AT&T Basic DSL

*Est. $20 to $35 per month

Budget DSL

Great price for DSL
Much faster than dial-up
OK customer-satisfaction ratings
Higher speeds available

Slower than fiber optic and most cable ISPs
Mediocre ratings for reliability
Tech support could be better

Our Analysis

March 2009. AT&T Basic DSL Internet service isn't nearly as fast as fiber-optic and cable services, but it's about 15 times faster than dial-up. Customer-satisfaction surveys and owner-written reviews give it above-average ratings. As with all DSL, actual connection speed varies depending on your distance from the service's central office. Generally, AT&T Basic DSL's top speed is 768 Kbps, but in most areas, higher speeds are also offered, albeit at higher prices: 1.5 Mbps (*est. $25), 3 Mbps (*est. $30), and 6 Mbps (*est. $35). Technical support is available 24/7 by phone, but gets mediocre ratings from customers. Most reviews say that if a well-reviewed cable ISP is available in your area, you're more apt to be satisfied with that. For example, Cablevision Optimum Online (*est. $30 to $40 per month) provides speeds of 15 Mbps and gets good ratings for customer satisfaction.

We found the most recent survey of ISP customer satisfaction at J.D. Power and Associates, where the ratings from 17,000 broadband subscribers are reported by region. PC World and PC Magazine also have extensive surveys, and PC Magazine offers speed ratings based on the experience of more than 40,000 site visitors. Consumer Reports rates ISPs based on a reader poll of 34,000 subscribers, covering more DSL providers than the other surveys. The survey at Computerworld is much smaller, but is nicely detailed. We also found helpful user reviews at BroadbandReports.com.

Our Sources

1. J.D. Power and Associates

J.D. Power and Associates polls 17,000 people to rate customer satisfaction of broadband Internet providers by region. AT&T Yahoo! -- essentially the same ISP as AT&T -- ranks in the middle of the pack in all regions, slightly above average, but with high ratings for cost and promotions. Verizon and EarthLink score higher for performance, reliability and customer service, but for both companies the survey lumps DSL services together with much faster options.

Review: High Speed Internet Service Provider Ratings, Editors of J.D. Power and Associates, Oct. 2008

2. PCMag.com Details/Subscribe

AT&T South, formerly BellSouth, earns a top rating among DSL providers based on a survey of about 6,000 broadband users that covers nine factors. AT&T Yahoo! scores a bit lower but is still above average. BellSouth (now AT&T) scores lower here on all counts.

Review: The Best (and Worst) Tech Support in America: ISPs, Eric Griffith, July 29, 2008

3. PC World Details/Subscribe

Based on a survey of nearly 6,500 readers, PC World magazine ranks AT&T Yahoo! second among DSL providers, outperforming EarthLink for connection reliability but not for speed. AT&T Yahoo! DSL is average for overall satisfaction, below average (the lowest rating) on download and upload speed, and above average (the highest rating) in connection reliability, spam blocking and antivirus/security.

Review: The Best and Worst ISPs, Jeff Bertolucci, June 20, 2007

4. PCMag.com Details/Subscribe

More than 40,000 people used an applet to help PC Magazine measure the speed of their Internet connection. AT&T Yahoo! ranks second among DSL providers -- faster than most cable ISPs, in fact -- and AT&T Worldnet and BellSouth (now AT&T) also rank well above average.

Review: Real World Testing: The Best ISPs in America, Jeremy Kaplan, May 30, 2007

5. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe

AT&T and two ISPs now merged into it -- BellSouth and SBC Yahoo! -- are ranked separately in this older review, compared with five other DSL providers based on ratings for reliability, speed and technical support. Ratings are based on a survey of over 34,500 readers of Consumer Reports.

Review: Internet Service: Fiber Joins the Fray, Editors of Consumer Reports, Feb. 2007

6. Computerworld.com

Based on a smaller survey of 1,163 readers of Computerworld, AT&T ranks below average, and fares especially badly when it comes to connection reliability. For value, however, it ranks near the top.

Review: What's the Best Broadband ISP?, Preston Gralla, July 24, 2007

7. BroadbandReports.com

About 5,500 user reviews give various AT&T regional DSL services high average scores (Silver awards). They get a B in most categories, with a couple of Cs for tech support.

Review: Charts - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Contributors to BroadbandReports.com