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Review by Hazy Arc See Profile

  • Location: Greenwood, Greenwood, SC, USA
  • Cost: $46 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
Connection is ok during the day
Connection slows considerably during evening, no forseeable speed increases on the horizon
If there was a viable alternative, I'd be gone in a heartbeat.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've been a Centurylink (previously Embarq) customer since 2007. I'd like to sit here and tell you it's been fun and games since I became a customer, but sadly that is not the case.

In the 5 years I've been a customer, I'd say my connection has been flawless less than 20% of the time I've had it. In fact, in 2008, I had scheduled a cable install after dealing with a high latency/slow speed problem for over 5 months. Only after I was personally contacted by an employee of then-Embarq asking me to allow them to help did I stick around. It turns out our area had been placed on bandwidth exhaust (big surprise there), and the problem was fixed another 2 months later. Since 2007, I haven't sniffed a speed upgrade - I had 3Mbps then, and that's where I'm stuck. 5 years and no upgrades? Come on!

Nowadays, I rarely get my advertised speeds, and I am experiencing high latency and slow speeds during the evening. I know, I know - why not go to cable? The answer is two-fold: First, my local mom-and-pop cable provider (Northland Cable »User reviews - Northland Cable Television) is notoriously bad, even worse than Centurylink (if that's possible). I have to laugh when I see folks complaining about Comcast/Charter/etc. - I'd give anything to be serviced by them. The other reason I haven't dumped Centurylink is because I have been a true dry loop DSL customer since I started, so I literally pay $39 a month for 3Mbps internet, no bogus taxes or fees that are tacked on like with their insulting "Pure DSL" offering. Since they no longer offer true dry loop DSL, I'm hesitant to drop them - especially if Northland didn't work out. If Centurylink ever removes my grandfather status, I'm outta here.

Ultimately, like many other smaller towns in the United States, the problem is lack of competition. Well, let me rephrase - Centurylink and Northland are certainly in "competition" in Greenwood, South Carolina - but it's a contest of who can provide the worst value for the most money.

member for 17.9 years, 4483 visits, last login: 1.1 years ago
updated 10.1 years ago

Soldae
Premium Member
join:2008-06-26
Carlisle, PA

Soldae

Premium Member

Have you...

Have you tried contacting an Embarq rep or supervisor to let them know what's going on? I don't see anything in your review that says you have. If you're having problems and don't let them know, there's no way for them to tell you it's not their problem :-P hehe, well there's no way for them to attempt to fix it either.

Hazy Arc
join:2006-04-10
Greenwood, SC

Hazy Arc

Member

Re: Have you...

I've contacted the Embarq reps that post on this forum. They stated that "since the latency appears on a peer network, it may take longer to resolve."

Not exactly sure what that means, but they've had several weeks now.
Soldae
Premium Member
join:2008-06-26
Carlisle, PA

Soldae

Premium Member

Re: Have you...

You may want to call, as there is only one rep left that does anything on the boards and I'm sure he's swamped. I wouldn't talk to just any tech though, I'd chit-chat a little, find out where they're located (PA or Florida would be best), and find out how long they've worked for Embarq. If the answers satisfy you, tell them your issue. If not, ask for a supervisor. They're very very geared toward customer service right now and will actually have one of their managers contact you if you request it. By all means, this doesn't mean anything will be fixed, but they may be able to let you know what's happening or what they're doing.
fredpb
join:2002-11-01
Greenwood, SC

fredpb

Member

This tracert says it all about embarq

Tracing route to embarq.com [168.251.192.15]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms 192.168.1.1
2 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms 192.168.2.1
3 921 ms 849 ms 676 ms nc-71-52-144-1.dhcp.embarqhsd.net [71.52.144.1]

4 599 ms 705 ms 646 ms crncrcmt03 [65.41.232.213]
5 621 ms 611 ms 580 ms sl-gw23-rly-2-2.sprintlink.net [160.81.255.125]

6 525 ms 601 ms 577 ms sl-crs2-rly-0-5-3-1.sprintlink.net [144.232.3.88
]
7 589 ms 660 ms 660 ms sl-crs2-akr-0-4-5-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.8.14
5]
8 579 ms 486 ms 549 ms 144.232.3.232
9 536 ms 540 ms 495 ms sl-bb22-roa-9-0-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.18.111
]
10 531 ms 586 ms 585 ms sl-gw20-roa-9-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.17.186]

11 508 ms 569 ms 553 ms sl-sprintut-6-0.sprintlink.net [160.81.187.66]
12 * * * Request timed out.
13 * * * Request timed out.
14 * * * Request timed out.
15 * * ^C
fredpb

fredpb

Member

fixed!

Yep...looks like the problem is resolved...I am also staying with Embarq.

RVAguy
Premium Member
join:2006-01-05
Richmond, VA

RVAguy

Premium Member

Fanboi!!

nuff said...

tmpchaos
Requiescat in pace
Numquam oblitus
join:2000-04-28
Hoboken, NJ

tmpchaos

Numquam oblitus

(topic move) Availability outside of Raeford, NC?

»Availability outside of Raeford, NC?

Moderator Action
This topic was moved to the forum CenturyLink

stated reason was: better place
jaypetrello
join:2010-10-05
Fort Myers, FL

jaypetrello

Member

Sorry to hear that

 
 
That sucks that they can't do much. Down here in Florida they are cranking the upgrades up. We have Prism tv and 25/3 internet service now. Due to the price I have yet to go up that high though. Hope everything works out for you.

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

I can't speak..

I can't speak for S.C., and I feel your pain. These problems are often related to small communities and distance from the plant. I live in a county where it is 14K people versus thousands of tons of corn and beans every year. Two telco many miles apart serve cable and phone with Internet. My bundle is $73 for 10/1 and phone. Both work 98.9% of the time, but am in the city less than 6 blocks from the plant and the POP is outside my door.

The odds of FTTN, FTTH or LTE are slim and none in my lifetime. I am grateful I am not saddled with 1.5 down.

You should be able to get cable and then see if they will let you test Internet for a week. Ours will. If you like it switch. I'm going to drop SAT for local basic cable.