Much the same problem with mine. As I use a laptop, I just disconnect the USB cable for 5secs, which re installs the modem (quicker for me than a re-boot)as I don't have to crawl around the back of a desktop case.
I have installed some new drivers from Alcatel and the problem is not as bad as it was, just intermitent, but I can live with it.
As far as the ADSL itself, it's very good. It is expensive but I reckon the net cost to me is around £10/month. The real advantage is I can connect at anytime and for folk that work funny hours thats a big plus. Before ADSL if I arrived back in the house at 9 in the morning I would think twice about hooking up because of the cost of the call. I know it's possible to get a 'normal' modem all inclusive connection but thats where the speed is a real bonus. Now when I go to to sites and they say "you need to download the latest player etc" and it's 18mb you can just hit the download button, with ADSL around 3 minutes, that makes a huge difference.It actually makes the Internet a neat place to surf because of the speed, no more waiting for pages to load,some of the sites are very graphic intensive. Go for it I don't think you will regret it.