 Review by boheeber 
UPDATED: 363 days ago
member for 9 years, 2676 visits, last login: 3 days ago
 Spring,Harris,TX
 $29 per month (12 month contract)
 about 14 days
 AT&T
 "Fast"
 "Robotic tech support"
 "Worth it if you have patience"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I've had SBC DSL since July of 99 (I am still a DHCP customer as of this writing), and everything has been smooth with two exceptions: (1) Every now and then, SBC thinks I am a PPPoE customer and makes a change where I can suddenly not access the net or email or anything else. I have to call SBCIS and try to explain my situation and have to play "power off your modem, reboot, blah blah blah", until I finally get them to escalate my ticket. Once ASI gets ahold of it, they immediately see what's happening and restore me and all is well--for about 6 months or so. Then the same cycle occurs again. I guess SBC will be forcing all us early adopters to go to PPPoE at some point, and that's not a huge problem, but I would appreciate a heads up before they just randomly change me. (2) The migration to Yahoo was a nightmare. I had 6 different tickets open before my email problems were resolved. I have been an swbell.net client since my dialup days (1995). When I went to DSL, I kept my user@swbell.net email address that I always had, UNTIL the Yahoo nightmare. Now I receive email on a Yahoo server but send it on a Prodigy server. As long as it works, I'm happy, but it took FOREVER to get it configured.
Update 2/23/04: I signed up for the Expert Plus package, which required me to disconnect my DSL for 2 weeks (I was too far from the CO). I was reconnected on an RT and my speeds are FAST! I am now a PPPoE customer, which is painless since I use a router, and I did have to rewire the POTS splitter in my house because the Alcaltel 1000 modem and the Speedstream 5100 modem I received use different wiring configurations, but at least I didn't have to use the line filters. It was difficult having only dialup service for 2 weeks, but the end result was worth it. The one call I had to make to tech support was unsatisfactory because I was forced to change my email address which I had for 9 years, and I don't think the tech (offshore?) understood my request. All in all, the speed increase more than makes up for that inconvenience.
Update 4/30/2006: I called and asked to be re-rated from Expert Plus (44.99 per month) to the new Elite Plan (29.99 per month for a 12-month contract). I was told that this will be done on 5/2/2006 with very little interruption to my service. Same download speeds as before, with a slight increase in the upload. I'll post back with any thoughts or problems once I go "live".
Update 5/02/2006: Looks like a lot of us are having a problem with the upgrade to Elite. My modem stats show 6018/768, but every speed test I run shows my download speed to be about 2500, which is 1/2 of what it was yesterday, or for the past 2 years for that matter. I have requested assistance from SBC Direct, but the forum looks awfully busy with others having similar issues. I'll give them another day to respond before I start dealing with the frustration of calling tech support and being asked to reboot my PC and power off my modem.
Update 5/03/2006: No response from SBC Direct (in their defense the forum is loaded with "Upgrade failed" posts), so I called SBCIS and talked with "Kevin" (and if that is his real name I'm the king of England). "Kevin" insisted the problem was on my end (my inside wiring, my router, etc.) until he tried to get me to "maintenance" and the guy who answered (David) told him that he needed to get me corrected on the redback. "Kevin" agreed to send my ticket to Tier 2, and David was nice enough to check later and make sure the download speed was correct, even calling my wife and having her run a speed test to confirm all was as it should be.
Why AT&T couldn't have educated the frontline reps that people calling about a loss in speed after an "upgrade" needed to automatically go to Tier 2 is a mystery to me. But so is the fact that so many users had the same issue I did and AT&T did nothing proactive to get the download speeds correct.
Bottom line--I love the new lower price and I am guessing that all will be OK going forward. It didn't need to be this difficult, but I guess AT&T didn't expect the demand they got for this offering.
Update 11/09/2008: I have transitioned to U-Verse service, with the 10/1.5 DSL speeds and U-400 television. VOIP is not yet available here, but I prefer having POTS service anyway. The total install took almost an entire day, but there was a lot of work to be done, including running a coax cable from the back of my home to the front, where the PC is located. All in all, I am pleased with the service. Every now and then the TV will show a glitch or two, although less than those that occurred with DISH service. DSL speeds are consistently about 8.5 down and 1.4 up. On the whole though, I am pleased with the service thus far.
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