DSL at a Dialup Price
Written: Oct 06 '05
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Pros: Fast, dependable connection at price that compares to dialup. Excellent customer service.
Cons: Only available in states that BellSouth covers.
The Bottom Line: I would highly recommend their DSL service. At present, I could not be more satisfied.
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| wdsnls's Full Review: BellSouth FastAccess ADSL |
Recently, BellSouth Fast Access DSL (BSFADSL) lowered their pricing for “naked” Lite, Ultra and Xtreme DSL. Although I have been totally satisfied for the past several years with my dialup ISP, the difference in price between it and BSFADSL had become too close to justify using a dialup connection. I could have done better, price wise, going with my cable carrier’s high speed internet in conjunction with my cable TV package, but they lack dependability during their routine cable outages. I also noticed, during two hurricanes that came directly through my area last year, cable users had no service for days at a time but dialup and DSL users had connections even when there was no local power. Also, BSFADSL provides you with a backup dialup account of 20 hours a month in case the DSL is down or you’re away from home. My cable provider offers no backup dialup.
After checking at the BellSouth website if my telephone line qualified for DSL, I placed my order on line selecting the Lite plan. I was given the opportunity to select my primary email account user name. After installation I would be able to obtain four additional mail accounts and personal web space. This plan included an installation CD, free DSL modem after rebate with 12-month commitment ($75 value); four phone line filters; Ethernet cable; USB cable; dialup account including 20 hours per month and free shipping. I immediately received an email confirmation and an estimated delivery date for the package. I chose the self install option as I felt confident and proficient enough for this choice. There is an optional, professional installation costing $100.
The next day I received another email with the UPS tracking number and ship date. Upon checking the UPS web site, I found the delivery of the package would be four days earlier than promised. Upon receipt of the package, I installed the necessary line filters, which only amounts to plugging them into your wall jacks and reconnecting your telephone instruments to them. I connected the modem to my phone line and my computer’s Ethernet connection with the provided cables. I did not and I don’t recommend using the installation CD that comes with the package. I have read that, similar to dialup software, it contains unnecessary programs that only slow down your system and use up resources. Upon rebooting my computer, I received a blinking “ready” light on the modem, which meant I had no connection. I called customer service, went through the various scripted checks to verify that I had done everything correctly, which was the case. My only alternative was to wait for their service technician to check things between the central office and my home, which could take up to two days. I knew there was no line problem inside my home by temporarily connecting the modem directly to the telephone box on the side of my house, as a test, and still could not get a connection. Needless to say, I was not very happy but I did receive the package four days earlier than expected.
I was instructed to keep the modem connected with the continuously blinking “ready” light. Approximately 24 hours later, while at my computer, the light went steady and I had a connection. About 15 minutes later, a BellSouth technician was at the side of my house checking to see if everything was OK. I went outside and explained I had just established a connection and he responded, very apologetically, that he had found the problem. They had mistakenly hooked up the wrong “pair” for my DSL to one of my neighbor’s “pair”. He was embarrassed but I found it to be an acceptable mistake.
They advertise the Lite plan has a best effort of 250Kbps download /128Kbps upload, which can vary as to your distance from the central office. I have been checking my speeds everyday for a month and consistently show speeds in the area of 207Kbps/107Kbps. Reading about DSL speed, this is well within the range of acceptability for my plan. It is also a big difference from the 50.6Kbps connect speed of my previous dialup ISP. Also my BellSouth backup dialup connection is 50.6Kbps. but I have only used this connection for test purposes for several minutes at a time.
I did have suspicions that there would be a billing problem but there wasn’t. Having both local and long distance telephone service with BellSouth, my BSFADSL would be added to my telephone bill. The first bill came through without error. I was charged for the modem ($75+ tax) and credited for the $75. They charge you $7.50 each month for the modem until the rebate, you are required to mail in, is processed. The only confusion regarding the rebate was that it took two weeks to be available on line but within that time I received the rebate form via snail mail. After the rebate is processed you are credited for each $7.50 payment that you have incurred. I don’t know why they create all this unnecessary work for themselves. The promotional rebate procedure went without a problem. I was only billed for one $7.50 payment and the following month I was credited for it and the tax.
I am not going to go into all the technical aspects of DSL and write about pings, tracer routes, lost packets, i.e. I don’t think the average internet user is really concerned about these things but whose main concern is a fast, dependable connection for a reasonable price. Even though I selected their least expensive and slowest plan, I could not be happier. I have had no problem with the email accounts and have found that their spam protector works much better that my old dialup account.
I would highly recommend their DSL service. At present, I could not be more satisfied.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 24.95
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Epinions.com ID:
wdsnls
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Location: Palm City, FL USA
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 0 members
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