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Review by bobeitch See Profile

  • Location: Oak Park, Cook, IL, USA
  • Business customer Business customer
  • Cost: $100 per month
  • Telco party Ameritech
  • CLEC party: Covad
Connection is good and fast
Recent POP problems are really annoying. So far tech support hasn't fixed it.
I'm shopping for something else.
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

MegaPath is having a lot of POP problems. I have to keep two Web
browser pages open to get mail for my two accounts.

Stuart Leitch
Overtones
708 848 7752

member for 19.4 years, driveby review (so far)
lodged 19.4 years ago







Review by kmerkel See Profile

  • Location: Shepherd, San Jacinto, TX, USA
  • Cost: $587 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 21 days
  • Telco party Southwestern Bell
reliability, tech support expertise
cost
choice direcway - still shudder
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

have direcway - until that 2 yr nightmare expires- equipment is disconnected from that useless system (thats a whole different review in this site)

I have frac T1 (384K) complete with sla and definately advanced (and knowledgeable) support. (I could have opted for a larger pipe for another 100 or so but have not yet seen that as a requirement). It all probably boils down to you get what you pay for. The install was all rebated back and though I hate rebates in general it is what it is. An issue with my netopia rebate (rejected - must be a company) but an email case to megapath billing resolved this in one day) Information re status of install was forthcoming through email and megapath provided an immediate link and logon info to track status learn of offerings and open up cases for assistance.

The install through SBC was quite involved since I am many miles away from the nearest pop (hence direc_crap). SBC installer came by had it up and within acceptable parameters - but told me he was not satisfied with it so went off to replace some equipment. He plainly explained that in 90% of service situations - if the install was flaky so would be the service. The time frame was well within projected - but a long window had been allowed - I was pleased that they had a realistic projection (dependancy on the telco of course.) I ran my own internal wiring so this was a non-issue. The hookup was easy and painless. Once installed I decided I needed a few ip's and a 5 ip (usable) range was provided within 2 days. Further issues I had with DNS were resolved by megapath though this was clearly outside the scope of support (I was not familiar with the dns requirements for segmented (less than /24 range)

The major downside of course is the cost but considering that I have 0 options other than direcway and spent many hours swearing at the equipment and numerous hours on the phonewith direcway (also opened a case witrh BBB and did get some free service which I never used since I had megapath before that finally came to fruition).

All in all this is not for the financially challenged BUT if you have good tech expertise and can work with an elevated level of support AND require a good guaranteed bandwidth solution this is the way to go. (Especially if out on hwy 59 50 miles north of Houston - yes country living with all its' comforts). Also small to med businesses should look into it). Megapath support seems to be very good - probably the best I have experienced to date. (Being in a technology role myself I run into some real losers). If it changes - I will update- I am at best demanding as may be determined by my direcway review and postings - So if in texas N Houston area and it is your misfortune to need broadband- seek out louie papp who was instrumental in my final descission to go with megapath (patience especially coming out of direcway)

I have had the luxury of DSL from qwest, dialup of course, satellite; and full and now a frac T1.

member for 20.4 years, 15 visits, last login: 15.3 years ago
lodged 19.4 years ago


dsl_boy1
join:2000-11-21

dsl_boy1

Member

Much higher than Megapath's current prices

I don't understand why you are paying so much. Megapath advertises $479/mo for full T1, and $279/mo for fractional T1 (plus the controversial USF charge, of course.)
jrganttx
join:2005-01-06
Houston, TX

jrganttx

Member

T1 in the houston area

Thats pretty expensive for a t! in San Jac. You should check out ipglobal.net, I have a full T at $399.99 per month with NO universal Service Fee and the activation turnaround was 6 days!

Review by cudaboy2 See Profile

  • Location: Raleigh, Wake, NC, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified. (12 month contract)
  • Telco party BellSouth
  • CLEC party: Covad
fairly good connectivity
billing errors, close acct then they send you to a collection agency
when it all started everything was ok then down hill from there
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

When I first signed up it was good, very little problems unless you needed tech support. Then to get through to a human you must call after 2 AM... You know its bad when i'm not a network advisor or anything but on 4 occasions I was the one who had to explain to tech that there was a node not working.

I moved so i called megapath to close my acct ( had the acct for over 2 years) suspoedly they closed my acct. Just recently I get a call from a collection agency stating that I owe megapath a months worth of dsl charges. So I called megapath and get told by the billing dept that they only close your acct when you send them an e-mail telling them to close your acct. Guess when you call on the phone it means nothing.

So be warned if they dont send you a bill you might want to e mail them immeadiatly so you dont go to collections and have a mark put on your credit history because of there laxed billing policies.

member for 19.5 years, 9 visits, last login: 17.1 years ago
lodged 19.5 years ago


Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: Greenwood, Johnson, IN, USA
  • Cost: $100 per month (12 month contract)
  • Telco party Covad
  • CLEC party: Covad
Better than ISDN..........barely
Too expensive, poor service.
You're better off with cable broadband since it's about 1/2 the price of Megapath.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Monthly fee was too expensive. Cable broadband (and most other DSL
providers) are half Megapath's price. I was being charged $100.00 per month
for IDSL. I asked them to lower my price based on my slow connection, they
said they couldn't.

Expensive install. I was charged $300.00.

Install took 2+ weeks. Installer was overweight (substantially) and
couldn't get in my crawl space to run the line. I had to do it myself while
he was here. I called Megapath and told them to wave the install fee, they
refused and said the best they could do was give me one month of free
service.

As soon as cable broadband was available in my neighborhood, I switched.
Free install. Installer ran the line to my office, as requested. Monthly
price is less than half what Megapath charged and speed is about 2x better.

Magnificent Bastard Productions 2004 ©



(review was emailed from domain insightbb.com)
lodged 19.6 years ago

JohnyJukeBox
join:2004-07-28
San Francisco, CA

JohnyJukeBox

Member

Apples and Oranges

I don't think anyone would disagree with your statement that cable internet service is way better than idsl service. Its a speed differrence of 144 kbps vs 3mbps.

Ask yourself this though was the idsl worth paying for when it was all that was available? Of course it was it's a digital connection 3 times faster than a good 56 k connection. MegaPath didn't sell you the idsl telling you what a great deal it was and how it was better than cable.

Fact of the matter is getting a dedicated loop with electronic repeaters on the line out past 15,000 feet to where your nice nowhere near the central telco office home is, is not cheap.

You paid for the Idsl because it was all that you could get at the time. You should not give the isp a lower score because you purchased an apple from them and then oranges became available and they were faster and cheaper because they are differrent.

Review by hughmcl See Profile

  • Location: Saint Joseph, Buchanan, MO, USA
  • Cost: $120 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 30 days
  • Telco party Southwestern Bell
  • CLEC party: Covad
Reliability and tech support are great.
Billing and email support sucks.
Overall not too bad.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

We've had no issues with the overall technical side of the connection (144/144 IDSL).

As for billing, we've had nothing but trouble. They never seem to receive our payments. The only way they seem to get them is to next-day mail them (which is real expensive). I'm the technical contact, not the billing contact, but for whatever reason they send the bills in my name and won't change it! Emails to billing seem to go on deaf ears. They won't take credit card payments over the phone. It's a real disaster.

However the technical side is great! I wish they could get their billing issues sorted out!

member for 24.4 years, 31 visits, last login: 19.7 years ago
lodged 19.7 years ago


Review by superlinks See Profile

  • Location: White Plains, Westchester, NY, USA
  • Business customer Business customer
  • Cost: $316 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 30 days
  • Telco party Verizon
  • CLEC party: Covad
on top of install process
deceptive billing using USF lie
lying to consumers is a bad idea
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

MegaPath Networks (www.megapath.net) is lying to its customers about the USF fee that they charge every month. When I challenged the fee, the billing agents simply hung up the phone on the first two attempts. I eventually reached the manager of the billing department (first name: Golden) who told me that this is a government charge and there's nothing they can do about it. In fact as the information below shows, they have total flexibility in the fee that they charge customers. What's more, MegaPath inflates its monthy charge and then issues a "discount" on each bill in order to further inflate the USF charge which is a percentage of the inflated monthly fee. Our bill came to $316 instead of the expected $249.



They are probably using this deceptive technique with many if not all of their customers. For comparison purposes, our previous ISP provided the same service at a quoted price of $269. The extra fees on that bill were just $10.03 per month versus $66.04 from Megapath. Megapath is stealing business away from other providers by advertising lower prices and then recovering the revenue shortfall by using this USF scam.





Summary: Megapath is deceptively over-charging their very large customer base and then lying about the fees when questioned by irate and uninformed consumers.





Here is what our research uncovered about USF...



USF (Universal Service Fund, Universal Service Charge)

A national policy to promote telephone service to all households. Telephone service is a vital link to emergency services, government agencies and surrounding communities and the USF is a subsidy to make phone service available for all Americans. This includes consumers with low incomes, schools and libraries and rural health care providers. All carriers are charged the same USF%. However, pay attention to this fee because companies have flexibility in passing this fee to customers. The charge ranges from no charge at all, a flat fee, % of interstate and international usage or % of entire bill. The company keeps the difference between the fees they receive and the charge they pay.



This excerpt came from: »www.telcobusters.com/FAQ ··· es.shtml

member for 19.8 years, driveby review (so far)
lodged 19.8 years ago


tomkb
Premium Member
join:2000-11-15
Tampa, FL

tomkb

Premium Member

interesting

keep us posted on the outcome.
Yaoshi
join:2000-10-20

Yaoshi

Member

Ironic ...

I'm surprised that you characterize MegaPath's customer base as uninformed and irrate ... when they serve businesses such as Radio Shack, Jenny Craig, Homestead Hotels, and the like. How could these businesses tolerate such a lie?
creepndth
join:2000-12-21
San Francisco, CA

creepndth

Member

Re: Ironic ...

Megapath makes sure it doesn't hurt the "enterprise level" customers (the ones like Homestead, Radio Shack, etc.)... only the small fish get caught in the USF net.



That's what a little bird told me anyhow.
Yaoshi
join:2000-10-20

Yaoshi

Member

Re: Ironic ...

Please excuse me ... your little bird appears to be telling the truth.

Review by goddammit9 See Profile

  • Location: Porterville, Tulare, CA, USA
  • Business customer Business customer
  • Cost: $116 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 19 days
  • Telco party SBC
  • CLEC party: SBC
good tech support
try to dick you around about problems
dont know yet...
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

03-16-04
ordered service. this was the only thing that i could get after the hell sbc yahoo put me through. think that it is a little pricy but what the heck ill give them a shot. anyways ordered service $50/month plus all the fees and such along with a cayman/netopia router (3341-ent). $99 activation, $168 for the router with a $269 rebate. service term 24months. dynamic ip. pppoe built into router. 384/128 speed... probably will cancel when i move in a couple of months....

03-19-04
had solid dsl sync light on my old router today. kinda suprised me so i called them and asked if my service was active already---nope.

03-23-04
recieved router today. hooked it up and it screwed up my network. had to reset it to the factory defaults and call about configuration. they were helpful on that issue. also had problems with my email through them but that was resolved quickly.

03-25-03
commit date. they swore up and down that the service would be on today and it wasnt. called and asked whats up and they dont know jack @#$%. say that they will look into it though.

03-26-04
they tell me that pacbell still has my old info in the dslam and my config at the CO is all jacked up. also told me that a systems engineer for sbc was out at the CO trying to sort things out. so far no internet or anything and they said i might as well be s.o.l. until monday (today is a friday and the provisioning group dosent work on weekends). dont know whats going to happen now, but i can say the the tech support people know what they are talking about and are not computer illiterit, which is nice. ill post another update when something happens....

03-26-04
15 minutes or so after i first write the review and now the router has screwed up my network again.... i think its a piece of S#@%. maybe thats what the problem has been all along.......

04-04-04
well what do you know... i finally got some service. had it for about two days now and i love it for the most part. very fast connection, expensive though. it turned out that sbc/pacbell really messed up on this one and someone didnt do their job and got fired. all in all im pleased that i finally got service....

04-26-2004
had problems here and there, not much to complain about though.billing dept. is shit. they dont give a rats a$$ about when you get paid and why the payment wasnt sent out until after the 15 of the month. well thats it for now.....ill update again soon.

04-28-2004
all is good so far....

04-29-2004
mailing address that was given to send payments to was incorrect. payment was sent back to me and had to call to get correct address, which they said was the same one that i sent it to the first time and after telling them that it wasnt and then having them do some research the found that they had made an error.

05-01-2004
rebates are beggining to be a hassle. they say that they arnt in the system but it shows that i should have rebates. rebate support center told me that even though i mailed them in about a month ago they can take up to 6-8 weeks to be processed in their system. complete $hit in my opinion. overall kinda good experience so far.

05-02-2004
been having slow speeds and unresolvable dns issues for a while now. some sites come up and some dont. no clue whats going on and they dont know either.

member for 20 years, 39 visits, last login: 19.7 years ago
updated 19.9 years ago


Kibbles
Premium Member
join:1999-07-31
Mission Viejo, CA

Kibbles

Premium Member

Pacific Bell?

Were they the cause of your problem or was it Megapath?
goddammit9
join:2004-03-14
Porterville, CA

goddammit9

Member

Re: Pacific Bell?

megapath had a few problems with their system or something at first and other than that all of the problems were pacbell/sbc's fault.

Review by avancuren See Profile

  • Location: West Sacramento, Yolo, CA, USA
  • Business customer Business customer
  • Cost: $399 per month (12 month contract)
  • Telco party SBC
  • CLEC party: Covad
Great Setup
Bad follow through
Not worth the price
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I chose Megapath SDSL service because I needed a higher level of service than I would expect from shared ADSL service from providers such as SBC. Megapath had a comprehensive system for setup that made me feel like I was dealing with a company that was on the ball. The quality of service is great when it works. However, on the occasion (fairly rare) when there is a problem, Megapath's service is no better than I would expect if I had $29 service from SBC. I am treated like any other shared ADSL customer. On one occasion, I was unable to reach anyone at Megapath by phone for 24 hours. Their recorded message, when I could reach it, said they were not experiencing any troubles. After having an office off-line for most of a business day, I finally got a reply to an on-line inquiry saying that they had located and resolved a problem. Billing issues have also been problematic. Since my contract with Megapath has expired, I intend to move to a less expensive option that doesn't promise a service level it cannot deliver.

member for 21.5 years, 22 visits, last login: 18.1 years ago
lodged 20 years ago


Review by doug_taylor See Profile

  • Location: Saratoga, Santa Clara, CA, USA
  • Cost: $125 per month (12 month contract)
  • Telco party SBC
There are no good points
Deceptive installation practices
I contacted another provider (Etheric Network) and was up and running in 1 week, from initial call to working service
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Value for money:

I signed up for a prequalification and installation of broadband with MegaPath Networks. After doing some more research, I decided to go with another company (faster connection for the same price), so I cancelled my scheduled installation.

THEN, I got a bill for $150. I was not told of this cancellation fee in my initial conversation with the company, nor was I told about it when I cancelled the order. When I complained, I was told that I received an email that pointed me to a web site that listed the fee in the “Terms and Conditions” section.

So, let’s see, to learn about this fee I would have to:
1. Open the “confirmation” email.
2. Read through the 3 screens down to the FINAL PARAGRAPH
3. Then click the Terms and Conditions link.
4. Read through that page of information.

OR, I could have:
1. Clicked on the main web site.
2. Located the “About” menu.
3. Selected “Corporate Policies”.
4. Read the Terms and Conditions section.

Why couldn’t the company have told me of this fee, or included the information in my confirmation email (and not a link to the information)? It seems a bit deceptive to me.

The other company (Etheric Networks) that I ended up with told me of their cancellation policy when I called, AND sent me an email with their Service Level Agreement and Terms and Conditions clearly stated. Also, they had me up and running in a week (from initial call to working service).

member for 20.1 years, 18 visits, last login: 18.3 years ago
lodged 20 years ago


aberrant
Deviant One
join:2002-01-10
San Francisco, CA

aberrant

Member

Terms and Conditions

Let me see if I understand this:

You signed up for an installation.

You then had buyer's remorse when you found a better deal. By then, though, the installation had been scheduled.

You're now complaining that they're charging you because they scheduled resources to do the installation, but you cancelled on them because you went with a competitor?

If you couldn't be bothered to read the terms and conditions that applied to the service for which you signed up, then why is that the ISP's fault? Do you always enter into agreements without reading the terms? If so, I'd like to do some business with you myself!

Why do you think the ISP should take a financial hit (and they did, in personnel time spent processing your order and scheduling an install) just because you changed your mind and went with a competitor?

Seems your review is a little unfair. It's not the ISP's fault that you're being charged a cancellation fee -- it was entirely your decision to cancel.
vitalus
join:2003-12-17
Sugar Land, TX

vitalus

Member

Re: Terms and Conditions

I see what you are saying. But should he stil lbe charged the cancellation fee for service never installed and service never used or activated ? I see both sides to it.

aberrant
Deviant One
join:2002-01-10
San Francisco, CA

aberrant

Member

Re: Terms and Conditions

said by vitalus:
I see what you are saying. But should he stil lbe charged the cancellation fee for service never installed and service never used or activated ? I see both sides to it.

It depends. What did he agree to? Seems to me he agreed to the terms and conditions when he signed up for the service. Whose fault is this, and who should eat the cost? I don't think it should be the ISP.
cheekybast
join:2004-03-19
Round Rock, TX

cheekybast

Member

More Megapath Bashing

....to quote a fellow ten-year old, "MegaPath SUCKS!" and how! Not only do they mislead the public into ordering higher priced (and in many cases re-sold Covad) circuits, they also don't provide potential customers with a clear understanding that the pre-qual tool is nothing more than a way for the company to gather information on the person interested in the broadband services.
Someone mentioned that it took 70 days to deliver services and then someone else mentioned that it might be Qwests fault. The fault is Megapaths. They under pay and ill manage their Provisioners. They refuse to acknowledge skilled workers and do not provide them the tools they need to get there job done and services delv. Mid-level and Senior Management don't have a clue as to what needs to be done to delv a ckt and yet they rely upon some stupid order management system to send intellectually challenged messages on how services will not be delv on time.
Someone else mentioned something about static IP's. All business grade and some residential packages offered by the local phone companies provide static IP's and at a cost advantage.
MegaPath states that they have their own network and are able to provide "on-net" services. It's true they do have a network but don't think that this is an advantage. The network is incredibly small and really not worth mentioning. In the telecom world their "foot-print" isn't worth the time to talk about and to get a true "on-net" connection with Megapath, you have to reside in a very selected area. Also, they talk about the so-called agreements they have with Qwest and Bellsouth....the only agreement is not to provide service in a timely manner.
I advise everyone to steer clear of this service provider. If you desire a non-local phone company DSL/ISDN provider Covad is a fine choice. For my money I will stay with SBC for my DSL needs.

johnny_t
Premium Member
join:2004-03-21
Palo Alto, CA

johnny_t

Premium Member

Go with COVAD

U get 2 try it out 4 30 days If u no like it NO-Risk
mikemegapath
join:2003-02-16
Studio City, CA

mikemegapath to cheekybast

Member

to cheekybast

Re: More Megapath Bashing

...you are certainly entitled to *your* opinion. Professionally speaking you could be absolutely correct with regards to your assessment of MegaPath, based on your experience. I have compelling information that will make heads spin..., because my assessment of MegaPath is not based on just my experience, but the experiences of *many*. Back in February of 2003, when IP Communications and DirectTV went under we switched all our clients affected to MegaPath. Since this switch we have received not one bad experience, mainly any reported outages from anyone. Since we are with network support agreements in place for most of these customers we are usually first to hear any headaches. Based on our recommendations our clients use MegaPath for either ADSL or SDSL. Some of these connections help business owners from home connect to their offices through VPN using Netopia routers, and CISCO VPN Clients. We provide SMB with networking support which represents 70% of the services we provide. MegaPath is *SO* well managed in terms of support that we never have headaches. This is an ISP worth knowing. Each and every member of there support team, we have ever spoke to, is highly qualified or at least with more than enough technical abilities then we needed to solve our problem.

Unfortunately, we do not have the same opinions of MegaPath sales. We have been associated with MegaPath for over 4 years and have seen a resent shift in the sales department. Over the past 18 months it seems they are desperately trying to make a sale happen, and too darn commission conscious. It’s an ugly feeling to have, and perhaps sales are underpaid, which might account for the high turnover we have seen. It’s not a glorious position to begin with and this might be their answer to a highly competitive industry where dollars taken from the pocket of sales are spent managing support. Despite this, we feel there are no better DSL experiences then MegaPath.

You wrote, “If you desire a non-local phone company DSL/ISDN provider Covad is a fine choice”. Not certain how you based this recommendation of COVAD. But one thing we can say is that COVAD thrives off of connections feed to ILECS and CLECS, mainly because of their large investment in DSLAM equipment at the CO. COVAD fails miserably however, to manage end-user accounts gone badly. The best way to have DSL/ISDN services from COVAD, if you are an end–user, is to make certain nothing *ever* goes wrong. Perhaps your recommendation to COVAD should include, “if nothing *EVER* goes wrong”. Now, that would be a fitting and valuable recommendation to the public.

Review by pilotjww See Profile

  • Location: Palatine, Cook, IL, USA
  • Cost: $100 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 43 days
  • Telco party Ameritech
  • CLEC party: Ameritech
Better than dial up and idsl
No longer competitive
1500Kbps DSL for $100/month, plus $ 462 Router & Activation
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

HIGHLIGHTS
Had cable modem for a year with MediaOne, but moved before ATT bought 'em.
Had direcPC for a year, and moved again just as dial up lines became too busy.
Ordered Covad/Bazillion DSL. Order cancelled after Bazillion drops out of market.
Ordered new StarBand. Installer cancelled due to trees, Equipment returned.
Ordered Sprint Broadband direct, Installer also cancelled due to trees
Ordered MegaPath/Rythyms, but was 21,500' from CO.
After tasting cable for a year and satellite for a year, IDSL was really slow.
Moved to a new location 5,000' feet from CO.
Ordered new service from SpeakEasy because offers dialup on the road.
After days of attempted start up, cancelled service and returned equipment when SpeakEasy tells me to work with phone company to fix line drop.
Happily Began Operating with MegaPath again.

After one year at new location, service was usually good.
I had to hound them for nearly nine months to get my rebate.
However, last three months (Aug SepOct 03) includes service degradation, speed drop, and intermittants with NTF (No Trouble Found). 30 mins wating for tech support.
Final blow was Fri 10/31/3003 when DSL Modem/Router smoked, smelled and quit, one month after 1-yr warranty expires. Replacement cost $300.
Decided to cancel service and investigate SBC or Comcast, each offering same or similar, for slightly less per month.
Surprised to see SBC represented well on Forums for Tech Suport, so leaning to SBC,which is my wireline provider anyway.

DETAILS
2/27/01Ordered NP/MegaPath IDSL 144/144 for $99
3/2/01 Sales Call offers 256K for $99 - Dream On! $218 Deactivation if cancel
3/16/01 Ameritech tags existing installed line
3/27/01 Inside wiring installation. This was my first dissapointment. Installer arrived 5 mins before end-of-window, narrowly avoiding having to refund me $100 for a missed appointment. Installer mistakingly removed two installed phone lines. I wanted promised new line run, but installer cobbled several patches together, leaving open, exposed splices, and drooping outdoor wiring. Netopia router lights up OK, but no configuration or verification of operation is made with my PC, and the installer hurridly departed. Oh well.
3/27/01 5 PM My second dissapointment is when I call sales contact and learn I am actually 21,500' from CO, so can have only 128K IDSL
4/5/01 I contact a patient and friendly tech at MegaPath, Joshua, who downloads new code to the netopia and starts me up.
4/6/01 Invoiced for $634
Description Qty. Total
---------------------------------------- ------ ----------
RTH SOHO IDSL 1 99.00
RTH Netopia R7100 Router 1 375.00
RTH SDSL Setup Fees 1 350.00
RTH Instant Install Rebate 1 -190.00
Invoice Total 634.00
Previous Balance 0.00
Balance Due $634.00

Note- This is a mistake - Actual Model is 3100-I - and is IDSL, not SDSL

Speed Varies - see my first report below
Outage report for this week to date seen by East Coast
UP 2001-04-23 00:01:24 - 2001-04-29 23:51:37 (992 samples)
** Your IP had 100% reachability during the period!

Outage report for this week to date seen by West Coast
UP 2001-04-22 23:57:06 - 2001-04-29 23:51:37 (918 samples)
** Your IP had 100% reachability during the period!

Random Line tests we performed
ec 2001-04-23 02:46:59 16,22 (est. ms avg,min to your first hop)
ec 2001-04-23 02:47:01 19,26 (est. ms avg,min to your first hop)

Speed test history
wc 2001-04-23 22:54:19 130/251 kilobits per second down/up
wc 2001-04-26 23:56:35 129/129 kilobits per second down/up
wc 2001-04-27 08:32:30 116/132 kilobits per second down/up
ec 2001-04-29 06:21:15 115/130 kilobits per second down/up

Ping times have consistently been in the high 50's

8/24/01- Oh woe is me - I am one of Rythm's cancellations. However, not-to-worry. I am up and running the day the Covad tech shows up, as scheduled. I keep my same Netopia IDSL router. 128/132 is slightly better than the prior week, so about the same speeds. I am not charged anything for install. Monthly rate $99 stays the same. Its a lot of money for not a lot of BW, but read above and see my prior experiences. Still no cable available. And the satellite vendors seem to be raising more pointed statements about throttling down serious streaming video and audio users, in favor of the casual text surfers. Oh well -

9/29/01 - Last several weeks line speed has been better: 135/132, so have modified my "Bottom Line" and am happier with Covad than Rythyms. Distance to CO is listed lower [16,010] on the Covad Client Install Order. Pretty sure this is also a different pair from the one Rythyms used.

8/12/02 - Move to a new location, closer to CO. Order ADSL Basic+ Service for $90/month plus $299 router plus $99 activation [Sales Tax $19 and monthly USF is $5]

9/6/02 - Rcv email saying DSL install to occur on or about 9/16/02

9/13/02 - Netopia Router Arrives

9/16-02 - no DSL modem light - line in op

9/22/02 - "port was locked" but Bob at ASI unlocks the port. Speeds in the 500's and pings in the 90's. Email access denied.

9/24/02 - Email works. "Speed cap" removed. Speeds in the low 900's and pings in the 50's. First invoice for $90/month plus $462 Router & Activation

9/25/02 - Applied for Rebate. Secure VPN link to Office works first time, no sweat. Linksys 802.11b network through ADSL router works first time, no sweat

Speed Test History
2002-09-28 06:00:32 Speed test (wc) 944/216 kbps
2002-09-25 08:00:59 Speed test (wc) 944/183 kbps
2002-09-23 08:54:27 Speed test (wc) 868/227 kbps
2002-09-22 19:46:48 Speed test (ec) 678/133 kbps
2002-09-22 19:21:38 Speed test (la) 531/211 kbps
2002-09-22 19:18:03 Speed test (ec) 614/213 kbps
2002-09-22 18:49:31 Speed test (wc) 309/205 kbps

More tests
Time (US east) Test Results.. Comment..
2003-06-04 12:26:41 Speed test (ec) 1234/234 kbps
2003-05-27 10:32:16 Speed test (ec) 1216/235 kbps
2003-05-27 10:29:28 Speed test (la) 902/235 kbps
2003-05-26 18:47:09 Speed test (la) 973/236 kbps
2003-05-25 08:15:31 Speed test (la) 912/232 kbps
2003-05-10 05:04:28 Speed test (wc) 1218/236 kbps
2003-04-27 06:24:19 Speed test (wc) 1174/238 kbps
2003-04-23 12:24:13 Speed test (wc) 1129/235 kbps
2003-03-24 10:48:25 Speed test (wc) 1219/236 kbps
2003-10-09 09:24:13 Speed test(dslreports.linkline.com) 1261/223 kbps
2003-10-09 09:18:25 Speed test(ec) 1103/230 kbps
2003-10-09 09:17:18 Speed test(dslr-west1.megapath.net) 976/230 kbps
2003-10-06 19:02:24 Speed test(ec) 116/230 kbps
2003-10-06 18:52:12 Speed test(dslr-west1.megapath.net) 253/228 kbps
2003-10-06 11:46:20 Speed test(dslr-west1.megapath.net) 454/230 kbps
2003-10-06 11:34:27 Speed test(dslr-west1.megapath.net) 594/230 kbps
2003-10-05 22:27:55 Speed test(dslr-west1.megapath.net) 566/230 kbps
2003-10-05 06:31:39 Speed test(dslr-west1.megapath.net) 1026/236 kbps
2003-10-04 18:42:10 Speed test(dslr-west1.megapath.net) 160/220 kbps
2003-10-04 10:45:57 Speed test(dslr-west1.megapath.net) 438/236 kbps
2003-10-04 08:51:45 Speed test(dslr-west1.megapath.net) 1026/236 kbps
2003-09-13 13:24:36 Speed test(dslreports-west1.speakeas) 1216/234 kbps
2003-08-19 16:08:32 Speed test(dslreports.linkline.com) 1111/236 kbps
2003-08-15 10:36:38 Speed test(dslreports.linkline.com) 1112/238 kbps

October 2003
I dropped MegapathDSL after modem/router fried and they wanted $300 for a new one. They almost replaced it under warrenty, but too late.
I switched to SBCglobal, which took two months to get up and running.
I am also using Comcast, which took only 7 days over thanksgiving to get up and running. I plan to compare both services and keep the best.



member for 22.9 years, 162 visits, last login: 19.7 years ago
updated 20.1 years ago

dannymp3
join:2001-03-21
usa

dannymp3

Member

How is the latency with IDSL ??

How is the latency with " IDSL " ?? Good or bad?
System

Anon

Megapath customer service is EXTREMELY lacking

Megapaths was really fast to respond to my inquired regarding installation...and quick to offer rebates from Rhythms and Netopia. This was in December....just before the rebates ended.

SBC was quick with the line, Rhythms was quick and efficient with the connection and getting things running.

Then the other shoe dropped. Customer service never responds. Customer Support responds in a matter of weeks, not hours, then they call you back to make sure they called you.

I'm ready to drop them and pay the $218 cancellation fee. Cable is faster, customer service is better. Megapaths only efficiency is their computerized billing system, in my opinion.

AcidLoops
join:2000-12-26
San Bernardino, CA

AcidLoops

Member

?????????

Why are you paying 99$ for that slow of a line??????????
It does not make any sense
MGP5
join:2001-01-01
Olathe, KS

MGP5

Member

Re: ?????????

It does if you need a 24/7 connection to run servers, etc. I lived with 128K ISDN for almost 3 years (at about $200/mo.!!!) because that's all that was available in my area.

jseymour8
join:2000-07-29

jseymour8 to AcidLoops

Member

to AcidLoops

Why are you paying 99$ for that slow of a line??????????
It does not make any sense

Sure it does. Speed ain't everything, ya know. At least not to everybody.

MegaPath sells only SOHO (Small-Office/Home-Office) and business DSL. Level of service is much better than for "residential" broadband, all around. If you need or simply desire high-quality broadband, you must be prepared to pay for it.

For example: I could get Comcast@Home. Of course, then I wouldn't be able to run a server. Nor would I "legally" be allowed to VPN between home and work. I could get Ameritech ADSL. But to get features similar to what I have with MegaPath I'd have to pay nearly the same price. And I'd still have a 128k upload cap. Plus Ameritech's inferior network.

I have no other choices. Would I like more bandwidth? Sure would! But I'd rather MegaPath DSL at 144k than the options at even 10x the advertised speed.
pilotjww
join:2001-04-22
Palatine, IL

pilotjww to AcidLoops

Member

to AcidLoops
An even slower line for less money? Or What?
ossito
join:2001-08-08
Harvey, IL

ossito

Member

dsl down in 2 days

I am a Megapath/Rhythms customer (at 22k feet from CO) soon to be in dark. I am unable to get a Covad life line. Jason Beech who works with dslreports helped me get Megapath, Rhythms, and Ameritech to install line. He was able to contact the right people to get me a line installed after waiting 8 months for outside wiring date. I have a rock solid 144/144 kbps at $69/mo. Actual speeds were closer to 160kbps sometimes. Service was outstanding, to bad Rhythms has to go under.

If you have trouble don't hesitate to contact dslreports.

tomkb
Premium Member
join:2000-11-15
Tampa, FL

tomkb

Premium Member

netopia routers

can be had on ebay for $50. I keep a spare just in case.