 Review by hdman 
UPDATED: 179 days ago
member for 5.9 years, 2082 visits, last login: 2 days ago
 New London,Waupaca,WI
 Contract price not specified.
 Ameritech
 "The SBC people here at Broandbandreports.com"
 "SBC's information between sales, support, is deplorable"
 "Come HERE to get the data before banging your head against the wall...."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
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First, let me explain that had it NOT been for the people who work with/for SBC who help out here at broadbandreports.com, I would STILL be messing around with the lost connections, hang ups, non-returned calls, and misinformation from the OTHER folks at SBC. Below is a diary that I kept throughout the whole fiasco. I am not a kook, but I keep good notes and when it became apparent that this was going to be a mess, I started keeping a diary. The whole experience is over now, thanks to the good people here, but my review of the process and service should be very evident in my diary notes below. I apologize in advance if I break some rules here, so I am hopefull the mods will edit as required. Please note, that the diary contains emotional notes and I did not edit them out so you can see how frustrating it was getting, however I am more tempered now that I got help here at this website and the forums. Here goes:
Having been completely jerked around by the liars at Charter Cable in 2002 who left me a message in the fall of 2001 stating that I would have cable in the Spring of 2002, then denying they ever said it, I finally got a letter from SBC this summer (2003) saying that DSL was available. The story is below....
1. September, 2003. After months of waiting, was told DSL would be avail on Nov. 14th, 2003.
2. Called SBC week of 11-5 to get a jump, and it was available. Ordered for 920-982-XXXX on ticket number XXXXXX. Ordered via Kimberley at 877-XXX-XXXX and she stated that all was well with line and I would easily get DSL. No problems on distance, all looks GREAT according to her.
3. Received modem on 11-11-03.
4. Also on 11-11-03 received call that line is not compatable with DSL no reason given or known. Spoke with MANY reps, finaly was told that reason was "pair gain". Used over 90 minutes of cell time to get this data!!! Spoke with "Tammy" at 888-767-XXXX User ID "XXXXX". She said to try 920-982-XXXX (my other number) and if also had pair gain, she and her supervisor would allow me to put DSL on one line, and leave voice on the other. Ordered DSL for second line on ticket XXXXXX. The provisioning company is Advanced Solutions, Inc. (ASI) and they had found the Pair Gain on first number ordered.
5. On 11-12-03 spoke with Emerging Products Center (EPC) at 888-767-XXXX. They stated that both numbers are on fiber and would have pair gain problem. Also, there is no way to do what "Tammy" said could be done in step 4. They told me that I need a remote terminal and this would take care of pair gain issue on both lines. Would also work if CO in New London was able to take me off pair gain system and put me on pure copper wires if they were available. They suggested I call the Wisconsin Corp office at 800-257-XXXX. I did that, they were absolutely NO HELP. Went to the CO in New London, nobody works there, it is just a building with no people.
6. Re-orderd DSL for 920-982-XXXX on 11-17 with completion due 11-24-03. Wade XXXX, our local SBC business rep for my companies business lines, basically blew me off by saying it was a residential issue, no help. On 11-24, no DSL light on modem, so I opened a trouble ticket. Some woman from ASI talked to my wife this evening and said that DSL was not ready yet in my area, and to "keep trying" by ordering the service until it works. Yea...RIGHT!!
7. On 11-25 I contacted "Charlie" at ASI. He told me that they (the engineers) had surveyed my area this morning, and now instead of being 13K feet away, I am magically 34,700 feet away with NO pair gain. He said 21000 feet is fiber. He told me that normally this would be the END, but there are codes in the system for my number which shows that Remote Terminal is being implemented. He can NOT change my order to be via remote terminal because it shows "not available" at this time. He directed me to repair at 888-611-XXXX to find out when RT would be up and they were useless. They sent me to "scott" at the business office at 800-924-XXXX who wanted to sell me long distance. He sent me to "sue" at the installation group at 800-649-XXXX and she is in XXXXXXX and has "been around the block" and she was interested in helping me. She connected with me BACK to the DSL group and "katrina" wanted to start the whole process over. We ended that call, and "sue" tried to speak with an engineer in the New London area. She called me and left a message stating that the local engineers would call me by the end of the day on 12-2-03. We'll see.....
8. The trouble ticket opened on 11-24 is XXXXXX. It is is now 12-2-2003 and I have been on www.broadbandreports.com talking to 2 great helpers in KAIFS and ADSL-Guy who both work for SBC. I wrongly jumped on KAIFS, and he was PO'd and I was wrong to do it. ADSL-Guy has also elevated the issue. "Sue" above is having engineers call me with a report by the end of the day today. By now, my order has been cancelled and I am to return the equipment. They are stating that I am 35K feet away, but now there is NO fiber in the lines, it is all copper. SBC just can't seem to get the same story twice.
9. Just for giggles, I called the DSL line and spoke with "Robyn" at ASI. She told me that I was too far at 35K feet (impossible) for DSL unless I get an RT in the line. She said she would check on an RT availability and placed me on hold, and cut me off. This is about the 10th time this has happened (seriously, this is not an exaggeration). Those IDIOTS at SBC can't even operate their own phone system and yet we HAVE to trust them with ours?? Can't wait for the cell phones to crush the wired morons....
10. Just for giggles, I called the SBC DSL line again today and ran the gambit to see what the scoop was. I was told that my service is supposed to be "up" on 12-3, tomorrow. Yea, right. "Jerry" opened case file XXXXXX for todays call. He then looked at the above closed trouble ticket and then gave me the same old corporate line that I am "too far" for DSL unless I get an RT. He said I should call 611 from my phone and see if I can get wired to one if there is one...I will try that tonight just for laughs...
Based on data from KAIFS at the website above, my theory now is that I truly am ALL copper to the CO, but the line runs PAST my house down the road for a few more miles. I am "bridge tapped" so that they can use this wire for somebodyelse down the road if I give up the wire. I will try and see if SBC can terminate the wire AT MY HOUSE so that the distance is cut down. Will try that tonight as well. I really do hate SBC with a passion and will start looking at other alternatives for wireless data once this issue is past me. SBC sucks, period (except for the people at Broadbandreports.com that is). The repair people were no help at all. "Jerry"'s advice was no good....who would have guessed?
11. It is 12-3 and the call from the engineers NEVER came, but I am not suprised. I will be calling "sue" again to let her know. Talked to "sue", she was shocked that I was never called, however somebody placed another installation order, but it was not me. That order was due today, but "Jerry" told me yesterday that was the cancellation order so I have no clue who to believe.
12. Spoke with "Mike XXXX" who is an SBC engineer in Appleton. FINALLY a super nice, super smart guy who actually will talk. He did the physical survey and it was checked twice. I am serviced to terminal XXXXX which then runs SOUTH of my house to S, then West to the crossbox at Rogers and S. This crossbox is 12,168 feet from the CO, and I am another 12K feet from that crossbox, so now I am REALLY 24K feet away. He is going to see if we can TRY the DSL and see if it syncs, and if not, he will have an ISDN person call me with pricing. He is a super sharp person, and appears to be committed to helping my cause.
13. Mike said that his co-worker, Shawn XXXXX, said NO DICE on trying DSL. Also, nobody called me from the business office so I called them a few days later. They told me that my CO is not provisioned for ISDN. The experts on broadbandreports.com don't think that is true, and neither do I. However, I really don't want to hassle with SBC any more right now, so I give up....
14. On 12-13 I got a card from SBC welcoming me to SBC/Yahoo DSL. It has been 2 weeks since the last order was cancelled, so these people really are morons... However, on 12-15 I had a TON of noise on my line so I called to make sure one of these morons didn't accidentally turn on DSL for my line. They had not, so I REALLY had a line problem. "Jim" the local SBC service tech found bad phone cable on my line somewhere in town and fixed it. Super nice guy who kept me informed the whole way. He did say that I am ALL copper right to the CO with no pair gain at all, so now who do I believe. He said that someday they will run fiber from the CO to the cross box and to keep my eyes open to see if a newer, bigger hut goes in there someday. That would be my clue that an RT is coming. I will do that, but for now the issue is dead. If it had not been for the great SBC people at Broadbandreports.com I would still be fighting with the people inside SBC and ASI and probably would be ordering several modems to keep "trying" as I was told to do by some idiot at ASI. I will ONLY get my data from the web from now on because those SBC people know the facts, and the SBC people who man the phones are some sort of flunky in my opinion.
15. I hope to be able to add more here when I really get broadband someday....
All in all the experience has been a nightmare. Thanks SO MUCH to broadbandreports.com, ADSL-Guy, KAIFS, and others for putting an end to the debacle. I am saddened to learn that some jerk got some of these people in trouble and now they can't help here any more. I sure hope some manager at SBC reads my reviews and contacts me about the problems, because I would sure love to tell them. I would also love to tell them to support this website because it is a great place to get REAL information. For now, I am on dial-up again.....
01-06-2004 Just an update, but SBC keeps sending me letters asking why I have not logged on yet. The letters also state that my service is active and I am being billed. I did call customer service and they said I was NOT being billed and my invoices reflect that. However, they were baffled as to why I was getting the letters. Yee ha..... I am working another route with Charter Cable again....I will re-edit when I have more. Be careful about what you hear from SBC people unless you hear it on BBR as well.
09-24-08 - Its been over 4 years since the debacle ended with SBC. They have run fiber from New London to Appleton, right PAST the box mentioned above, yet no new hut was added. UVerse is being lit up in Appleton, but us rural folks are hosed once again by ATT who is attacking the cable companies in Appleton. truth be told, I highly doubt ATT will EVER go after rural people with anything other than a thinly veiled partnership with WildBlue or others just to say that they have options for us. ATT, someday you will lose your lock on our area, and my guess is that will be the day you bring actual service to the area.... Thats all for now...
05-26-09 - About a month ago, we tried the whole process again. Had a local contact from BBR set me up to test the DSL. He entered an order, got it all OK'd, then the local service tech came out and cancelled the order stating I was too far away. He left a message stating that he would rather give us no service versus poor service. I could SWEAR we had agreed to TEST the product...but I guess that part never sank in at AT&T. I am pretty sure that AT&T will never service my home with DSL or UVERSE. Now that they have an agreement with WildBlue, they can state that they truly do offer broadband to rural areas, which is a crock of crap in my book. There is a home no more than 1000 feet from me who HAS DSL....but they say he is on a different crossbox than I am, and that the wires that would connect me to that same box were pulled out years ago. Again, I call BS!!!
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