[ale] [OT] AT&T DSL vs RoadRunner cable broadband

[Jim Lynch]

jeremy.bouse at undergrid.net wrote:
> I've got a 6MB DSL line from AT&T and I had crappy service with random disconnects. I couldn't pin-point a problem in my home as there is less than 3 ft of cable between NTI and DSL demarc on Leviton SMC and it's optical all the way from CO to across the street in neighbor's yard (less than 50 feet from NTI).
>
> I bitched long enough that they raised me to 'presidential' support level group and they rolled a truck out to my place for no charge. Tech provided a new Motorola modem as I was still using the old Westell modem, and replaced the ONC in the box across the street and downloaded the latest code to it. I haven't had a problem since then.
>
> Jeremy
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From:  JK <jknapka at kneuro.net>
> Subj:  [ale] [OT] AT&T DSL vs RoadRunner cable broadband
> Date:  Fri Feb 6, 2009 17:51
> Size:  2K
> To:  Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts <ale at ale.org>
>
> Hi folks!
>
> Last week I decided $100/month was too much to pay for
> 7Mbit RoadRunner+basic cable, so I canceled it and ordered
> 3Mbit/s dry-line DSL from AT&T.  I'm SO unhappy with
> the DSL that I just called Time-Warner and had the
> RoadRunner re-activated, except at 3Mbits and without the
> TV. I was surprised that this is a money win -- $29 for
> RoadRunner (no TV) vs $40 for DSL (no phone), before
> assorted taxes and BS fees.
>
> The DSL has been very flaky over the past 8 days - I've
> had to reset the modem a lot, due to authentication
> issues, IP issues, DNS issues, and general failure-to-
> do-what-I-want, eg stay UP for gosh sakes! Also I've
> noticed large downloads tend to hang occasionally.  I've
> had RR for 8 years and had connection problems maybe
> once/year, so this whole crappy-service thing is new
> to me.
>
> I'm hoping maybe ATT will get their act together and make
> me happy sometime soon. They're shipping me a new modem,
> which personally I think is kinda stupid -- the current
> one works 90% of the time, which makes me think the
> problem is on the other end of the connection.  The
> serv-tron I spoke to about the connection issues was
> probably offshore, but didn't try to follow a script --
> as soon as I said I had a dry line, he pretty much
> listened to me and seemed reasonably knowledgeable.
> (OTOH the RR guy I just talked to when I re-ordered
> that service spent a couple minutes trying to convince
> me that 3Mbit RR was faster than 3Mbit DSL, because
> RR is "broadband".  Words fail me.  In spite of that
> though, RR has truly been rock-solid for me.)
>
> I'm considering doing an extended comparison (more for
> my own amusement than anything else) -- keep the
> DSL for a month or two and run my work stuff on that
> connection, while keeping the family's personal machines
> on RR.  Having both services is still costing me
> $30 less a month than my old RR service, and I can
> probably get my employer to pay the AT&T bill.
>
> I am both exasperated and amused by the entire
> experience.
>
> -- JK
>
>
>   
I tend to be an apologist for Bell South/AT&T.  Not that I have an 
interest in the company, but I've had good luck with their service.   
It's possible they treat their conventional customers different.  I have 
a couple of lines with "measured service" and 6M dsl service.  The POTS 
lines are what I call measure service but that's not what AT&T calls 
it.  I get 60 calls free per month and pay $ 0.12 a call after that. 

I've had excellent service.  I hate to advertise the fact I've not had 
an outage for a couple of years because the last time I did, things went 
out for a bit.

But anyway it's possible for AT&T to deliver reliable service.

Not that I like them much but since I don't have to deal with their 
customer service I'm currently quite happy.

Jim