DIRECTV Broadband Shuts Down

Phroggy writes "Effective today (Friday the 13th), DIRECTV Broadband is officially out of business. The company will remain partially operational for the next 60 to 90 days, and we will work to transition our roughly 160,000 customers to another provider. Details are still sketchy. So, anybody gonna be hiring in the Portland area in a couple months?" There's a press release about the shutdown.

Comments

How sudden?

[benzapp]

I swear I saw advertisements for DirecTV DSL just the other day. Is this sudden or what?

Re:How sudden?

[Phroggy]

I swear I saw advertisements for DirecTV DSL just the other day. Is this sudden or what?

Yes, it was VERY sudden. Rumors and speculation was sort of going around this week (directors disappearing for off-site meetings, hmmm...) but before this morning, nobody had any idea it would happen like this. The marketing department is gone now, of course, but wouldn't have pulled the ads before today (if they have yet).

It was the name that did it!

[wumarkus420]

Not too big of a surprise. You have no idea how many times people would ask me (sys admin) about internet connections and DirecTV-DSL came up. Of course the number one question - DOES IT WORK OVER THE SATELLITE!!!??? People could never get past the DirecTV name, and therefore seemed to shy away from the service because they were either confused or thought they had to subscribe to satellite service to get the service. The term "DSL" means nothing to anybody but people like us. To everyone else, they only look at the DirecTV part and make assumptions on that. I mean, their satellite service is named DIRECWAY - that's a hell of a lot more separation than DIRECTVDSL. Of course, they probably thought the name would be the selling point - but unfortunately, DSL and satellite service don't mix.

Re:It was the name that did it!

[drinkypoo]

400kbps is not very fast anyway. You have to provide people at least 768k or they will be saying "man, my friends with DSL (and/or cable) can download more than TWICE as fast as I can." 300kbps is DEFINITELY not fast enough. 128kbps is enough upstream, almost everyone has to settle for that, except most attbi customers who (like me) get 256kbps up.

Incidentally I don't see why you would have to use their software which splits traffic. Basic routing should take care of that, as long as your ISP is not blocking traffic from random routable IP addresses which come from your IP address. Since you are speaking TCP/IP over PPP (in almost every case) on a modem link to an ISP, as long as the machine with the outbound connection is forwarding packets between interfaces (IE, it is a router) you ought to have no problems sending out that traffic.

However if they are blocking traffic from other IPs there is another solution, use a VPN to some asset of the satellite ISP who then relays your requests - this is slow and costs more, and I think doing bidirectional satellite is the only reasonable solution. Sure, you can't play games over it, but only a poorly designed web application will bitch about two seconds of seemingly random lag, which is a common occurence on every home internet link I've ever heard of. If your web app chokes because someone has a 2 second lag time on top of the usual lag one sees on the 'net, your web app is poorly designed.

Making the Tech job market harder?

[Helios292]

So, how large was their employee base?

What does this bode for folks in nearby cities (like Seattle, for example) who are currently battling an already shitty tech market?

-Unemployed in Seattle

Just posted this myself...

[da3dAlus]

...but it looks like I was beat to the punch. Oh well.

I JUST signed up with DTV DSL, and my gateway was in the mail as of yesterday. I'm really pissed, but at the same time I really feel for those hundreds of folks that came to work just to find out they didn't have jobs anymore.

I am a bit pissed that not a single email has been sent out about this. Apparently people are just finding out via forums, and now /. has the news. If anyone has info, or is in the same boat as me, please post any news you get about returning your gateway and dropping service before it begins. I figure it'd just be easier to wipe my hands of the service before it even begins, and sign up with someone else.

Thanks, and good luck to those who were laid off.

Re:Sad, but necessary

[Phroggy]

Unfortunately, this was largely due to the large amounts of bandwidth unfairly utilized by the "power users" of the network, who used applications such as KazAA and Napster most likely to pirate music and other questionable activities.

This was not the problem. The main problem was having to do business with ILECs, which are monopolies that compete against us. A secondary problem was some not-so-bright management decisions, and not being able to offer value-added services (and collect additional revenue) because the main database system was designed by morons.

It is sad that we will no longer be able to get satellite TV here because a few people using DSL had to ruin it for everyone else by getting greedy.

Huh? DirecTV Broadband has nothing to do with DirecTV satelite.

Why can't people just take what they need, instead of running off with everything that isn't nailed down?

Because they're offered unlimited service.

Re:DSL?

[Didion Sprague]

About two or three years ago, Hughes bought out Telocity and rebranded Telocity as DirecTV DSL.

It was about that same time that (IIRC) Rhythms went under. Anyway, I remember I had something like 30 days to find another DSL provider because Telocity (now DirecTV) would no longer run on my Rhythms line. Too bad -- because it was SDSL 1500/1500. Pretty nice speed actually.

Anyway, I ended up going to Speakeasy and haven't had a problem. I pay twice as much, though -- almost 100 bucks a month.

*shrug*

So it goes.

Re:Well...

[Phroggy]

For those of us who do tech support and sometimes run into DirecTV broadband issues, can I just say, yippee!

What issues? In general, the service rocked - static IP, standard Ethernet with DHCP (with USB also available, bleh), easy setup (if you don't like the installer or don't run Windows, just point your browser to http://10.5.1.2/ and enter your phone number, and the gateway configures itself with all your settings).

Their Modem/fake router

[McFly69]

Does this mean I stil have to mail them their modem or I get to keep it permently? I would nto mind keeping it so I can hack around with it. Any ideas? Can it be used as a normal DSL modem?


The funny thing is.. there is a sticker on it and it still says Telocity.com on it.

I would start a class action lawsuit

[cdf12345]

I would seek a "cancellation fee", hell the wireless and satelite companies have been doing it to us for years, now it's time to get one back.

Why is it ok for them to charge us to cancel but they can stop providing service at a moments notice and not be liable.

Kind of a double standard.

And yes I know it's probably written somewhere in the contacts that they are not liable.. blah blah blah. It's simply unfair to the consumer.

too bad

[nomadicGeek]

They saved me from low bandwidth hell a couple of years ago. They were the first to offer broadband service to my house.

$50/month with a static IP address. Hughes spent some money when they bought Telocity. When I first got the service (Telocity days) there were a lot of dropped packets and a few problems but it was better than nothing. Over the last year, it has been great. Never goes down, fast transfers.

I guess I need to go find a new provider now. Good luck finding a static IP for $50/month. At least I write off the service as a business expense so Uncle Sam takes part of the hit as well. Serves them right for their dipshit telecom policies.

WHATEVER you do... avoid the FAP!!!

[TheGreenGoogler]

Stay away from Hughes "Directway" Sattelite Internet!!! They have a policy affectionately known as "FAP" (Fair access policy) that effectively turns your "high speed" connection into something closer to dialup... for more information, see this page.

Re:Well...

[Phroggy]

You work for them right? Concerning the Telocity modem/fake routers that we use currently, for the services, can you tell us how we can mod them in order to use its routing capabilities? I am going to assume, that directv will lets the consumers keep them. What are your thoughts on this?

I'd assume they'll let everyone keep them - they're basically worthless on any other network, and why pay for the return shipping? They're not fake routers, they're real routers - you'll notice you're on your own 4-IP subnet. It's the option to enable NAT that you're interested in, which I won't tell you how to enable. Not that it matters much, but I do still have a job.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Sad, but necessary

[z84976]

I've been through a lot of providers in the last 2 and half years (phoenixdsl sdsl, megapath sdsl, telocity sdsl, and directvdsl most recently, all "ceasing service" for one reason or another), and have just (luckily, and by chance) signed up for speakeasy dsl to replace my directvdsl (sorry speakeasy customers, this may doom them too). So far, speakeasy has been great, even though the service was due to work as of today and does not yet. But overall, even with the bellsouth-provided hardships I had with directvdsl, I have to say their tech support people were by far the best I've ever encountered. A particular one named "Erin" was the best broadband techie individual I've ever experienced. In this day of really really really lousy tech support (bellsouth, bellsouth, bellsouth and bellsouth) they were a shining beacon of hope. Hate to see them go, even though I was about to cancel anyway (speakeasy gives me adsl with 2 static ips and better upload). Good luck to their tech support dept.

Cyberonic 1500/768 Static IP No Port Blocks

[meehawl]

Speakeasy is a good service, but expensive, and upload is capped at 128K (Covad) for low-end residential ADSL vs SDSL.

Replace DirectTV DSL with Cyberonic (Worldcom/UUNet reseller)...
1500/768, static IP, no port blocking, $40/$50
http://www.cyberonic.com/int_for_home_dsl.shtml

There are consumer reviews of their service here:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/

I had Speakeasy for two years, excellent, but pricey. With Cyberonic (dumb name!) I get similar pings to my Speakeasy SDSL, and massive uploads.

I don't know what you are talking about.

[twitter]

You say that you were charged for service that you did not recieve. That's nothing like what happened to me. Telocity/DirectTV killed my charges immediatly when I told them I was going to discontinue my service, and tollerated me hanging onto my modem for months. They were always polite and considerate. You then say,

F*ck You, DIRECTV... Thank God that AT&T/Comcast will finally be completing their broadband upgrade in my city next month.

You will be sorry. We all know what kind of service you get from the local bell. If it were not for them selling my number to telemarketers, I'd never consider paying them for an unlisted number or any of the other expensive anti-anoyance so many fools feel compeled to purchase. Read their ToS, weep, and know it will get worse as their competitors die off. Ever heard the phrase, "You can't fight the phone company"? You will come to learn what it means. Just try telling the local Bell to fuck off, it might be a federal crime.

Damn. It was the best broadband provider around.

[toybuilder]

For my situation, Telocty (aka DirecTVDSL) was the best deal from technical and economic standpoints. Damn. They offered rock-solid static IP service that was down for only 2 hours out of the last two years. Damn. Their autoconfiguring routers were a joy to use and get up and running. Damn. I really don't want to go to SBC/PacificBell(SpecificHell) for my connectivity. Oh gawd no. Damn.

Doesn't surprise me at all

[MattTC]

Service.

I have a little horror story of my own about these guys. About 7 months ago, my internet stopped working. I called up DirecTV and ask them why...they say because my credit card had been declined. I say oh right, I forgot to tell you I switched cards...here, have my new card number.

Here is where it got ludicrous

"I'm sorry sir, I can't reactivate your account. You'll have to go through the 4-week provisioning process again."

"What! Why? I already have the equipment."

"Because your account has been cancelled."

"Why?"

"Because its been three months since your card worked."

"So why didn't you notify me, or turn off the service before cancelling my account entirely?"

"I don't know sir."

"So you won't turn my account back on?"

"No."

"Then why should I pay you?"

"Uh..."

I went round and round with them for an hour, with exactly no results. I'm now using Earthlink DSL...and I kind of like PPPoE, even if I don't get a static IP anymore.