Review by Sahrin 
Posted: 1.8 years ago
member for 4.1 years, 93 visits, last login: 1 days ago
 Houston,Harris,TX
 $39 per month
 about 3 days
 "Fast Install turnaround, discount for first 6mos. Service"
 "Installer came with older hardware, had to swap."
 "Solid service - at 39.95 very good value, at reg. price, maybe a little too expensive"
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Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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Was moving to Houston area for a new job, needed cable service - choices are ADSL from SBC/ATT (more money for less band? no thanks) or Cable from TWC (no other competitors in the marketplace). Called on Wednesday before the Friday move, Time Warner had an installer out on Saturday. Came in, hooked up the cable modem to my computer, it was a unit that was presumably from a former customer's site, so it was already MAC-ready, installer hooked it up and ready to go.
I hadn't imported a TV (purchased it Sunday) so the TV installation wasn't tested until Sunday (it worked). I was promised 92.95/month for Digital TV service plus a few extras and RR cable (39.99 for the first 6 months, at which point I will re-evaluate their service) - got the first bill and perfecto.
Cable internet service has worked from day one, with one hardware failure (due to the wife plugging the wrong AC Adapter into the modem - which cause a burnout which TWC replaced for FREE with a BETTER box) and one non-scheduled service interruption (TWC said it was related to network upgrades - lasted for about 12 hours which is a bit on the longish side for scheduled maintinenance, but I was only around for 4 or 5 hours of the interruption).
It's a static IP without claim to it. In four months my IP hasn't changed (not sure if that is a good thing, big brother) but there's no claim to static service on the rr site or in my service handbook.
Average 200-500KB/s real download (in line with service specs) and peaks as high as 600-700KB/s. Upload is a little disappointing (384 v. 6Mbps?) but it's the way of the world. Despite rather frequent power outages (compared with SATX) internet service disruptions are very rare.
The wait at the local Time Warner "store" is a little long - but service is excellent and rapid once you get to the counter. I switched out Digi TV boxes three times, and they were extremely friendly and helpful. Make sure you are not using the standard Motorola Digi TV or Toshiba Modem boxes - they SUCK. Upgrade to the Ambit Data little "square" (about 1/2 the size of the Toshiba box and doesn't get anywhere near as hot - plus specs much closer to that of a retail modem from Dlink or Linksys) than the Toshiba. The only downside to the smaller box is the CoAx isn't that flexible, so the box is hard to move (doesn't sound like it makes sense, I know, but it's true) without first flexing the CoAx.
Bottom Line recommendations:
+Make sure you get the newer hardware
+Reliable service (aside from the usual Teleco BS like "scheduled Maint")
+Have a high-powered router (If you skimp on this step you can get a 50% reduction in throughput - think Cisco or high end Linksys/Netgear/Dlink - if you aren't spending more than 80 bucks on the router you're going to see it in the performance - not saying it's not possible to get a bargain, but don't let your hardware be the weak link in the chain, let it be the Cable Co's so that when they do upgrade you get full advantage of any service improvement).
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