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Review by kevinschultz 
Posted: 5.7 years ago
member for 5.7 years, 3 visits, last login: 5.7 years ago
 Lake In The Hills,Mchenry,IL
 $65 per month (month by month)
 about 14 days
 "Reliable & Fast"
 "Throttled for larger downloads"
 "Good value for the money"
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For $65/month this is a pretty good ISP. It is quite reliable and have never had any connectivity issues that were their fault. The speeds are amazing compared to dsl and cable.
My only real complaint, which really isn't a valid one compared to the alternatives and for the price of the service, is that for a large download queue (of over 80 megs or so) the speeds are throttled to about 130k (compared to the 300-500k that I normally get). The only way to get back to full speeds is to stop the download queue for awhile and then speeds are back to normal.
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Review by Bill2004
Posted: 5.7 years ago
member for 5.7 years, 18 visits, last login: 3.4 years ago
Woodstock,Mchenry,IL
$50 per month
about 30 days
"Great connection!"
"Some pre install communication problrms, but they are resolved"
"I'm happy with the service and price."
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I called for information on wireless the beginning of January. The woman I talked to was very nice but needed to talk to someone else to get answers. She said she would try to get answers to my questions and call me back that day, or the next. She also said if we don't call you, give us a call back. Two days later I still had not received a call so I called them, and got an answering machine. I left my name and number and still never got a call. I tried again 4 or 5 times the next day. I gave up on leaving a message since they never return calls. I finally got through to a real person and was told "I'm having some problems getting answers, why don't we just schedule an install". I said fine and faxed DLS the required info that day, 1/14/04. They called a few days later and said they would be out for the install on 2/5/04 between 9 and 11am. I did request they send a bucket truck because my roof is very steep. On 2/4/04 they called again and said one of their installers had called in sick, and asked if it would be ok if they pushed the install back till noon. I said that would be fine, and I asked what exactly what the install process was. I was told "We will send a bucket truck and will test for a signal. If they get an acceptable signal they will do the install, if not we'll go our separate ways". The installer showed up about 1pm on 2/5/04, no bucket truck. I have to give the installer credit, even though the roof is steep and was covered with snow, he tried to get up there anyway. He called his office and told them I had requested a bucket truck and told them it would be needed to do the install. The office told him they would try to get the bucket truck out to my house that evening, if not they would be out on 2/6/04. The bucket truck never did show and nobody called either. I called DLS on 2/9/04 and asked them when they thought they might be able to come out for the signal test. I was told that I would need to talk to the manager of the install crew, and he would give me call later. It was not a big suprise, I never got a call from him either. And this is supposed to be the best wireless ISP???
I will admit my install is not as simple as throw a 3ft tripod on the roof, stick 5ft of mast and an antenna on it and we're good to go install, but it can be done. In addition to a steep roof I also have tall trees, it's just a simple matter of antenna height. I can only guess that they just don't have the man power to take care of their current customers and also do new installations.
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Review by greekrsx
UPDATED: 5.7 years ago
member for 5.8 years, 14 visits, last login: 5.7 years ago
North Aurora,Kane,IL
$65 per month
"freindly service"
"not sure where to begin"
"to switch or not to switch"
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well i signed up for dls wireless back in july of '03 and for the last few month i've been haven many problems with my service for example my recent issue i was getting 43kbps/34kbps as my speed wich is as bad a dial-up(if not worse). it took 2 days to resolve that issue, then it was brought to attention that i was paying $65 for a 1.5mb speed when the 10mb speed is the same price. called up dls and they're basic answer was that i had gotten thier service about 3 month before the new equipment had arrived and that now that i have the old stuff i need to pay an extra $100 to get what i should of gotten in the first place. so now i'm stuck either paying the $100 for the new equipment or keep payin the $65 for the 1.5mb service. where do i go from here?
:update:
well it's the 26th of the month and it's still going on. same friggin problem as last time. i'd have speeds of roughly 750kb and then back down to 54 the next day.from my understranding genysys controls the tower and they are doin a god awfull job at it and they are not available sunday to repair the problem. as far as service goes thats starting to go rotten as well. i never get a call back, e-mails are never descriptive of cuase of problem.and have yet to see any afirmative action to fix this thorn in my side.....
as far as upgrade goes, they'll be coming by on the 28th of the monthfor that, but by the looks of it; it doesnt look like it'll fix this issue....
:update:
well today is the 29th, had my appointment yesterday for my upgrade. the appointment was for 1pm, called my customer told him i'll be on the job site at 5pm. had 2 guys for DLS roll up to my house at 4:30pm, i was fuming at this point; they took thier ladder banged it against my gutters a couple times and told me they cant do it and even iff they went to the roof it wouldnt work. so not only did they waste 3.5 hours of my time they didnt do jack *bleep*. they left and i havent heard back from them. today my speeds are at 200 and i'm at my wits end with DLS!!!
:update:
i updated the value becuase i do consider it a good value if you live in LITH and can get the 10mb service.. pre sales i'll stay neutral mainly becuase the girl i spoke to for the upgrade scheduling was really nice and didnt think about her when i dropped it. i'm sorry
:update:
well it is 7pm on the 30th, got a call from DLS this morning to rectify our situation, he said they'd be here at 3:30 and they were right. door bell rings at 3:40pm and they were ready to work. so far it's up and down between 1.5mb and 3mb. here is my latest speed test
2004-01-30 20:35:09 EST: 1860 / 2866
Your download speed : 1860295 bps, or 1860 kbps.
A 227 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 2866013 bps, or 2866 kbps.
Your upload speed is much faster than down.. have you tweaked?
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!
i'd like to say thank you to DLS and especially sam for all thier help to resolve this issue.
DLS is coming back on monday to finish the upgrade so i will post my final decision then.
:update:
2004-01-31 23:43:35 EST: 153 / 1616
Your download speed : 153791 bps, or 153 kbps.
A 18.7 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 1616597 bps, or 1616 kbps.
Your upload speed is much faster than down.. have you tweaked?
2004-02-01 00:31:32 EST: 686 / 1036
Your download speed : 686983 bps, or 686 kbps.
A 83.8 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 1036717 bps, or 1036 kbps.
well here are my speeds as of now, going up and down.whats goin on? i have no idea. i guess it could be something disturbing the LOS..
>updateupdate 2/12/04
well i am back to ground zero. DLS has tried everything to get me up to speed but it is not possible. I greatly appreciate DLS's attempt to resolve my speed issues, but until a new radio is installed a the north aurora water tower i can not go on with them. i do not blame them for being back to the beginning and having to swith ISP's but they have done a GREAT job helping me and hopefully i'll be able to switch back one day when the new tower is up...
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Review by Chardog
Posted: 5.7 years ago
member for 5.8 years, 3 visits, last login: 5.7 years ago
Lake Villa,Lake,IL
$50 per month
about 30 days
"Excellent customer service and professionalism, service lives up to its billing"
"Long appointment windows, overbooked resources?"
"They ‘aim to please’ … pun intended."
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Prior to signing up for DLS Internet Service on 01/05/2004, I contacted the company to address questions I had concerning the service and its availability in my area. I found the customer service personnel and technical support employees to be very courteous, knowledgeable and helpful. I found this to be quite the refreshing experience after having been interacting with the folks at Direcway (DirecPC) for so long! It was a pleasure to interact with customer service; my install was scheduled for 01/19/04 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.. The service technician arrived at my house late morning (after 10:00 a.m.), and did his best to perform the install in a snowstorm. Since establishing a ‘line of sight’ to the tower was impossible and we couldn’t get the necessary signal strength, the attempt was abandoned and I was rescheduled for a return visit on 02/02/04 with the hope of better weather and results. In the meantime I agreed to route the cable through the interior of my house to expedite the next install attempt.
The second appointment was scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the understanding that I would be contacted at work when the technician was en route so that I would not have to miss unnecessary hours from work as was the case in the first appointment (I'm single, an hourly employee with limited annual vacation allowance). I did not receive the promised phone call at work, so contacted DLS shortly before 1:00 p.m. and was informed that the tech was running late and would meet me at my house at 2:00 p.m.. I was extremely disappointed to find that the tech did not arrive at my house at 2:00 p.m. as promised; I contacted DLS at 2:45 and left a message to find out what was going on. After not hearing back from DLS, I called again at 3:20 to voice my displeasure... I was having second thoughts leading me to seriously consider canceling the install/service… it did not appear as though our ‘relationship’ was off to a good start. After waiting on hold for a considerable period of time, I was told that the tech was en route and would be there soon. A short while later, I was contacted by a customer service rep at DLS who apologized for the miscommunication and inconvenience and informed me that if the install was successful, I would receive a discount on the install rate. The technician finally arrived at 3:45 p.m., 15 min before the end of the scheduled appointment time. The weather had deteriorated throughout the afternoon, and we once again were faced with a blinding snowstorm to attempt the install. A second technician arrived on the job shortly thereafter to assist in the effort. The installers immediately decided to proceed to attempt the install using the larger 20 in dish (originally, I was lead to believe that due to my proximity to the tower the signal strength should be sufficient that the install should be able to be completed with the smallest rectangular antenna; upon the first service visit the tech informed me that we would need at least an 18 in dish.). Of course I wasn’t thrilled with the size increase, but did understand that this was a possibility determined by ‘line of sight’ requirements. I was also not pleased to see the new dish being mounted on a mast with a new tripod and questioned the ‘plan of attack’ since I did not want another tripod mounted on the new roof; rather, I wanted to see if the dish could be mounted on the existing tripod with my rooftop TV antenna, or possibly the tripod holding my DirecDuo dish. I was told at that time that the new tripod was being used only to see if we could get the necessary signal. Long story short, after a considerable effort lasting a couple of hours on a treacherous roof surface the techs were able to get the necessary signal. It was then communicated that they could not mount the larger dish on the existing TV antenna mast or the DirecDuo tripod and would have to mount the new tripod on the roof. Of course I wasn’t pleased and informed them I was not interested in doing this. This left me with a decision that resulted in the removal of my existing TV antenna to complete the antenna install in the existing tripod. After feeding the previously routed cable through my attic to the techs on the roof, the antenna install was completed. I’m a bit concerned that there was no installation of a lightening arrestor and grounding wire. The software was loaded, but a successful connection could not be made. Thinking my (new) US Robotics NIC card was at issue, a new card was substituted in its place. After some time the software appeared to be successfully installed, the account was activated and I was ‘on-line’. After a brief introduction of how to log on, the techs wrapped up their install. Throughout the install process the service technicians were both friendly and professional. Admirable was their tenancity in enduring the inclimate weather and dangerous conditions experienced throughout the install. Unfortunately, later that evening I was unable to successfully set up my new email account and surf the web. I was again unsuccessful the following morning.
Early on the morning of 02/04, I contacted the 24-hour tech support service for help. We tried several things to rectify the situation, but were unsuccessful. The tech support rep was friendly, but unable to help me out. I was informed that someone from DLS would contact me to schedule an appointment for someone to come back out to the house to address the problems I was experiencing. Since I did not hear anything from DLS the next morning, I called them around noon from work. I was told that they could not get someone out that day, and that prior to sending someone out on a service call they would like to attempt some more ‘things’. I was provided with some software for my system, and asked to call later that day when home. After arriving home, I called DLS. After spending an hour or so reloading all the software and reconfiguring my ‘network neighborhood’, I was back on-line. Once again, tech support personnel were friendly, professional and knowldegeable. So far, so good. My latest speed test results as of 02/08 (6:00 a.m.) are 3030/251 kbps, which is what I should be receiving with my subscription.
Once on-line I viewed my account information to find that my account had been billed for the entire install/activation fee. Since the discount I was promised was not reflected, I called and left a message with DLS on 02/06. I received a return phone call a short while later; my on-line invoice was promptly updated to reflect the communicated discount by way of a credit to my account. I will update this review at a later date to confirm the credit reflected on my account has been honored in its entirety.
Pros: The customer service and technical folks at DLS have all been extremely friendly, knowlegeable and professional. It is clear that they want your business and will do whatever is necessary to have satisfied customers. In itself, that speaks volumes for any company. Although I’ve only had the service up and running for a few days now, it appears as though you get what is advertised…. I’m cautiously optimistic at this point. Cons (things that could be better): DLS appears to be extremely busy and they seem to ‘overbook’ their resources available for installs. The appointment times give are ‘windows’ only, and do not mean that the install will be completed within this time frame… too bad they use the cable/phone company model. Also, more time could be taken up front to discuss the antenna and mounting options available, and to make sure that it is understood what the customer is/is not interested in. It can be difficult to reach a DLS representative directly; however, they are generally pretty good about promptly returning phone calls.
In conclusion, I would recommend DLS Internet Service to anyone considering either new, or a change in their current ISP. It is clear that they strive to provide the best wireless service available in the area. They ‘aim to please’ … pun intended.
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 Review by bobdog
Posted: 5.8 years ago
member for 6.7 years, 3563 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Lake In The Hills,Mchenry,IL
$65 per month
about 14 days
"Set up was great and speed is excellent"
"Ping times a little erratic at times but it is being worked on"
"This company is very focused on the customer"
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I ordered the 10meg up/down package at $65 a month. The install was great, they did a very professional job. They use a ppoe system which works pretty well. I am having a slight problem with some online gaming due to my ping times being a little erratic but their tech team is working on the problem and even had a service tech come to my house the day after I spoke to the tech. I am very confident that they will correct my problem. All in all, even if the problem was never corrected, which I know it will be, I would still be very happy with the service that they are providing me. Keep up the good work guys.
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Review by wdliii
Posted: 5.8 years ago
member for 5.8 years, 2 visits, last login: 1.6 years ago
Lake In The Hills,Mchenry,IL
 Business customer
$65 per month
about 30 days
"Technically Sound, Customer Focused ISP."
"None"
"Beyond Expectations"
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I have been a long time DLS customer and have been in this since the beginning at 28.8 dialup, then 33k, 56k, ISDN128K, DSL 256K.
Last month I signed up for NLOS wireless in the lake in the hills area. This service was initiated in LITH last week and my installation was completed yesterday. The technician was ON TIME for the appointment, ready to go and had everything OPERATIONAL in under 2.5 hours. This was the smoothest service transition to date.
I am signed up for the platinum service ( up to 10 mbs ) per month. The tests I have initiated to date seem to average around 1119KBS down and 235KBS up.
I have a business server networked here in my office running MS stuff. Running 802.11 Cisco Aironet AP wired to a 100mb backbone using a Linksys Etherfast Router using PPoE.
All is functioning beyond well..
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Review by kenney9
UPDATED: 5.8 years ago
member for 6.5 years, 19 visits, last login: 3.7 years ago
Crystal Lake,Mchenry,IL
$65 per month
"Outstanding Speed!"
"Sign Up for it if you can"
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On 01/11, I want to update all on my experience with DLS in light of some of the recent discussion on service levels expected by this provider.
During December, I started receiving periodic service outages. I knew from the outset that this was going to be a tricky troubleshooting and solution since the office could identify my radio and all appeared normal. However, all was not sound in fact and in 20/20 hindsight we learned that my receiver radio was starting to fail. Service on the client end was spotty at best during December and I knew this was not a DLS caliber wireless connection.
This was not an apparent issue at the time I can assure the readers, my ability to ping the DLS website and tracert was inconsistent. There were stretches I could get 5 minutes or 3 days of service after resetting the pin block interface device. I was getting the behavior on a second PC as well. The pinblock, cable and NIC card on my desktop machine were swapped out without any real meaningful improvement.
Throughout, I reported into DLS with support tickets and follow-on E-Mail messages so they were kept posted on developments.
I understand the frustation when service is inconsistent or nonexistent, I was on dialup on and off for these several weeks while the issue was being manifested. However, as tough as it can be, I have learned that patience must be followed when requesting tech support service of this type. These experts do substantial network maintenance for a living as well as to grow the network. They must be given a chance to investigate customer reports and their schedule may differ from the customers wishes because of the number of customers supported. Every customer naturally feels his problems should be the highesr priority for network support, naturally reality shows this is not a fair assumption and other customers are as deserving of support as me.
On Friday 01/09 late afternoon, two techs came out (I probably should not reveal their names in here, but I know each of them now by first name and they were fully versed in my case and its particulars).
This is not normal service level to be expected when the one tech installs a replacement receiver radio in the dark on a cold, snowy night with snow on the rooftop while the other was reading back settings. I was observing the process where they were finetuning the radio frequency at my location. I don't consider myself a tech dummy, but I was very overwhelmed at their knowledge of the process in implementing a new radio under these circumstances. To do this in the dark and to do it correctly is an impressive undertaking.
These guys stayed until the problem was fixed and they made sure it was fixed. I have never known the level of personal service as I feel with this ISP organization. These guys are not just lip service, they care about their customers and they want to help them when there are problems. They are the highest rated wireless provider in Illinois for a reason.
I look forward to when DLS can grow further in the Chicago area as I will be able to plan more referrals to some of my work colleagues when DLS will be able to offer wireless service to these additional suburbs. DLS knows who I am pretty well now I feel as I know several of the staff on a first name basis now albeit for support purposes. It does not hurt for customers to extend kind words directly to the DLS staff when they offer extraordinary service meriting this praise. They continue to show me through action they are the best in this wireless service, and those that have them for their ISP should feel fortunate to have them. Please remember they are constantly planning to grow the network capacity, those that feel they may not be getting the highest level of internet service may well feel differently in the short term future when new towers come online in the network. I continue to be convinced that I would be foolish to change ISPs after this recent case and its resolution,
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Review by pcmaurin
Posted: 5.8 years ago
member for 5.8 years, 3 visits, last login: 5.7 years ago
Cary,Mchenry,IL
$65 per month
about 3 days
"Great service / professional install process"
"Great value for the dollar"
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I am not one to normally write reviews unless I am not entirely pleased with the end results, but the exemplimary service received from DLS from presales (thanks Cindy) to installation (thanks Chad) and finally tech support is worthy of my precious time during this time of year (as a tax accountant). They went the extra mile to explain the installation process and Chad the technician was efficient and considerate in installing the necessary equipment and wiring both inside and outside the home. The service flies and now I don't know how I managed without it for so long or why I waited so long to get it. I highly recommend DLS. Come on jump in, the service is great.
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Review by TonyM265
Posted: 5.8 years ago
member for 5.8 years, 13 visits, last login: 5.4 years ago
Algonquin,Mchenry,IL
$65 per month
about 12 days
"Extremely Dedicated Professional Company"
"NONE NONE NONE"
"SIGN UP NOW if you can"
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This is my second review of DLS.
Since my last review I have been overwhelmed by this company's devotion to making the customer happy. DLS has gone far beyond their obligations to ensure that my system performed properly and that I would be satisfied. DLS president Sam Rozenfeld actually came to my house and stayed for 3 hours performing tests on my PC and connections!!!! Eventually Sam took my PC to his office where techs installed a new hard drive from my other computer. Now everything works great! I am so happy with DLS as a company and it's employees that I am thinking about naming my next child Dallas or maybe even Sam!
For all of you who had read my last review, I'm sure that you can see that I've been redeemed. You were right, I was wrong. In case you were wondering, I have a Dell Dimension 8100, 1.5Ghz, 60GB, 600 Ram with Windows XP home. Initially there were some conflicts from my PC causing poor reception. The Linksys router was exchanged for a microsoft MN-500. Also, a better NIC card was needed.
Now that all of the new hardware/software has been changed, things are terrific.
DLS could have easily given up on me and said that it was my problem but they didn't. They stuck around and made everything work.
DLS is by far the BEST company I have EVER done business with. Their work ethic is incredible.
I would like to specifically thank Sam, Greg, Chad, Cindy, Mark, Andy, Brian, Jamie, and anyone else that I have had the pleasure of speaking too.
Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!!
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Review by handydan9
Posted: 5.8 years ago
member for 5.8 years, 1 visits, last login: 5.8 years ago
Algonquin,Mchenry,IL
$65 per month
about 4 days
"Fast access time and reliable service at a fair price"
"None"
"Outstanding ISP"
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Since I have had my wireless internet service installed, I have been extremely pleased with the reliability and overall increase in access time. I am continuously impressed with the professionalism and customer oriented drive that is displayed at DLS Internet Services
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DLS Internet Services
