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Review by umccullough 
UPDATED: 2 years ago
member for 4.8 years, 117 visits, last login: 1.7 years ago
 Grass Valley,Nevada,CA
 $128 per month (12 month contract)
 about 18 days
 New Edge Networks
 "Good service & reliability; offer IDSL; encourage connection sharing"
 "Expensive, NewEdge can be flaky"
 "Expensive, but definitely a complete package with quality service"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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11/2/2007 (update)
Now that I've had IDSL for over 2 years, ADSL has finally become available to me. This means I'll be ditching my IDSL ASAP!
Over the course of the last couple years, I must admit I have only experienced two lengthy service outages (one of them lasting 2 weeks). In both cases, New Edge took forever to actually check the line and fix the issue, while Speakeasy could do nothing except wait. In the end, both outages were credited to my account, so I guess that's as much as I can ask for.
Another problem I ran into during these outages is the inability to test with another IDSL router. I ended up buying one used off eBay just so I could test a separate unit and claim that the router was not the problem.
When it did work properly, my IDSL line was rock solid. Speakeasy's network provided rock-solid performance as well. I can't fault Speakeasy for any of the issues I had, and I can only fault NewEdge for their slow response times.
When shopping around for ADSL prices, I checked with Speakeasy to see if they could provided any ADSL offerings for my location, but it appears only AT&T has circuits there currently, and not Covad. Unfortunately this means I must leave Speakeasy for another ISP. It looks like I will be going with Sonic.net because they get good reviews here on BBR. I'm already signed up for install next week 
8/21/2005 (update)
Well, it's been almost 6 months since my installation, and the service has started to become extremely flaky. It seems that there are definitely "bad days" where i lose my connection completely for several minutes at a time, and this can occur as often as every 15-30 minutes.
Today was dreadful, the line spent a good amount of the day either down, or losing packets frequently (with ping times as high as 1000ms to my first hop in Seattle, WA when they are usually ~50ms)
It appears to have calmed down this evening, however.
I am suspecting a bad line, and that the recent heatwave has something to do with the line quality - but I will not know until NewEdge takes a look at it for me.
I spoke in length with a Speakeasy tech this morning (on a Sunday) - and eventually he opted to open a ticket with NewEdge. I got the impression that Speakeasy rarely uses NewEdge as their vendor, and I believe this also has complicated the process somewhat.
As mentioned by another reviewer (ahendy) I cannot get my PoP in San Francisco as NewEdge doesn't support that location as a PoP.
I am strongly considering a T1 line and splitting the cost with some neighbors when this contract is up - it would be much better, and if I can find enough people to share the cost, it might even be cheaper with more bandwidth.
3/4/2005 (original review)
I ordered the NetAdvantage 144NA IDSL package (144/144kbps) @ $120/mo
I've been resisting the urge to get IDSL for a couple years now, but at ~30,000 ft from my CO with ~31.2kbps dialup max - I finally broke down and ordered IDSL through Speakeasy.
Interestingly enough, I tried to order IDSL a year prior from Megapath networks for about the same price, and was told that I was too far from the CO.
The lengthy wait for the install to complete was anticipated, so I wasn't bothered by it. There was short notice on the second-half of the install (48 hours notice) which caused some minor stress, but everything turned out fine.
I ditched my previous dialup provider immediately, and proceeded to use the free dialup account that Speakeasy provided, but found out I only had 150 hours/month available. My install tech was nice enough to float me an extra 500 hours of dialup until the IDSL installation was complete.
I was provided with an Efficient SpeedStream 5871 IDSL Modem/Router (preconfigured in bridged mode) with a static IP. I had to jump through some hoops to get the password for the router so I can change it to firewall/NAT mode, but Speakeasy does provide this info for "power users" once you do this.
I am getting the 80-90% minimum throughput promised, and latency is low considering the distance/bandwidth (~50ms to POP).
Another nicety is that Speakeasy actually encourages sharing of the connection with neighbors to offset the monthly cost - they will even handle the "split-billing" process for you. I am thinking of working out a deal with my low-impact neighbor that also suffers from super-slow-dialup speeds.
That's about all I can say at this point since I've only been live for a couple days so far.
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Review by speakeasysux
UPDATED: 2 years ago
member for 2 years, 3 visits, last login: 2 years ago
Cherry Hill,Camden,NJ
$110 per month (12 month contract)
"They market themselves as the friendly ISP with no port blocking"
| Pre Sales information:
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(ratings well below consensus)
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UPDATE: Speakeasy contacted me and agreed to remove the service fees from my bill because of the misunderstanding. So this experience was a slight bump in the road, but I will still be signing up for their service once I move and definitely recommend them as an honest company that does actually treat their customers as people.
The sales team said "You can cancel with NO fees up until 30 days after the installation." But why do the terms of service state that there is a $49.00 fee if you do not cancel within 72 hours from ordering the service? Don't believe me? Try their online "Chat with a Sales Rep" tool and see for yourself. Speakeasy seems to have a completely different attitude since BestBuy aquired them. This is extremely unfortunate since they used to be a decent ISP.
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Review by psichod
Posted: 2 years ago
member for 2.4 years, 36 visits, last login: 1.1 years ago
Sunnyvale,Santa Clara,CA
$110 per month (12 month contract)
about 14 days
Covad
"Extremely low latency"
"Expensive"
"Great quality"
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The quality of the connection is phenomenal. I've never seen anything even close to what I have right now. My ping almost anywhere throughout the country is less then 20 ms and less then 10 to the West cost. It is expensive, but if you're looking for the quality SpeakEasy is the way to go.
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 Review by bajajoe
UPDATED: 2 years ago
member for 8.8 years, 811 visits, last login: 57 days ago
Fort Lee,Bergen,NJ
$89 per month (12 month contract)
about 2 days
Verizon (ex GTE)
"Friendy, good tech support ,all american based ,fast speeds"
"None almost except for 8 megs email size would prefer 10 meg."
"For $5.00 more than Verizon can't be beat! twice the speed"
| Pre Sales information:
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My experience with speakeasy has been very good I have been with them for more than two years and have never looked back except to change my price ....it went down $45.00 because Verizon started to compete with them offering cheaper prices for almost the same plan.my only complaint is email message size is limited to 8 meg.
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Review by Bondman
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 8.2 years, 3394 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Livonia,Wayne,MI
Contract price not specified.
AT&T
"Speakeasy is going back to basics and take care of customers!"
"If you want a ISP for the long run go with Speakeasy!"
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Oct 2007
I did call Mr. Myers late today and had a very professional conversation with him. I am very happy to report that my concerns have been addressed with Speakeasy and no longer need to consider any ISP changes.
My confidence with Speakeasy has been greatly increased with the fast response to my concerns and the fact that someone from Speakeasy is monitoring this forum.
Sept 2006
Unfortunately Speakeasy has gone downhill bigtime this year. I do not like how they handle the keeping of gov fees even though the gov actually dropped them.
The webmail is still very slow. Back 2 months ago they attempted an upgrade of the webmail system, it had issues, they removed it and have done nothing since on this matter. I have had more latency issues at times than in previous years.
2004
Kat Oak is fantastic along with Lawrence when it comes to taking care of customer needs!
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Review by moonistic
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 2.2 years, 15 visits, last login: 192 days ago
Chicago,Cook,IL
$110 per month (12 month contract)
about 20 days
"Solid, reliable service"
"Expensive, installation coordination"
"You get what you pay for"
| Pre Sales information:
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(ratings match consensus)
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I've been a Speakeasy customer for a few months, subscribing to their DSL onelink service 6.0/768. Ordering was easy, the sales rep was knowledgeable about the local market and the steps necessary to provision the line. He checked my distance to the CO (about 5K feet) and let me know that I was good for 6.0 downstream.
Since I ordered a dry loop for DSL service, I had to have 2 visits to my apartment in Chicago - first, AT&T had to come out to install the loop to the demarc, and then a Covad tech came out a week later to finish the job. Since there are a few players involved in this process, and Speakeasy only supplies installation coordination, I could see that there would be ample opportunity for screw ups and delays. Fortunately in my case, there were none, installation went smoothly and apart from the lengthy installation process (about 3 weeks), everything went just as I was told it would.
The service is expensive, but I haven't regretted it, the speeds are great and consistent, and I have had no service issues whatsoever. This is a remarkably pleasant change from my previous Comcast service, which was pretty unreliable. So I don't mind paying a premium for a dependable service and knowledgeable support.
There is a 12 month contract, however (with a $200.00 early termination fee), which isn't really great. And although there is no charge for moving the service should you need it, the contract time does reset back to 12 months if you do.
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 Review by DarkThrone
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 8.9 years, 3571 visits, last login: a few hours ago
San Francisco,San Francisco,CA
$63 per month
about 14 days
SBC
"Everything."
"none."
"Awesome"
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Update 09-29-2007
The price has gone down a bit, something like 63.00 a month or so.
Best Buy has bought Speakeasy.
No issues really, since the last review. In fact, all is well.
I will be moving to South Dakota though, no idea if Speakeasy is there or not.
Update 10-13-2005
Everything is still going well with my service. Price has since dropped, service is still top notch.
Dont really know what more can be said, I'm happy with them.
Thanks.
Update - 08-14-2003
Seeing that this site reminded me to update my review on speakeasy, I must say that honestly, well, there's not much to say at all.
Service and everything has been just perfect. I even moved since the last update, and good god did everything go smoothly and very quickly. I was really worried about perhaps not having service for a while, but that wasnt the case. When I moved into the new house, line was already working and everything!
Anyway, I wouldnt swtich for the world.
End of update.
_________________________________________________
I have the 1500/384 speed I believe. This review will be short. I've had zero problems with Speakeasy (ok, maybe 2 or 3 times service was down, but was brief)
I had Telocity (now direct TV Dsl) and they just dropped the ball so to speak. I have a review on them, so I listed the probs on that review.
From the moment that I ordered until live, it was painless and fast.
Btw, I believe service started on 08-29-2001. I thought that I'd update my isp review (a reminder was on screen here at this site)
Edit on 12-31-2002 -
Since this review, zero problems with Speakeasy. In fact, couldn't be happier. Speeds have been constant, zero tech problems, etc.
I first thought that I was set up for the gamers package, but found out it's sys/admin package. No worries though.
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Review by NbWY1
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 6.5 years, 681 visits, last login: 13 days ago
Manassas,Prince William,VA
$99 per month (12 month contract)
about 12 days
Verizon
"Excellent Tech Support/Service"
"Price/Speed"
"It's IDSL :\"
| Pre Sales information:
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I ordered 144/144 IDSL @ 89.95 a month, it came to about $99 a month total, with an extra IP or 2. Order/installation took 12 days.
Pinged google at 23ms @ 17750 feet.
Perfect uptime.
Followup comments:  mackintire
join:2004-03-26
Pittsburgh, PA
| IDSL Speakeasy is one of the few ISP's that will atttempt to give you IDSL. IDSL is worlds cheaper then IDSN and about the same speed. It also works at distances that DSL or ADSL can not.
So your choices are:
Satelite= 2Mbps down 384kbps up Poor latency and starting at $170 a month for 10GB of bandwidth.
T1= 1.5Mbps up and down expensive roll out $350 a month $$$
IDSN= analog with 2 b channels you ll pay near $200 a month for 128kbps
IDSL = 114kbps up and down 89.99 low lantency
56k = modem and med latency and using a phone line | |
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Review by soccerguy
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 5.4 years, 860 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Seattle,King,WA
$100 per month (month by month)
about 7 days
"Unbeatable customer service & tech support; rock-solid connection"
"A bit pricey"
"I'd rather pay a little bit more for the top notch service and support."
| Pre Sales information:
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(ratings match consensus)
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I'd rather pay a little bit more for the top notch service and support, rather that go with the cheapest, WalMart-ish type ISP who give you only a connection and a phone number to a call center somewhere in Asia.
The monthly cost for me includes dry-pair dsl and Speakeasy VOIP. Even with Speakeasy's higher dsl costs, it saves me money every month by not having to pay for a local phone line, local phone service/taxes, and the obligatory long distance monthly charge (thanks Qwest!).
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 Review by BLUNTED 1
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 6 years, 2278 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Floral Park,Nassau,NY
$110 per month (month by month)
| Pre Sales information:
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(ratings match consensus)
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I no longer have Speakeasy !
Followup comments: Twarrior
join:2006-10-11
Chicago, IL
|  You're Kidding, Right?
My money gets me:
- 768x1.5mbps ADSL ala DHCP (not crappy PPPOE) Internet
- Not one but TWO VOIP Phone Lines with Unlimited calling to 22 Countries (and thats the basic DEFAULT VOIP Package here)
- Terms of service that pretty much allows me to do anything I want with my bandwidth (as long as it's nothing illegal, of course)
- Their billing department isn't a bunch of Nazi's like SBC aka AT&T
- I'm paying $40 *less* than I was with SBC Phone Service and Anet Communications (these guys truly suck) Internet Access and that was with ONE regular land line.
- Customer Service is *not* outsourced to Osama's Cousins
So I get more of everything and BETTER *everything* for $40 less than I was paying.
Now you might be thinking "the local telco has ADSL for $19.95/mo" or something similar. True, but again, you get what you pay for which in that instance is usually:
- Requires regular land line phone where they can $ rape $ you where as Speakeasy can easily implement whats called a "dry line" at no extra charge.
- Upstream usually SUCKS (between 128kbps and 256kbps and what most people do not realize, is that upstream pushes downstream. The faster you can request a tcp packet, the faster you can receive one).
- Outsourced or not, CSR's at the regular Telco usually have no clue WTF their talking about.
- Telco Internet (as well as most Cable Providers) have a very tyrannical terms of service policy.
- Most Telco and Cable companies block ports or disallow home servers completely (I mean come on, if someone would rather setup apache to have their "hi this is me" page rather than use a My(waste-of)space or Geoshitties page, whats so wrong with that?)
- To get the uber-low price you're not only locked into a contract but you are forced to renew the contract to KEEP getting that price. To me, if a company has so little faith in their service that they feel they need to pull contract renewal schemes to attempt to keep their customers, then something is seriously wrong.
So you might want to re-weigh the facts before deciding to go with someone else.
-Dave | |
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