It Might Work (Can't Know For Sure)
Written: Mar 27 '01 (Updated Apr 02 '01)
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Pros: When it's up, it's fast.
Cons: I have yet to go two weeks with it staying up.
The Bottom Line: I pay Telocity, but don't get online. You do the math.
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| asilrenrut's Full Review: Telocity DSL |
Having noted an alarming trend of rants-as-reviews lately I'll try to step back and be as objective as possible about Telocity. (If rants are your bag, however, see Any Hairy Sunday (http://www.epinions.com/content_10788376196), a dirty little expose of why I switched to Crunch from 24 Hour Fitness).
Here's the Telocity breakdown, so to speak:
Pre-Installation Wiring
The pre-installation process seemed too good to be true. I had heard horror stories about communications and order tickets being dropped between the phone company and DSL providers, whole days spent waiting in vain for installation technicians, etc. Luckily, none of that happened to me. A man just appeared one day when I was home (hey--how did he know that?), checked that my line was DSL-worthy, answered a few questions, then left. No waiting! Since my line checked out, I was onto the next step without any gray hairs. . .
Hardware Setup
When I received my gateway in the mail a few days after the man's visit, I used the text manual to plug all the right parts into the right places, then followed along as the CD installation wizard stepped me through the connection process. Knowing that I was due for some trouble, I wasn't surprised when I couldn't connect right away. I did the obligatory troubleshooting, then called tech support from my cell phone. After an hour of pinging, checking my connection, and downloading the right configuration, we got the sucker up and running. I was wired! (For about a week.)
Tech Staff
Telocity's tech staff is helpful, patient, and accessible. I have inferred that they are either very well paid or work very short hours, since their unflappability certainly isn't a result of a stress-free existence. Since I signed on a month and a half ago, I have spent about six hours speaking with Telocity tech support. For someone who installed DSL at home as an added convenience, this situation is monumentally frustrating.
[Side note: Bay Area technomania has taken hold. I used to be a teacher and poet. Now I spend my time shuffling between digital tools, devoting more and more hours to their use and upkeep. My ever-growing list of gadgets belies an alarming need to track, calculate, tune in, and drop my two cents everywhere: heart rate monitor, PDA, cell phone, MP3 player, PC/DSL hookup . . . but I guess that topic is a whole essay in itself, if not the beginnings of a rant.]
"Power Cycling"
Much like the classic "Did you reboot your machine?" approach to IT support, Telocity's catch-all fixit is the perennial "Power Cycle," a process that involves removing each of the connections from the gateway, letting the poor thing collect itself, reconnecting, then jump starting the whole octopus again. Mysteriously, this solution works more often than you'd expect. Unfortunately, on the seventh consecutive day without service, "Did you power cycle?" is exactly the kind of question that can send you over the edge.
The Service
My Telocity experience can be characterized as manic. When it's up, it's very up--fast, friendly, getting me where I need to go. But when it's down, it's SO down. You can power cycle until you're blue in the face, but troubleshooting on your own will usually get you nowhere. Actually, I got in trouble recently with the billing department when I called to explain that I had enjoyed their service for three days out of the past fourteen, and that I'd be happy to pay for the service in the same proportions. Apparently, though, I had taken the wrong tack--all that free-form power cycling was getting me nowhere, since without a tech support-registered trouble ticket, no "problem" was registered in billing.
The Void of Disconnection
Here's the kicker about outages, or whatever events keeps your connection down--aside from calling in for periodic checks on the patient's condition, there's really no way of knowing if you can get back online. Power cycling is a fifteen-minute process, which, when followed by a "Telocity connection DOWN" message, can be quite painful.
On the fifth day of my latest DSL-down period, I asked the tech guy if, since I had clocked more days of down time than internet access, Telocity could simply do me the favor of notifying me when it appeared that everything was up and rolling on their end. His answer:
"Uh, the guys mostly just fix the problem, close the ticket, and move on to the next issue."
"Hm," I retorted. "Since I signed up for DSL because of its added convenience, doesn't it seem like I should receive a minute-long phone message from Telocity instead of spending the remainder of my adult life power cycling?"
"It sure does seem that way, Maam. I'll make a note of it in your trouble ticket."
Needless to say, I don't expect a call.
Once I've established a DSL connection that lasts, I'll update this review accordingly. If you reach the end of this piece and find no salve for your vicarious frustration, I'm sorry. At least you'll know that you should forego Telocity as your DSL provider.
Stay tuned.
UPDATE
Celebrated April Fools' Day by waiting forty minutes on hold for Telocity Tech Support. The initial message: "There are no known network outages at this time." Next message: "We are currently experiencing high call volume, resulting in extended hold time . . . " Can *anyone* get their Telocity DSL to work?
--asil
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 34.99
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Epinions.com ID:
asilrenrut
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Member: Lisa Turner
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 42
Trusted by: 77 members
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