computer by two users while downloading files at the same time as well with this connection.

I would continually update this review as I learn more about this service whether it'll be positive or negative.

Update June 22, 2005: our service was uneventful and has been very consistent and reliable with no outages so far. That noisy DSL modem was getting to me to a point that I didn't care much about the one year warranty. So I decided to modify it by taking it apart and rubber mount that large doughnut shaped coil by unsoldering that coil and soldering 2 pigtail wires to reconnect. This modification appears very easy to do, since the connection only invoked two wires. That coil was remounted a little higher up at the same location on silicone rubber connecting through the two pigtail wires to the original connection on the circuit board. To avoid vibration transmission, the wires were bent to form a small loop. The coil is now floating on silicone rubber between the circuit board in this way so the coil vibration won't be transmitted to the circuit board which causes reverberation affect that amplify the high-pitched noise. I think that coil is part of the power supply filtering or maybe part of the switching power supply. After this modification, the modem was finally quiet.

(Update August 18, 2005 our service has been uneventful for the past 3 1/2 months except for an occasional disconnect when the IP address get renew usually three or four days in interval. I guess, with dynamic IP addressing this is done to make it harder for you to run any kind of server and for user security. I did noticed some slow down at certain time when it comes to loading web pages perhaps routing and DNS server overload. Perhaps because SBC has been cutting prices and signing up way too many people for the infrastructure to handle. But they seem to have enough capacity to keep the speed fairly consistent. I've noticed recently, web page loading speed is improving somewhat.

SBC has discontinued the Efficient Speed Stream 5100 B. for new members who sign up. In its place is the smaller about 4 inch square Efficient Speed Stream 4100. This modem has an identical user interface and function as the 5100 B. This modem does not make any high-pitched noise like the old one. I've helped my sister-in-law to order the DSL service and to set up their system to connect to SBC Yahoo without the use of the software on the CD. Their connected speed is identical to ours in terms of both the uploading and downloading. Their connection is identical to ours in terms of reliability as well. Their service from the time of online order to live in six days. Their copper loop is actually shorter than ours from the phone company's central office.

Update, January 10, 2006, I have just received an offer by phone from SBC to upgrade my service to the "Pro" service level for 2 dollars more per month for the next six-month. So I went for it. It did not require me to change anything with my existing phone service. Since they were the ones who called me. I should notice the change in speeds in five to ten days from today according to what they told me.(Update 1-18-06), My service was upgraded today to "pro" 3008 speed. So far the service has been great. The speed test Results on Broadband Reports was 2452/420 kbps. And my test results for packet lost at on January 22, 2006 was ( »/quali ··· /1965401)

UPDATE!!!!!!! June 17, 2006, we're still getting great service from SBC now renamed AT&T. We experienced no outages other than a brief outage to renew to a new IP address occasionally. Our half-year contract for SBC DSL Pro will end on July 18,2006. I've called in to rerate for a one-year contract at $24.99 per month without adding any new extras to my phone. I had to wait on the phone for close to half an hour before someone answers it, and then was told that I had to add extras to my phone service before I get a deal. I then, asked for the DSL retention department was again place on hold for another 15 minutes before someone answers. This time another lady told me the best she can without adding extras to my phone service was $24.99 per month with a one-year contract for existing customers. I went for it, asking the lady to have it kick in when my old contract ends. This is three dollars more per month than what I was paying for while on the old contract for the DSL Pro Service. While on the phone, I've also asked is it possible to upgrade to the Elite DSL plan. I found out, we're over the borderline in distance from the central office at 7800 feet. They won't accept any order for service over 7000 feet for the Elite DSL plan.

Update, April 24, 2007: Our DSL service with AT&T has been basically flawless for the almost 2 years that we had it with up time better than 99.99%. The speed has been mostly consistent up to a certain degree with a little bit of slowness during peak hours. I guess, with consumer grade DSL service they cannot guarantee consistent speed and up time all the time. With any Internet service there are some sharing along the way to the Internet. Take for instance, with DSL service you're line is not share with anyone from the phone company central office to the house but is shared after that point on. On the other hand, cable Internet service the bandwidth is shared from the cable line directly outside the house. In the almost two year period, I do not have to call AT&T for repair service. So far, I am quite happy with my DSL service.

Update, November 1, 2010: Except for the price increase, our service at AT&T has been very much uneventful for the last 5 1/2 years with them. We ended up paying $33 a month for DSL Pro. The highest point where we were paying them for this service was $35 a month. Gradually the service has been improving as far as evening slowdown down through the years. On November 1, 2010 we moved on to another DSL Internet service provider that provides a much higher speed.

member for 23.1 years, 2916 visits, last login: 2.4 years ago
updated 13.3 years ago


Anon99
@sbcglobal.net

Anon99

Anon

Yahoo BOOOO!

Yahoo has done nothing but frustrate me into getting different dsl service. My connection constantly goes down and my ip changes every time my connection goes down. Then when I try to get help all I get is excuses and the same old list of possible reasons why that their people read off to me in broken english. It's been 3 days in a row of the same excuses and the same lack of being able to get online. Why does PPOE change the ip and lose connection so often? I guess it's a regulatory thing to keep people with more than one computer from using too much bandwidth or something.
Anon99

Anon99

Anon

SBC

Now it's the 4th day and i am getting pretty heated about the connection. All they say is try again later. Once they said it was an outage, DUH! So i spent an hour getting on thier chat line with this connection that is slower than dial up. I demand to speak to the supervisor and get Alter. OMG! Supervisor? I got disconnected a couple of times during the chat but this is the last part i saved. He said someone would be calling in 4 hours. It's sunday, but he keeps saying four hours. SBC lies to it's customers and has thier employees choosing answers from a script. I will be canceling this service for sure. There's no way i will pay for something that has people like Alter with absolutley no comon sense.

Anon99: Yahoo this is fun

Alter Parker: I appreciate your co-operation.
David Byrd: so everytime i have a problem this is what i will get?
Alter Parker: David, please do not worry. The connection issue will get resolved soon. Let me try all the troubleshooting steps first.

Anon99: how soon?

Alter Parker: It will get resolved with in 24 hours of time. I wish you to know that DSL is very sensitive to Electromagnetic Interference, or EMI. It is important to make sure that the DSL modem and telephone lines are placed in such a way as to minimize this interference, as well as placing them to provide adequate cooling.

Anon99: come on now i have ahd no probs till a few days ago, it's not me it's your end

Alter Parker: Okay, David, if you have tried all the above mentioned troubleshooting steps, then I have to escalate the issue to the Line Department. They will check your DSL line and diagnose the issue further.

Anon99: they make you read from a list dont they?

Alter Parker: To escalate the issue to the line Department, I need few information from you.

Anon99: of course

Alter Parker: Let me know the DSL modem and model number you are using.

Anon99: 4100 speed stream

Anon99: i know what happened

Anon99: i have a friend who works for sbc

Anon99: somebody screwed my line up while trying to fix another

Anon99: sloppy work

Alter Parker: Okay, please do not worry. Line department will take care of this and repair the DSL line. Let me know the Operating system installed in your computer.

Anon99: xp

Anon99: its not my pc

Anon99: Please give me a minute.

Alter Parker: Please tell me the preferred time as well as the time zone, when our technician will call you or contact you.
Alter Parker: Thank you for waiting. I will need to open a trouble ticket on your behalf. Someone from our maintenance department will be contacting you within 4 hours to troubleshoot further. If it is required that someone must provide additional troubleshooting at your premises, someone with password access to your account must be present, or the technician may be required to change your password in order to complete the troubleshooting. In the event your password is changed during the repair activity, we (ASI) will notify you of the new password at the number you previously provided. SBC Internet Services strongly recommends that you change the password to something of your own choosing at your earliest convenience.

Anon99: now

Alter Parker: It will take at least four hours.

Alter Parker: Thank you for all the information.

Anon99: on sunday i doubt anyone will call

Alter Parker: Yes, they will call only during the business days.

Anon99: then what are telling me 4 hours for?

Alter Parker: They will call you tommorow.

Anon99: i dont need to be here just fix the damn line

Anon99: i cant believe the stupidity

Anon99: you said four hours its sunday

Anon99: DUH

Anon99: i cant believe i pay for this

Alter Parker: David, I have created the trouble ticket for you. They will send out the Technician to check the line and they will inform you regarding the status of the DSL line.

Anon99: cancel the account i am sick

Alter Parker: I regret to hear that you wish to cancel the DSL account. However, I appreciate if you wait few more hours. The line issue will get resolved.

Anon99: its sunday

David Byrd: then why do you keep saying 3 or four hours?

Alter Parker: David, You would need to wait till monday

Alter Parker: I know it must be upsetting. However, I have tried my best to resolve the issue.

David Byrd: your lying

Alter Parker: I apologize for the miscommunication.

David Byrd: reading from a script

Alter Parker: David, you will receive the call on Monday. Let me know, is there anything else that I can assist you with?

Anon99: oh no you were so much help i cant take any more

Anon99: its called english and common sense




spenster
join:2001-04-03
Houston, TX

spenster

Member

Re: SBC

You know, it's no wonder you have so many problems with your service being a total prick like that to someone who didn't cause your problem to begin with. Give the poor guy a break... he's only trying to do his job and help you.

If the service is causing you so much grief, just cancel the damn thing and leave their support staff alone to work on other people's (people that dont act like a total jackass) issues.
Umpqua
join:2007-05-22

Umpqua

Member

Re: SBC

Sounds like sbc can't take care of the customers to me.

Review by zach3 See Profile

  • Location: Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA
  • Cost: $38 per month
Best Service
Tech Service
The Best in my area
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I upgraded to DSL in April 2000 right after HS service was available in the area and the provider was then SWBell. The service is now called AT&T Yahoo and it is about as good as one can come by here in St. Louis from what I can find out. Anyway I am pleased.

The service is rarely down and I can only think of one time when it has been slow in the past 4 years. I have found out over the years that calling Tech Support is an absolute waste of time; so any time I have a problem I contact David here on DSLReports in the AT&T Direct forum and he promptly takes care of any situation that arises. Thank you David.

I have the best plan they have to offer; AT&T HSI ELITE and my speeds are approximately as follows:

Download = 5,147 Kbps
Upload = 629 kbps

As far as I know I no longer am on any type of contract and my connection is grandfathered in as DHCP. That always causes problems when I need to call Tech Service!!!

I checked out U-verse and it is not available in my area so I rely on Charter Cable for my TV and so far I am pleased with the TV service.

Zach

member for 23.8 years, 11599 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 13.4 years ago