Trying To Switch DSL Service Providers Isn't So Easy!!
Nov 19 '00
I have been using DSL since May of 2000 & I like the ability to use the same phone line for making & receiving phone calls while I still have the ability to surf the internet as well. I also like how DSL gives you the stability of having the same speed all the time unlike cable modems during peak times. Only down side I have about DSL is the pain in the neck part of switching DSL service providers. It isn't easy switching DSL service providers from one to another as it is with standard internet service providers if you have a dial up connection. It takes some time to switch DSL service providers unlike dial up modem users which can call up & just cancel their current internet service provider then sign up with another one that very same day.
I first signed up with DSL service provider Telocity since they didn't require you to keep their service for any amount of time. They allow you to get their DSL service without an annual commitment unlike other DSL service providers do when you sign up with them. On July, 7, 2000, I received an e-mail from Winfire providers of DSL service that they were available in my area. Well, a friend of mine that lived in the same apartment building with me got the same e-mail. So, we both did an experiment to see how long it would take to switch DSL service providers. I choose Winfire DSL that I would switch my service over to & he chose BellSouth Fast Access DSL service. Well, with in 1 week of him placing his order online for BellSouth Fast Access DSL service they had his line switched over & he had his DSL modem in another 2 weeks. So, after 3 weeks after placing his order to switch DSL service providers he was back up on DSL using BellSouth's Fast Access DSL service. I consider that a fast turn around for switching from one DSL service provider to another.
I also signed up to have my DSL service switched from Telocity to Winfire DSL the very same day he signed up for BellSouth's Fast Access DSL service. Well, my experience with BellSouth for switching my line for DSL over to Winfire didn't go as smoothly. BellSouth refused my letter of authorization to have my DSL switched over from Telocity to Winfire 4 times before it finally got done on October, 31, 2000. I kept calling Winfire DSL up finding out what the hold up was & they kept telling me the same thing that BellSouth was delaying at times then refusing to switch me over to Winfire DSL. So, then I contacted BellSouth about this matter & they told me that Winfire DSL never sent them the letter of authorization that I had signed to allow them to switch my DSL line from Telocity to Winfire DSL. Well, I called Winfire DSL up & had them fax me the 4 documents stating that BellSouth denied switching my DSL line over to them. I took these letters to BellSouth myself where they finally couldn't say anything since I had proof of them just delaying this matter on purpose & letting it go on & on. I finally got my DSL line switched over to Winfire DSL on October, 31, 2000, after almost 4 months when I first asked them to switch my DSL line over.
So, it just goes to show you that when you switch your DSL service providers be prepared sometimes to wait a while since your local phone company is the one that supplies the telephone lines going to your house & controls your DSL circuit & to have your DSL circuit switched over to another DSL service provider. As you can see from my article here, when you switch to your phone companies DSL service they do it in a timely fashion. But, when you switch DSL service providers & it isn't the phone companies DSL service they drag the matter out a long time not caring trying to get you to get upset & finally decide to go with their DSL service.
I have received reports from other individuals that I am friends with online here who live in the southeast that have BellSouth as their phone company that they have experienced the same kind of delays with having their DSL lines switched over to a new DSL service provider. So, if your looking for a fast switch of your DSL service providers don't hold your breathe!!!
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Epinions.com ID:
BucthFL
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Location: South Florida
Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 2 members
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