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Death of an AT&T DSL Modem (Video)

If your Chicago AT&T DSL broadband Internet service is anything like mine, it probably drops out at the drop of a hat. Mine did so yet again today in the middle of a business day (I work from home), separating me from clients, email, and important remote documents. Like me, from time to time I bet you’ve fantasized about taking a hammer to your AT&T DSL modem in revenge, or at the very least, in disgust.

Today, I decided to dump AT&T and sign-up for 4G CLEAR Wimax service. As it turns out, Wimax service is spectacular from my 38th-floor downtown Chicago apartment–not to mention faster than my allegedly “pro” speed AT&T DSL. And then I finally went and got that hammer…

(Click the HQ button for a higher-quality video. RSS subscribers, click here to view the video on CHICAGO CARLESS.)

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Mike Doyle

I’m an #OpenlyAutistic gay, Hispanic, urbanist, Disney World fan, New York native, politically independent, Jewish blogger in Chicago. I believe in social justice, big cities, and public transit. I write words and raise money for nonprofits. I’ve written this blog since 2005. And counting...

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12 replies

  1. ??

    What the?

    They don’t offer Cable where you live, I’ve had horrible experience with Clear’s Wimax service down here in Atlanta, then again it just came here so, meh? Hopefull Sprint(Clear, yup same thing) works out for you, but for the time being I’ll stick with a cable modem+wireless for my needs.

  2. Hey Mike, thanks for the insight. I’ll be moving to Chicago (River North) in Jan/Feb and need to know about such things. I’m going Mac, I know you didn’t fancy it – – but what are you thoughts on the new all-in-one 2010 model? Any great brain tidbits for me? Can’t wait to pet your cat!!

  3. Thanks, Charles–and you’re welcome. Besides Wimax just working, right now I have that 1990s feeling of adopting “futuristic” new technology. Last time I felt this way, it was 2000 and I had just hooked my BellAtlantic 384 (!) DSL modem to my original iMac. Those were the days when you still had to sign-in to your DSL service to use it.

    DSL service was so bad back then, I complained to state regulators and got two free months out of BA. Then I switched to a cable modem. I thought I’d never look back at DSL–until I moved to Chicago, anyway. Almost 10 years later and I’m leaving DSL behind yet again for poor service.

    If phone companies can’t figure after 10 years how to provide reliable DSL broadband, then they shouldn’t be in the terrestrial broadband business. (Well, given my craptastic iPhone service–those Verizon commercials aren’t kidding!–at least one of them shouldn’t bother trying to foist wireless on consumers, either.)

  4. You’re my hero, Mike! I gave up on DSL over a year ago because of wiring problems. When it worked, I got 6 megabits, but it dropped so often the bandwidth was useless. I’ve been stuck with this slow-ass cable modem since then.

    I had read about the Clear service, but was hesitant to make an investment since I didn’t know about reception in our towers. Now that I know it works well for you, I’m placing an order today. Thanks for the info.

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