[lug] Off topic-Flashcom DSL??

[Neal McBurnett]

On Dec 28, 10:31, Moore, Kevin L <klmoore at ball.com> wrote:
> 	Just found out that Flashcom can give me sdsl at a reasonable price
> after US West couldn't do it at all, and Covad wanted an arm and a leg for
> it. Does anybody have any experience with these guys? If so, care to
> enlighten me? Thanks.....Kevin

Thanks for the heads-up.

First - a great resource is
	http://DSLReports.com/
They consolidate availability information from many services, estimate
distances, provide user feedback on the various servers, etc.

I just called Flashcom and they say they can service me also.  But I have
reasons to be very cautious about that claim.

Note that it looks like Flashcom uses Covad at least in my area (Table
Mesa CO), thru USWest lines.  And it seems that Covad only provides
DSL service, not ISP service.

Other providers in Colorado are more highly rated by DSLreports than
Flashcom (Speakyeasy.net, iNYC.com, Concentric, etc).

Speakeasy has the highest rating, and is now offering (for a one-year
contract) free installation, free modem and free first month.  They
take no money up front (don't even ask for a credit card number) until
the service is working!!  After that, $59.95/month for 384/128
service.

I've asked USwest in the past, and they at first said I could
get service, then backed off of that.  I just called them again
and they just said the test still returns "no" for an answer.
But they couldn't say why (probably too far)....

The person I talked to at Flashcom (Trey) gave me answers that
conflict with what is on their web page.  E.g. I asked if I could
do my own NAT or run my own servers.  He asked someone else, then
said sure, no problem.  But their Terms and Conditions PDF document
says:

 Restrictions: SoloSurfer and SoloSurfer Express Customers agree not
 to use any servers in conjunction with the Services, including but
 not limited to, electronic mail, NAT, DHCP and DNS servers. In the
 event any SoloSurfer or SoloSurfer Express Customer attempts to
 utilize a server on the network, Flashcom may, at its sole
 discretion, increase the fees associated with the Services, or
 terminate the Services.

Huh - some clueless lawyer wrote that!  But I assume they mean
you can't "run" any servers, since an Internet connection that
didn't let you "use" any servers would be a bit pointless....

Speakeasy has no such restrictions and provides up to 4 static IPs
at the same price:
	http://www.speakeasy.net/dsl/

Their main web site is http://www.Flashcom.com/

DSLReports assessment of Flashcom is lower than US West:
http://www.dslreports.com/r3/dsl/zagat#285
 Some horror stories: "I never had so many problems getting
 connected". Technical support is "horrible", "they say they'll call
 back, and they dont", Flashcom sales reps are "variable" in quality
 of information they have. "Reliability seems good" as "long as you
 don't need tech support". Holding times can be long, "unless you call
 at night". "The price is still very good" though. In getting
 connected, some people "must be lucky", others "would rather chew on
 tinfoil.."  Cheers,

And there is a string of "I waited forever, haven't gotten service,
and now they want to charge me $250 to cancel" stories at

	http://www.dslreports.com/r3/dsl/comments/285

Be careful out there!

I think I'm going to go with Speakeasy - hard to beat their story
and their price is lower than most.

Cheers,

Neal McBurnett <nealmcb at bell-labs.com>  303-538-4852 Denver
Bell Labs / Lucent Technologies
http://bcn.boulder.co.us/~neal/      (with PGP key)