Is SBC Yahoo selling more good product than they have? Or just a bad month?

Well I think the smileys about sum up how I'm feeling about SBC Yahoo today.. no... for the
last 3 days... no... for the better part of 3 weeks now. :-|The timing couldn't be worse either.
I've been playing Mr.Installer on the cheap for several people in the last 2 1/2 months who
defined getting the "Self Install Package" as Getting someone besides themselves to install the package.

And I had a pretty good opinion of the SBC Yahoo deal schpeal since it came out in our area a couple years back starting at $34.95 then. (384Kbps-1.5Mbps) When I only had 1 other choice Earthlink at $50. But today I'm here because it hasn't been working out so good.

I was able to get started installing on March 9 which was 2 days after the date they set for
it to be active through no fault of mine. I set it up only to find the SBC Yahoo Registration servers were down. After trying for 6 hours and calling support who wasn't aware of the problem I guess. & Insisted it was on our end.. Until my call the next afternoon when they admited there was problems. It's bad enough they try to force you to have to use thier bloated buggy software by insisting that's the only way to get a screen name. NOT TRUE. There's web based registration they tell me after 3 days of no registration servers. Oh that's nice. I could have walked across the street and been done with it but no... Keep me on the phone recycling the modem.

:evil6:Any way here's the deal we got. Standard lately

1 Dynamic IP address
Downstream - 384Kbps -1.5Mbps
Upstream - 128 - 384Kbps

SPECIAL OFFER
Order either one of our dynamic packages online for a one-year term -- SBC Yahoo! DSL
Express ($19.95 per month) -- and receive a $99 Instant Credit toward a $149 SBC Yahoo! DSL Wireless Home Networking kit, a $179 laptop Home Networking bundle or a $99 DSL modem (taxes and a $12.95 shipping and handling fee apply). Plus, get FREE activation and a FREE self-installation kit. Other monthly charges apply. See below. Offer available for a limited time. $200 early termination fee if you bale out before the year is up.

You will also be charged a monthly FUSF (Federal Universal Service Fund) cost recovery fee
to help cover charges from our data transport supplier pursuant to state and federal telecom
regulations. This fee is not a tax or government required charge. ? $HOW MUCH IS FUSF $? UNKNOWN$?.

At end of term, then-current monthly rate applies. $150-$200 additional charge if technician
install is required or desired. *$19.95 promotional pricing available for new SBC Yahoo! DSL residential customers who purchase the DSL Express service. Offer only valid for orders placed online at www.sbc.com or through the Yahoo! online web affiliate channel; other third party channels excluded.

Standard Features

More Security
Pop-Up Blocker to help keep annoying ads at bay
Parental controls customizable to your preferences
Firewall software to help shield your computer from unauthorized access
SpamGuard to help keep unwanted email from clogging your inbox
Email virus protection software
Unlimited nationwide dialup Internet access
Personalized SBC Yahoo! DSL home page
Customized SBC Yahoo! DSL browser
SBC Yahoo! Photos with unlimited online storage
SBC Yahoo! Briefcase with up to 760 MB of online storage
Three Consumer Reports® guides
Better Communication

Enhanced email - SBC Yahoo! Mail PLUS
at no extra cost with 2 GB of storage, POP access and
email forwarding
Up to 10 additional SBC Yahoo! Mail accounts with 250 MB of storage each, POP access and email forwarding
SBC Yahoo! Messenger with high-quality video
Plus, you'll get to pick two extra premium services at no additional charge - pick one from

category A and one from category B. The complete lists will be available during registration
and include great features such as:

Category A - choose 1
SBC Yahoo! Games All-Star package
SBC Yahoo! Briefcase storage - 150 MB extra
Email Marketing Trial
Category B - choose 1

SBC Yahoo! Briefcase storage - 500 MB extra
Online Bill Pay - 5 payments per months (from 750+ company payee list)
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
AntiVirus Software (protects entire PC from harmful viruses)
In addition to all of that, you'll also get 20% off the list price for 1 full year on three

additional premium services such as:
Entertainment

SBC Yahoo! Games All-Star Subscription - 1 month, 3 months or a full year
SBC Yahoo! Games On-Demand - play PC games on your desktop
Professional & Finance

SBC Yahoo! Connected.com Online Backup Service
AntiVirus Software (protects entire PC from harmful viruses)
Email Marketing Trial
SBC Yahoo! Finance Real-Time Package (Real-Time Quotes, News, Market Commentary)
SBC Yahoo! Finance Research Reports
Life Management & Family

SBC Yahoo! Personals ClubConnect membership – 1 month, 3 months or a full year
Consumer Reports - Auto Hub - 90-day access
Consumer Reports - Full Access - one-year subscription
SBC Yahoo! Briefcase Storage - 50 MB extra per year
SBC Yahoo! Briefcase Storage - 100 MB extra per year

It all sounds good but it's been intermittant connection wise on a daily basis and never
faster than today. This minute anyway it's as good as it's ever been speed wise.
And that aint good.

::::::::::.. Download Stats ..::::::::::
Connection is:: 638 Kbps about 0.6 Mbps (tested with 2992 kB)
Download Speed is:: 78 kB/s
Tested From:: http://www.testmy.net/
Test Time:: Mon Apr 4 21:25:34 PDT 2005
Bottom Line:: 11X faster than 56K 1MB download in 13.13 sec
Diagnosis: May need help : running at only 44.83 % of your hosts average (pacbell.net)
Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-ABH4DCELM

::::::::::.. Upload Stats ..::::::::::
Connection is:: 248 Kbps about 0.2 Mbps (tested with 2992 kB)
Upload Speed is:: 30 kB/s
Tested From:: http://www.testmy.net/
Test Time:: Mon Apr 4 21:21:00 PDT 2005
Bottom Line:: 4X faster than 56K 1MB upload in 34.13 sec
Diagnosis: Looks Great : 2.9 % faster than the average for host (pacbell.net)
Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-SN2ULPGXR

BUT I've got a couple dozen of these. results straight from SBC's connection test page.
These particular ones.... this morning.
IMPRESSIVELY SLOW OR WHAT?
DOWNSTREAM : 4.41 Kbps
UPSTREAM: 37.53 Kbps

So what's got me so pissed? It's Not my DSL, ...screwin up right?
Besides looking like a total loser who can't plug in a few cables and fill in a few dialog
boxes.?

Well before I gave up all hope that the problems were isolated incidents combined with a
deteriorating line or whatever on the phone co.'s side of the game.
(I think that because I hooked a 6 foot line with a jack directly to the box to rule out the
house wiring. Along with trying another PC that worked fine at the neighbors. Along with another dsl modem. and cabels. And read up on every piece of hardware that I could think of. Updated everything software wise. Disabled all the common problem software like antivirus and firewalls. Checked for spy/mal/Ad ware.

I know it's not on my end. Finally got a trouble ticket upgrade and they said they checked
the line and fixed it. Unfortunately I got a message so had no chance to ask how they went
about fixing it. I just assumed it was true and returned later to finish it up. It connected
but it's never seen half of 1.5 Kbps!!

So I call and ask what they did & is that as good as it's gonna get? If I ordered the next
level up would I get the $20 speed at least? Or can they just not do it?That's when they
remind you that it's a best effort service like described in the small print in the agreement. Hey I know it's not gonna be racing at 1.49 Kbps 24 hours a day 365 a year. But
there's 2 people in a 1 block radius that have the same service but they got in at $26.95 &
$29.95. The guy who had paid $29.95 had the year run out so he called to cancel because they were offering it for $26.95. He wasn't unhappy with it but for the same money as regular Yahoo full priced, Earthlink was faster. Yea they decided to offer him another year and the price went down to $26.95. Anyway there's both works fine.

What my problem is..... I just went for the $20 deal a week a go. It's due to be hooked up
this coming Friday. Hey for the money I guess I still would have taken it over dial up even if 384 Kbps was the top limit range. Better than $23.95 for dial up from aol or something. Unfortunately if you've ever "Power Cycled' your DSL modem before which is the first thing they always say to try when it's screwing up. You'd know it takes as long to do as dialing up, even longer. So I can't live with this intermittant connection crap.

I'm to hooked on the good stuff. . After my neighbor let me throw my wireless router on her pc and mooch free wireless Earthlink for a good long spell which she lays out $50 bucks a month for. Now I can barely stand looking at a dial up modem let alone use one.

Makes me wanna hunt down whoever the brain surgeon was that made the decision to develop further Dial up technology instead of letting it go the way of the 8 track tape. If I was King of course. We'd have started out with DSL. And the guy who came up with analog modems for an idea would be rotting in my dungeon. But then maybe I'd let him slide. They do make good instruments of torcher. God all the phone calls I've missed and minutes I've wasted dialing up. Now Yahoo seems to have come up with a product that as of today makes even dial up look good. I guess I'll look at the bright side. At least Yahoo comes with free unlimited dial up. I guess I could use it and still be able to tell people I have DSL. Just hope they don't stop by to download anything.