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 Review by Cjaiceman 
UPDATED: 1 year ago
member for 5.1 years, 559 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Parker,Douglas,CO
 $39 per month
 about 5 days
 Qwest
 "Rock solid connection, good price, No Contract, naked DSL"
 "INTERLEAVING"
 "rock solid connection at a good price."
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Ok, I have to admit that when I was signing up I was a little nervous because of some of the reviews I read about qwest, but my only other option was a local wireless company as I live out in a rural area cable is not available to me.
I spent a lot of time on their website trying to see what was available and how much it would cost. I also read around on the internet to see what bad info I could dig up. I couldn't find much other than customer service, but this is a problem in 99.99% of companies (hey, you can't make everybody happy!).
I ordered over the phone because I had a few small questions when I was signing up that wouldn't get answered over the internet. The rep was very polite and helpfull (Also, he was located inside the US!!!). He offered me the 1.5Mbps package, but I wanted faster, their system showed that my home could get the 5Mbps package. I ordered that, but I wanted to own my modem so I got one from work (Yes, I do work for the geeksquad... no, you can't ride in my geekmobile...). The rep told me it would be about 5 business days to hook my line up in the DSLAM.
So, I got the starter kit and hooked it up and waited for the 5 days to pass. The installer called about 1/2 hour before he came over to see if I was home. He was there about 10 min early from his scheduled time. He opened up my phone box on the side of the house and hooked up the secondary phone line to the plug that the DSL modem would reside at. I asked him to do this so I wouldn't have to go through the hastle of putting filters on all the phones in the house. He did so happily, he also pointed out that this would probably give me a "cleaner" connection to the DSLAM. After doing this he said he needed to go hook up the connection at the DSLAM and would return in about 10-15 min.
After he returned he measured the line quality to ensure it was clean enough for the 5Meg package. While measuring he discovered that I qualify for the 7Mbps package and would upgrade my service to this one for no extra cost per month.
After he left I hooked everything else up, I don't use the router functions built into the router as I trust my Linksys WRT54GS V4 more, plus I can run hacked firmware and boost the wireless signal. The house is wired with CAT5e so wireless rarly gets used in my house.
The service is rock solid, the speeds never fluctuate, and my ping is rock solid. I do have to say though that the interleaving does add 32ms to anything because it takes 32ms to get to the first hop. I also have naked DSL, meaning there is no homephone service, so its just DSL and DirecTV right now. The Cell Phone does everything just fine. XBox 360 Live works just fine, no issues there. I get about 7.12Mbps on download speeds and 860Kbps on the upload speeds.
Over all, I'm very happy I switched and I think their service is awsome, esp because I'm in a very rural area...
update: It is now November 2007, and the connection still is going strong and have not had any problems. The connection is rock solid and we have not had any down time that was Qwest's fault. Although I have moved out, my parents still live there and they enjoy the 7Mb/sec connection as they download videos from the internet. I have switched to Comcast for the faster speed at about the same price, but that is for a separate review. I would still recommend them if Comcast is not available, but for god sake, don't get the 1.5Mb package. Your robbing yourself of precious time that could be spent doing more productive things other than waiting on a download.
update: Its not November 2008 and the connection is still going strong and we haven't noticed any downtime.
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 Review by rogunit
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 10.2 years, 1328 visits, last login: 55 days ago
Phoenix,Maricopa,AZ
$59 per month
Qwest
"Not shared bandwidth, always on, rarely down"
"INTERLEAVE"
"It still ROCKS"
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It costs $28 for the ISP (QWEST DSL 640K) and 21.95 for the ISP (BIS STARTERPAK W/DSL). Had to get Business StarterPak to keep my QWEST.NET address (don't want MSN). I have a Cisco 675 router. Speed is excellent. Tech support (which I haven't had to use for years) was pretty lame. No one knew anything. It has been down about 8 times in the last 7 years, and not for very long. I could not say anything bad about it (except for the lowest level tech support people- clueless). It is screamin speed! I get about 4 megs a minute from a fast site. It's about 10% slower during the day due to (I think) general internet congestion. Killer pings (20's to 40's) for UT, Q3, BF1942 etc. Easy to set up for a LAN. I have a 5 computer network at home. It is also a dedicated line, no mass sharing of bandwidth like cable modems. I talked to several people that had cable at a DSL customer opinion group I attended. They said it is superior to cable. Just an all around excellent service!
Update: Upgraded to the new 1.5/1.0 service in March 04. More than twice the speed! Had to switch to a a Cisco 678 as the new service uses DMT instead of CAP. New service has interleaving  which add about 30ms to my pings. That bites. Still more stable than cable though. Waiting for Qwest to up the speed again to 3.0 Mb. They said it's coming "in the near future". Tech support has improved a lot. Overall I am very satisfied!
Update #2: Qwest continues to impress! Just got off the phone with them today. New higher speeds went live 05-03-05. 3M, 5M and 7M, depending on line conditions and distance from the DSLAM. Called them up and I'm getting 7M starting next week! Higher speed is 10 bucks per month more. Still rock solid, both connection-wise and latency-wise. Pings are higher due to interleave, but no 200ms lag spikes like cable has. Now it's faster than cable? ROCK ON!!!
Update #3: Here I am 2.4 years later. Qwest still rocks! I am always trained at 7168 up and 896 down. Get 6 meg downloads at any time of day. Still have interleave jackin the pings, but the stability is well worth it. I am on my second Cisco 678. A great basic, no nonsense and dependable router. Couple that with the dependability of the phone company (QWEST DSL)... I am a happy camper!
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 Review by mdlthomas
UPDATED: 4.4 years ago
member for 9.6 years, 172 visits, last login: 344 days ago
Nashville,Davidson,TN
$60 per month
BellSouth
CLEC party: BellSouth
"You Get What You Pay For."
"You Get What You Pay For."
"They own the copper, cut out the middleman"
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I have tried to use other providers, and when something went wrong, I got the run-around. So I decided to cut out the middle man, and go straight to the one that own the Copper Plant.
Yes, they are conservative and sometimes react slowly..but it beats some half cooked outfit that might not be here in 5 years!
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Review by fiberguy
Posted: 4.5 years ago
member for 4.5 years, 2052 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Minneapolis,Hennepin,MN
$63 per month
about 10 days
Qwest
"Steady speeds, full IP options, revers DNS true statics. Reliable connection/no outtages"
"Poor customer service, missed commitments, poor selection of CPE"
"Better choice for running network apps over a WAN - Nekkid DSL available."
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EDIT NOTE: Sorry, this was for Qwest.net but I couldn't find them in the main page. Hopefully this can get moved.
When I first orderd service in 9/99, sevice was ready in 10 days and was on time. There was an city wide outtage that lasted 4 days and it was upsetting and frustrating however, I was credited for 2 months as a courtesy (above and beyond actually) and since that time, there has NEVER been an outtage.
The price has always been good. It's always usually ran me $60 a month for the service. At first I was dissapointed that speeds were 512/256 because I left my Pacbell 1.5/128 service for this but I did get more upload speed. But I digress. The reliability of the service of the DSL has been great. I have never experienced an outtage after that 4 day nightmare. (core router failed)
I did eventually dump the phone service becuase of an ABSOLUTE HORRID NIGHTMARE of their POTS, but was happy that I could keep my DSL and convert to nekked in 4/04.
The so-called seamless conversion from the CAP to DMT during the switch to a dry line caused me 7 days of down time. It was frustrating that it took 6 visits from techs to resolve this but I will give credit that I was not dropped during the process as they followed through.
Tier 1 support should just go away but it's not going to happen. This is why I give a low rating on support... however, after fighting to get to level 2, it's all good.
They did accidentally give my statics to another customer by mistake and I had to fight Qwest to get them back but finally did.
Qwest does offer a full range of network services so you can run a network as intended. You can get up to 128 IP addresses from them and they will register them in your name and offer reverse dns which makes running your own mail server easy.
My setup:
1.5/896 DMT stand alone service $29.99
Qwest.net $9.95 (was only $6.95 until I was forced to take the dialup that I don't use)
Actiontec 701 router wireless - Free modem, no monthly.. (hated to give up my 675)
Static block of 8, 5 useable - $15.00 a month
Taxes and all brings me to about $63 a month.
For the record -
My network is made up of 8 Win2003 servers, 6 desktops, and 5 media center PC's all using the network. Servers are the only thing using the DSL and the desktops are on the cable modem.
1.5 is all they can offer me so I won't go far with them but the service performs well for what I need from them. I still enjoy my cable modem for surfing and speeds since I get a steady 6/768. I also have to say that Qwest does seem to have made an effort to change. It's pretty noticeable, still I will never use them for POTS again. In 2002/4 they relied heavy on contract customer service - as comic book guy said, WORSE - SERVICE - EVER. However, I think they stopped using them and went back in house. Don't know.
All in all, I would give Qwest a good rating as a reliable service.
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Review by dygital
Posted: 5.3 years ago
member for 5.8 years, 122 visits, last login: 3.4 years ago
Tucson,Pima,AZ
$39 per month
about 7 days
Qwest
CLEC party: Qwest
"Decent, they got competition so they try to keep customers happy"
"Setup not always flawless, may require a tech to come out, crappy hardware (GT701-wg) modems."
"Good for the money, with enough hours of tweaking, you will be satisfied."
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I live in sourtheast Arizona where Qwest is the telco, and the cable company is Cox. Cox has more downtime than DSL, and slower upload. I chose DSL for the ideal upload, and reliability.
I was right, DSL is more reliable, and Qwest stands behind that. The service is great even from 12,000 feet from the CO. Very minimal downtime (like I said, it the crappy modems). Their technicians are smart, experiences, and actually want to help you. Not arrogent, but polite and informing.
Now, I read about Interleaving, I suspect I may not gain such a large amount of lower ping times as other people have when (or IF) they turn it off. I'm ~ 33ms from the first hop, not TOO bad.
Anyhow Qwest is changing their practices to benefit customers, hopefully they will turn Interleaving off.
My service:
- 256/256 then I upgraded to 1.5M/768
** The modem is trained at 1568/992 - SWEET! However speeds are whats expected 
- I am one of the unfortunate ones who have an Actiontec gt701-wg but since new firmware it's been much better.
-Dynamic IP - I use to have a 65.*.*.* IP , but now its a 168.*.*.* so, I assume they are making network changes. The IP addresses dont change very often - its about 1 month between DHCP renewals.
- I installed it myself, great service, easy to setup
Congrats to Qwest!
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 Review by whamel
Posted: 5.5 years ago
member for 7.5 years, 1734 visits, last login: 236 days ago
Iowa City,Johnson,IA
$52 per month
"Fast, reliable, friendly tech support!"
"not much"
"Definately a great ISP!"
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WE DO NOT USE QWEST ANYMORE, MOVED TO CHICAGO
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This account was setup years ago by someone else, I just manage it now since I am the computer/network manager. It is a business account for the Sigma Chi fraternity at the University of Iowa. We have 32 personal computers, 4 general workstations, and an in house server working our Qwest DSL non-stop with no downtime or problems whatsoever. I have lived here a little over a year and will be until august 2005. We have been using a Cisco 678 and have two Dell switches that route all of the internet and network traffic very efficiently. We use the server as network storage for almost everything like Mp3's, essays, setup files for programs, etc. Our Qwest plan was originally a 640/640 SDSL vis DMT, but when Qwest upgraded to the 1500/1024 plan, I immediately signed up. It went through with essentially no hassles except for the authentication process because I didn't know who setup the account previously since it was done years ago, so I had to fax Qwest on our letterhead stating I was the new "manager" even though I knew all of the information on the account and even had a bill in front of me. Customer service was great in handling this too and with setting up new email accounts which have been great also. I recommend this to anyone who is considering Qwest. Also use Qwest.net as your ISP, again because they are reliable and friendly. On a side note, I also e-mailed the CEO and asked about the possibility of anymore speed upgrades to compete with Mediacom 3mbps, and he said it would be implemented sometime in 2004, looking forward to that too. Othweriwse that about it.
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 Review by motterj
Posted: 6.5 years ago
member for 6.5 years, 14 visits, last login: 6.1 years ago
Seattle,King,WA
$59 per month (12 month contract)
about 14 days
Qwest
CLEC party: Covad
"Fast, very reliable service"
"They don't answer emails to tech support"
"Very good overall. (Tweak your RWIN setting)"
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It took a total of two weeks from the time I placed my order until I got my self-install kit. One brief call to tech support later (I'd forgotten to add the "@covad.net" to my user ID) and I was up and running. I'd got their TeleSurfer Plus service, 1.5 meg down/128K up.
My initial line speed tests showed 1.5 meg down and an incredible 10 meg up. Within a few days it was testing more line 800K down and 105K up. I sent email to support- no answer. I called and was told that they couldn't find anything wrong with my line, and that they only guaranteed speeds of 80% of the total claimed. 800K was not 80% of 1500, but anecdotal evidence showed that my speed was cookin', so I didn't complain further.
I've had service for over a year now and have never experienced an outage that wasn'
t cured by rebooting my PC and/or the DSL modem.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed my download speeds were creeping, and tests showed them varying between 300-600K. I sent email again, no answer. So I called tech support, and a very helpful 1st line tech found that I was in Safe Mode. He couldn't find any reason that should be the case, so he reprovisioned my connection and had me power-cycle the modem (hint: pull the power cord out and wait for 30 seconds. He said using the power button wasn't the way to do it properly).
Then I was getting >800K and Web pages were loading fast again. He had me surf for a couple of minutes while he watched the line- no problems. He was still concerned that I was testing at only 800Kish so he had me remove my NAT firewall/hub/WAP from the circuit, reinstall RASPPPOE and test again. I was to call back if my speed hadn't improved.
After I did this I was testing at around 860K. I was still happy with that, but I called back as requested and gave them my results. The second tech couldn't find anything else wrong.
A suggestion I saw here on DSL Reports said to try tweaking my RWIN setting to 37752. I did that and rebooted. Tests then showed 1.2 meg down/108K up. This was within that guaranteed 80%, finally. I probably could have had 1.2 meg for the last year if I'd known about that RWIN setting!
With my NAT router back in the circuit I'm still getting almost 1.1 meg down (still 106-108 up).
Bottom line: download the DRTCP utility from here, check your RWIN settings, and call, don't email, Covad tech support if you need help.
By the way, the first Covad tech said there had been an outage in Seattle but it had apparently cleared before I got home from work and got on line. The one outage I was aware of in a year, and I didn't even notice it! Great service!
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Review by cnecker
Posted: 8.1 years ago
member for 8.1 years, 3 visits, last login: 3.9 years ago
Phoenix,Maricopa,AZ
$50 per month
Qwest
"Reliable. Stable after Code Red virus fix implemented on the CISCO 678 router"
"None worth mentioning"
"Good ISP until I became disqualified for new MSN ISP bundle because of Win95 operating system."
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Acquired bundled deal with Deluxe DSL (640/256) and QWEST.NET ISP. QWEST.NET is being phased out in favor of MSN. MSN DSL service requires Win98 or better. My employer provided PC is mandated Win95. Time to shop for a new ISP.
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Review by ukiemafia
Posted: 8.4 years ago
member for 8.4 years, 1605 visits, last login: 252 days ago
Chicago,Cook,IL
$50 per month (12 month contract)
about 31 days
Ameritech
CLEC party: Covad
"Fast downloads and uploads."
"Didn't sync, connection down a lot, half of advertised download speed."
"The service is fast and the connection is more stable now"
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I ordered earthlink dsl May 5. Got my line activated about one week later. Then it took a long time for my dsl equiptment to arrive. When it finally did arrive I right away installed the Arescom NetDSL 800 modem. Problem was the modem wouldn't sync. I called earthlink tech support and got a trouble ticket. I got a call two days later and the modem was able to sync. So I was real happy and went to dslreports.com right away and did a speed test. I got 192/318 from the first test. Later I did some tweaks and got a better speed of 400/316. After time I started to get an average of 700/320 and still do to this day. Then the bad started to happen. The connection would go down and stay down for 1-4 hours and then it would stay up for about 1/2-1 hour then go down again, very frusturating. I called tech support again. I was on hold for about a total time of 1 and 1/2 hours. After i got through i was transfered to tech support level 2. There the tech was a lot more knowledgeable and fixed my problem by putting my dsl line on safe mode, which means more errors can come through before the dsl connection is lost. Now i very rarely get disconnected and when i do it connects right back. And the speed is still at an average of 700/320 so its no bad. Overall I would say get earthlink dsl if you can. I know others with this companny and they have no problems. I am just one of the few that didnt get lucky from the start.
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Review by shelden7
UPDATED: 8.4 years ago
member for 9.1 years, 49 visits, last login: 2 years ago
Tacoma,Pierce,WA
$38 per month (month by month)
about 11 days
Qwest
"CHEAP; speed 640/272 @45dB; never down or busy"
"Internal modem; 2-hour limit with cutoff after 10-min warning; dynamic IP;POP&SMTP"
"Cheap and perfect for the price"
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This is the $19.95 Select service, does not work with an external modem and has a 2-hour cutoff. If you disconnect prior to 2 hours you can immediately reconnect and chain-on unlimited. My ISP is Qwest $17.95 also, I never installed their ISP software.
Using the "free" Intel 2100 internal modem without problems. Line was ready 4 days before promised and I was up on my own. I suppose I never want to deal with anyone's tech, Qwest's included.
We are fiber in Tacoma and I'm 3700 ft from CO.
I don't use the ISP features but I note that their POP mail account is down a lot more than any other (free) POP or IMAP I use. Keep your Yahoo/Hotmail account I say. Qwest does let me domain-stamp my SMTP but their reliability causes me to use others instead.
I am happy with the product for the price. I read DSLreports months ago and avoided Northpoint heartache by going with telco DSL.
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For a bit more money, compare to an alternate DSL choice: I save $120/yr by not having Qwest's Deluxe service which would give a static IP, 24/7 connection, and external Cisco modem. That external modem would have cost me $150 (half price promotion). If cost isn't an issue go for the Deluxe and external Cisco especially if you have multiple computers. Or go with cable through one of the Tacoma Click! providers if you are in my area. I have Harbornet.com cable at another location for $26.95 but paid for modem and installation.
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U S WEST
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