Starband Satellite Internet Service will it ever work

Trying to determine if Starband will ever work.

Starband Satellite Internet Provider

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Date: Friday, October 12, 2001 05:01 PM Sent To: Email User 10/12/01 5:01:02 PM I have been a Starband 360 customer since September 1, 2001. I am a IT Architect for IBM and I work remotely. I am in a rural Georgia with only at 2400 dial in, so when Starband became an option I could not wait to get connected. I spend most of my day connected to a remote system working. After installing Sygate Office Network Software I finally figured out how to get the VPN issues corrected and now am able to connect to the office with diminshed speeds. When I orginally investigated Starband and spoke with some of there local reps I knew I want it. The reps stated I could get 5 time the speed of an ISDN with up to 500K download and 20 - 40k upload. Well I have now had the system for over 30 days and have only once trapped a signal over or equal to the 500k.

When I received my system the installer was very good, he reviewed the setup with me and asked what was my expectations. I explained how I worked and what I needed. Again, I was told this was the system for me. Well, the installation of the satelite and the merger of the LNB's for Dishnetwork went in without any problems. The installer tested the TV receivers and the signal was good. NOW THIS IS WHERE LIFE BECAME VERY BAD, AND I NOW HAVE THE GRAY HAIR TO PROVE IT. Gray Hair 1: The installer called and got the signal verifications from Starband technical support. We installed the 360 software onto my Windows 2000 Pro. The first install caused the system to hang and we had to uninstall then reinstall. The second time the install worked. Once loaded the installer started configuring the system with the Modem Cluster 4, Subcluster 2. All this seems to be going as scheduled but when we tried to get the system to link up it would not. After spending 1.5 hours on the phone with Starband Technical Support they determined that the transmitter had gone out. So here I sit with $788.00 worth of equipment that I can not use and am being told it would be up to 10 business days before I would receive the replacement part. Gray Hair 2: 10 Business days go by and I still have not received the replacement transmitter, so I call Starband. It seems that someone had not sent the paper work over to the right department so the replacement could be shipped out. I was put on hold for about 10 minutes then finally someone came on and apologized for this error and asked for my credit card. CREDIT CARD? I asked for what and they stated in case I did not send the old one back I would be charged $249.00 plus shipping and handling. Well I had no choice so that is what I did. The next day the transmitter arrived. I call Starband and asked if I could install this and they told me no, it had to be done my a licensed installer otherwise I would void my warrenty. So I call the install, it will be 2 day before they can get someone out. So here I sit 2.5 weeks after installation and still sitting with $788.00 of stuff that I can not use. Grey Hair 3: The installer comes out and put the new transmitter on. We bring up the system and still I can not get connected. We call Starband Techinical Support and after about 15 minutes they come back and tell me that the NEW 360 MODEM IS DEFECTIVE. They will ship a new one within 2-4 business days. So here I sit 2.5 weeks after installation and still sitting with $788.00 of stuff that I can not use. Grey Hair 4: Well the modem comes in and I installed it and to my suprise the system connectes and I was finally on line. Now the rest of the story starts. Grey Hair 5: I start using the system and find I am very slow. I call Starband technical support and after being on hold for 35 minutes I finally get someone. I explain the problem and they put me on hold. Ten minutes later they come back and tell me my signal was 25/10 and I need to have the installer come back out and reallign the satelite again. REALIGN THE SATELITE, HOW CAN IT BE UNALIGNED? So I call the installer and again it will be 2 day before he comes out. So here I sit 3 weeks after installation and still sitting with $788.00 of stuff that I can not use. Grey Hair 6: The installer comes out and spends less that 1 minutes at the satelite and turns the transponder one knotch to the right and calls Starband. They stated I was now aligned. So I start using the system. After about 1 hour I started running test to see what type of response I was getting well to my supprise PCPITSTOP stated I was getting around 761 KBytes per second. I thought well finally this is corrected and I am now going to be able to have fast internet service. Grey Hair 7: The next day PCPITSTOP showed my signal was 122 KBytes. How can it change so much within 18 hours so I call Starband. I get a NO HELPFUL HELP TECHNICAN who did not know his B*t* from a satelite receiver. He told me that I need to reinstall the software and reconfigure the satelite again. By this time I have reached my tolerence level. I tell the guy I have been sitting here with this system for 3.5 weeks and have yet to get it to work up to the specifications that Starband the there installers stated I would get. I asked to cancel the contract and was told that I ( by now ) had exceeded the 30 day period and I would have to pay for the system and the remaining months of internet service. Well to tell you instead of loosing it with this guy I hung up. Grey Hair 8: Well I started trying different things to see if I could determine what the problem was and they on 10/2/01 something must have been changed. All of a sudden I was getting up to 800 KBytes with upload of 30 KBytes. I again started monitoring the system and now after 9 days I am back down to around 300 KBytes. IF YOU CALL TECH SUPPORT THEY STATE IF YOU ARE GETTING 150 OR ABOVE THEN THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO.

WELL GUYS WHERE IS THE SPEED. I am now stuck with this system for 1 year and am waiting for Starband to live up to it expectations. The primary issue I have with Starband is its technical support and a company making promises to people and not standing behind them. I am very excited about this technology. My friends think it is great to have internet service through a satelite and ask how they can get it. I TELL THEM IT IS NOT WORTH THERE MONEY OR TIME. Poor speed and poor customer service I think is going to cause Starband to loose customers now that there are other companies coming out with better and faster satelite solutions. If this complaint ever reaches someone within Starband who really give a D*M* about there company I am willing to work and try to help resolve these issues because I have no choice for at least 1 year. Dale Bradley

Comment On This

I live remote Alaska, I waited 3 months for the installer to drive 80 miles to install mine, 2 days would of been great.

I installed the pole for the dish, I buried conduit to the house in August, showed up middle of Nov., after 20 phone calls excuses. By the it was 25 below and he couldn't get coax in 2" conduit, so left it on top of the ground and told me to do it in the spring.

2 people plus me, 3 hours time we have the dish mounted and coax run we are getting along by leaps and bounds now wrong. After 2 hours of trying to install it to my computer (not me)The installer wants to know where the disks that came with the computer(3 years old) are because there is something wrong and he want to reconfigure it I find them for him, hour later he tells that starband and DELL are not compatible. Now I have nothing, no computer, no Internet and I was charge $2,000.00 for this.

I won't even call starband tech without knowing I might be on phone for some time (hours). Some of there people are not the politest and assume we all are computer wizard. Don't get me wrong I have had 2 help me that were very helpful.

All this happened 2.5 years ago.

I had to come lower 48 for back surgery and didn't know how long before I would be able to return home so had starband shut down. Going home finally so I called Star band to find out what I had to do to get up and running the first of June, She told me she would reactivate my account and ready to go asked her to do it on the first, told me she had to do it now so I agreed. Been three days and still not working but I will guarantee the billing dept. is.

Star Band needs to train there installers and check on the work.

They have been the only show in town for toooooo many years.