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Review by cypherstream See Profile

  • Location: Reading, Berks, PA, USA
  • Cost: $100 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Caps of 800 gigabytes/month
Fast stable connection, flexible speed packages, tiered monthly data caps far exceed Comcast and others, 16x4 DOCSIS 3 channels
Price, Caps that exist (though are much better than competition), Still a high download to upload ratio
Though its the only real high speed option in the area, it works great.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

My Other Reviews

·PenTeleData
UPDATE 12/30/2015:

SECV and PTD this year has upgraded the CMTS to an Arris E6000 series which now provides 16 downstream channels and 4 upstream (2 x 6.4 MHz 64QAM, 2 x 3.2 MHz 16QAM). The speed packages have been upgraded to:

10/2 Mbps with 400 GB/Month data cap

30/3 Mbps with 600 GB/Month data cap

50/5 Mbps with 800 GB/Month data cap

125/10 Mbps with 1200 GB/Month data cap

I have an SB6183 retail white modem connected with excellent signal levels on all 16x4 bonded DOCSIS 3.0 channels. I constantly hit the mark within a few percent of 50 Mbps down. I am very pleased with the consistancy of the connection and it can handle 4k 60fps YouTube streams.

Note, I originally had 30/3 Mbps but they are offering a 2 month promotion for existing customers to try the next speed tier at no extra cost. After that the price goes up I believe in $10 increments between each class of speed.

I have the Access pack which combines Internet and Phone (they provide free Arris telephone modem for voice). The total for this package with 30/3 Internet is about $100 per month plus change. This gives you 600GB a month. Like I said I am on the next plan up for two months and when that time period is up I will likely go back down to 30/3 because it has very consistent speeds and I have not approached its 600 GB/Month allotment.

UPDATE 1/21/2015:

SECV and PTD have updated their speeds and bandwidth caps last summer. My package is the 25/2 mbps which provides you with 400GB a month bandwidth cap. I do not come close to 400GB a month. I use about half that.

Recently in the last few months the speed provided cannot come close to the speed that I pay for. Speedtests regularly show downloads between 4.5 and 14 mbps, however I should be getting 25 mbps. I did not change anything in my setup and my signal levels are still excellent and where they were when the 25mbps package was rolled out (and delivered appropriate speeds). It seems that most people with PTD and SECV are experiencing this issue. It does not appear to be an RF or last mile issue, but it seems to be with the new bandwidth management QoS and prioritization that PTD is using to manage the network. Ever since this was put in to police the new caps system, speed has suffered. I am considering downgrading to the 5mbps package but the problem there is that also reduces the upstream to 1mbps and the monthly bandwidth cap to 250GB. Also there have been reports that those on the 5mbps plan are only testing 2.5-4mbps down, not 5 like they should.

PTD really needs to fix this issue. SECV does not innovate either as they only use basic QSPK upstream channels (3 bonded) which only provides enough bandwidth for upload tiers at 1, 2, 3 and 5 mbps appropriately. If they upgraded to 16/32 or 64QAM in the upstream they could push out much better speed tiers. Though PTD has a lot of work to do first in order to fix the choke-points.

Original review:

So I used to have blazing fast Comcast with 50meg down by 10meg up using an Arris DOCSIS 3.0 eMTA. Sadly I moved outside of their service area and my only option for real highspeed was ProLog (ptd.net) which is the ISP that runs over Service Electric Cablevision's HFC network out of their headend office in Birdsboro PA.

I placed an order for Service Electric's double play (their website is »www.secv.com ). This includes unlimited calling and 10mbps down by 1mbps up Internet service. After the taxes it comes to about $79 a month. They don't have next day, or same week or even weekend install windows like Comcast, so I had to wait a full week for the install. Also they could only offer an ENTIRE DAY window (8 AM to 5 PM). Wow thanks a lot SECV! I work about 25 minutes away and luckily my boss was nice enough for me to make up my time later and take and extended lunch to go home and meet the installer. The install only took about 45 minutes and the tech (a contractor from LGI if I remember correctly) was very nice, professional and quick. He installed a filter in the box outside to trap out TV service, put new connectors on my wires, installed a new 2-way splitter and called in to activate the equipment. He also had a nice meter (I think it was a JDSU DSAM-6000 or similar) and verified the signal levels. I purchased my own Motorola SB6120 modem from Newegg for approx $84 to get around SECV's $5 a month modem rental. Over time it will pay for itself. SECV uses seperate eMTA's for voice service, so even if you rented their modem, they would still install 2 devices. I think it's a waste of signal to split the line to 2 separate modems when obviously the eMTA's can handle both phone and internet just fine (as I've experienced with Comcast), but hey, that's just how they run their system. The line comes in and goes into my furnace room where is is split into an Arris eMTA for voice, and my SB6120 for data. The Motorola modem connects to a Linksys 320n router running dd-wrt firmware, and also a 16 port Linksys switch, which is plugged into a patch panel. I ran Cat5e through the walls so I have the whole home networked, both wired and wireless.

Because I have DirecTV for television, the cable from Service Electric is only split twice. I get pretty much textbook perfect levels on the SB6120:

Channel ID 4 1 2 3

Frequency 627000000 Hz 609000000 Hz 615000000 Hz 621000000 Hz

Signal to Noise Ratio 38 dB 37 dB 37 dB 37 dB

Downstream Modulation QAM256 QAM256 QAM256 QAM256

Power Level 0 dBmV 0 dBmV 1 dBmV 1 dBmV

Upstream Bonding Channel Value

Channel ID 2

Frequency 22000000 Hz

Ranging Service ID 3373

Symbol Rate 2.560 Msym/sec

Power Level 38 dBmV

Upstream Modulation [3] QPSK

[5] 16QAM



As you can see they are running a DOCSIS 3.0 CMTS, which is great because there's plenty of headroom. With only 10mbps provisioned to the modem, and 4 downstream channels, there is never an issue with slowdown during peak times. This has me wondering why in the world do they have caps if there's plenty of bandwidth? An insider also said they had recently upgraded the entire system and they push the fiber deeper than most other cable plants. SECV may run as low as 125 homes passed per node, whereas Comcast may run around 500 homes passed per node. Also they used a mix-mash of 1 GHz and 870 MHz CCOR / Motorola equipment, whereas the Comcast plant nearby was only built to 750 MHz. Anyway all of this techno mumbo-jumbo means their system is setup for great signals, speeds along with plenty of headroom for growth. I would really like to see them turn up 64QAM on the upstream and offer more balanced speed tiers, such as 20mbps by 10mbps up. Their system is using pretty good gear, like CCor Optimax 3100 and 4100 nodes, as well as Motorola SG2000's. With deep fiber penetration, segmentable nodes I don't see what the problem would be in offering higher speed tiers.

Anyway, the service they provide is exactly as advertised. I pay for 10/1 and that's what I get. I get an A for the line ping test and I don't have any issues with downloads. I download VOD from networked DirecTV HR24-200 receiver and it arrives pretty quickly. The only other highspeed option is Verizon DSL which tops off at 3mbps down by 768k up. NO THANKS Verizon! I don't even qualify that for High Speed. My definition of High Speed is 6/1 or faster. Verizon is pathetic with their DSL speeds, and were all begging them to run FIOS, but they dropped those plans when the economy took a down turn. The closest FIOS system is about 25 minutes away to the eastern edge of Berks and Montgomery counties. Union township is the only area in Berks county that I'm aware of with FIOS availability.

So the internet is what it is. You get newsgroup access, which is rare nowadays, but they do throttle it to 2mbps download regardless of your speed tier. They also limit you to 10GB a month for the newsgroups. I never use them so what do I care. I'm not 100% sure what the caps are, but I've heard anywhere from as low as 40GB a month to 60GB a month. The thing is they are pretty low and there is no real definitive answer as to what the caps are. Some people get letters every month and ignore them, some people get disconnected for 6 months after their second warning, and some never get a warning. There doesn't seem to be any type of bandwidth gauge on PTD's account management page, so it's best to get a router with an internal traffic counter built in, or flash the router with DD-WRT (if yours is compatible) as that contains a really nice monthly bandwidth chart.

So the service works, it could be better, and if they eliminated the CAPS, or at least raised them to a reasonable 250GB like Comcast, I would give them 5 stars. This is 2010, not 1999. There should be no need for these strict caps. Also the CMTS is running with DOCSIS 3.0, and all they can do is 10meg? Come on. If you have Cable TV with SECV, you are provisioned at 15meg. Still, the upload is where it matters, and as long as they run on one 16QAM channel they will be bandwidth constrained. Clear just became available in the area, but nothing beats the stability of a hardwired connection. Not to say that I won't keep my nose to the ground for future 4G / LTE services.... but they usually have even more ridiculous caps.

member for 19.3 years, 8821 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 8.2 years ago


jazzlady
join:2005-08-04
Tannersville, PA

jazzlady

Member

There is a bandwidth meter...

»www.ptd.net/tiki-index.p ··· et_Cable

If you look halfway down the page, and click on "Residential Cable Modem Bandwidth Usage System" it will give you your usage stats for the current month, and the previous 5 months. Have patience, though- I've seen this page take up to 4 minutes to fully load.

But I agree with you about the caps. I have the 15 Mbps tier, and my cap used to be 80 gigs. Then they went to the "peak usage" and I'm hearing it's 50 GB's peak now. That is a generous amount- for 1995- *not* 2010.

Allegedly they don't bother you for your off peak usage, but I'm not sure about that.

cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
·PenTeleData
ARRIS SB8200

1 edit

cypherstream

MVM

Re: There is a bandwidth meter...

Hey thanks for that link! It does work, and seems more accurate than the Comcast meter.

I'm not sure what my cap is, maybe it's 50GB because that's what yours is. I don't see why there is even a need for caps when there are 4 downstream channels on the node. That's an aggregate bandwidth of 155.2 Mbps, and yet were still only provisioned on the same speeds when they only ran one channel of 38.8Mbps bandwidth to the node.

Even if you don't have a D3 modem, the CMTS can load balance users on one of the four available channels. It can run an algorithm and send a DCC command to modems to equalize the load across all four channels. With all of this great technology in place, why such low caps?

jazzlady
join:2005-08-04
Tannersville, PA

jazzlady

Member

Re: There is a bandwidth meter...

"With all of this great technology in place, why such low caps?"

You're missing the big picture.

People get broadband this fast for one reason- video. Whether it's downloads, or streaming, they want to watch something.

Cable tv has outlived it's usefulness. It's overpriced for what you get. Prices go up every year. Stations get cut and prices still rise. You pay for a boatland of channels you don't want, but have no choice about. People are getting fed up with it.

You can watch pretty much everything shown on basic cable online. You can also get a sweet deal like the one from Netflix- $9 a month for all the movies you can stream to your tv. Compare that to cable's overpriced video on demand at $4-5 a movie.

So in an effort to stop people from using Netflix online, they've instituted these draconian caps because streaming video is eating into their profits. People want to watch movies in the evening, having this "peak" BS effectively curtails that option.

There is no competition, and they know it. You can't watch Netflix on a 3 Mbps DSL stream, and Verizon has no interest in improving the infrastructure here to provide faster speeds. And the devil will be lacing up his ice skates before you ever see FIOS here. So they do what they want, just because they can get away with it. Where are people going to go when there's no competition?

If Prolog had any sense, they would see that the handwriting is on the wall as far as cable tv. People want bandwidth to do what they want with. Streaming video is now a force to be reckoned with. Prolog should just accept this fact, and provide the fast dumb unlimited pipe that people are asking for, instead of standing there trying to hold back the flood like the little boy with his finger in the dike.
mist668
join:2011-02-15
Middleburg, PA

mist668

Member

Agree

I also have noticed a slow down and complete lack of being able to provide speeds advertised. I do notice that during peak times my ping will go way up as well as download and upload will suffer. I am on the 25/2 and usually only get about 18-20 down and about 1.5-2 up which is expected. I do live way away from the large population though so my setup I would assume is much different to my outside connection.

I am using the sb6141 and have no issues with drops at all anymore, see my review about them.
MRCUR
join:2007-03-09
Lancaster, PA

MRCUR

Member

Slow speeds here as well

I recently moved to Exeter from Lancaster and had to switch to SECV from Comcast. I'm about five minutes drive from the Birdsboro headend. I have the Wideband 100Mb tier and it's been less than stellar. I was used to Comcast delivering far above the advertised speeds 24/7.

I average about 50-60Mb during the day and easily fall to 15-25Mb at night along with 200ms latency. Really not happy, especially since I'm paying SECV what I paid Comcast for 150Mb (consistently received 175Mb).