What using AT&T’s 768kbps DSL is like in 2020—yes, it’s awful
AT&T DSL nearly unusable and being phased out, but it’s the only option for some. …
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Millions of Americans live in broadband deserts with no access to anything resembling modern Internet service. But few people have it as bad as those who must rely on AT&T’s ancient DSL network.
Kathie McNamee of Raymond, Mississippi is one of those unlucky AT&T DSL customers. McNamee said she pays AT&T $35 a month for an up-to-768kbps Internet plan that rarely works well enough to be usable for her, her husband, and two teenage sons. McNamee contacted Ars after reading a story about AT&T incorrectly claiming that certain homes in Mississippi had access to broadband when in fact AT&T isn’t capable of providing service to those addresses.
AT&T has received over $283 million from the Federal Communications Commission since 2015 to extend home-Internet service to over 133,000 potential customer locations in Mississippi. AT&T says it will exceed that requirement by the end-of-2020 deadline, but the company’s mapping mistakes have led to unpleasant surprises for customers who thought they’d get modern broadband.
McNamee and her husband bought their house about two years ago. She told Ars that AT&T told them in advance they could get U-verse Internet service of about 5Mbps. That’s slow by modern standards, but it would have been a lot better than what AT&T ultimately provided.
“The technician comes out here and he’s doing his thing and he said, ‘first of all, you’re not eligible for U-verse. It doesn’t exist out here,'” McNamee told Ars. “Looking at the tests he was running, he said, ‘you’re not going to get 5Mbps. I
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