jaseinatl
join:2006-01-17
Atlanta, GA
 ·AT&T Southeast
 ·Comcast
| Does anyone have an objective opinion about SVC in Atlanta
I am completely over AT&T/BS. They are consisently over billing me, they make promises in writing that later they can't comply with. They are always going down. Their network speed is pathetic. Tech Support--they want to text message you with a link that lets you buy technical support.
They are by far the worst company I have ever had the displeasure of doing business with.
I have a PBX, so I need 4 voice lines and a dedicate fax/dsl line. I run my own web/exchange servers, so I have to have dedicated IPs and I need a company that is responsive and professional. Ideally, they would handle the migration from AT&T as I am most likely going to take them to court.
Please help. Time is critical.
Jase |
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JoelC707
join:2002-07-09
Tucson, AZ
clubs:
| SVC? Do you by chance mean SBC? If so they are the same as AT&T/BS now. Technically it's all SBC but they chose to use the AT&T name instead. As for AT&T, if you have something in writing, FORCE them to honor it. Don't let them tell you they can't comply with it anymore, tell them tough shit. That said, how much can you spend on voice/data service?
As for a company to go with, I personally use FDN/Nuvox and have had nothing but good things out of them. I've got an integrated T1 (full T1 speeds and 6 dynamic VoIP based phone lines), a PRI for my newly created Trixbox PBX and a DSL circuit for backup. We originally had the DSL circuit as the last remaining BS circuit and it would never keep sync even though the RT is not 1000' feet away in the driveway to the building. We ported the old BS number into the PRI and aside from signing papers they did everything even stayed on the line with me while we tested the DID. The numbers that exist on the T1 were former BS numbers as well and they handled that port job too with little to no downtime which was good since those are our main numbers right now (they will be ported into the PRI once we are done testing the PBX).
I've been very happy with them, only had two issues and one was not even their fault. The first was a routing issue where everyone except those on a BS circuit could talk to our T1. The second was a guy working on the RT took us down for a few minutes for some reason. The guy was done and had us back up before we even knew what happened though so I wouldn't call that an outage really.
Now then, if this is for a business I would suggest you look at Nuvox. I contacted them to get a quote for my church for a PRI and a DSL circuit (they currently have 4 voice lines and two DSL circuits and pay $490 a month). They have a new PRI where it's dynamic like the integrated T1 but I can run up to 23 voice lines on it whereas the FDN offering tops out at 10 (that's all the Adtran router is capable of). They are VoIP based lines though not TDM so even if you have all 23 lines in use, compression will ensure you aren't out of data bandwidth. The price for this (and all PRI's from them) is $499. As for running a fax over VoIP, it can be done, our fax machine runs over the existing T1 at the office (VoIP based lines) and it also works fine at home using Trixbox and a ViaTalk SIP line. |
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jaseinatl
join:2006-01-17
Atlanta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
·Comcast
| Sorry, I meant service, but I must've hit the capslock when I typed svc. (running out of space in the subject)
Thanks for the reply.
Here is what I have:
I have five incoming analog lines through AT&T. One provides FAX/DSL. The other four are part of a hunt group that provides automatic rollover on busy. Those four lines are handled by my ADIX Iwatsu PBX. I have 12 assigned extensions and 8 dedicated users. We have Business DSL Extreme through AT&T (B.S.) and we are constantly losing sync. Every morning, in fact, I get a call that the internet is down. By the time I get to the office, sure enough it's back up.
The worst part, however, is that they keep messing up our DNS and MX records. I run a Small Business Server (with Exchange et al) and they keep bouncing our mail. This is just not acceptable.
So, I've contracted with a relay service to filter spam and ensure deliverability of my e-mail, but I still want to leave AT&T.
To top things off, they overcharged us by around $2000 and kept threatening to disconnect our service during the six months that we were trying to get the situation resolved. They admitted their error three months ago, yet continue to harass us and threaten our service. It has gotten so bad, that our account rep (who was the only reason we even considered sticking it out with AT&T) resigned.
I have never been so unhappy with the service I have received in my life. I am strongly encouraging my boss to file suit for negligence. But meanwhile, I need to come up with a better solution...quick.
I have checked with a couple of T1 providers, but they are unable to allow collect calls, which for a law firm is crucial since clients are only able to make collect calls from jail.
Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. I will check out FDN/Nuvox. Thanks for the advice.
Best wishes,
jase |
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JoelC707
join:2002-07-09
Tucson, AZ
clubs:
| We had a similar problem with our DSL circuit. They were double billing us for about a year. I'm not sure who noticed it first, us or AT&T but I do recall they basically gave us 2 years free (the year we paid for extra plus a second year just because). We canceled shortly after the second year considering it couldn't maintain sync. Luckily the FDN one has so maybe its something with the DSLAM in the RT.
As for collect calls, why would it matter what the transmission medium is? If it is TDM based that's just like a regular phone line but VoIP based I suppose could be problematic but phone companies use VoIP in their infrastructure at some point usually so that shouldn't be the issue. If you find out the reason I'd love to know. |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Castle Rock, CO
| said by JoelC707  :As for collect calls, why would it matter what the transmission medium is? If it is TDM based that's just like a regular phone line but VoIP based I suppose could be problematic but phone companies use VoIP in their infrastructure at some point usually so that shouldn't be the issue. If you find out the reason I'd love to know. The reason has nothing to do with the technology. The operator services companies serving the prisons (and hotels and payphones) need the local phone companies to bill the calls and collect the funds for them. Most CLECs do not do third party billing on behalf of other businesses. |
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JoelC707
join:2002-07-09
Tucson, AZ
clubs: | Well that does make sense but why does it matter if you go through a CLEC or an ILEC? Both can bill their customer so what's the problem? |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Castle Rock, CO
| the operator service provider (OSP) has to have a billing agreement with the CLEC. Most CLECs don't want to be involved in an activity that generates excessive disputes and customer service phone calls -- all due to excessive fees charged by the OSPs. That almost always leaves the ILEC as the only game in town for third party billing. |
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JoelC707
join:2002-07-09
Tucson, AZ
clubs:
| Yeah, you don't think about it from a customer service standpoint. I wonder if CLECs that are ILECs in other parts of the country would be more apt to doing it? I know a company like Covad that has no last mile infrastructure likely wouldn't do it but FDN (and Nuvox I'd assume), XO, Cavalier and some others do have their own last mile infrastructure so that in a way makes them an ILEC. I wonder if they would be more apt to doing it them someone else? I'm just trying to find other options for him besides AT&T since right now it seems like they may be the only option if that's the case. |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Castle Rock, CO
| infrastructure has nothing to do with it. it's all about the contracts and the willingness to do third party billing. Covad isn't selling a voice product right now, so they're not even a player. OP is real touchy right now ... you'll be taking a big risk putting his voice service on XO, especially since he's so close to you! Cavalier maybe, as they have residential accounts. I came up with an idea for a local attorney near me that does public defender work and wanted to switch to a VOIP service. They subsequently went back to POTS, but they're still using my solution. Maybe OP will PM me to discuss... |
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jaseinatl
join:2006-01-17
Atlanta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
·Comcast
| Wow, sorry it has taken me a minute to get caught up. Thanks for the great conversation and the clarification on a couple of issues.
I wanted to reply to your consideration of Cavalier:
When I started with this firm, they had service through Network Telephone, who used to be Cavalier. There was so much noise on the line that often we would have to call back and hope to get a better connection. Someone suggested that they had the levels wrong on their propietory modem/mux/router/dsu/csu device and it wasn't calibrated for our PBX.
We were paying about 500/mo for a fractional T1, 4 voice lines, 1 fax line. Our connect-speeds were terrible. Their techsupport was non-existent. Their customer service never, I repeat, never answered the phone (as an experiment, I setup one extension to ring non-stop for 24 hours waiting for someone to answer. Occasionally someone would pick up the phone and hang it up, so the extension would re-dial. It was unbelievable. By the time I got my contract with AT&T signed, Cavalier had rejoined Network Telephone. Needless to say, they are not an option for us.
Last August, I talked to AT&T and they promised to port my numbers, transfer my service and have everything running smoothly with 6Mbs access (compared to 1.5Mbs sounded like a deal!) for less than $400/month. As soon as I signed the contract, my sales rep disappeared. They were two weeks late just to show up and they showed up with the DSL modem, no phone lines. Once I finally got a confirmation of the exact date to do the switch, AT&T wasn't there. We were out of service--no voice, no internet for 3 days.
Since we have been with AT&T, we have been without voice or data in some fashion for not less than 3 weeks (21 days). It'll be one year since we signed up with AT&T in AUGUST!
There simply has to be another option.
Thanks again for the great info and the great discussion.
Any other suggestions/advice? Not every law firm has this miserable situation going on, so there has got to be a better answer.
Best wishes,
jase |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Castle Rock, CO
| Your problem is that you are dealing with company sales reps on quota and salary who will answer "yeah yeah yeah" without listening to you. The Bell South rep never should have put your internet on DSL, but he wanted to take the path of least resistance to getting the deal so he sold you the cheap stuff, instead of dedicated service. Your situation is not at all difficult for any telecom professional to sort out for you. |
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Mizzat
This space for rent
Premium
join:2003-05-03
Atlanta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
| said by RockyBB :Your problem is that you are dealing with company sales reps on quota and salary who will answer "yeah yeah yeah" without listening to you. Wow what a blanket statement, and you're not on commission? 
I know for a fact an AT&T/BellSouth person suggested a T1 to him.
Jase, sorry to hear you aren't getting what you asked for, last time I PMed you, you replied back that you were extremely happy with the customer service and everything was fixed. |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Castle Rock, CO
| said by Mizzat :and you're not on commission? said by jaseinatl :It has gotten so bad, that our account rep (who was the only reason we even considered sticking it out with AT&T) resigned....I have never been so unhappy with the service I have received in my life. I am strongly encouraging my boss to file suit for negligence. Sounds like he needs a commissioned sales rep, as the salaried rep just too weak to handle it. |
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