Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches New England Verizon DSL/ATT Broadband opinions

Just curious if anyone from western ma has used Verizon DSL and what you think of it? How about ATT Broadband? Anyone have any suggestions about a good ISP? I just got some invite from Verizon for free installation, free digital camera, etc. thanks

personally - i love the ATT Broadband. Very reliable too!

It's too bad the price is so high - i mean, it's reasonable compared to other cities....but still. 45 dollars a month is 45 dollars a month.

Love the cable modem speed though!

My buddy used Verizon a while back for about a week. HORROR SHOW!!! They use Point-to-Point over Ethernet (PPoE), which is more or less a way for the ISP to turn an "always on" connection into an "on demand" connection. Nice idea, problem is that it really ****s up the works hard. I would avoid PPoE at all costs.

They don't allow you to use firewalls with their product and obtain support from them when your connection crashes or bogs down (often).

I would recomend Speakeasy.net. They've been great to me for years - my buddy tried them afterwards, but they didnt run a new line to his house, and he got slow performance, even with them. I think he may have some bad copper in his house.

Try DSLReports.com for some good advice...and good luck!

I have Verizon DSL and so far it's been pretty reliable. I did have a problem after a couple of weeks where I could not connect. I spent 2.5 hrs talking to tech support who couldn't figure it out.

I eventually found that the cat5 cable from the modem to the pc has a open in it somewhere (even though the "link" light on the modem showed good) meaning I wasn't connecting. I told Verizon about what I found and they told me to buy a new cable myself.

They did call 4 times thought to see if everything else was ok.

Overall, I'd be happy to go with them again. I'm getting ~98kbps d/loads on a 768/128 plan.

pm if you have more q's...

i have had Verizon DSL for about 18 months with no real problems. Whenever there is service on the line, I get notified well in advance and I have never lost service without notification. The connection speed is very fast. I agree that having to "Connect" is a PITA, but you really get used to it. It takes all of 4 seconds to connect on either my iMac or my wife's laptop. And if you have Verizon as a phone carrier, paying 1 combined bill is a nice service.

I give it "*** 1/2" / "*****" only because of the "Connect" issue.

Be aware that this service depends very much on your location, if Verizon DSL is just becomming available in your area, wait a couple months or try to work a deal since the "testing" will go on until all of the bugs are fixed. Medford has a solid network.

I've had Verizon DSL since November of 2000. If you have another option like cable, go for it. Verizon's tech support is really good...but if there's an outtage in NY, we have no DSL in MA. I usually get downtime once a month. Just look at the DAILY outtages on their service. Their software sucks for dialing out as well. If you get the service, get a router that supports PPP. I usually get no more than 65k/sec. I'm just waiting for ATT Broad band to get off their arses and service this area.