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Review by veloctTX2k 
Posted: 8.3 years ago
member for 8.3 years, 48 visits, last login: 7.3 years ago
 Webster,Harris,TX
 $29 per month (12 month contract)
 Southwestern Bell
 "They will try to do all they can to help you"
 "SWBell"
 "great value/support for DSL"
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I decided to use The Optimal Link because of all the good reviews on dslreports.com. I moved to a new apartment and had spoken to someone late in June then in early July and I relay to them the need for me to have an ethernet modem instead of the usb modem. In late July, I called to place my order since I was moving on the 27th of July, when I moved in I had a message from ASI telling me my line was ready and all I needed was the equipment. When I moved the equipment was waiting for me, lo and behold is was the USB modem. I called and they told me to send it back to SWBell and they would call and get SWBell to send the proper modem, I waited and waited, 2 weeks and no modem. Finally somebody tells me that SWBell canceled my account and that they would take care of it. On more week goes by and they place my order again after they find out what happened. This time I'm told that my order will be expedited and I should get my equipment shortly, I'm also told that I would get a call the next day to let me know when the line will be ready, that was Monday. My order has been expedited to Aug. 27th when it was placed on the 13th. Kudos to Dan and all the people at oplnk.net for trying to help me out. Well, my connection is up and running as of yesterday as promised, we had a few bumps but it's up an running, thanks Dan.
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Review by dwhengel
Posted: 8.3 years ago
member for 8.3 years, 9 visits, last login: 4.7 years ago
Houston,Harris,TX
$60 per month
 about 11 days
Southwestern Bell
CLEC party: Southwestern Bell
"Very helpful, fast responses"
"Plan on staying with them."
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Well, I am one of those poor souls who received a letter from Covad on July 20th stating that Covad and Internet America (my IA provider is PDQ.net in Houston) were severing ties, and I had until August 3rd to find either a new ISP that worked with Covad, a new DSL provider that worked with IA, or a new both. I called Covad with questions, and ended up calling 4 different numbers with no real response. I called PDQ and they didn't seem very outgoing about who else they were doing DSL with, so I came here to DSLreports and spent SEVERAL hours, and came up with two possiblities. The Optimal Link was one of them. I called them that Saturday night, and got a human. At around 11:30pm. Talked with him for about 1/2 an hour or so, and then submitted their pre-qualification. By Monday, July 23rd, I had confirmation of a 'live' date of August 1st, along with getting all the account billing information and such setup. As of about 1/2 an hour ago, I'm alive and kicking on TOP. (At least for one computer, the other 2 will get done tomorrow.) Most of the other ISP's with DSL were limiting to 1 static or 1 dynamic IP per account. And we've got 3 networked, and just bought a 4th, so it was nice to find someone who'd let us do more than 1 computer on the DSL at a time. (Can we say Everquest?)
Anyhow, I'll try to update this at a later time. But right now, there aren't any down sides yet. And I think I've talked to most of their primary folks over there.
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Review by wjmano
Posted: 8.4 years ago
member for 8.8 years, 16 visits, last login: 7.5 years ago
Houston,Harris,TX
$60 per month (12 month contract)
about 60 days
Southwestern Bell
CLEC party: Southwestern Bell
"Fantastic customer support. They really want you to be satisfied."
"Reliance on SW Bell."
"Awesome focus on customer satisfaction!!"
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The Optimal Link crew did EVERYTHING they could to expedite my order through SWB, but given the bureaucracy it seems they could only do so much. Basically, it took too long for my ISP switch to occur considering SWB was also my line provider with my old ISP. But now that I'm up and running, things are working great and the few times I've had to contact Oplnk, I've gotten great unbelievable support and great speeds to boot. I would recommend to anyone -- especially to those frustrated by poor support experiences -- which seems to be the norm everywhere else in this industry.
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Review by bfrazier
Posted: 8.5 years ago
member for 8.5 years, 1 visits, last login: 8.5 years ago
Tomball,Harris,TX
$29 per month
about 14 days
Southwestern Bell
CLEC party: Southwestern Bell
"Great communication and respond in an exceedingly timely manner."
"none to date."
"An ISP that has great customer service!"
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They've been great to deal with. All of the issues I've experienced were handled promptly and all of them were with SW Bell, NOT Optimal Link. They've been great at helping me resolve these issue with SW Bell.
I've got their Surfer package w/ 4 static IP's. My static IP information was available weeks before my install date so that I was able to process my domain change forms with Network Solutions ahead of time. The support has been great.
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Review by Forcemajer
Posted: 8.5 years ago
member for 8.5 years, 58 visits, last login: 1.5 years ago
Spring,Harris,TX
$65 per month
about 40 days
Southwestern Bell
"Excellent Customer Service!"
"None"
"You get what you pay for"
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I read DSLReports before deciding to try The Optimal Link. In January this year, I Southwestern Bell's Project Pronto finally completed a remote terminal in my area allowing me to order DSL service. I researched and choose TOL, based on their bandwidth promises, support for Linux configuration on their website, and the fact they were a preferred partner of Southwestern Bell with comparable rates. I selected Power User option with static IPs.
My order for DSL service was the first installation on a remote terminal between TOL and SBT. My pain will hopefully be another's gain, since TOL and SBT had to really work to get this going. The first order was lost somehow and my install date rescheduled. Many discussions took place between TOL and SBT on properly configuring for connection out to the remote terminal. Apparently it is different then the normal settings for the central office. The second install date arrived and I had three solid green lights on my mode. DSL at last!!! The speed was great (about 1034 down, 128 up) and I couldn't be happier.
After one week, I lost connectivity. A trouble call was placed with TOL and they placed one with ASI. I never did get a clear story about the root cause of the problem. What I do know is that I had three solid green lights, so my modem saw the DSLAM at the remote terminal. I was dropping connectivity somewhere within TOL. Probable cause was a configuration issue with TOL changing a setting. Service was restored and has been good since.
So why rate them so highly, if they messed up my configuration? They told me up front that this was the first time they have done a DSL install on a remote terminal. TOL is a great ISP that really tries hard to insure prompt responses to your questions/issues. This is a learning experience for them and they really worked to insure my satisfaction. I was never billed by either TOL or SBT until service was up. I did not get any runaround, and believe the next time they see the same symptom, they will check configuration settings first. But since this was a new means of connection for them, out to the remote terminal, they simply chose the longer troubleshooting path. As a former field service tech, I give their tech support a 4 out of 5. You don't always solve it the first time, but you keep the customer informed and don't give them a runaround.
I recently purchased a second computer and networked it using a switch to the modem and each PC to the switch. Both PCs have ZoneAlarm for software-based firewall protection. A switch is faster then a router and with static IPs, I could use a different IP for each machine. Next, I am planning to use a Linux box for firewall/proxy.
So far, my experience has been really good. It is a bit disconcerting to call and get voicemail during normal hours, but TOL is really good about responding back. And you get someone who either can answer your question or escalate it quickly to someone else who will answer your questions. As I stated, you get what you pay for and it is worth it to me to be a "person" and not just one of the "masses" you can be when using SBT.
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Review by t1dude
Posted: 8.7 years ago
member for 8.8 years, 7 visits, last login: 8.1 years ago
Houston,Harris,TX
$39 per month
about 30 days
Southwestern Bell
"Super Friendly Service. FAST connection (100k/sec downloads!). great support"
"dependent on SWB"
"Great people, Great service, Great Speed"
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I would recomend Optimal Link to anyone!
The Optimal Link really went the extra mile working with the evil corporation SWB. I had a few issues that made things a bit more complex:
1. I recently moved and SWB screwed up the order, so I had TWO orders in their system
2. My new house was built in 1939 and all phone lines and related technology was antiquated.
SWB did everything that they could to make the experience ugly. The Optimal Link actually listened to me and realized that my house probaly had old equipment connected to it. I told SWB this many times, but they never seemed to care.
Optimal link dealt with SWB who had no clue what they were doing. SWB had to come out to my house several times and eventually said that the problem was on my end and they could do nothing more. Optimal link listened to me and to what was hapening. When it was clear that SWB screwed up, they were persistant and kept after SWB to fix the problem.
SWB finally corrected the issue only after Optimal Link forced them to come to my house for free, after SWB said that they could only come out for $250.
SWB lied and told me that I HAD to buy another $200 modem from them even though i already had one. Optimal Link told me the truth (I didn't need a new modem) and saved me $200!
I truly belive that SWB is trying to put all thse small ISP's out of business, which is a shame because companies like Optimal Link are BETTER. No Corporate red tape and run-around. I get anwers, I get to talk to real people - no machines.
The service and support that I get from Optimal Link is so much better than SWB. The few times that I have called Optimal Link for something, I usually got a solution faster than it took SWB to answer the phone!
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Review by mbutler5
Posted: 9.4 years ago
member for 8.9 years, 5 visits, last login: 8.1 years ago
Spring,Harris,TX
$14 per month (12 month contract)
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This is a wonderful company to use for an ISP. Every time I call I get
a human being and don't have to wait on hold for hours at a time. They
give great service and great technical support. I wish other ISP's
would get it straight.
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