Review by paragasn 
UPDATED: 184 days ago
member for 7.9 years, 232 visits, last login: 35 days ago
 San Jose,Santa Clara,CA
 $54 per month (24 month contract)
 "Initially, download speed was excellent for many years (i.e. 5+ yrs)"
 "Recently, download is starting to be slower than DSL."
 "Still, a very good service in the San Jose,CA market."
| Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
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When I ordered this service over 6 years ago (11/25/2000), DSL was still not close to my location and cable modem was not yet available. So, fixed wireless from Sprint Broadband Direct was the only available service at the time. I started with a 2 year contract at $49.95 per month and after the 2 years period was over, the price went to 54.95 per month. The equipment provided was a "Hybrid" modem and the familiar rectangular dish install on our roof facing Monument Peak in Fremont. I had no major issues all these years because I was getting download speed that was better than DSL and close to cable modem speed (i.e. 1K to 5k kbps). But recently, the download speed was starting to get slower than dsl now and then. So, it might be time to look at other alternatives at a lower cost per month. As of 8/11/2007, the connection speed has started to be very slow, just slightly above dial-up speed. The connection would lock up and freeze, not good when you are doing banking transactions. As of 8/31/2007, the speed was at the high end (3Mbps to almost 5Mbps) at around 3.45AM. But eariler in the evening and during the day, the speed was below broadband speed (in the ISDN range) and sometime closer to dialup. Does anyone know what's going on with Sprint Broadband Direct? An earlier review said that Sprint Broadband Direct was terminating in their area as noted in a letter notification. We got the same letter notification on May 19, 2008 with a termination date of 7/31/2008. So we switched over to Comcast effective June 1, 2008.
Followup comments:  
earlw
@sprintbbd.net
| SBD going away? I believe SBD is managed by »www.gobility.net, which got it from »www.kitenetworks.com, which got it from Sprint. Or something along those lines. In other words, SBD is a hot potato, and no one wants to hold it very long. It keeps getting bought and sold. Thus, if I were to make a bet, SBD will either be bought back by Sprint and turned in WiMax, or will just die pretty soon. The managers of SBD don't care to invest any more money into this venture since the credit market has tighten.
There is a press release at »www.gobility.net/gobility2007.0727.html. | |
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FresnoKid
@sprintbbd.net
| Sprint Broadband Well, I have also gotten the cancellation notice that many people here are talking about.
SBB used to be great when I first got it in 2006, however,since around late 2007 it turned into shit.
It is the most inconsistent internet service I have ever seen (since 2008) because speeds range from dial up to 3-4 megabits.
This service really makes my blood boil now. Sometimes I really thing using dial up would be better (and this is no joke). The service will randomly stop responding at times and it is guaranteed to piss you off if you actually desire to get something done. Also, one problem it has always had are random ping spikes to astronomical ping times.
The worst thing is that no cable or DSL is available in my area. I sure as hell won't get satellite after reading all the reviews it gets.
My only choice is maybe getting EVdo. My father has it through sprint and it seems to work ok.
Does anyone know of other options in the Fresno, CA area?
Right now it looks like EVdo. Can you still get ISDN or is that a thing of the past? | |
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