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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.
For those of us who do tech support and sometimes run into DirecTV broadband issues, can I just say, yippee!
DirecTV is the only residential provider in my area that provides static IP, hopefully i'll run across somewhere else. btw the support phone number has a message basically saying that they are shutting down within the next 30 days and to please not call them anymore.
Please keep in my that my ADHD keeps me a little scatter brained and I sometimes can't focus long enough to
I dunno why they posted this under "Ask Slashdot", but here's some more info:
DSLReports (forum)
DirecTV DSL (info for customers)
Press Release from Hughes (parent company of DirecTV)
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Well, here's their customer FAQ that explains a lot.
Kill Trolls Dead. Here's
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.
I got to reading some other headlines about broadband companies. This got me to thinking -- is anyone doing well in this market right now?!
... Satellites, digital subscriber lines and cable modems are the three ...
... DirecTV Broadband, based in Cupertino, was acquired by Hughes in April ... it's working ...
... help ISPs stimulate the UK broadband market, which has already boomed over the last ...
...
... necessary because he has heard residents complain about the lack of options from ...
... why doesn't BT act as a branded reseller for third-party cable service providers? ... Instead ...
This is really upsetting because broadband is so important to so many people these days. Geeks, eBay'ers, etc. need to be connected, and ISPs, telcos, etc. don't seem to be able to provide fairly cheap, reliable service.
Hughes shutdown strands broadband users
CNET News.com - 8 minutes ago
major ways Web providers deliver broadband to homes and offices.
Hughes to close terrestrial broadband operation
Bizjournals.com - 1 hour ago
toward transitioning existing customers to alternative service providers.
Hughes Shuttering a Fast ISP Unit - TheStreet.com
Broadband prices to rise in early 2003
ZDNet.co.uk, UK - 7 hours ago
12 months. "Recent advertising campaigns from BT and its service providers
BTw in new year ADSL promo - The Register
AOL's Iffy Broadband Deals
InternetNews.com - 12 Dec 2002
But the hefty carriage fees it faces from cable providers add up to iffy
prospects for making money off broadband, consumer advocates say.
The Layoffs That Stole Christmas - Washington Post
AOL's Iffy Broadband Deals - InternetNews.com
AOL's Parsons: "This Isn't Terminal" - BusinessWeek
Local cable TV, Internet choices debated
Hampton Union, NH - 7 hours ago
AT&T Broadband and Comcast, the town's current Internet and cable providers.
BT fails to make the connection
CW360.com, UK - 14 hours ago
of waiting until the local level of demand for broadband justifies an
Yeah, they have a tech support call center out here in Beaverton just down the street from Stream (where I work). Apparently they took everybody into a room, unplugged all the phones, and sent them all home.
"Bold as Love"
...but it looks like I was beat to the punch. Oh well.
/. 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.
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
Thanks, and good luck to those who were laid off.
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
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.
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I highly recommend speakeasy if you need another option. The provide good service and have the smoothest installation I've seen. I also got a free PS/2 out of them when I signed up :)
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Comment removed based on user account deletion
Stream, XO, Powell's, Wal-Mart, Plaid Pantry, Fred Meyer ....
Oh, you want a high-paying IT job? Better start thinking about your own business, and I don't mean consulting. It's death valley for IT in Oregon right now.
Finding God in a Dog
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.
NO! NO! Please don't mod me, I'm too young to die a troll. *click* Oh the pain, the pain...
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).
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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.
Chicago2600.net more than a lifestyle, its a survival trait.
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.
Not sure if DirecTV offered a Linux compatible satellite internet solution, but I think I would have noticed it if they did.
As far as I know, you're correct, DirecWay and DirecPC are Windows-only (maybe Mac too, but I'm not even sure of that).
As opposed to DirecTV Broadband, which has UNIX installation instructions in the manual.
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I'm on DirecTV DSL right now...so I have 60-90 days to switch to new ISP?
If you stay with DirecTV DSL, we'll try to migrate you to a new ISP and make it as painless as possible (no guarantees about that, but we'll do our best). If you cancel, you have to wait for the LEC to release your line before you can sign up with another DSL provider, so you're looking at around a month of downtime if you choose to go that route. However, I have no idea what the new ISP will be, and they may not offer a static IP. Check the web site (don't call!); there may be more info on Tuesday.
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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.
I got nothing but crap from DIRECTV Broadband in the wake of the Rhythms collapse last fall. Despite being guaranteed that my SDSL service would continue, it shut down mid-September. I tried for three months to get it repaired and got repeated promises that it would be fixed. Finally, I "cancelled" (how can you cancel non-existant service?) in frustration. Three months later, the bills starting rolling in. DIRECTV was trying to charge me for two months of service I never got, and they claimed that I cancelled my service!
Needless to say, I was furiously pissed. I spent six months trading letters and faxes, got sent to collections, appealed, and was denied. I finally deemed the issue not worth my time and paid the stupid bill.
So, F*ck You, DIRECTV. You got what you deserved. I've spent the last year at 26kbps dialup. Thank God that AT&T/Comcast will finally be completing their broadband upgrade in my city next month.
- Necron69
I guess it may be their last post, but this operation has always been kind of a "phoenix", rising from the ashes. (Or perhaps soiling themselves with said same.)
Here's why:
DirecTV DSL, a subsidiary of Hughes, which is in turn owned by General Motors, was formerly known as Telocity until Hughes purchased them in July 2001.
In my part of the country, the switch to the corporate entity Telocity occurred at about the same time as Northpoint bankruptcy forced a CLEC switch from Northpoint to Covad for some customers of Megapath. In October 2000, Megapath had purchased the assets and customer base of an ISP. Megapath kept the business customers of that ISP and spun off their residential customers to Chicago-based Telocity.
And the name of that ISP? Formerly-St. Louis-based Phoenix Networks, founded by a guy named Peter Roberts, who evolved a one-man network integration business into a rapid-growth internet service. Of course that Phoenix should not to be confused with Phoenix the BIOS that has the legal team that is making Phoenix the superlative web browser change it's name, none of which is happening in Phoenix.
Dizzy yet? I know I am. Hope I got at least the broad strokes right. Anyway, I'm glad I got off that Merry-Go-Round during what seemed to be a weekend-stay at MegaPath, though I supported a few friends throught the multiple changes that followed. Maybe the ride finally is coming to a stop.
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.
Warning! Don't click on his sig!
You're using her as bait, Master!