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

[jeremy.bouse at undergrid.net]

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 do not particularly want to go where the money is -
  it usually does not smell nice there. -- A. Stepanov
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