Review by folloder Location: Katy, Harris, TX, USA Cost: $80 per month (12 month contract) Install: about 10 days SBC Real people to talk to on the phone! Financially healthy ISP. Agent for SWB (going south shouldn't be a problem). None. They bend over backwards to make you happy! Great value.

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Still a customer and still happy. My speeds have gone up and my monthly bill has gone down (5220/620). And I still have my static IP and still do *not* have a restriction as to running servers, etc. I'd still gladly recommend TOL!

Many, many years into my relationship with TOL. Speeds have done nothing but gone up (I'm now averaging over 2450 down and 440 up). Customer service has remained consistently first class. The only problems I have ever had (one or two) were with SBC and TOL ran interference for me to get those resolved quickly.

If you want to be treated right, this is where you HAVE to be.

Roaddawg43 join:2000-07-20 Miami, FL Roaddawg43 Member 2001-Jul-1 10:44 am Tweak that connection of yours Run the tweak tester on this site, found under the tools option on the left side... The speeds should double. My 2 cents. 2001-Jul-1 10:44 am: · hey mods ·
	xGoD_vs_SaTaNx join:2001-04-10 Thousand Oaks, CA xGoD_vs_SaTaNx Member 2001-Jul-1 3:18 pm Re: Tweak that connection of yours not necessarily double, but if he goes to the tweak forum and ask for help, he should get up to 1 mbit download. 2001-Jul-1 3:18 pm: · hey mods ·
folloder join:2001-01-03 Katy, TX folloder Member 2001-Jul-5 6:19 pm Tweaked Already Already have the tweaks in place. Sometimes I *do* get 1m+ downloads. It seems to be a time of day thing. Besides, I'm about 8,000 feet from the remote terminal. I'm still happy! 2001-Jul-5 6:19 pm: · hey mods ·
System Anon 2001-Nov-26 7:54 am What neighborhood do you live in? I live in Bridgewater Pointe and was curious what neighborhood you live in to get ADSL. I, too, was a customer(IDSL 144/144) of Northpoint when they went south. I'm now using Charter Pipeline for Cable Access. The thing I really don't like about Charter is their 500kbps bandwidth limit. They said it was the package, but when I asked for the bigger, better, faster package... there isn't one. Time Warner is now pushing Earthlink Cable Access throughout my neighborhood. Sprint Broadband hit their max users, was to be expected considering the technology they are using. I'm looking for more options. 2001-Nov-26 7:54 am: · hey mods ·
folloder join:2001-01-03 Katy, TX folloder Member 2002-Sep-21 10:11 am One Year Update Just a note of follow up: OVer a year with TOL and I couldn't be happier. Speed steadily improves with their upgrades at no additional charge, real people to help out with questions and issues, and superb customer service. Oh, and did I mention that it is reliable? I've been using my DSL to connect through VPN to my corporate net in Dallas (I live in Katy), share connectivity with several other computers in my house, and serve up some websites. Rock steady! If you are in the Houston area, this is where you should be. 2002-Sep-21 10:11 am: · hey mods ·
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Review by spacecamel Location: Katy, Harris, TX, USA Cost: $35 per month (12 month contract) Install: about 14 days AT&T Easy to work with have to use them through AT&T Good choice

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Ordered over the phone and was setup the day they said it would be. They were easy to work with as I was moving into a house and had to ship my modem to an address that was not my house. I have never had to call them as their service is rock solid and never out. The biggest down side is that you have to have an AT&T phone which I never use and adds about $15 to my cost and another bill each month.

In summary, they may be a little more than AT&T but I think working with people who know what they are doing and have a solid network are worth it to me.

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Review by Sahrin Location: Houston, Harris, TX, USA Cost: $19 per month (12 month contract) Install: about 11 days AT&T Great service (No exagerration, best tech service I've ever had) DSL is distance based. Fair prices, allows you to get out from under the Telco Monopoly - but DSL has technical limitations that you have to face down

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I dropped Cable in Houston after the Switch to Comcast (It's Sucktastic!). Following this change, I sought out a new ISP. I was done with major corporations, and given that Comcast owns the only major network in town my choices were fairly circumspect.

After a perfunctory search of Broadband Reports and the Web at large (Google, thank you) I turned up a small independent ISP called Oplink. I read their plain website and communicated exactly what I was looking for - people who understand what they are doing, but don't have the orgy of usless 'features' shoved down our throats by corporate America.

I placed an order for their "Basic" (1.5/385) service a day after ordering my landline service from AT&T (I was wire-less until the decision to do DSL) - this is how Oplink recommends you order new service, and then sat back and waited. In response to my e-mail, withing 12 hours, Oplink had replied with a very informative e-mail telling me exactly (to 100 feet) how far I was away from the nearest DSL head-end (13,200 feet), what service I had ordered and how soon I could expect it to "go live."

The modem arrived on schedule, and given my unfamiliarity with DSL modems I am as yet uncertain of the ultimate quality of the hardware, it is a Westell Wirespeed (Model number not clearly listed, perhaps 890?).

Initially, due to the existence of several "bridge taps" on my line, I was unable to get connectivity on my line. This was an egineering problem of AT&T's - and from the moment I detected the problem, Oplink was on the ball - and within 4Hours had an answer to me from AT&T - explaining very clearly what the problem was, and how long it would take to fix it. (It's AT&T's crappy network design, not Oplink - who is 'leasing' the last mile from them). This issue was resolved within five days (despite requiring AT&T personnel to actually go out and repair the lines), and my service was active a day earlier than Oplink promised. I received a phone call the day before the issue was to be repaired informing me that it would be fixed, and service was restored that day (1 day before promised).

Please note that the 11 days quoted in the notes above includes 1) Labor Day weekend holiday, and 2) 5 days to repair the poorly executed lines on AT&T's network.

Following the service activation, I began running speed tests as the connection felt much slower than what I was accustomed to with Cable. (Of course, with a drop from 6Mbps to 1.5Mbps, what would you expect).

Initial results were disappointing. On all servers tested, my results have been in the neighborhood of 300Kbps upstream and 250Kbps down.

I state this with the caveat that given my inexperience with DSL and my past experience with more bandwidth I may be unfairly judging the service provided, however as compared with the stated maximums I am disappointed with performance. My distance from the cable company may be a function of this "failure," an issue I am trying to get clarification from Oplink on as we speak.

So as of right now, my final thoughts are:

+Excellent Customer Service, best from ANY ISP I have dealth with, by far

+Seamless installation process

+Works great with the obstinate and belligerent local phone company to get results for their customers (or at least answers)

+Great communication with customers

-Bandwidth measured doesn't match with bandwidth quoted

Overall, I recommend Oplink, especially if your distance from the Phone Company is very low, if only to support small business and competition (though their killer service helps out quite a bit).

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

After getting in touch with Oplink on the bandwidth issue, they confirmed my suspicions that due to my distance from the DSLAM, I would be unable to receive the quoted bandwidth. They were completely up front about the technical issues, and offered me the opportunity to "opt-out" of my contract (a 12 month deal) as a result of the service issues.

While I am disappointed that I can't get the max speed, still - Oplink handled this situation incredibly professionally, and their understanding and willingness to "level with me" as a customer was refreshing.

I am uncertain if I will be remaining with Oplink, but let me say that their service thus far as demonstrated is a massive vote in their favor. I will definitely be considering continuing service with them, even with the bandwidth reductions. If you are closer to the DSLAM - I would recommend them over any other carrier.

UPDATE: Exit Review

The exit/cancellation process is pretty straightforward. At the time of cancellation I was month-to-month; this meant I could turn off my service at anytime. I called Oplink during regular business hours; after 2 minutes on the phone I had cancelled the service and received an e-mail detailing how to return their hardware. They even offer a drop-off option to save the shipping costs. One aspect of the cancellation I'd like to mention as a positive - Oplink didn't try or even mention anything that sounded remotely like trying to sell me back into their service. This may be because I wasn't wanted as a customer (who knows?) but I think they didn't want to undercut my decisions. It was nice to speak to a rep who's sole focus wasn't to sell me into something. Oplink Support is the best.

I had Oplink service for approximately a year and a half. During that time I was thrilled with the service they provided. If the company has one weakness, it is that it is not the ILEC in this area. If you can get Oplink service, I would recommend it. Their support is simply the best, their service is excellent.

I left Oplink because I was lured by the simplicity of doing it all under one roof (not to mention the cost savings). It remains to be seen if this will play out - but I would urge anyone looking for internet service to consider Oplink. The best ISP I have worked with.

daveck @mindspring.com daveck Anon 2007-Nov-25 11:29 am Thanks for your review Thanks for a comprehensive and thoughtful review. I've been thinking about Oplink since my son suggested looking into it, but I've been unsure about it. As I experience difficulties with Comcast's cable service, I'm moving toward finding an alternative, and Oplink may be it. 2007-Nov-25 11:29 am: · hey mods ·

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Review by txmwg Location: Houston, Harris, TX, USA Cost Contract price not specified. Friendly service, knowledgeable staff, good network. None so far Best ISP in Houston I've ever come across

I had AT&T DSL since 98 or 99 when they were SWBell, and even worked for them as a DSL technical supervisor for 2 years(before it all got outsourced), but after dealing with their support recently (or lack thereof) I knew it was time to switch. Now I can speak with a technician and actually understand what they are saying!

With AT&T DSL I was having problems with high latency, even just going to Dallas. 70-110ms pings which was just unacceptable for this distance. They were routing me through New Jersey and back to Washington for some reason just to get 250 miles away. I e-mailed Oplink support to find out about switching at around 5pm, and to my surprise I received a personalized e-mail from Dan THAT night close to 8:30pm with detailed answers to all of my questions. I e-mailed him back the next morning to see if they could run a tracert for me to see what my pings would be like, and I got an e-mail back with a tracert from a DSL line at their office within just a few hours. I can't get this kind of service from most other ISPs even as their customer.

I ordered DSL Wednesday, woke up this morning at around 7am (Friday) and noticed my PPPoE connection from AT&T was disconnected. Set my router to DHCP, changed my MTU, and within 10 minutes I was connected. Very minimal downtime with their "hot swap" process.

My pings have gone from an average of 80ms down to 14ms and are extremely stable. I am very happy with the low latency and speed of their DNS resolution. Oplink must be doing something right!

Thanks Dan, Nic, and Ryan for all your help in this process and I look forward to being your customer for a long time. You guys work very hard, and know how to take care of your customers.

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Review by lxixmarc Location: 770006 Cost Contract price not specified. AT&T Best ISP in Houston overall None Affordable, stable, clean line with no 'traffic shaping'.

I've had Oplink for a month now and have not had a single problem. Received the Wirespeed modem overnight, plugged it in a couple of days prior to my due date and it was on. I had no 'dial tone' from ATT at first, so I had to call them to have it fixed before I could get DSL, but once that was on, I got a connection and it hasn't dropped since.

Due to my distance from the CO I can only get the 1.5 line. 6 static IP's is nice, and alot cheaper than it would have been with Comcast. Ordering online and setting up account details was easy, never have had to call them. The only telephone call was them calling me to tell me I was too far away for the faster line.

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Review by globalfp Location: Houston, Harris, TX, USA Cost: $34 per month (12 month contract) AT&T Small company that cares for the customer. Great value for the money.

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I have moved around a lot and used many companies for my email service. While Oplink is not perfect, the others are far from perfect and do not care at all about their customers.

Oplink does a great job. While they do not have the slick phone system to handle calls, inquiries, tech support, etc, they have people that will answer the phone and take care of your needs. Being small also means that they might experience some delays in getting back to you. However, you do not end up on the phone with the big guy for an hour being transferred all over the place before being cut off.

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Review by bsu4phd Location: Houston, Harris, TX, USA Cost: $25 per month (12 month contract) Install: about 2 days Great service; Great billing; Small local operation w/ quick reply. None So glad these guys exist. The ATT megalith is totaly clueless about their customers.

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Only considered their slowest connection for broadband, which is still faster than the rate from the other co.
• What SPEED/package did you order, at what monthly price? Ordered the 1.5 package @ about $25/month
• How was the order & install process? Plug & Play! That easy, box arrived by overnight FedEx & I plugged it in. Just like ordering & first using a Mac.
• What brand/model was the supplied equipment? Generic, but it works just fine.
• What good or bad experiences most struck you? The personal replies from the guys, even after hours!

jimplayspool @oplink.net jimplayspool Anon 2008-Dec-29 9:30 pm Oplink the best DSL in Houston I've been with Oplink since DSL has been available in Houston. I chose them about 10 years ago because they were just a small ISP at that time. I wish I could keep them as my ISP and the only reason I'm changing is because I'm trying to get UVERSE TV for my family. AT&T told me that if I want UVERSE TV that I would have to disconnect my DSL. So I called this morning and explained to Oplink of the situation and that I would have to terminate my account. But before I'm gone I want to say that having been with Oplink has been the best experience I have ever had with any utility. I do want to tell you a story that that occurred about 3 years ago. I’ve been working with computers/networking for over 20 years. I was off one Friday afternoon and all of the sudden the internet was not working. I checked the settings and found out that it was probably my DSL modem. I went to my son’s house and borrowed his DSL modem and I was right. But by the time I was able to call Oplink it was 5:15pm. Of course since they close at 5:00pm I did not expect them to answer the phone. Well I called anyway and Ryan answered the phone. At the time I think he was a tech then. I explained my situation and I also told him that I would travel where ever the office was to get a DSL modem at any time. He said let me make a phone call and I’ll call you back. So he called back a few minutes later and said that they could not get one to me that evening but if I could go to their office the next morning that there would be someone there and I could get one then. I went up to the office at 10:00 the next morning and there was the owner of Oplink there and opened up the office and got me a new DSL modem to replace my broken one. Now you have to understand one thing Oplink is not generally open on the week end so I asked him. “Where he lived” and he said that he lived I think it was Sugarland and the Oplink office is right next to the intercontinental airport. So I asked him why he came out on a Saturday to do me this big of a favor. He said that I was a good customer and he appreciated that. I’m a residential customer of Oplink and if they would do this for me. I’m sure they would do things like this for all of their customers big and small. I’m not sure if I’m making a mistake moving my business to AT&T because of UVERSE TV. But one slip up by my new ISP and back I will be back with Oplink . 2008-Dec-29 9:30 pm: · hey mods ·

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Review by Skip Beedle Location: Houston, Harris, TX, USA Cost: $56 per month (12 month contract) Install: about 3 days AT&T

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I used Time Warner, Earthlink and Comcast from early 2001 through August 2007. I started with Oplink after having read the positive reviews on DSL Reports. The instructions for getting the best rate from AT&T for a DSL line were valuable. Coordination between AT&T and Oplink on the startup was excellent. I have not had to return a modem or do a reinstallation. I use my connection for internet and VOIP. I have had service at 3 Mbps. I recently switched to 6 Mbps. The service is stable. I have experienced minimal downtime. Technical support is always knowledgeable and courteous.

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Review by eam404 Location: Kingwood, Harris, TX, USA Cost Contract price not specified. Great Speed, Stable Uptime, Small So you really get the hands on treatment you should 10/10

Oplink is a fantastic ISP. They are small enough to give you the 1 on 1 care you need ,as well as big enough to support large scale enterprise solutions. Their speeds are great, really as much as DSL can give you..... -- People are nice, and they even have an AIM scree name which makes contacting them very easy!

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Review by netmavrik Location: Houston, Harris, TX, USA Cost: $64 per month Install: about 7 days Excellent customer service. No PPPOE None Best ISP I've ever worked with. No regrets.

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I discovered Oplink.net here at DSLReports in March of 2006. I switched from Time Warner's Road Runner service. I couldn't be happier with the reliability of their DSL service. My only issues I have had were related to my DLink router, and they were extremely helpful in diagnosing my problem. I have the 6.0Mbps Down/ 768Kbps service with 5 static ips. Their maximum bandwith speeds aren't as high as the fastest Road Runner packages, but the latency is much lower ( that is a good thing! ). I believe that web browsing is actually faster than Road Runner due to the lower latency.

I know for certain that they do not block any TCP ports or restrict P2P applications.

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