I have lived here six years. When I moved in someone told me (actually I think it was on an email list like this) you could also get ATT which is now SWBell. But it seems that Grande is the default unless you ASK for something else.

I run ten websites, so internet connection is critical to me. I have been VERY satisfied with ATT.

I constantly hear people complain about Grande but can't comment on that myself.

Welcome
Madelyn MIller, the TravelLady

Yes, the default is Grande. My boyfriend had Grande at his last apartment complex and it is possibly the worse service you could have. My internet constantly goes down. It comes back up by itself but just having it down for a couple seconds is annoying, especially when I am in the middle of something. It isn't as fast as I would like it to be either. But I guess I can't complain too much because it gets the job done. I just wish I knew that ATT was an option. Now that I do, I will definitely switch over when I get the chance. Whatever you do, don't get Grande unless you have to.

Welcome to SSOL. :)

Grande isn't the best and Grande isn't the worst. You can certainly do much worse at other communities downtown. The SSOL property is sort of a redheaded stepchild for Grande though. There was a whole series of changing owners of the telecom infrastructure there over the past 10 years due to mergers and acquisitions. The Grande tech guys are real nice fellows for the most part.

My only complaint with the service is available DSL speeds. Most all of Grande's other properties are cable modem based but SSOL is DSL based (because that's what the company Grande acquired that run SSOL had in place). The max speed is 1.5x768. Since Grande isn't a DSL shop, they aren't really interested in upgrading the existing equipment to faster speeds.

Cable service is provided Dish Network. For the basic packages (local channels only or 57 analog cable channels), you don't need any equipment. If you want the digital package, you get a specialized MDU version of the Dish Network receiver. You can get the Dish DVR and Dish HD options for extra fees. Normal Dish Network equipment does not work on the MDU system.

Fair warning... when it rains hard the cable goes out b/c it's all based on Dish Network satellite channels - even the "analog" stations. Grande runs a mini-headend in the basement that takes the satellite channels and converts them to analog for basic cable in the building.

FYI... If you end up thinking about AT&T... The SSOL building and stuff on its side of the street are on a tiny little AT&T central office with an ancient phone switch that was installed back in the 70's when Sears was going strong. AT&T created that central office just to handle the Sears call center phone lines. The police department and everything on the other side of the street is on a different central office. Also note that Grande controls the cabling in the building... so if you get AT&T service they have to coordinate with Grande and it can become a real mess if you have line trouble. I was crazy enough to have AT&T *and* Grande service in my apartment. AT&T has trouble providing 6mbps and 3mbps service in this building due to cable lengths. My 3mbps service was marginally stable.

The further up and/or back you are in the building (i.e. the further you are away from the basement near the coffee shop), the longer the cable runs are and the more difficulty you will have with AT&T DSL. For phone service AT&T also has some idiosyncrasies with the old Class 4 switch that runs the central office SSOL is on. Certain features don't work like you might be used to (call forwarding, caller ID on call waiting and remote access to call forwarding to name a couple). The particular model of switch involved was actually the first "digital" switch model ever made - think of the old calculators you might find at your grandmother's house. And there are only 4 left in operation in the state of Texas (at least last year when I checked).

In short, Grande isn't the best... but you can easily do worse. It's a workable solution.

Yes! Use AT&T. Grande Communication is the worst service you will ever receive from anyone for anything. The level of incompetence of their customer service department is staggering!

You, davoice, seem to know what you're talking about. I just thought I'd clarify that somehow Grande has made their DSL faster since you've written. It's also more stable. And the TV goes out a LOT less than it used to, at least for me. My problem is that they charge too much for what you get with DishNetwork. Even if you get in on the HD package, you don't really get much HD.

And when I was having a lot of problems I talked to Level 1 support in San Marcos several times. They said there were plans to switch to a newer technology, and that they'd already started in some of their Dallas area properties. However, the economy has slowed things down on that.

In Austin, Grande is widely seen to be the best cable company ever. They're cheaper there than they are here, offer the best service in Austin in terms of repairs and things like that, etc. They're very good. It's a small company, though, and they just started some projects in Dallas fairly recently. I'd look for them to get better as time goes on.