 Review by Pashune 
UPDATED: 77 days ago
member for 2.4 years, 1042 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Gautier,Jackson,MS
 $32 per month
 about 2 days
 BellSouth
 "Service keeps going down hill AGAIN"
 "If I have to call in ONE MORE field tech..."
 "Long, poorly conditioned line + 1.5 meg = potentially unhappy customer"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Update: 07/21/08
Okay, so I leave home for a week, take my computer with me, and unplug the DSL router (for security reasons). Everything goes well. I get on a 2 out of 5 bar wi-fi connection at my fathers house and download at a steady 3000 kbits through someone's cable connection. I'm satisfied. Now, back on topic...
I come home one week later to find that my DSL signal is doing poorly with a 5-7 db SNR on 1472 kbit fast path sync, losing sync just about every hour. Now, come on AT&T =/ I just had the drop replaced and now this happens? I guess there's ALWAYS going to be a problem with my connection. 155 kb/sec is BARELY suitable for what I do online now. This speed is archaic in terms of broadband now (in my opinion). I understand a 5-7 db SNR is going to be expected when 3 meg sync is on my line, but when 1.5 meg is active, I expect AT LEAST 10 db (average being 12).
I shouldn't have to check outside the NID almost bi-monthly just to see what happened...whether a filter was fried or whether something came loose. Usually it was neither of these and I just dealt with the poor speeds and frequent "de-synch".
I've had enough trouble with this line to the point of filing a complaint with the BBB. Even voice service is horrible at times and everyone thinks the "line is fine"
Because of other financial issues at the moment I am stuck with this horrid DSL connection, but when the time is right, I'm going to cable. I'm sick of calling tech. support; I'm sick of having to constantly bug fellow DSLR/AT&T employees to look at my line stats., and lastly, I'm sick of the unreliability of this line. The electrical service in my area is bad enough as is Gautier water, but DSL too? What's next? Cable? The air?
Oh, and check this out, now I can't upgrade to 3 meg anymore. =| Here are my current stats:
ADSL Line State: Up
ADSL Startup Attempts: 2
ADSL Modulation: ADSL2
ADSL Data Path: Interleave
Datapump Version: DSP 5.2.2.0, HAL 5.2.2.0
Downstream Upstream
---------- ----------
SNR Margin: 4.50 20.90 dB
Line Attenuation: 56.50 38.50 dB
Output Power: 14.75 10.16 dB
Errored Seconds: 0 0
Loss of Signal: 0 0
Loss of Frame: 0 0
CRC Errors: 0 0
Data Rate: 1497 253
AT&T, as soon as I can get my financial strain together, good bye. I've had enough of your mean games. ='(
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[b]Update: 07/03/08[/b]
Seems there's always something new going on in my little world of DSL. My new neighbor accidentally cut my line while he was tilling....the drop was only buried 1 inch deep, sometimes less to where it was literally visible on the lawn itself. Seriously AT&T...that's not good. I waited a month for the line to replaced. For the time being the neighbor himself patched it up with some spare cat3 cable I had. This affected my DSL quite a bit when it rained. My drop was finally replaced yesterday. They buried the line parallel to the gate and about 5 inches deep or so.
I'm provisioned on 1.5 meg service, though my sync rate is set to 3 meg. I'm on the 3rd interleave/noise profile. I've also forced my modem to sync with DMT modulation rather than ADSL2+.
ADSL Line State: Up
ADSL Startup Attempts: 3
ADSL Modulation: DMT
ADSL Data Path: Interleave
Datapump Version: DSP 5.2.2.0, HAL 5.2.2.0
Downstream Upstream
---------- ----------
SNR Margin: 9.50 15.00 dB
Line Attenuation: 61.00 31.50 dB
Output Power: 18.25 6.96 dB
Errored Seconds: 0 0
Loss of Signal: 0 0
Loss of Frame: 0 0
CRC Errors: 36 4
Data Rate: 3424 384
Uptime 00:01:43:41 (1 hour, 43 minutes, 41 seconds)
In my opinion, the line is running very well right now. Almost good enough that I may be convinced to upgrade to 3 meg...but it's only been set to 3 meg sync for about 4-5 days now. I was also pleased to know that it held sync throughout a thunderstorm I had this morning. We had a few close strikes.
Update: 12/27/07
Well, ever since I heard about ADSL2+, I tried my hardest to get my line provisioned on it. After having instability issues even with 1.5 mbit sync, I called in and had about 3 more field techs come in and inspect my line. I was changed to another pair, but my problems did not cease.
The last technician issued a trouble ticket to the CO, where they moved me to another line card. Problems did cease for a while, but now I was experiencing yet another problem: Bandwidth crunch. My sister and I do a lot of video streaming; whether it be stage6 or veoh, so I upgraded to 3.0 in hopes of achieving 3 meg sync. Didn't work out -.-; Called tech support again but this time, I got a call back from someone who was in control of the operations at the CO. I asked them if they could switch me to ADSL2+, and they said they probably wouldn't because it may introduce new problems to people on other DSL lines. After they tried tweaking my line a bit more, I was finally moved to a new DSLAM, and boy, what a difference. I achieved full 3 meg sync for the first time, though my attenuation level was high as always. I thought it was ADSL2+ that kept my sync rate so high, but on G.DMT, it was just as high.
Right now I'm amazed it holds 3552 kbit sync on G.DMT, and the error count isn't too high, but I still lose sync on occasion. It's something I've learned to tolerate for the time being, and I'm interleaved to where I'm pinging 20 ms to the gateway. It's not too bad, I mean, look at the DSL users at Qwest :P
I'm planning on moving in at my mom's house soon. She's 1.4 miles from the CO; basically that's half the distance of what I am from the CO now.
I also got my hands on a nice, Netopia 3347 wi-fi DSL router a few months ago. It has great wireless range and a ton of routing features I've never even heard of. It is very reliable.
I'm very pleased with the stats:
ADSL Line State: Up
ADSL Startup Attempts: 4
ADSL Modulation: DMT
ADSL Data Path: Interleave
Datapump Version: DSP 5.2.2.0, HAL 5.2.2.0
Downstream Upstream
---------- ----------
SNR Margin: 9.50 15.00 dB
Line Attenuation: 58.50 31.50 dB
Output Power: 17.60 6.38 dB
Errored Seconds: 0 0
Loss of Signal: 0 0
Loss of Frame: 0 0
CRC Errors: 161 2
Data Rate: 3552 384
Hopefully my service will even be better at my mom's house. I'll post an update there as soon as I can get service there.
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Update 6/26/07:
Service still appears to be working just fine. The 2Wire modem solved my issue with sync when there's thunder nearby, but I'm still stuck with 1.5 =/
I decided to turn my 2Wire into a bridged modem and combine it with an old Airlink router a friend gave me.
Will my area ever get upgraded?
Will my cable company ever offer decent pricing and move to higher speeds other than 5 mbit?
=(
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Update 7/7/06:
1.5 mbit service is still going steady, but then again, it's still all I can really get. I'm desperately hoping that..
A. I'll have moved somewhere else where 3.0 or higher is available by next year
or..
B. There will finally be a DSLAM placed nearby.
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I've gotten off the evil maxsync project Bellsouth/AT&T they've been switching everyone over to. The reason I call it evil is because it gives me horrible stats, and adds 20+ MS to my pings, sometimes higher. I would only maxsync at 3000-3200 kbps best. I'm just too far out from the CO to get any better. Aye.
Previously, I had Bellsouth a little over a year ago. I was provisioned at DSL Ultra 1.5 mbps. All seemed well, until I realized my DSL was losing sync every 15 minutes or so. Filters were properly installed on all jacks and what not, and my signal still didn't let up. 1000s of CRC errors in seconds. My SNR was typically 11 db and my attenuation was around 44 db. I tried to resolve the issue by running a make-shift homerun to the NID. Problem still went unsolved. Gave Bellsouth DSL tech. support a call. They say they can't correct the issue. This is unacceptable. Sometimes sync would stay great for hours at a time, while at others sync would be lost every 10 minutes. During a storm, the DSL modem was virtually useless. After about 4 months or so, I refused to pay Bellsouth. My POTS service was off, but my DSL worked, but still functioned erratically.
A few months before hurricane Katrina rolled in, I moved out of the home due to financial reasons. Moved in with a relative for a few months, got her interested in broadband. Due to all the horrible things I've heard over CableOne, I decided to take my luck on for the worst, and get Bellsouth DSL, once again. This time I pay for DSL lite service. Despite the low download/upload stream, atleast my service was reliable this time around. 200 CRC errors a day, but my sync is great. However, this tells me that my line would have issues holding sync to anything above DSL lite rates. Due to hurricane damage, my drop was replaced. I was hoping that the CRC issue would disappear afterwards. Also re-checked phone filters. Nope, CRC rate was still climbing.
As soon as I moved out, I moved in with my grandma (Parents divorced....long story). I'm on dialup for about 4 months w/ Juno. I soon can't stand the limitations of bandwidth and ping rates, so I switch backover, again, to DSL. I wanted cable, but like last time, I wanted to avoid any download caps and from all the news I've heard from cable, well, you get the idea. Fuzzy picture pretty much tells me getting Cable will be an issue, and I don't have the money to fix that sort of thing. (We're with DirecTV at the time) Anyway, regarding DSL, I was placed on Extreme 3.0 this time around. Activation time was extremely short, and seeing as I already had a modem, I thought connecting would be a breeze. Bum-bum-bummmmmmm, I get synced far, far below what my sync rate is supposed to be. 256 kbit, while I'm supposed to be at 3554 kbit. I checked filters, once again, and bad inside wiring. I relocated the modem into the living room, and my sync rate vastly improved, but ONLY that. My CRC count was climbing 1000's in seconds.
I became slightly irritated, decided to run a home-run to the nid. A 6 ft. line. Stats were much, much better, but still not where they were supposed to be. I was syncing at 3008 kbits once, and only once. Average was about 2944 kbits. My attenuation level read 63.5 db, SNR read 6-5 db. But once, again..my signal kept dropping. Called Bellsouth tech. support to examine the line. I get put on a noise profile/interleaved mode. The modem holds sync greatly, but you know what? I'm still NOT achieving 3554 kbits. On top of that, gaming lag soon becomes a problem. Also following that issue, I notice my download rates fluctuate severely. One second I'm downloading at 2500 kbit, the next I'll drop down to 300 kbit. When these fluctuations occured, they had the same impact on pings.
Just before I pull my hair out, I discover that a relative finds a deserted Westell 6100 sitting at an abandoned trailer lot. I almost go frantic, hooking it up, even if it is the same modem I have. And to my grievance, I get the same exact stats as before. Guess what? My download speeds also continue to fluctuate and pings as well. I lose hope of having 3.0 mbit speeds, and downgrade to 1.5 mbit, DSL Ultra. Losing more and more hope that I will never have decent broadband service, I go scavenging on ebay for a replacement modem, nothing too expensive. I wait 2 weeks for a SpeedStream 5260 modem to come in, only to find out I can't telnet into it no matter what I try, to change the VPI/VCI coordinates to work with Bellsouth. That's basically the 3rd modem I've tested on the line. Sure, the modem lights up, even with all 4 lights showing the modem has sync, but what good does it do if I can't even log in?
I use my 2nd to last drip of patience on purchasing a 2 Wire HomePortal 1100. I wait 3 weeks for it to come in. Hooked it up, the stats screen is all pretty and what-not. Checked out its line stats, only to be baffled, again. CRC rate climbs just as it did with the Westells, but I notice one slight difference. My download rate seems to fluctuate less often, as do my pings, and I don't seem to lose my connection in storms, or so I hope. Daily, I'm checking up on the NID to see what I can adjust and what-not, and unfortuanately, I guess some angry kid saw me messing with the NID, and I guess he had the nerve, or somebody else, to, well, butcher the NID off the wall. My POTS and DSL service is acting just as it did before the NID was vandalized, but now it's exposed to the weather. Called 611 to replace the NID, and currently awaiting a dispatch to arrive in my area; I was told that a dispatch would arrive no later than 7 pm Tuesday (July 11th). The NID needed to be changed anyway, seeing as the door hinges were damaged, and the only thing holding the NID cover/door together, was a single screw. My next hope is that the NID replacement eliminates atleast SOME of my DSL issues. If not, I'm going to report to 611 that there is static on my line; my grandma often complains of such, but then again, she's on a cordless 900 mhz phone, anything could make static on there.
That's my story for now. 3 homes all with bad DSL service. I don't really believe its a CO issue, because I live in a different town from those 2 other homes I previously lived in. My luck must be down to drain when it comes to broadband, that's all I can think up for now.
Current service: Bellsouth DSL Ultra
Modem (s): 2 Wire HomePortal 1100, Westell 6100.
Dynamic IP
Followup comments:  
rachelsfx
join:2004-09-27
Pensacola, FL
 ·Cox HSI
| Dropped BellSouth for the same reasons Come to find out my DSL was using 80% of my line's bandwidth (and was 11,900 ft from the CO with NO RT) according to their line test. It was Extreme 3. 6 not available. Wonder why? You line is supposed to only use like 15-20% of your line's bandwidth.
I tried four modems. None worked. Every 15 minutes: log in screen.
Apparently, BellSouth, being stupid, will sell DSL on any line. A tip: if your can't get Extreme 6.0, do tests and cancel if not steady. DSL realy should rarely fluctuate. If you get 2.5 then 560K then 2.9, you have a problem.
Even though DSL apparently doesn't know their own billing, you have a 30-day money back guarantee.
A BIG Tip: refuse to pay for a tech visit. Take a home run test and require the tech to do it too. If it doesn't work right at the NID, it is all Bells fault.
That also works with phone service. If the NID does the same stuff, refuse any charge. Inside wire maintenance is ripoff. Do your check at the NID. If they charge you, call and say, "The tech did it at the NID and had the same issue."
If all fails, file a PSC complaint. FCC complaint if DSL. | |
|  |
Pashune
Your average, anemic person.
Premium
join:2006-04-14
Gautier, MS
·CableOne
 ·AT&T Southeast
| Re: Dropped BellSouth for the same reasons You make a very good point, I agree with every bit of it. I'd say though my inside wiring isn't all so well, (One jack has dead wiring, another only has 1300 kbit of bandwidth, etc.). I don't use my inside wiring at all for my DSL service. At the NID, my max sync rate is anywhere from 2000-2500 kbit. Getting lots of random impulse noise, and can't seem to target the interference anywhere. Presently, I'm using a 6 ft cord from the NID to my modem. Still bad stats., definately bell's fault. | |
| | 
Hayward
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL
| said by rachelsfx :Come to find out my DSL was using 80% of my line's bandwidth (and was 11,900 ft from the CO with NO RT) according to their line test. It was Extreme 3. 6 not available. Wonder why? You line is supposed to only use like 15-20% of your line's bandwidth. Hunh??????? Say what????
12K ft is near the fringes of 3.0 service... 6.0 usually won't be provisioned much over ~7K. Higher the bandwidth, the higher the frequencies required, which attenuate faster so travel less distance reliably.
Not sure what you mean by the 80% and 15-20% nonsense but you modem should be able to sync at 100% of your rate if not maybe even MORE if you voluntarily take one of the lower speeds. (This does not mean your throughput will be that speed, for a variety of possible reasons)
Not getting a sync rate of the provisioned speed is a sign of a line problem (outside or in) or BS not provisioning properly in the first place.
--
»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West) | |
| | |
Pashune
Your average, anemic person.
Premium
join:2006-04-14
Gautier, MS
·CableOne
·AT&T Southeast
| Re: Dropped BellSouth for the same reasons Well, in either case, I got a line tech out. He found no visible problems, other than bad grounding and 1 bridged tap. Plus I'm on 22 AWG wire. Distance from the CO. is 15,700 ft. I'm please that my attenuation has decreased from 62.5 db to 57.5 db. Now I have to just find out why my SNR dwindles from 18 db... If I can determine this cause, MAYBE I can get full Xtreme 3.0 speeds..just..barely speaking, and maybe this would result in less CRC errors. | |
| | |
rachelsfx
join:2004-09-27
Pensacola, FL
·Cox HSI
| The last tech said the line was supposed to be only using 15-20% of my line's bandwidth not 80%.
I personally think the line may have had loaded copper or the distance was actually nearly 24,000 ft but on a slick (fiber) so they thought it didn't matter.
Funny, the President's office called and she knew what I was talking about and dispatched engineers (quite shocked I figured it out and probably afraid I'd spread the news to neighbors, which I did). I did notice quite a few techs out there looking around within a few days. | |
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