 | Anon |  had to cancel Ameritech for several reasons
Ultimately, the reason why I am cancelling this service before the 30 days trial period is because Ameritech DSL will not work with my company's VPN. I ran into a Catch-22 situation where I needed to connect more than 1 computer to the internet. I also needed to have a static IP address. The 768 Officeplus packaged seemed perfect, however, I didn't realize the NAT capabilities of the router (which costs $600)would not work well with my company's VPN. Plain and simple, if I enabled NAT, I could browse the web at DSL speeds. If I disabled NAT, I couldn't browse the web and use my company's VPN.
The installation process took more than 30 days from when I ordered it. The order was put on hold with no one calling me. I had to call several times in 1 week just to get a status update. However, when it was installed 9 days after the promise date, everything was working with no problem. I had to pull some teeth with tech support to get the static IP I paid for. Their solution (more than 1 person told me to do this) was to keep on going to www.network-tools.com to see if I had a new IP address after booting up my router. I received this advice
after waiting on hold for 45 minutes. Once I had the static IP address, no one in support could tell me how to configure my router with the new information.
I am not out of the woods yet. Tomorrow I will have no DSL access. I have to wait another month or so for the new provider to install things for me. Even though the billing rep I spoke to at Ameritech told me I wasn't going to get charged, I am still skeptical. We'll see.
I have to give a thumbs down with Ameritech DSL service. I had some really helpful customer service reps who were polite and professional and I had some really bad ones who read out of the same manual I was reading.
My only pet peeve about Ameritech after all of this was that I wish they could have communicated with me a little more a long the way while I was waiting for DSL to be installed. I wish I could have been communicated to about my order being on hold because of a facilities problem. Instead, it took me 3 consecutive days of painful minutes of being on hold to find out the problem.
BTW, the new place I ordered DSL so far has sent me 3 emails in less than hour to confirm my order. I was given the direct line of the rep who placed my order and he told me to contact him if I have problems. Already, I am impressed.
Just to give you some background on what I do for a living, I have been working software support for a Fortune 500 company for almost 4 years now. Before that, I worked tech support for another company for two years. I consider myself a very patient and tolerant person because I have been tested to the max with customers. When I am a customer, I have extreme amounts of patience because I know first hand what it is like.
With Ameritech, I was seriously challenged many times not to lose it.
If they just communicated with me better with a phone call or email, I would have been fine. | |
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MSeng
Premium,Ex-Mod 2001-08
join:2000-07-13
Ork
clubs:
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·AT&T Midwest
|  Re: had to cancel Ameritech for several reasons
I asked the salesperson many questions regarding the networking capabilities, hardware, compatibility issues, etc., of the service I wished to purchase. Although he made it quite clear their Customer Service would not answer any questions relative to configurations (because I only purchased one dynamic IP address) after I was on-line, he was extremely helpful confirming that my particular needs could be met if correctly set up.
There was a little bit of trial and error to get the service shared on my network, but I can say with a little research I was able to achieve my goal.
I must admit, my review did not go into a lot of detail of the installation delays. I feel fortunate mine was just 3 days, although it was only until I forced the issue with a Supervisor. I would not accept anything less than 5 days and the rescheduled date\time had to be confirmed in an Email to me by that Supervisor.
I, too have a Customer Service background and fully comprehend the need for better communication. Apparently your new provider-to-be understands that at the Sales level. I would be very interested to know how well they perform after your installation. Please drop me a note once your up and running on your new ISP. | |
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ferball
join:2000-07-16
Crystal Lake, IL
| also live in crystal lake Regional ISP? McHenrycom? I've also notice problems with them, my pings have degraded from 160(excellent 56k ping) to now 250+ with horrid lag spikes. Im moving away from them as well and ordered ameritech a week ago, installation is on the 9th of aug. MC-COM is trying to get me to sign up with another year with them at 179.99 or something like that ROFL ya right! | |
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MSeng
Premium,Ex-Mod 2001-08
join:2000-07-13
Ork
clubs: | Re: also live in crystal lake No, the ISP was Interaccess.
Good luck with your Ameritech account. I'd be interested to hear how your installation goes along with your initial impressions after using the system for a few days. | |
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| | | Anon | Re: also live in crystal lake I've had my ameritech dsl service in chicago (60657) for about 3 weeks now. It took almost 4 months to get, however. After performing all the tweaks posted on this and several other sites, I've been getting very reliable speed 600-700k or faster downloads are typical for me. I'm lucky in that I have the Westel external modem which seems to work extremely well. I was having some system crashes initially but their tech support (45min hold or more) noticed that I had duplicated Irq interrupts (don't know what these are). I overcame this problem by plugging my ethernet card into a different free slot. Only problems I still notice are:
1. If you stay connected for more than 18hrs without activity you get disconnected (I'm sure I'll be able to overcome this one soon)
2. The e-mail server occassionally does not work, but this responds to rebooting the computer
Considering that I could never connect to any speed more than 26k/sec on my 56k modem, this service is pretty good. (I never had any success getting service installed with telocity or covad or any of 6 other dsl providers) Just last night I downloaded a 55Mbite file in less than 3 minutes so I'm pretty happy with the service | |
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| | DaveS7
join:2000-08-14
Crystal Lake, IL | I live in Crystal Lake too, coincidentally. You've probably read my recent submissions to this thread.
-Dave | |
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| | | | Anon | detroit not connecting | |
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| | | | cdavis295
join:2000-05-23
Detroit, MI | Re: detroit not connecting I'm fine in the D., and i'm in 48221 | |
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Dogface
@mi.ameritech | Re: detroit not connecting
but gaming still sucks...lags very bad!!!!!! | |
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Chopstix
join:2000-06-12
Monroe, MI
| Re: detroit not connecting | |
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meist21
join:2000-09-08
Crystal Lake, IL
| I too live in C.L. and have just ordered my DSL from Ameritiech. I am wondering just what kind of service I am going to get. I have been reading mostly horror stories about Ameritech but still I hope it is better than the speed from McHenry Com. We shall see. The more I read about other installs, etc. the more worried I get. | |
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| | fishburn
join:2000-09-20
| I'm in Crystal Lake also | |
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tomnvik
Tom G
join:2000-10-26
South Elgin, IL
| Re: I'm in Crystal Lake also
Ameritech
2000-10-12 08:02:12 Doctor Ping Score 107.50
2000-10-11 08:22:19 Doctor Ping Score 117.00
2000-10-09 18:22:56 Speed test 631/130 kbps
2000-10-09 08:26:01 Doctor Ping Score 108.00
2000-10-04 12:17:43 Speed test 542/145 kbps
2000-10-04 12:16:54 Speed test 579/133 kbps
Mindspring
2000-10-27 16:13:25 Speed test 1187/328 kbps
2000-10-27 11:27:02 Line quality 0% loss latency 39.7ms
2000-10-27 08:18:04 Doctor Ping Score 68.00
2000-10-26 13:49:40 Speed test 1067/286 kbps
2000-10-26 13:47:49 Speed test 1170/297 kbps | |
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| Anon | I too am a satisified Ameritech aDSL user
I too have experienced all of the same outages and interruptions but upon reflection realize that I have been up well close to 98% since inception (a total guess on my part). My experiences with the tech help people have all been positive. Yes, I have had a few long wait times, but more often than not have gotten through quickly. Lately, I have not had the need to contact them.
My d/l times seem to run consistently in the area of 600kbps, well above the guaranteed min of 384.
Overall, I am satisfied. | |
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AdamB
join:2001-01-07
Westerville, OH |  Download speed
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MSeng
Premium,Ex-Mod 2001-08
join:2000-07-13
Ork
clubs: | Re: Download speed Average download is 78KB -- 82KB.  | |
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dijamac
| ameritrash I am in chicago and recently lost my northpoint provided dsl due to the shutdown. originally i attempted to get dsl thru ameritech but was informed my area could not be served. northpoint didnt seem to mind and set me up with dsl anyhow. my download speeds were on the average between 600 and 700 and even reached higher during one speed test. today i attempted to get dsl thru ameritech and am still being told my area isnt servicable. then i went over to covad's site and found that earthlink would be happy to serve me. I dont understand why another company/companies can use ameritechs wiring to provide me with dsl but ameritech cant. i guess if your not in lincoln park or on the gold coast your not worth there time. | |
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dumbasssssseessss
@il.d
| Re: ameritrash It's because Ameritech relies on a stupid data base that tells them if you can get it or not. Ameritech is forced to use this data base by FCC law. Ameritech can do "unbundled loops" at homes that don't qualify for linesharing dsl.
I recommend you go to the Ameritech board and put a request if your earthlink/covad order doesn't go through. Some of the techs there are very helpful and process orders that would otherwise get canceled. | |
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mtbbre
@splitrock.net
| Re: ameritrash you cant get dsl because. 1. you have loadcoils on your line which eliminate a digital signal on the phone lines or 2. you are not within 17,700 feet from a central office. if you are within the 17,700ft. and there is no load coils there probably isnt room in the DSLAM for anymore cust or there is no DSLAM in the co. | |
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| | Anon | By Law, Ameritech must let Companys install DSL Equipment in their CO. This Doesnt mean that Ameritech has DSL equipment there. You Can't get ameritech DSL by you because they dont have the equipment there. Earthlink does and so might a dozen other DSL providers. Simple as that | |
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Hayward
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL | Hey wahatda ya know got one right.... FOR THEMSELVES.... a reseller partner..... hell on wheels.
--
»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West) | |
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TwiddleDum
join:2002-02-15
Lewis Center, OH
| Ameritech ain't all that bad | |
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| RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| Re: Ameritech ain't all that bad 636/132 is pretty good, and in the middle of the "normal" range. Most of the upgrades are getting around 1300/244 if their lines can support full speed.
I have my Westell and Linksys router plugged into a small APC UPS, and run the phone line through it's surge suppressor. No speed difference between doing it that way and directly connected to the modem. | |
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| | TwiddleDum
join:2002-02-15
Lewis Center, OH
| Re: Ameritech ain't all that bad By upgrades do you mean the Speedpath 1500 with Dynamic IP service that Ameritech has been offering for $59.95 a month? And more importantly do you really notice the difference? I had been debating upgrading ... but I still haven't been able to convince myself that I really need it
BTW, is the APC UPS that you recommend the BE350C model ? | |
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| | | RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| Re: Ameritech ain't all that bad My UPS is the APC BackUPS Office 280. Works fine and runs forever on battery with only the modem and router connected to it.
The upgrade is great. If you download files you will really notice the difference. Plus, you get about 81% more usable upload. Another thing people have noticed is reduced latency. I'm routinely seeing 10 ms or less inside Ameritech's network now, and get to this site in around 40 from Chicago. On my PII/450 running Win2K and IE6 webpages load almost instantly. Definitely worth the $10. | |
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Romial34
join:2004-12-24
Waukegan, IL | What's your ping? Hey can you test out your ping on one of the test here at dslreports and post your results? I'm interested to see what your pings are like. | |
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brokenribgolfer
@cogentco.com
| ATT/SBC DSL I have had plenty of problems with this vendor. Every single time, they say it is me, and every single time it turns out to be them. Actually, when it's good it's very good. Whan it's bad, it's down, like right now. I need consistency. Unfortunately I also need statis IP's and canot get a COmcast package or I would.
-Mark | |
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| lordjim
Premium
join:2004-03-26
Deerfield, IL
| Re: ATT/SBC DSL Yeah well, trust me on this one, Comcast is no great shakes either, since right now I'm getting 60% packet loss and and average speed of 5 kbits/sec.
They do have so-called "permanent IPs", which for me has only changed a couple of times in the last four years. | |
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