AT&T West → Pacbell Email problem (SMTP)

I'm in the SF area and I've been having problems with sending email this last month.
When I send an email I often receive a message with this error message: "Delivery Notification: Delivery has
been delayed"

Sometimes my client receive my messages 2 days after I have sent them, or sometimes they NEVER receive them.

I have a home business and it is very frustrating to always have to doublecheck if my emails have been sent correctly. I should not be waisting my time with that.

Here is what pacbell tells me since ONE MONTH !!!:
"We are aware of the mail issue and our Email Engineers are working to resolve this issue as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your continued patience."

Somebody knows something about that problem ?

PBI has been known for their email server problems. Just visit and read users posts on the PBI's News servers -- or as noted by Paladin:

"PacBell's E-mail servers are the subject of some complaints. I have an alias there but my Yahoo! account seems to be much more stable and useful. You would want to stick with your Hotmail account."

»For all Pac Bell customers....

Due to PBI email problems and the added security and the ability to retrieve email from remote locations I use Yahoo! Mail for the bulk of my emailing.

Sounds like overloaded SMTP and POP3 servers.
Suggestions:
- get an alternate e-mail account
- set up your own POP3/SMTP mail server (not as difficult or expensive as it may sound) that sends mail direct and can receive mail direct, using mail.pacbell.net only to spool (accept mail when your server is down). You said you run a home business - do you have enhanced or business DSL with a static IP and maybe even a domain name? That would make things a whole lot easier. If you have a static IP and a domain name and need help or suggestions about setting up a mail server, drop me a line.

I'm not defending PB. You should not have to do this, but unfortunately, it's happening and I'm just offering suggestions.

Ken

Thank you for your answer ksuki.

I just talked to PB phone support. The guy told me they are having problems and that they don't know when it's going to be fixed, and that he has no solution for me.
What a joke !

I will try to find another SMTP server. But I will call PB billing to ask for a credit. I'm not paying my bill in full if I don't receive full service !