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Tuesday June 13 06:16 PM EDT

Broadband -- Fast access, slow install

By Sean Silverthorne, ZDNet News

High-speed Internet access. You want it, you know you do. But are you willing to put up with what it takes to get your computer moving in the fast lane?

Over the last two years, fast-access service providers have begun offering very attractive prices, with rates under $50 a month, free installation and free modems. But the come-ons proved so attractive that broadband ISPs quickly fell behind the rabid demand. Compounding the problem: Installing new networking equipment has proven more costly and time consuming than service providers estimated.

Just ask us.

We've collected tales of life on the broadband frontier from the ranks of ZDNet employees who suffered through long wait times, midnight installations and imperfect technology. Since most of our employees are on the West Coast, their stories involved major Western service providers such as Pacific Bell, the California-based baby Bell that is now part of SBC Communications Inc.

But no matter where you live, our accounts may make you think twice about DSL and cable modem installations.

Barry Briggs,
executive vice president, ZDNet

My efforts to get DSL service from Pac Bell started the week before this past Christmas. I called to get installation, received a warm welcome and was told someone would come visit the area to make sure installation was possible.

Unfortunately, no one made that visit. In fact, no one from Pac Bell even called back. But I was undeterred.

I called the company three more times. On one of these occasions, I was told there were problems getting service to my area in Mill Valley, Calif. -- even though I understood others in the area receive the service. I tried to go up the chain of command to complain about the lack of service, but was repeatedly told, "Sorry." To this day, no one from Pac Bell has followed up on my various inquiries and complaints.

Bottom line, no consumer should have to work that hard to pay the phone company a lot of money for a service.

Sean Silverthorne,
senior executive news editor, ZDNet News

I've actually had DSL installed twice -- a glutton for punishment. But once you've had DSL, you can't go back.

My installer -- let's call him Steve -- was scheduled for an afternoon appearance. At 5 p.m. he called to say he was running a little late. He called again at 6. Then at 7. I suggested to Steve we reschedule for the next day, but he suggested that was not an option.

Steve arrived at 9 p.m. and got to work. At 11:40, we told Steve we we're going to bed, and to please lock the door after he left.

He did. And the DSL worked fine -- until a week later. Suddenly, our phone had no dial tone. When I called Pac Bell for a repair, I was informed that since my phone line was now on DSL, I would have to call the DSL service center. Which I did, only to be told that it would be a week before a technician could get out to the house.

Service since then has been great.

Charles Cooper,
senior executive news editor, ZDNet News

I've concluded that DSL is really a three-letter acronym to describe an arcane torture test.

Other than that, I love DSL -- the times when it actually works, that is.

The problem is that the service seems to have a mind of its own, a tendency perhaps exacerbated by my reckless decision to install DSL on the laptop computer that I bring home from the office each night.

As a rule, I usually have a 50-50 chance of getting a good connection. And folks, when it's good, it's great. So good, in fact, that I wonder how Web surfers can do with anything less.

But the other half of the time DSL remains that classic riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The system just hangs there, the small Internet Explorer or Netscape icon twirling endlessly until the system poops out. Strangely enough, I can still access Yahoo!'s site by typing in the URL. I just can't get do anything once I get there.

Oh, and even on those days when I have Grade A DSL access, the service is given to sporadically blocking me from using our corporate e-mail service, which happens to be Lotus Notes. Thus I'm faced with a Hobson's Choice, forcing me to choose between what is offered or disconnecting everything and switching back to 28.8 dial up. (Anything but that!!!)

Unfortunately, the tech heads at my Internet service provider -- not to mention our own IT crackerjacks - can't figure this one out. So, I've taken to pushing buttons and flipping switches in a vain effort to outwit the service.

Sometimes I pull out the network card that I plug into every morning at the office. If that doesn't work, a warm reboot does the trick. Other times, I need to shut down, play with the cat and try my luck five minutes later.

Then there's always screaming imprecations at the top of my lungs. That doesn't do much for improving my DSL service. But it makes me feel a lot better.

Kathy White,
managing editor, ZDNet News

Ah, to be able to cruise across the Web at blazingly fast speeds. That was our dream. So when Pacific Bell offered free installation and free equipment, we called.

A lot of people had the same idea -- the company said it couldn't get to us for a month. After receiving our install date, Pac Bell went dark. They didn't call to confirm our date or provide other information. The only thing we were told was, be home between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. And don't dare leave.

Just to double check, we called the day of the install. The woman on the phone decided to be honest. Because of the huge volume they were doing, who knew when we'd see our installer? It more than likely wouldn't be between 8 and 5 p.m. Try more like 8 p.m. that night.

My partner stayed home dutifully anyway, because there were no guarantees -- and if we missed them, we'd be waiting another month for installation.

4:30 p.m. Our guy arrived. We both have work-supplied laptops. Unfortunately, Brenda has Windows NT and her company had not given her administrative rights to her machine. She tried calling her IT department, but they didn't know the access password. She still doesn't have her laptop set up.

My laptop was next. The setup went fine, but there was a configuration problem for which Steve had to call in for a consult. He sat on hold for almost 20 minutes waiting for the next available person to help him. Steve then spent another half-hour on the phone trying to get the problem resolved.

6:30 p.m. At last, problem solved! But now comes another one. Steve didn't know how we set up our e-mail. Steve didn't know much about any of that stuff. But at least I now have a blazingly fast connection -- I am indeed impressed.

So now I'm learning about my Pac Bell accounts and I can work from home faster than I can work in our office. It was a somewhat painful process but definitely worth it in the end.

Poor Brenda. She still isn't set up. She doesn't know what she's missing.

Brian Rosenthal,
executive producer of Integrated services, ZDNet

After receiving the AOL plus (a DSL external USB modem) package in the mail, I installed and went to connect. It didn't work. I called AOL -- they said my line had not been activated by Pac Bell.

The activation date is set for July 31. When I called to see if it could be activated sooner, Pac Bell said I was lucky to have a date at all. Story of my life ... can't get a date.

Patrick Houston,
general manager, ZDNet News and Investing

When it comes to AT&T, I've got baggage. As a consumer, I've never been a fan of John Malone's cable TV empire either. And when these two came together, well, you couldn't pay me to like the resulting behemoth.

Plus, I was also reluctant to share bandwidth. To me, that's like sharing my toothbrush. No way! So when I went shopping for a fast Internet connection, I wanted DSL. And I went on a mission to get it. Unfortunately, it turned into Mission Impossible. Even though I live in the heart of Silicon Valley, I have the bad luck of living a half mile beyond the three-mile radius of Pac Bell's DSL-serving central office in my area.

I tried a third-party provider, but all I could get into my home was slower -- and more expensive -- flavor of DSL service. In short, not an option either.

Then, one day, I happened to be home when AT&T cold-called, offering my its @Home service -- with no installation charge and the first month free. Even at that, I still wasn't about to be won over -- until the sales rep told me there was no contract term either. At that, I figured, what's to lose? So I swallowed my disdain and signed up.

Even at that, I was still prepared to have AT&T@home disappoint me.

Well, I don't know what CEO Michael Armstrong has done over there, but I've had the @home cable modem service for nearly six months -- and these guys refuse to let me down.

I can't believe I'd ever say this about AT&T, but I've been most impressed with the customer service. You call with a problem -- and you actually get a real person on the phone without suffering an unduly long wait. I've had to assert myself a few times, but, in the great grand scheme of things, AT&T has actually proved itself to be responsive.

As for the service, it's been fast -- and dependable. In fact, I've been so impressed I'm even thinking about offering the neighbors a turn with my Oral-B.

Larry Dignan,
editor, ZDNet Inter@ctive Investor

My DSL horror story can be summed up in four words: Bureaucracy and Baby Bells.

With a recent move coming up, I figured I'd bring broadband to my new home-office. I called Bell Atlantic and requested DSL service, and switched my address. What could be more efficient?

A few days later, I received a box with a DSL modem and all the microfilters and other gear. Separately, a letter arrived detailing my service. As I requested, DSL service would start May 15, coinciding with my move.

Despite a history of local service problems with Bell Atlantic -- missed repair calls, numerous customer service problems -- I was confident I was on the path to broadband.

I was wrong.

As Bell Atlantic's service letter indicated, I wasn't allowed to install the service until May 15 after 6 p.m. EST. Around 7 p.m., I hooked up the modem, installed drivers and hooked up the lines. No problem. Then I went to hook up the software -- the dreaded green disk.

After installing the first part of the Bell Atlantic software -- a clunky program called WinPoet -- I had to call tech support. It wouldn't install. After calling tech support, I was told my service didn't kick in until May 18. I indicated I had a confirmation letter that said service would start May 15. "Must have been a different system," I was told.

With that knowledge, I had to uninstall WinPoet, but it didn't work. You can't remove this thing without a Bell Atlantic program called NukeWinPoet. Of course, you have to download it and I couldn't dial up my local Internet service provider. The settings were wiped and so was I.

"Do you get a lot of this?" I asked one of Bell Atlantic's support staff. "Yeah, a lot of people are unhappy," said the techie.

I downloaded NukeWinPoet, put it on a disk and eventually rid my system of WinPoet. I also had to pay shipping for the latest version of the green disk -- never mind that Bell Atlantic should have sent me the latest version in the first place.

May 19 rolled around and I was ready to try again. The hardware was installed correctly, but there was no DSL signal being sent. I called Bell Atlantic -- again. They said I had DSL service -- at my old address as of May 8, a date I had never heard of. The techie guy sent me to a logistics rep. "The expeditor works on a different system and your old address is in there," she said. Three calls, three systems. Bell Atlantic really needs to hook all these databases together.

The logistics person told me she'd call back with a start date before she went home for the weekend -- never happened.

With this experience, I started shopping around for other DSL vendors. I'm told it'll take three to five weeks to hook me up. That's longer than I want to wait so I'll give Bell Atlantic another try. In the best case scenario, my local ISP, which is just five blocks away, would offer DSL service. I'm convinced the Bell monopolies don't have the customer service to compete -- and they wonder why they're not meeting their DSL/broadband subscriber quotas?

DSL is complicated stuff. If you don't have the time or patience to deal with bureaucracy, stick with narrowband.

 


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