My AT&T DSL "service" has been down since last Thursday ..

[DemoTex]

.. along with 18,000+ other AT&T DSL customers in the 864 area code. AT&T has lied continuously since the outage began about the nature of the problem and the estimated time of repair. They keep pushing the ETR forward 2, 4, 6, 12 hours .. seemingly arbitrary guesses.

I am told now that the problem continues and the new ETR is tomorrow morning at 9am. My DSL service will probably go down the crapper again soon. Meanwhile, I have ordered cable internet service to be connected later in the week. Fuck AT&T.

AT&T: When they aren't spying, they are lying!

[rcrush]

1. Do you have ATT U-Verse?

I heard thats a really awesome programming package but ATT's service is just shite. Worse than satellite.

[DemoTex]

5. I have the basic AT&T (formerly Bell South) DSL package .. nothing fancy.

And I have a long history of problems with AT&T DSL. That's why they are soon to be history with me!

[asjr]

14. I switched a month ago to ATT

and am not satisfied with it. I wasn't satisfied with the one I had either. Sometimes I think I just can't win.

[Sherman A1]

16. Same here

U-Verse is to me just overpriced and not all that good a selection. Coupled with the hang ups in the picture and it pixelizing on a regular basis, it's a pain in the B****

I will be looking at cable or returning to Dish.

[Idealism]

2. I used to have AT&T

even the top land line speed, but it was complete crap. Never as fast as they said it was and it frequently would just stop working for an hour or two at a time. I am much more happy with Comcast :)

[anigbrowl]

3. Jeez louise

You know, sometimes networks go down and the tech guys (of which I used to be one) make the wrong call about the reason, or discover something needs replacement for which there isn't a spare immediately handy. Meantime, the people on the reception desk aren't omniscient - if the tech people tell them 'well, ASAP...we hope in a few hours,' that's what they're going to pass on to customers. Shit happens, and I've found myself in a similar position (of having to up the estimated time to fix something) a few times.

[AndyA]

4. I'm sorry you're another AT&T victim.

I got rid of all my AT&T services years ago, and I'm glad I did! They have horrible customer service, and they think they're doing you a favor by allowing you to do business with them!

I can tell you horror stories about AT&T, but I guess you're living it now to some degree.

If there are other alternatives, I recommend getting rid of AT&T. It's one of the worst companies in the world.

[Cronus Protagonist]

6. I tell everyone that DSL is inferior to cable, and it is

In all respects. Although I wish it weren't so.

[Giant Robot]

7. AT&T at my agency went out

For reasons too complex, and for a writer too lazy to delineate them, internet connection is vital for my agency. It was out for 8 days! With each day bringing new excuses and reasons for the outage.

Here's how it was resolved, cause it will be even better. Our CFO was sick of dealing with this and one night vented to her fiance about the problem. He knew someone at AT&T as it turns out. He called that person who called somebody who called somebody and at 4am our internet came back on. Fucking ridiculous that it had to go that route to get solved.

Good luck with your issue, but I wouldn't trust their estimates to save my life.

[aquart]

9. I switched from AT&T to Verizon. Verizons lies about everything.

And the service disappears about every two months for anything from a few hours to days at a time.

[unhappycamper]

15. Don't get me started with Verizon.

I started working with New England Telephone in 1981. Then we became NYNEX Bell Atlantic Bell Atlantic/GTE Verizon. I retired after 21 years, including 11 of dumb sizing.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

10. The sad but real fact is...

That most ST&T domestic customer service goes through India, and sadly, the technical support staff there work exclusively within the lines of their laminated scripts and a good number of them have no right or reason to be dealing with anything more technological than an electric toothbrush.

I have had many direct interactions with them, on behalf of friends and clients, and I have cleaned up amazing messes caused on the user end by them.

Score? Incompetent. Unfailingly incompetent.

AT&T needs a good cleaning and fumigating in its executive suites. That said, if you have any knowledge of AT&T institutional culture, that will happen right after pigs file IFR flight plans.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

8. AT&T could suck more...

Especially as regards both its cellular and DSL service in areas not serviced by Uverse, but that would take effort, and effort is something that AT&T isn't great at.

Head to Broadband Reports AT&T forum to find out what is really up there.

[rcrush]

12. I've only had ATT for cell phone service

WHen I had an Iphone. The service was fine but I got rid of my Iphone cause it was so damn glitchy. Everytime Itunes needed to update it would break my Iphone. I got so sick of Apples shit I just canceled my service and bought a treo.

[nykym]

11. Have you tried filing

a complaint with the public service commission or the FEC or the FCC. I did after being jerked around with a problem on my land line (phone) I got a response next day, a resolution plus one month free phone. Sometimes you need to go outside to get their attention.

[SpookyCat]

13. You too?

We here in SF just got ours back yesterday...and every time my husband called it was a different story, oh it's local, oh it's your problem, we'll send a guy out but we'll charge you 60 bucks cuz it's your fault. Then the appointment which was from 1pm to 7pm on I think it was Thursday, and the guy never came. Turns out they canceled the appointment but never called us, and gave another BS story about water on the lines, then it was something else.

Our phone was out too, and since we live in a security building, we can't let anyone in w/out a land line, won't even know they are there. Plus CS works from home much of the time, so w/out internet he is screwn! Dog bless the Verizon air card!!!

He escalated to supervisors to be damn sure we aren't charged for these days, and they said we have to call the billing dept to make sure the charges are correct! WE have to call? They are counting on people not bothering so they can soak up more undeserved cash.

If it weren't for the door situation, we wouldn't have a land line at all.

Anyone have any opinions about Quest? They are the only company who did NOT sell our info to the feds. I think it was Quest...I'm on vacation and have vacation brain!

Lucky for them it went down Wed not Tuesday...can you imagine? <shudder!>

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. AND it is AT&T which we are paying to spy on us...remember?

I have hated them for years, then they bought our Cingular phone company, so we have them, and Mr. D. uses the cell to talk to his family on the other coast and I refuse to use my cell unless the dog is on fire.
And half the time the cell connection does not go thru, we get voice mail messages coming in 24 hours after they have been made.

But DSL is with Cox/Frontier Comm. which has not sold out to anyone yet.
TV is Dish.

So far we pay too much for all this but at least are getting decent service from DSL and DISH.

Cable company here took months to repair hurricane Ivan damage, they are based in a big city of Mobile, basically said FU to rural service.
Maybe FEC will become workable under Obama.

I will never pay AT&T anther penny even if I have to resort to tin cans and a string.