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PeteB
Premium
join:2008-05-17
O Fallon, IL
| Re: O'Fallon, IL Area said by towerdave  :Why D*? Why not TV through U-Verse? Just curious. Our current service in central Florida is Brighthouse cable, which is providing Time Warner (I think) and Roadrunner internet (no "triple play" since we have CallVantage). It's been pretty good, save for some occasional quality problems, and I love the Scientific Atlanta HD DVR's. So I was already a little biased against anything but cable or fiber, having had mediocre experience with DSL in Corpus Christi and on Okinawa, great FTTH on Okinawa, and faster-than-promised Comcast in Washington state (shocking, I know).
Before I found out FTTP U-verse was available, I was comparing Charter cable to DirecTV and Dish, as well as Charter cable internet to DSL, the latter largely via the reviews and such on this site.
I had dealt with Charter people in trying to find some things out about the DVR's they offer, etc., and my experience, while not altogether awful, mirrored about what I had read here. The worst thing was the "prime time" internet bog-down, which is bad enough here at the Drury to actually drop your connection completely, and QUITE frequently.
So I was looking to get nice, consistent (in speed AND latency, for gaming) DSL, even if the promised speeds were to be lower, and it came down to TV. DirecTV blows Dish and Charter away in terms of the channel lineup, and once I had found out that "HD Lite" and crappy bitrates were all but gone, with most of their HD channels in correct resolutions and MPEG4, that pretty much clinched it. It's also VERY nice to be able to get legitimately souped-up DVR's (as in 1 TB; also slightly older model that still has ATSC tuner!) from weaknees.com.
Calling about DSL, I was informed that I couldn't get it because, happily, my area was to have FTTP to provide local phone, "plain" internet, and/or U-verse. In comparing the channel lineup to DirecTV, I found that DirecTV would be cheaper for comparable packages, as well as not having to have TV signals tangled up with our home network (used for gaming!). When you factor in the channels that U-verse doesn't even have in HD (though they do have many), e.g., Sci Fi with our favorite show (Battlestar Galactica) and Speed with F1, plus the complete lack of CBS College Sports/CSTV (GO NAVY!), it was not a hard decision at all.
Then I just had to figure out if I wanted "plain" FTTP with the option to get a static IP later and slightly cheaper rates for the same speeds, or U-verse with the 10 Mbps available and the option to switch to their TV service later. When I called again (FTTP number below) to ask more technical, hair-splitting questions, I was very confused to be told that if U-verse is available at my location, that's my only option. The other type of FTTP is apparently only offered to people who have fiber in their area, but no U-verse as of yet.
So I just went nuts and ordered the 10/1.5 U-verse, internet only, plus most basic local phone (also on the UPS with the ONT). The installation fee was waived, I think because DSL was not available (as others have mentioned).
I don't even like the idea of having to use the "kitchen sink" RG just for internet. It will definitely have the over-powered wireless radio turned off, since I hear these things crap out in just a few months in some cases.
If there's a way to connect the ONT directly to my own router, with no RG, I AM THERE!
You should call (800) 980-4910. That is THE number for all types of AT&T FTTP, U-verse or not. | |
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ILpt4U
Premium
join:2006-11-12
Lisle, IL
 ·AT&T Yahoo
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·magicjack.com
| Re: O'Fallon, IL Area said by PeteB :Our current service in central Florida is Brighthouse cable, which is providing Time Warner (I think) and Roadrunner internet (no "triple play" since we have CallVantage). It's been pretty good, save for some occasional quality problems, and I love the Scientific Atlanta HD DVR's. 2 Things:
1) You might get Scientific Atlanta/Cisco DVR/STBes with AT&T U-Verse as well. I am not totally sure on the St Louis market, but up in the Chicago market, we use the SA/Cisco boxes. St Louis may use them or the Motorola models of the DVR & STB. All DVRs & STBes are HD-Ready.
2) After your U-Verse is installed and active, and assuming you will keep your AT&T CallVantage service, you will qualify for a "bundled" rate of $20/month for AT&T CallVantage Unlimited US & Canada plan (as opposed to the regular price of $25/month for the unlimited plan). I put "bundled" in quotes because while you have to have U-Verse (or AT&T ADSL or AT&T Wireless) to get the discounted rate, the services will still have separate bills). So once your U-Verse is active, give CallVantage Customer Service a call and let them know you have U-Verse and want the discount. CallVantage customer service phone number: 866-596-8464 | |
| | PeteB
Premium
join:2008-05-17
O Fallon, IL
|  Re: O'Fallon, IL Area
said by ILpt4U :You might get Scientific Atlanta/Cisco DVR/STBes with AT&T U-Verse as well... Well, to be honest, the SA Explorer 8300HD was the first DVR I've EVER used, so it was only an issue when I was afraid of moving here, getting Charter cable, and being stuck with some different DVR that I ended up hating or that wouldn't tune/record two HD channels simultaneously.
Once I decided to go DirecTV, this concern became moot. Even with all the different DVR's you can still use with DirecTV, unless you don't mind not having jack in the way of HD, you know what you're getting (HR20, 21, or 21 Pro).
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said by ILpt4U :After your U-Verse is installed and active, and assuming you will keep your AT&T CallVantage service, you will qualify for a "bundled" rate... AWESOME TIP!
And that's so funny, because, while I've wanted to try to bundle our myriad AT&T services, i.e., Worldnet, Wireless, CallVantage, POTS, and now U-verse, their FTTP people have no shame about telling you that CallVantage is a separate company, the "old AT&T", and "we're the company [SBC, of course] that bought them and just calls itself AT&T now". So I'd figured that it would be pointless to expect much of any bundling to be available. We're not getting any break between the POTS and U-verse, provided on the same fiber...
I guess I'll have to check with the Wireless and Worldnet sides to see if they can be discounted as well!
THANKS AGAIN! 
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GOING: Roadrunner, Brighthouse cable; Melbourne, Florida
COMING: AT&T FTTP POTS & U-verse internet, DirecTV; O'Fallon, Illinois
AT&T CallVantage (D-Link), NETGEAR, APC & Geek Squad UPS | |
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ILpt4U
Premium
join:2006-11-12
Lisle, IL
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T U-Verse
·magicjack.com
| Re: O'Fallon, IL Area said by PeteB :And that's so funny, because, while I've wanted to try to bundle our myriad AT&T services, i.e., Worldnet, Wireless, CallVantage, POTS, and now U-verse, their FTTP people have no shame about telling you that CallVantage is a separate company, the "old AT&T", and "we're the company [SBC, of course] that bought them and just calls itself AT&T now". So I'd figured that it would be pointless to expect much of any bundling to be available. We're not getting any break between the POTS and U-verse, provided on the same fiber... I guess I'll have to check with the Wireless and Worldnet sides to see if they can be discounted as well! THANKS AGAIN! Well, It is ALL the same company now, but for now, the company is not quite the sum of the parts, yet. And yes, CallVantage is a product of the "Old AT&T" before it was bought by SBC and then SBC assumed the name "AT&T". And of course Wireless (Cingular) was only partially owned by SBC/AT&T, until SBC then bought BellSouth, who owned the rest of (Cingular) AT&T Wireless.
Worldnet is the dial-up service, yes? You would have to do some research, but I think U-Verse comes with dial-up support, for when you are traveling, or as a back-up should U-Verse go down (though that is very unlikely on a FTTP connection). So perhaps you would be able to dump Worldnet all together? Again, you would have to research this, but I think this is the case. Regular AT&T ADSL includes Dial-Up Access, so I would expect U-Verse Internet does as well.
Another fringe benefit of AT&T Internet services (U-Verse Internet and ADSL) is that if you are at Pro service tier or higher (the 3 Mbps down plan or higher), you also get access to AT&T WiFi Hotspots included (Starbucks and McDonalds, usually, among others). That is another nice little benefit when you are on the road. There is an AT&T WiFi hotspot locater here: »attwifi.know-where.com/attwifi/c···=default | |
| | | | PeteB
Premium
join:2008-05-17
O Fallon, IL
| Re: O'Fallon, IL Areasaid by ILpt4U :Worldnet is the dial-up service, yes? You would have to do some research, but I think U-Verse comes with dial-up support, for when you are traveling, or as a back-up should U-Verse go down (though that is very unlikely on a FTTP connection). So perhaps you would be able to dump Worldnet all together? Again, you would have to research this, but I think this is the case. Regular AT&T ADSL includes Dial-Up Access, so I would expect U-Verse Internet does as well. Yeah, you do get dial-up access with U-verse.
I've had Worldnet since early 1999, and at the $6 option for years now, just in order to keep my email addresses alive. I suppose I could look into having them migrated to our U-verse account, making them "free"...
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said by ILpt4U :Another fringe benefit of AT&T Internet services (U-Verse Internet and ADSL) is that if you are at Pro service tier or higher (the 3 Mbps down plan or higher), you also get access to AT&T WiFi Hotspots included (Starbucks and McDonalds, usually, among others). Yes, that is a very cool perk. Another reason to NEVER leave the wireless card behind! 
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GOING: Roadrunner, Brighthouse cable; Melbourne, Florida
COMING: AT&T FTTP POTS & U-verse internet, DirecTV; O'Fallon, Illinois
AT&T CallVantage (D-Link), NETGEAR, APC & Geek Squad UPS | |
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