Anyone an AT&T Service Tech or Engineer

[pitt2magic]

Odd request I know but heres the problem. We have been trying to get DSL at our house for some time. We live in the middle of nowhere but it is finally available to us. We have been told that it will not work at our home because there are load coils on our line. We asked them if they could send someone out to remove them and qualify our line for DSL. We were told that they were not allowed to dispatch someone out for that even if we wanted to pay for a service call. They did tell us that if we say a AT&T truck anywhere that we were more than welcome to stop and ask them to come to our house.The whole situation is pretty crazy. We are willing to pay for a service call and once our line is qualified for DSL we would be paying AT&T twice what we do now but they are not willing t help us.

If any of you are, or know someone that works for them that can help us I am willing to make it worth your/their time.

[pitt2magic]

Guess I should add that im in the Chattanooga area.

[Guest JHatmaker]

I worked for AT&T for 6 years, so hearing something like this doesn't surprise me. I took a package this past December so I don't work there anymore, but still have numerous contacts from the BellSouth days. I'll see what I can do.

[Guest Nash45]

Hello,

I do work in the telecom field. I would need as much info as possible because "load coils" as a problem doesnt make sense to me. I believe it is an excuse for a different issue. I will try to help and direct if I can. Do you have any other info?? Give me as much as you possibly can.

Carson

Columbia, TN

[Curiousgb]

Hello,

I do work in the telecom field. I would need as much info as possible because "load coils" as a problem doesnt make sense to me. I believe it is an excuse for a different issue. I will try to help and direct if I can. Do you have any other info?? Give me as much as you possibly can.

Carson

Columbia, TN

Definition of: load coil

A device placed into a telephone circuit between the end office and the subscriber to step up the voltage and compensate for signal loss due to bridged taps. The load coil is an inductive device that acts as a high-frequency choke and must be removed if the line is converted to high-speed digital use. As digital service (digital loop carrier) is moved closer to the customer and the analog lines become shorter, load coils are no longer required. See bridged tap.

They do need to be removed. Why ATT won't do the work is a mystery. I would apply the "squeaky wheel" to this problem. Bitch and moan until you get somebody will to do their job. The whole, "if you see a truck out your way" thing is bizarre. Those guys are running tickets and won't be able to stop or divert to something that they haven't been "dispatched" to.

[Guest Spuds]

I'm in the area, next county over. I got DSL from AT&T just over a year ago, August 2008. If I had it to do over again, I think, despite my hatred for cable operators, I'd go with cable internet.

AT&T is not the company I grew up knowing. They use offers laden with conditions and fine print to solicit business that are worse than any Philadelphia lawyer could ever come up with, and then deny rebates without reason. I had their rebate people lie to me when I had one of their "executive escalation" peope on the line, they promised the rebate in the full amount, and then sent half--they lied to their own people!

Their service sucks as well. Took 3 calls to get someone out to fix a problem--they kept canceling the service call saying it was a problem in the area--it wasn't. Last week or week before, it was down throughout the whole area.

I hate cable and their shady billing also, but they are johnny-on-the-spot with service.

[pitt2magic]

They do need to be removed. Why ATT won't do the work is a mystery. I would apply the "squeaky wheel" to this problem. Bitch and moan until you get somebody will to do their job. The whole, "if you see a truck out your way" thing is bizarre. Those guys are running tickets and won't be able to stop or divert to something that they haven't been "dispatched" to.

My thoughts exactly. I have called a half dozen times, each time taking 1-2 hours, multiple transfers to people that make me start my story over from the beginning. I dont understand why I have to beg them to let me spend my money with them. If I have another choice I wouldnt bother but Comcast want $20K to run cable to my house and satelite internet sucks. We have been using a Verizon wireless card for 2 years and it makes for a pretty slow home network. My neighbor ordered DSL the same week as me and his had been working perfectly for a month now. Im pretty ticked that i cant get anywhere with AT&T and thought i would put it out to TGO for some advice or maybe one of you might know someone with connection to AT&T. Im willing to pay for it and the amount of money that I would be giving them a month would almost double, you would think they would want to help.

[Guest JHatmaker]

Once AT&T bought BellSouth (it wasn't a merger no matter how many times they told us), it was like someone flipped a switch. The service got worse, things got more complicated to do, just so many changes from BellSouth. If you think it's bad trying to work with them as a consumer, it's even worse trying to deal with them internally. No one wants to do anything more than they have to, and navigating through all the different departments is borderline impossible...

[Loon160T]

If you don't want to mess with AT&T's attitude, I'd recommend Verizon's Broadband. I don't even remotely have DSL available and I've been using Verizon for nearly two years with no complaints.

[pitt2magic]

If you don't want to mess with AT&T's attitude, I'd recommend Verizon's Broadband. I don't even remotely have DSL available and I've been using Verizon for nearly two years with no complaints.

we use a Verizon air card ran through a USB router which gives me a wireless network but it isnt that fast and isnt capable of doing some of the things I want to do like stream netflix movies from PC to TV. I just keep telling myself that it really cant be this difficult to get DSL but so far Im wrong.

[Loon160T]

we use a Verizon air card ran through a USB router which gives me a wireless network but it isnt that fast and isnt capable of doing some of the things I want to do like stream netflix movies from PC to TV. I just keep telling myself that it really cant be this difficult to get DSL but so far Im wrong.

I've never tried the Netflix but I have watched streaming video of TV shows without too many issues (occasional lag based on time of day). I guess it depends on your Verizon coverage.

[Guest -BeanHead-]

My thoughts exactly. I have called a half dozen times, each time taking 1-2 hours, multiple transfers to people that make me start my story over from the beginning. I dont understand why I have to beg them to let me spend my money with them. If I have another choice I wouldnt bother but Comcast want $20K to run cable to my house and satelite internet sucks. We have been using a Verizon wireless card for 2 years and it makes for a pretty slow home network. My neighbor ordered DSL the same week as me and his had been working perfectly for a month now. Im pretty ticked that i cant get anywhere with AT&T and thought i would put it out to TGO for some advice or maybe one of you might know someone with connection to AT&T. Im willing to pay for it and the amount of money that I would be giving them a month would almost double, you would think they would want to help.

Comcast..... I really wonder sometimes if i just have bad luck? I moved into a house thats been built for a couple of years, had comcast come out and hook up HD tv, phone and the fastest internet... problems after problems.. everytime One thing or another goes out ill call them and request someone come out and look at it, the next day they call, ask someone else if the tv works.. and yes it does, then they say ok, your apointment has been canceled, then you try to tell them its the internet, not working and they try to charge me to come out and look at it??!! its there service.. equiptment... ect. I finally got someone to come out and fix there problem after a total of 16 phone calls.. if i had other options i would diffently take them. I CAN'T SAND comcast customer service.. sorry had to vent.. i just got this problem fixed, GO Direct TV

[pitt2magic]

I have direct TV and love it. I need broadband internet. My Verizon air card is fine for surfing the net and hanging out on TGO but their monthly access limits really wont allow for me to steam movies and TV on my network without going over my allowance and getting charged. Hopefully someone from AT&T can help but Imnot holding my breath.

[Guest PapaB]

I dont understand why I have to beg them to let me spend my money with them.

Danger Will Robinson, danger! Run for your life.

If you think you're having trouble now, try to imagine the service when they're getting your money. Is this how you want to spend your days ----->

[enfield]

AT&T is turning into Ma Bell again - whodathunkit?

They promised me DSL by the end of 2007 and then by the end of 2008. Now they don't promise it at all. Don't have cable available either. I have a fiber optic cable running thru the corner of my yard, yet I'm on dialup.

I've cancelled all of my service with AT&T except for bare-bones service (sat tv needs a phone line). I don't even have caller id or long-distance service anymore.

Screw 'em!

Edited September 21, 2009 by enfield

[dariks]

I've cancelled all of my service with AT&T except for bare-bones service (sat tv needs a phone line). I don't even have caller id or long-distance service anymore.

I have had DirectTV for several years and not had any phone line attached to the receiver.

[Guest JHatmaker]

The phone line is needed to order movies directly from your remote vs having to call in, otherwise you can unplug it.

[oldogy]

Yeah, the phone line to my Direct TV was unhooked soon as the installation tec left.

I worked for a company that was purchased by AT&T in the early 1990s. Talk about a culture shock. I could not imagine such a management bloated company as AT&T. The technicians were union and we from the old company could not believe how little work the tecs actually did compared to our tecs doing the same job. Makes a feller with any kind of a work ethic want to scream and some of us did. Oh well, I got a fair retirement package out of the deal.

oldogy

[enfield]

Dish Network uses the phone line for software and/or programming updates, rather than downloading them from the bird. They threaten to charge you extra per month if you don't have a phone line attached.

Basic land-line service is still much cheaper per month than a cell plan. I was paying about $200/month for our 2 cell phones before I converted mine to a pre-paid plan. Heck, I accumulated 30 minutes of calls (in and out) in 2 years of usage so I sure wasn't getting MY money's worth.

However, it's my wife's favorite toy . . .

I also like to have a land-line phone (not wireless) around in case of power failures. I've been thru a couple of week-long, large-area power outages and cell phones are not useful in those circumstances.

Edited September 21, 2009 by enfield

[Chucktshoes]

Comcast..... I really wonder sometimes if i just have bad luck? I moved into a house thats been built for a couple of years, had comcast come out and hook up HD tv, phone and the fastest internet... problems after problems.. everytime One thing or another goes out ill call them and request someone come out and look at it, the next day they call, ask someone else if the tv works.. and yes it does, then they say ok, your apointment has been canceled, then you try to tell them its the internet, not working and they try to charge me to come out and look at it??!! its there service.. equiptment... ect. I finally got someone to come out and fix there problem after a total of 16 phone calls.. if i had other options i would diffently take them. I CAN'T SAND comcast customer service.. sorry had to vent.. i just got this problem fixed, GO Direct TV

NO, you don't have bad luck, unless you call having comcast bad luck. I never imagined that cable service could be worse than time warner, then comcast took over. The wife and I canceled our cable service but kept the internet, they kept trying to charge us for the full package for 2 months after wards. Which is why we just shut it all off and they haven't and won't get a dime more from me until they correct those charges.