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Review by TA_Owings 
Posted: 7 days ago
Fair warning: reviewer joined this month
 Leander,Williamson,TX
 Contract price not specified.
 "It works for periods of time"
 "service is absolutely crap"
 "If you have alternatives, look elsewhere"
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I am sick of dealing with this company. I have had many phone and DSL issues. It is always the same thing. They fix it and the problem comes back. The problem is that the phone connection becomes so full of static that you cannot hold a conversation. The noise generated takes the DSL link down to worse than a 56kbps modem. Worse yet, when we call for service, they have long lead times to even look into the problem and, we get harassed about being charged IF they find that the problem is with my equipment.
The last time, they set the service at 8 days out. This time, they set it to 5. We average several of these per year (for 10 years now). In each situation, it was their problem. Nevertheless, even with a report of a problem that is identical to the previous outage, they seem incapable of reviewing the service logs and applying the fix used previously to the new problem.
What takes this to the comical level is that complaints about the service delay invariably cause them to say that it would improve if I were to upgrade to uverse. Guess what, with this kind of service, I am more interested in finding an alternative to this crap than paying them more money on the outside chance that things will improve.
I am a SW Engineer and have spent much of my long career developing commo code. I have never called them for a problem that turned out to be my own equipment. Most here understand how simple it is to check that, as do I. Still, they parrot the same crap back at us and never try to be proactive by reviewing past service calls.
Bottom line - if you have alternatives to AT&T take them. You will be glad you did.
Sign me as Fed-Up!
Terry Owings
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Review by asterisk20xx
UPDATED: 11 days ago
member for 1.5 years, 26 visits, last login: 8 days ago
Marshall,Harrison,TX
$400 per month (36 month contract)
 about 45 days
 AT&T
"Reaches where DSL doesn't. Very Low latency."
"Price ($400/month). Not DSL. VERY HIGH INSTALL PRICE ($1,200)"
"Only worth it if you need better than dialup and satilite is not an option."
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Other options I used were dialup, ISDN dialup (128kbps), EVDO.
I have a full T1 (1.5mbps up and down). The price is $350/month, but after taxes and equipment rental fees it's just under $400. The install time was quite long as it took 6 weeks and cost me $1200. $800 for the first 2 months (AT&T always charges a month in advance), $250 for smartjack install, and $200 for wiring.
The installation process went very smoothly, although also very slowly.
Equipment supplied is a Cisco 1841 T1 router, USRobotics 56k modem (for router management).
What most struck me was AT&T's billing rates! $99 for the first half hour and $40 for each additional 15 minutes is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too high. AT&T must make a fortune off technicians. Maybe they'll spend some of that money to expand DSL a mile so I can get that instead of a T1.
UPDATE: November 9, 2009
It has been one year into my 3 year T1 contract with AT&T. Here is what I have learned since.
The 99.9% Service Level Agreement means nothing to AT&T. I have had 4 instances of extended outages, the worst of which was for 2 entire days. Were this a residential class internet connection I would merely be upset about my misfortune and move on. However, I expect more when I pay such a large amount of money for the express purpose of having virtually no outages. On top of this I have not had any of my bills discounted due to outages as per my contract with AT&T. Having brought this up to various levels of management has led me to believe that a) AT&T does not care that it is in violation of our contract and b) will not release me from said contract without forcing upon me a termination fee of 50% of the remaining monthly payments (at the time of this writing this is approx. $4800).
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Review by sbkansas
UPDATED: 13 days ago
member for 8.5 years, 3793 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Hays,Ellis,KS
$35 per month
about 10 days
Southwestern Bell
"n/a"
"At&t is now Yahoo"
"Happy with my HSI 'service'"
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I have updated this review. Nothing good to say anymore. Totally frustrated.
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Review by zefie
UPDATED: 156 days ago
member for 2.3 years, 51 visits, last login: 128 days ago
Bryant,Saline,AR
$40 per month
about -1 days
"If it ever worked, I could tell you"
"Never got it activated..."
"Completely useless"
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Called to order DSL on Friday, January 2nd. Was told no one could come out to set it up until the 9th, which annoyed me, but I accepted it. So they came out on the 9th at 10am and set it up, the tech said everything was good to go when he left at 11am.
Plugged in the DSL modem and just got a blinking green light. Called back and they told me to wait until 8pm. Okay fine. 8pm rolls around and still a blinking green light. Call back and get a California call center that says to wait until 8pm Cali time (10pm here). Annoyed, I waited until 10pm to find the light now blinking red. It continued to do so until 10am the next morning, in which it went back to blinking green.
Called back and they said the account was activated and should be working, I told them it could not sync, so they said someone would have to come out and fix the line. Now it is Saturday, and their next available appointment was the following Friday. I already waited a week for them and now I have to wait another week for them to fix what they didn't do right in the first place? No thanks.
I told them I wanted to cancel but no one to cancel the service was available over the weekend, so Monday I went out and got Charter HSI and canceled AT&T.
So I can't really rate the quality of the service since I never had it, all I can tell you is around here, they seem to just want to make you wait.
Edit: Just wanted to add, after sending back their equipment, they proceeded to send me a bill or $80. I called and complained about this, and they credited $49.99 for the equipment, but still expected me to pay for the 1 month of service, even though I had never even been able to access it for a single second. I told them that it is unacceptable for them to expect me to pay for something I never had the ability to use, but they would not budge. I just ignored the bill, then I moved so I don't know if they are still trying to collect the money or not, but it is insane that they would expect me to pay for the month of DSL service when it never even worked. Besides, isn't there a 30-day policy anyway?
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Review by jtstang
UPDATED: 324 days ago
member for 6.9 years, 6 visits, last login: 339 days ago
Cary,Wake,NC
$37 per month
AT&T
"There are none"
"Terrible speeds. I pay for 3mbps but get 220mbps..Not consistant speeds"
"Avoid it all costs"
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Avoid this provider
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Review by PrymeMover
UPDATED: 325 days ago
member for 9 years, 2223 visits, last login: 260 days ago
Overland Park,Johnson,KS
$79 per month (12 month contract)
about 3 days
Southwestern Bell
"Extremely reliable, excellent BBR presence"
"sticky statics, no higher speed, miserable billing"
"Dated speed offerings but solid service"
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SBC Yahoo! Expert business package, 6.0/608. DSL was active two days after the phone service. Extremely reliable (1 hour of downtime in 3 years), fast, and routing that only improves with time. I do wish they offered higher speed tiers, and would offer real static IPs again, but oh well. The only aspect that really bugs me is that they do not offer dry lines. I never use my landline for voice anymore..I don't even have a phone connected.
I think that the 6.0/608 5-static package should be priced somewhere around $65, instead of the $99 I'm paying now.
If you ever want anything done, forget the phone--use the online support here.
Update 2006-12-27: Was able to renegotiate for 6.0/768 for $79/mo. This is still too pricey for this speed. If AT&T does not provide faster tiers in U-Verse buildout areas, I'll likely leave them for faster alternatives. I want more speed (in BOTH directions) and I'm willing to pay for it. Are you listening, AT&T?
Update 2008-07-10: In January of 2007, I dropped my AT&T ADSL subscription, along with the phone line, in favor of Time Warner's 10/1 (and later 2x 15/1) package. I ran for about 14 months like that. However, in June of 2008, I had a need for reliable static service again, as well as my desire to have a redundant connection given TW's reliability. I re-ordered static 6/768 ADSL service from AT&T. Unable to get 6/768 static dry loop because they only serve dry loops out of COs here, I had to get dial service to be eligible for a RT-provided loop.
Order-to-live was impressive. It was only 3 business days this time around. They've made great strides in this area. Billing, however, is still miserable. I ordered service and waived the technician install, since I already had a modem. The rep placed the order with on-site install cleared, but apparently it got changed somewhere within the AT&T maze: on my go-live date, I received a call from a tech saying he'd just completed the circuit and was coming out to finish the install. I informed him that I already had a modem. I flicked it on and verified the circuit, and that was that. He didn't come out, and noted that the tech install wasn't necessary and was not performed.
Of course, that didn't stop AT&T from billing me the $250 modem delivery fee^H^H^H^H^H^H technician install fee. I called up, was transfered a few times (including twice to the exact same person!), and after about an hour was told that my story had been confirmed and that he'd mark the $250 as disputed to get it cleared off--but that it might take 90 days to post, since it requires a manager to approve a credit for that amount. I don't have to pay that $250 since it is flagged, but still--this is insane.
I was also supposed to get a $50 service establishment credit I didn't get, and I'm being overcharged $20 for the DSL--but I've been told that I don't have a contract somehow. I tried to get the lower rate in exchange for a contract, consistent with AT&T's specified product offerings online, but was told it wasn't available in my area (what!?!).
AT&T also seems to have forgotten to put reverse DNS in place for the entire /24 that my /29 resides in, which is part of a larger /12 block they recently acquired. Whoops.
Final result? My order has been a logistical nightmare, but the service itself has been solid. I'm anxious, however, for static U-Verse product offerings.
Update 2008-12-30: I moved the first of December to a different unit in the same complex...a few thousand feet, tops. No big deal, called AT&T to have my services transferred. Disconnect on 11/29, reconnect on 12/1. I asked several times if this would include my DSL service, and was assured it would.
12/1 rolls around, and dialtone works great...but no joy on DSL. Called AT&T and explained that the order was not complete as the DSL portion was not transfered. The rep just saw that the ticket was closed and transferred me to tier 1 support. Tier 1 just said my signal was poor--yeah right. Called back the next day and talked to a rep that confirmed that the DSL order was not placed and so the DSL circuit was in limbo, but that the department to fix it was closed and that I'd have to call again the next day. Called in the AM, was transferred to a tier 1 tech, explained situation again. She tried to put in the order, but the system wasn't taking it. I repeatedly stated that I needed my static IP block retained. I finally got a call back later that day saying the order was put in with a delivery date 3 days away.
Fast forward 3 days. DSL is now live, but I'm on a new IP block. Called in again, finally convinced the tier 1 rep that I needed escalated support. The next rep understood my problem and tried to fix it--but said that I was built in a different router and couldn't get my old IP block back.
Rather than spend several hours reconfiguring my router, changing DNS, getting reverse for the NEW block delegated, etc...I just called back and terminated service. I then ordered business class from Time Warner. Not only is it 3 times the speed, it was also cheaper, and I was live the next day.
So once again, I say goodbye to AT&T. If you'd transferred my service properly the first time, I'd still be a customer. If you'd taken ownership of the issue when I called, and had reps that knew what they were talking about, I'd still be a customer. If the last rep had tried to get me rebuilt back in the same router (remember that this was a move to a different unit in the same complex), I'd still be a customer. But you failed at every step, so goodbye.
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 Review by Jobe72701
UPDATED: 329 days ago
member for 9.3 years, 756 visits, last login: 128 days ago
Fayetteville,Washington,AR
$65 per month
about 70 days
Southwestern Bell
"They dont monitor your downloads like cable companies"
"Inconsistently unreliable - 1 month w/ same IP to dropped IP every 5 min"
"Steer clear, find something else!"
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Having had this service for several years, I can say that overall the experience has been quite bad. Namely in the reliability area. Sometimes, it'll be great for a month and will even retain the same IP. Then all of the sudden, the connection drops every 5 10 20 minutes or any random number you wish to guess. It basically becomes unusable. This can go on for days. Even though the company says I can support 6M, it was even MORE unreliable. Techs on both their end and those coming to my house checking my lines said it should've worked, but didn't. I switched back to 3M and it can handle those speeds at its spotty reliability.
The ONLY reason I've stayed with this company is because they don't monitor your downloads and threaten to sue like Cox and other cable Nazis.
As a company, terrible. I was charged for satellite service I never bought. I don't even own a TV! It took literally over a year for them to slowly reverse the chargers $20 at a time over a course of about 10 phone calls. Ridiculous. I was never fully compensated and finally caved in and paid the remainder out of frustration.
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Review by josephr
UPDATED: 1 year ago
member for 1.9 years, 22 visits, last login: 302 days ago
Birmingham,Jefferson,AL
$20 per month (24 month contract)
about 2 days
AT&T
"customer service"
"actual service"
"not much choices in dsl providers"
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I've had bellsouth/at&t DSL service 5 years now and the customer service has always been good in terms in being friendly, helpful, and getting folks out to check out problems where they've been.
However, ACTUAL DSL service has really sucked...I mean, subscribed to DSL lite which is 756/128k service but my dload speed I don't think has even been above 600 and actually averages around 350bkps. My upload speed has consistently averaged 107kbps. I'm 6000 feet from the DSLAM, and everytime I call, the "technicians make adjustments in the system" but heck if I've ever seen it at home. I've even bought a new modem, ran new wires from my home box to my modem, and even had a friend bring over his gaming computer to run the speed tests and ain't nothing happening, baby. I've had a couple of outages lately, but when we tech does come out, he always checks the box and checks back at the DSLAM and says it must be somthing at the central office....he calls it in to the CO and he invariably says some wires got crossed, I have to beleive 'em because the service comes back, but then the snail's pace DSL service is still ungodly slow for what I should be.
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Review by nerworks
UPDATED: 1.1 years ago
member for 7.2 years, 23 visits, last login: 338 days ago
Rockwall,Rockwall,TX
$79 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
Southwestern Bell
"Reliable, few problems over 4 years, customer service nice, fast dsl speeds (SBC formerly)"
"Price does not match competition for speeds (Verizon Fios)"
"fast dsl speeds, rock solid connection, customer service responsive"
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I live in Rockwall, TX and moved to a new housing development area. After having a BAD experience with Charter Pipeline (you can read my review) and even though being only a cable customer since broadband was available in my area in '98, I decided to switch from my cable modem service to DSL. SBCYahoo! to be exact. I first had their Expert Plus Package, which was 1 dynamic and 6000/384 for $99/month, 1 year term. Install was super easy, and service was even on a day before they said. With in 15 min, I was connected and couldn't believe the speeds. After ~9 months of service, which were incident free........no calls to tech support, few problems or loss in service that didn't last 3 minutes, a few modem power ons/offs, but for the most part ROCK SOLID. What a difference from cable service! I was sold and loving life. My file downloads cranked at over 600kb/sec. Not bad for $99/month.
What I really wanted was their Expert-S Plus Package, which when I initially signed up was $159/month and came with same speeds but with 5 static IP addresses. A bit steep for me. However, a recent check on their website showed that what was my old dynamic package was now the S Package, 1.5-6000/384, 5 static IP's, for $99/month, with $250 install fee. What I focused on was the $99/month price which I was paying for only 1 dynamic IP and a PPPoe connection. HMMmmm. So I called them asked them if I could migrate to the static package since I was paying same price. Expecting some sort of excuse, they did the unexpected. They said "sure, no problem". Wow! I was impressed.
So, friday, my order was completed. I was told to call the next friday to get my static IP addresses through tech support. I was also given phone numbers for support for setting up servers! I was shocked that they actually have a dedicated number for troubleshooting the setup of servers on your connection. I knew that SBC was one of a few ISP's that allows servers and don't block port 80...wild. So, I called the next friday, had to talk to about 3 different people, being bombarded by sales pitches on other SBC products, but it was nicely done and I nicely declined. Finally get to THE tech guy who sets up and issues me my IP addresses. He asks me what kind of hardware I have and what my plans are. I tell him about multiple routers I'm using and what my plans are for my network. He stops his IP setup and says he has a great idea that will make the most out of my network and server environment. He basically setup my network so that I truely have 5 IP addresses to play with, issued me another gateway address to link my routers together and explains everything, patiently answering questions so there's no problems with setup. He went out of the way to help me get the most out of my service. And the best part was they allowed me to do a self install avoiding the $250 install charge! What a deal. Oh, and I was able to use my own routers and the same dsl modem that was issued to me with my initial PPPOE dynamic connection. I was thoroughly impressed with how they worked with me.
After getting all my info, I setup everything.........whooops........my download speeds are around 1.2down when I was getting over 5 down with my dynamic PPPOE connection. After a late night call to India tech support (humerously it was a total waste of time.....couldn't understand a word)......I waited until the morning thinking maybe they forgot something in my setup when issued static IP's that yesterday afternoon. I frustratingly did everything from A to Z from one tech person to another to finally a trouble ticket being issued to the sbc network line techs in my area........mind this was after much frustrating discussions with support personell who basically said nothing was wrong that they could see, and even had the audacity to say the line speed I said I was getting was not possible. Well, anyway, after being issued a ticket number and haning up, I was certain that someone probably forgot something, they didn't want to fess up to it, the "guy" wasn't in yet, and they were covering tracks. 30 minutes after my hang up, the speeds were back to normal. The next day, some tech guy called to say the issue with my line was resolved. Yeah, whatever! All I cared about was getting things back to normal, however I had to waste a few hours trying to explain things when someone probably forgot to do something right the first time. I must say their support system is quite a bear. However, since this was the FIRST time I had to call for anything in over 9 months, they are not doing bad at all, and I really have no room for complaints.......within 24 hours it was back to normal. At least that is my experience from being a long time cable customer. So, even though I went into detail about my support issues, I still give them a 4 out of 5 in that area. Tech support........if you don't have to call them, there's really not much reason for complaint.....but it's no fun when you do. Oh well, nobody's perfect.
All in all, in my area, in Rockwall, TX, which has only Charter Pipeline and SBCYahoo!, I cannot say much negative about SBCYahoo! DSL. I'm sorry I didn't try them sooner. Just the speeds alone and the extras they give to accomodate people who want or need more than a gaming or surfing connection are just what I have been waiting for. For me it's been a blessing and a well loved service. Hope it's that way for everyone. Now, if T1 lines would just come down to the sub $100 price tag, the world would be a better place!
-------UPDATE--------
Well, I've been with what is now ATT Yahoo! for over 4 years now. Great reliable service. Glitches have been rare. Can highly recommend. Unfortunately, my time with ATT Yahoo! is going to come to an end as soon as Verizon Fios comes to the Rockwall area. I cannot wait! My only wish is that ATT would have done the same thing as Verizon and invested in Fiber to the home. Right now I'm paying more for an inferior service with ATT. Granted ATT's dsl service is stable, however it cannot compete with Verizon Fios. Please hurry Verizon!
-------UPDATE 10-07-08--------
With Verizon Fios and ATT Uverse expanding their reach, I've had to adjust my review of ATT Yahoo here. Although I am pleased, for what they offer for the price, it is not competitive with the times. Compared to the speeds and prices for Verizon Fios and ATT Uverse internet service, it surprises me ATT Yahoo remains has pricey as it is. Customers will remember that when Verizon Fios comes to this area.
ATT Yahoo is still a good service for me however. No problems except the occasional burp that lasts maybe a minute or 2. "Is the internet burping?" is a regular statement in this household. Most of the time it's solid, but can be frustrating if you're working. Seeing as how I've never had to call customer service except upon initial setup, I'm pretty pleased.
As much as I'd like to see Verizon Fios come to the Rockwall, TX area, it looks as though it will be years before that happens. Since ATT Uverse is being offered on the northern part of town, I'm guessing it will be the next best offering here soon for Rockwall residents.
Followup comments:  
rockwalldude
@attens.net
| internet access in Rockwall I generally don't like Charter, but I have been lucky with their internet access for several years here in Rockwall, TX. I recently upgraded from 5Mbit to 10Mbit for $5 more a month. Their internet access in my neighborhood (Lakeside Village), is very stable...and I only notice a short outage about once a year. Recently AT&T Uverse was made available in our neighborhood...so you might want to look into that as an option if it is available at your house. If you want their internet access, I believe they will force you to get TV service bundled...but they have some nice highspeed internet options. Their HDTV service's limitation on 1 HD stream at a time kept me from trying it out...so I will just stick with Dish for my TV service. | |
| nerworks
join:2002-08-12
Rockwall, TX
 ·AT&T Southwest
| ahh Uverse Thanks for the suggestions. It looks as though as of now, Oct 08, that ATT Uverse is only offered in the north part of Rockwall. I'm assuming north of I30, but only speculating as it's not offered at my address or similar addresses south of I30.
I'll definitely be looking forward to new options when Uverse is available in my neighborhood. Although I do wish Verizon Fios was here. A few relatives of mine have Fios and it fills me with envy imagining the time I could save working. Oh well good things come with time. | |
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 Review by jopfef
UPDATED: 1.1 years ago
member for 8.6 years, 4223 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Saint Louis,Saint Louis,MO
$35 per month
about 2 days
Southwestern Bell
"Installed quickly!"
"Terrible speed here, the worst I've ever had from AT&T."
"Up and running, and then disco'd in favor of Charter."
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9-23-2008: Well, it's back to Charter cable for services again. I moved in June, and the DSL that was available here absolutely sucked on speed. So out the door with it. I'm a Charter employee, so had the TV and the internet installed, and it's running just fine. I jumped to 16G for the internet, and it's awesome! AT&T doesn't have anything close to that, needless to say.
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