 Review by rshores 
UPDATED: 127 days ago
member for 8.4 years, 282 visits, last login: 45 days ago
 Nashville,Davidson,TN
 $49 per month (12 month contract)
 about 10 days
 BellSouth
 "Free Modem - No Installation Charges"
 "Terrible Tech Support"
 "Do Not Bother!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
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I received the email from DirecTV DSL that they were discontinuing service and I decided to disconnect before the service went down. I submitted my request via their web page to disconnect service on 12/19/02.
On 12/23/02, my connection to DirecTV DSL was discontinued. The power light on their gateway started flashing on 12/31/02, so I assumed that BellSouth had cleared the line.
After shopping around on broadbandreports.com for a new DSL provider, I decided to order DSL service from EarthLink. I placed the order over the phone on 12/31/02. The customer service representative said that the connection speed would be 1500/128 and a PPPoE connection (the 15.00/month static IP option is not available in our area yet). The EarthLink rep stated that the speeds that he quoted were not guaranteed.
The fact that EarthLink rep was offering a free gateway (without a mail in rebate), free installation, and 21.95/month for the first three months were factors in my decision to go with EarthLink. As when I signed up for DirecTV DSL service, I have a 12 month commitment to keep service with EarthLink or pay an early termination fee. Some people may not want to make this commitment, so I would advise anyone who is considering EarthLink DSL service to keep this in mind.
Orginally, my phone line was to be provisioned on 1/6/03, but BelllSouth encountered some problem on my phone line and was working to fix the problem. I received an email from EarthLink regarding this problem and I was promised that they were working with BellSouth to get the problem taken care of. Being a curious person, I decided to call the EarthLink DSL support line to see if I could get details on what was the problem with my phone line. I was on hold almost an hour before I was able to speak with a representative. After being put on hold several times, I was sent to another rep who told me that there was something on the phone line causing a problem, but the rep had no more details.
On 1/9/03, a BellSouth technician came to the premises and discovered that my DSL connection plugs into a BellSouth installed ADSL filter (installed several years ago when I had the BellSouth FastAccess Service) at the point where the phone line enters the premises. This device filters the other phone connections in my residence from ADSL signals. The technician plugged his test set into the DSL jack on the ADSL filter. After the technician ran the tests, he said the line was fine and that the provisioning would be completed later that day.
I received the EarthLink install package, which included the gateway, on 1/10/02. I installed the gateway, and configured my Linksys DSL/Cable router and on the internet once again. It is too soon to give any type of review of connection reliability. So far, the speeds have been 1024/122.
The whole process of transitioning from DirecTV DSL to EarthLink DSL was much smoother than I expected. There may be better DSL providers with better prices out there, but not having to wait for mail-in rebates, and a discount on the first three months service make EarthLink DSL a provider to consider seriously. I hope they can make improvements in how long it takes to speak to a customer service representative.
*** Final Update 7/27/05 ***
Ditched Earthlink after one year committment expired (2/1/04).
*** Update 2/16/03 ***
Frequent disconnects started occuring again on 2/11/03. Earthlink had Covad do a loop test and found problems on the line and sent a trouble ticket to BellSouth. Apparently, the "problem" with my phone line that was discovered during provisioning to Earthlink wasn't taken care of. A BellSouth technician found problems at the wiring entering my residence and made repairs. The downstream and upstream capacity occupation and noise margins improved dramatically and I now have the advertised speed of 1500/128. The disconnects have vanished.
*** Update 2/9/03 ***
Connection problems finally resolved. I was fortunate to speak with a knowledgeable Earthlink tech support rep, who spent well over an hour with me to troubleshoot and find a resolution to the frequent disconnect problem. I have an INI with an integrated ADSL filter to filter the red/green pair of phone wires in my residence and an unfiltered connection on the black/yellow pair of phone wires, that are running to a phone jack in another room for the DSL connection (this was installed by BellSouth in 1998 when I had their FastAccess service).
The tech support rep suggested installing the filters that are part of the Earthlink self-install package on the phone connections in my residence that had telephones and DirecTV satellite receivers plugged in, even though those lines are already filtered coming from the integrated INI/ADSL filter.
After installing the filters, the disconnect problems went away and my downstream speed is at 1284. I was impressed that the tech support rep called me back the next day to see if installing the filters solved the disconnect problems. He told me that the phones and the DirecTV satellite phone line connections on the red/green pair could be "bleeding" over to the black/yellow pair causing noise. He suggested having BellSouth remove the integrated INI/ADSL filter and install a regular INI, since the Earthlink supplied filters are already in place. Since the disconnect problems have dissapeared, I decided not to go through all the hoops to get BellSouth to replace the integrated INI/ADSL filter with a regular INI.
It took eight calls and a bit of luck before I was able to speak with a tech support rep that was willing to go the extra mile to help diagnose and solve the disconnect problems.
*** Update 1/31/03 ***
For the last two weeks, I am losing sync frequently. Calls to Earthlink for resolution of problem "...we can't do anything unless the problem occurs while you are on the phone with us." Well...with the long wait times to speak to a representative, the problem usually clears up. I am not happy now as I was when I first started service with Earthlink. I never had these issues when I was with DirecTV DSL.
*** Update 1/17/03 ***
After one week of service, I haven't had any connection reliability problems.
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