 Review by Rob 
UPDATED: 1.7 years ago
member for 7 years, 3296 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Miami,Miami-Dade,FL
 $32 per month
 about 5 days
 BellSouth
CLEC party: BellSouth
 "Fast Speeds, Reliable Service"
 "Length of time to install"
 "Worth the money"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
** Note: Latest review at the bottom.**
===== Original Review ====
On August 9, 2003 I placed a call with BellSouth's Fast Access Department to inquire about DSL within my home. I had Adelphia Powerlink but lately it has been going out, and I wanted a stable connection. The lady on the telephone was very knowledgeable about the DSL and informed me that I could get IFITL, fiber optics in other words. I placed an order with her for 1.5 down and 256kbps up. She told me it would be $45 a month, $99.95 installation and $50 activation. But I would get the first month free and a $50 dollar rebate. The installation date was set for August 15, 2003 between 2-5PM. I arrived home on the 15th of August at 1:40PM to find the BellSouth Tech waiting for me.
He informed me that there is a max. length of 600 feet from the telephone box on the side of my home to the room I want to install the fiber optics. I was 237 feet according to him. After he did all the work on the outside, we went upstairs to the room I wanted DSL and he connected it, however, it didn't work. Because of the many splits on the telephone line, and my room being the last split, it wasn't connecting. He installed the DSL Line in another room and it worked fine.
He gave me about 200 feet of cat5, an extra Ethernet jack and instructions how to set it up and told me that if I ran the cable through the attic and into the box, that would work.
Well I did that the next day and am happy to report that I am getting 1.9 down and 250kbps up.
I would highly recommend to everyone!
===== Oct 18 2003 ====
Well it's been 3 months since I've had BellSouth's Fast Access DSL. Let me see...
Well after I originally installed the cat3 line myself, I was having issues where my speeds would go from 2.1mbps down and 270kbps up to 63kbps down and 18kbps up and remain like that for 30 minutes and magically come back. BellSouth said they didn't know what it was and that they didn't "promise any speeds". I told the tech that I understood that but if I was having a constant slow speed it was fine, but now when I'm cruising at fast speeds and suddenly it slows down. Anyways, I hung up and called right back and got a tech in GA who transferred me to a supervisor (I didn't ask to be transferred). The Supervisor told me that since I installed the cat3 myself and that BellSouth should have done that, it will send a tech out at no cost and that's what he did. The tech came out the next day and told me the original installer did crap and left everything loose and what not. Since than my speeds have been grrreeeaat!
They also told me the $99 installation would be split up into 4 payments because I didn't have a modem. Well I got the bill for the first month and it was $250! They had charged me the full $99. When I called the billing the lady was rude and kept repeating the same line "we cannot split that up" and that's all she said. I demanded to be transferred to cancellation department where I'd cancel my DSL. I wasn't going to pay $250 dollars! Anyways, the other lady was very nice and gave me a credit of $99 dollars + any late fees that I would encounter.
I also recently ordered a static IP for $14.95. I had it for 2 weeks and was experiencing connectivity issues (lags, high latency, etc). I removed the static IP 2 days ago and my connection is back to normal.
I'm very pleased with BellSouth and would recommend it to everyone!
===== Feb 14 2004 ====
It's been 7 months since I've had BellSouth's Fast Access ADSL and can honestly say I have never been happier. I've had 0% downtime since Oct. '03 when the technician came out to "fix" my lines. I receive great speeds (~1.8mbps down / 230 kbps). My connection is always fast, reliable, and steady. My pings are low and my latency is great.
The only issue I've experienced lately is the mail servers have been a little unstable. During the day I'll get a "cannot connect to pop server" message. But that's fine - if I recheck my mail immediately after wards, it works. Maybe someone is hogging up all the resources on the mail servers?
We also have BellSouth ADSL at work and also have 0% downtime. 100% uptime, reliable service, constant speeds and never have a single problem. In fact, at work we have a few T1s and they have more problems and they go down more then our DSL. At the office we use a Westell 2100 Wirespeed modem with a Linksys Wireless-G router and 3 wireless computers and all the machines get about 1.3mbps down and 220kbps up.
There's a rumor going around that BellSouth will be upgrading/adding a new tier plan of 3000/384-512 for about $5-10 dollars more in the next few months. I think that's great - unfortunately, the rumor also states that IFITIL users (me) cannot get it. I guess it's because we already are getting faster speeds then BellSouth users with a DSL Modem. But that would suck big time!
I would love faster speeds for the same price. But if faster speeds means that I have to give up my stable and consistent DSL line that I get at 1.5mbps, then I pass.
My contract expires in August of 2004. Will I stay with BellSouth or switch providers? At this point I'll remain with them. I'll be dumb to switch.
Thanks BellSouth for offering great speeds, fantastic uptime, reliable service, and great customer service. Continue the ggggreaaaatt work!
===== May 28 2004 ====
It has been 10 months now since I've had BellSouth ADSL and I still continue to have 100% uptime.
Here are some issues that have come up with BellSouth since my last review:
>> New BellSouth Fast Access 3.0Mb Service (Extreme)
Seeing that I am a BellSouth Fiber User (IFITL), I do not qualify at this time for the new 3.0mb service. There are speculations to why fiber customers (IFITL) do not qualify, ranging from the Marconi cards in the onu, to the tariffs that the FCC hasn't developed, to that the onu couldn't support it. Whatever the case may be, I hope it gets resolved soon. Kind of ironic that I'm Fiber and I can't achieve higher speeds. I will continue to wait, patiently, because overall my service is still reliable, still stable and consistent and I still get speeds of ~1.7mb down (while I'm capped at 1.5).
>> Billing Mistakes
The last bill shows that I was charged $14.00 for using ISDN. I don't have ISDN and I never did. I don't even use their dialup service as I’ve never needed to. I contacted them and the next day they sent me a reply:
"The $14.00 charge that was billed on your May statement was related to
back up dial in usage on your DSL account for the month of March.
However, it appears that this charge was billed in error and our Billing
Operations Group has submitted a credit adjustment of $14.00 to your
account. This credit adjustment will appear on your June statement. "
They say I used the dialup in March? That's complete B.S. (Not BellSouth lol). But I won't argue it, but I don't want anymore billing issues.
>> $2.97 "Regulatory Fee"
They've now started adding a $2.97 "Regulatory Fee". So my $45/mo. is now $47.97. Here is what my bill shows:
1. Fast Access(R) Ultra Service from Apr 01 thru Apr 30 ....... ** 49.95
2. BellSouth Answers (SM) Savings ............................ ** -4.95
3. Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee @ $2.97 per month ............ ** 2.97
Total BellSouth Internet Current Unregulated Charges ............. 47.97
This isn't a government issued fee, so what is it? Why are they charging me? Again, I won't argue too much as the service has been reliable, but my contract with them does NOT say I will be charged a $2.97 fee.
Well that's all for my review. Stay tuned for next review!
===== Nov 18, 2004 ====
So much has happened! First, let me say THANK YOU TO BELLSOUTH and the HARD WORKING EMPLOYEES for making my service truly fantastic. 100% uptime, no problems, ever. The email server has some problems, but I hardly use it anyways, I'm more worried about my connection and it's been excellent.
I also want to say that BSFA has lowered their pricing and I am now getting a $7 dollar discount a month, bringing my service to $40/mo.:
1. FastAccess(R) Ultra Service from Oct 01 thru Oct 31 ....... ** 42.95
2. BellSouth Answers (SM) Savings ............................ ** -5.00
3. Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee @ $2.97 per month ............ ** 2.97
Total BellSouth Internet Current Unregulated Charges ............. 40.92
Total Pay Per Call Nonregulated Charges ......................... 40.92
BSFA has released their 3MB plan, but IFITL users like me do not qualify yet. I hope this time next year I will have faster speeds.. especially since I'm on "FIBER!".
Otherwise, I give BSFA 8 out of 10. Why? Because they outsource their tech support to India and I don't like that. So 2 pts off!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BSFA!!
Till Next time!
===== Sept 11, 2005 ====
Back in June/July I switched from DSL to cable (Adelphia). The speeds were 6.0 down and 880kbps up and it was great. But the few times it went down, it lasted days and with the last hurricane it lasted a week and a half. I decided to switch back to DSL.
$32.95 a month + $2.97 regulatory fee
No Activation or Installation Fee
Free 20hrs dialup account
8 Email Address
IFITL Connection - 1.5/256
Glad to be back on Bellsouth's Network!
===== Sept 25, 2005 ====
I had a schedule date of Sept. 10, 2005 between 10 and 2 for a tech to come out and hook up my connection. My area is serviced by IFITL, so the tech has to come inside and install a data jack that I would plug into and it's a 10mb hub in a way. Anyway, since I had DSL before, the setup was all there, just needed to have the DSL tech activate it at the pedestal. At a around 1:30PM, I decided to try and connect and see if it was already connected, and to my surprise it was.
In fact, I posted this thread in the Bellsouth forum:
»Maybe I'm still connected?
and I was up and running. He did call me and tell me he would be at my house in 15 minutes and I told him what was up. He said he won't come by and for me to have a great weekend and if I had any problems, call his cell. Hey, since the installation was free, I didn't mind. Wrote his cell# down and am keeping it on hand.
Since getting DSL activated it, my Adephia cable has gone down 3 more times, and TV outages lasting a good 2hrs each. I would expect since the TV is down, the Internet would have been too. During the bad rain with Hurricane Rita, the power went out, but my DSL was chugging away with my ups systems. The connection has been extremely stable. Friday, the 23 of Sept., when I arrived home in the afternoon I noticed my DSL was down. It came up after 2 minutes or so and has remained up. A few minutes after coming up I noticed a Bellsouth DSL truck leaving; I'm assuming he hooked up another satisfied customer and had to disconnect me for a moment. All good with me!
Now, for my very long RANT about the signup process:
When I originally cancelled DSL, I downgraded my account to dialup, which gave me the ability to retain my Bellsouth email addresses. It was very important that I can keep those accounts and I told your rep. multiple times and she said that it was no problem and that she’d be upgrading my account from dialup to DSL. I was prepared to order DSL that day or the following, but she told me that the installation (normally $99) was only available at her call center in Houston, TX and that I had a 1 out of a 100 chance of calling back and getting someone in that center to offer me the free installation. Later I come to find out that 10 other people who signed up with DSL also got the free $99 installation, amazing, they all had were so lucky to have gotten that same call center. I don’t believe it; I believe she blatantly lied to me. Not only did she tell me that her call center was the only call center offering that promotion, but she also told me that I would also be able to receive a free mp3 player or a free digital camera. I really don’t need an mp3 player, as I already have that suits my needs and I also didn’t need a free digital camera since I already have one that does what I need. But after visiting signing up and visiting fastaccess.com, I noticed the following limitation for the free mp3 player or free digital camera:
“Customers who supply their own modem/gateway or are served via fiber (IFITL) are not eligible for this promotion.”
But wait, she knew I was an IFITL customer since she told me that currently only her call center was offering the free installation. So she blatantly lied to me. And this is where I am disgusted. Has Bellsouth turned into a car dealership? Are their agents trained to lie to customers in order to make a sale? Why did she have to lie to me? I don’t care about the free gift, I more concerned with the fact that she lied to me to make a sale. She took advantage of my trust and blatantly lied to me.
After signing up with DSL and giving her my Bellsouth email address, I received a confirmation email, and to my surprise it told me that my primary login name/email address is:
BellSouth.net E-mail Address: rodriguez3962@bellsouth.net
That’s not my email address and that was never an email address that I had with Bellsouth. So the young lady (who apparently is much untrained or doesn’t care about her job), didn’t take the liberty to upgrade my dialup account to DSL, giving me the opportunity to retain all my Bellsouth email address (four of them). So, to review: The representative, whom I believe her name, was Kelly. She’s in the Houston Call Center (maybe that was a lie too). She lied to me about the free installation (yes it was free, but not specific to her call center), she lied to me about the free mp3/digital camera promotion, and she lied to me about upgrading my dialup account to DSL. She lied to me. And I find that very unacceptable. The following week I spoke to 4 different agents, and 1 supervisor, attempting to get my dialup email addresses transferred over to my DSL. I come to find out that Kelly never even cancelled my Dialup account, so I was being double billed. All the other agents I spoke to had to “submit a form” to some department that would fix the issue for me, and would contact me in 24 hours. Never received a phone call and my issue weren’t resolved. I also submitted an email and received a “Thank you” reply asking for me to wait 24-72 hours for a reply, never go tone either via email. Finally on Friday (1 week, 5 calls, over 6 hrs total spent time), a nice representative was able to fix the issue and get my email addresses back.
The connection is stable and tech support is a little better. But lying to a customer is unacceptable under all circumstances.
===== June 30, 2006 ====
Connection still going strong with no problems at all. Connection is strong, reliable and stable. Just wish we could get faster than 1.5/256. Plus I'm not too happy that they are merging with AT&T. I highly recommend BellSouth. I also highly recommend you stop by the BellSouth forums if you need any help with your Fast Access DSL. The forum is well behaved (unlike other forums) and the employees who visit it aren't rude like other employees at other forums here on DSLReports.com
===== Sept. 30, 2006 ====
Connection is still going strong with no problems. Constant, stable and reliable is exactly what I've had since I've signed up. Recent there was an article indicating that BellSouth is upgrading FITL users (that's me!) to VDSL+2 with up to 80mb. It'll incorporate Data, Video (IPTV) and Voice. I'm excited. Upgrades should start sometime at the end of 2007.
===== Nov. 24, 2006 ====
Comcast offered me a generous promotion of $24.95/mo. for 12 months for their 8.8mb/765kbps plan. I've tested it for about a month and it's been stable and reliable. I have since cancelled (for the 2nd time) my IFITL connection.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of AT&T Southeast |
|
AT&T Southeast
(81)
·