Help me decide between Bell South DSL and Directv DSL

[GreenGhost]

My two options for high-speed access (no cable). Anybody with good or bad experiences with either company?

Bell South is cheaper initially (3 months at $25, $50 rebate for internet sign-up, free modem after rebate, but $50 activation). Directv DSL (not the one via dish) offers 3 months at $30, $25 installation/shipping fee, not clear about keeping modem, but apparently there's no upfront fee for it. Both plans require 1-year contract (hate that), and cost $50/month after the first 3 months. Don't know anybody in my area that has the service.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Placer14]

I do tech support for Bellsouth DSL. Their new modem (Westell Wirespeed 2100) is incredibly versitile and easy to use. It has both USB/Ethernet ports on it and I just got mine. It installs easy enough if you use the ethernet (no software to install) and once it works, it works well.

One negative, we have a lot of outages in the Florida/Georgia area. They're small outages, but I see more outages in those places than anywhere else.

The tech support is generally good, depending on the person you get. Any question about the service, just ask. Their speends are 1.5Mbps up x 256Kbps down. It's a besst effort service and usually works out to ~700 up and ~180 down. Hope this helps a little.

 

[gotsmack]

if you have call waiting, 3 way calling, abd caller ID the'll knock off a few bux off the monthly charge for adding dsl service. you just have to ask and say "My friend said..."

 

[Placer14]

Yea, they do that under their Complete Choice plan. You have to be a member of that, but I guess if you mention that you have it and aren't part of that plan, they'll hook you up. It's like a perk of the plan. It drops price from 49.95 to 45.00

 

[dmcowen674]

GreenGhost

You'll probably do just fine with either one. One thing that doesn;t matter much is that even if you went with the DirectTV DSL service they still use BellSouth's access equipment. Only the Internet Gateway router would be different. There may be small differences like Direct you may get a static IP address while you will get a dynamic IP via BellSouth.

Placer - Not a big deal but you have your Ups and Down's backwards. That sounds like a nice Modem BTW. I was on the Hardware design team for the original DSL modem back in 1997, the Alcatel 1000. I worked closely with the DSL Lab team of BellSouth over there at Birmingham. I was in Norcross at Hayes Modems. That modem set the standard for DSL worldwide .

 

[Placer14]

That Alcatel 1000 is a pain. I hate getting calls when their computer is ancient and troubleshooting that thing is a pain. Up and down speeds were backward. Sorry. And yea, everything runs on Bellsouth eqipment anyway, so the only thing that would be different is pricing and the company you talk to. DSL is good stuff. I'd take it over Cable anyday.

 

[dmcowen674]

Yes, true the 1000 really shouldn't be put into new service today. I did the best I could with the technology and chips available at the time, the original chips and specs dated back to 1993. BTW, I demonstrated the unit cranking just shy of 10 meg download speeds.

 

[GreenGhost]

Thanks guys. I live in rural Mississippi, where a McDonald's would look foreign. Maybe I should stick with Bell South, in case something goes wrong and I need someone in person. I will do it with my local ISP, but they are a bit more expensive and "forbid" sharing the DSL with more than one computer. I don't know if they have means of detecting other computers sharing the connection, but I didn't like that, anyway.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: Placer14
That Alcatel 1000 is a pain. I hate getting calls when their computer is ancient and troubleshooting that thing is a pain.

Bah! I love my Alcatel 1000! Still works like a charm after almost 4 years of use. I just had to swap the pairs of wires with a 2 line 3 way splitter to get it to work when I moved.

 

[Placer14]

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Placer14
That Alcatel 1000 is a pain. I hate getting calls when their computer is ancient and troubleshooting that thing is a pain.

Bah! I love my Alcatel 1000! Still works like a charm after almost 4 years of use. I just had to swap the pairs of wires with a 2 line 3 way splitter to get it to work when I moved.

Ugh....i think i'd rather he hit with with a dodgeball shot at high velocity through a dodgeball cannon while stuck in a jail of Stormies!

 

[cmdavid]

ive got bellsouth dsl and i get ~1300/220 average (dsl reports)..... i hardly have any downtime (and i live in georgia).. I have the alcatelspeed touch home... and its an awesome modem.... i recommend bellsouth dsl to everybody i know that is thinking about high speed internet...

 

[GreenGhost]

I went with Bell South. Now I'm wondering how I am going to share the connection. I have a switch. Would just connect everything to it work? I don't have a static IP, and I would like to have something better than installing 2 nics in one computer and use a crossover cable. Does win2000 have better software for sharing a connection? Can I have something like a "dual home" using Windows? I don't want to buy a router!

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: GreenGhost
I went with Bell South. Now I'm wondering how I am going to share the connection. I have a switch. Would just connect everything to it work? I don't have a static IP, and I would like to have something better than installing 2 nics in one computer and use a crossover cable. Does win2000 have better software for sharing a connection? Can I have something like a "dual home" using Windows? I don't want to buy a router!

Look here

 

[GreenGhost]

vi_edit: Thanks, the proxy server seems to be the easiest way to start...

 

[rahvin]

DirectTV DSL will use a Bell south line, either way you get the same line. Difference will be the static IP that DTV gives you.