Review by The Limit Location: Sanford, Lee, NC, USA Cost: $70 per month AllTel It works. Ping times are 200+ ms to every site =/ Windstream has been spiraling downward in terms of quality.

Pre Sales information: Install Co-ordination: Connection reliability: Tech Support: Services: Value for money:

UPDATE 11/04/09-- Seems like a lot of packet loss has plagued my connection now, going on two weeks. Promise after promise of getting in touch with me, fixing the issue within 48 hours, and actually doing something about the issue; don't get me wrong, I get the advertised speed, but I use voip, and play online games that require a low latency connection. I haven't had ANY problems for two years now, and all of a sudden this crops up. I'm sorely disappointed due to the lack of communication among tech support and level 1 support, so two stars come off here.

I will admit that the tech on this site is very helpful, but he's one out of a many tech support people over at Windstream that could actually get things semi-right.

Two stars come off for value of money, in regards to the reliability of the connection. Same for services.

I wish I had an alternative.

UPDATE 08/20/09-- Still going strong. Switched to a 4200 Speedstream modem. Still running the WRT54G wireless router, but changed the firmware to Tomato 1.25. The connection works, get about 80% of my advertised speed. No complaints thus far. Just wish they would run the fiber to the switch already!

Had Windstream for quite a while now. Subscribed to their broadband when it was first available (because we were tired of dial up and using two lines for gaming, and nothing else was available), which was around 2000-2001. We are running 3072/384 speed profile on a speedstream 5200 modem and a linksys WRT54G (custom firmware- dd-wrt)(cost with phone bundle is around $60 a month), but wish they would upgrade our area to fiber so we can get 6 megs. Install was good, but the order wasn't so great. I remember we canceled at one time, and then we resubscribed for 3 meg, but was put on 1.5 meg.

We paid for 3.0 meg while on a 1.5 meg profile, so I called in. Didn't get it fixed the first time due to the person telling me it would take 3 business days. Called in again (sales line) because I was tired of talking to Wipro. Got the issue fixed within minutes! Another issue I have is them telling us that they would fiber feed our switch, but it hasn't happened yet. Have been told several stories, and all of them are false. I plan to call soon on the status of the upgrade.

Overall, great service though. It's been a REALLY long time since the last outage (I'm thinking 6+ months).

Normally, I don't give any service 5 stars because nothing is perfect, and we haven't had another choice of ISP other than Windstream. I gave Pre-sales 2 out of 5 stars because they told me that we had 6 meg available a while back, but the techs have tested the lines and told us that the switch we are on is not fiber fed. Install co-ordination gets 3 out of 5 stars because of the issue with being put on a 1.5 meg speed profile, when we were paying for 3.0 megs. Tech support has 4 out of 5 stars due to the fact that Wipro isn't not employed by Windstream anymore, and the local techs have been very helpful in getting problems fixed.

UPDATE 02/28/10 Service issues yet again, ping is through the roof, download speed is very unstable. This has been happening a lot in the last year or so, not sure what is going on, it seems like every time I call in that a bandaid is being placed on the problem, only for the problem to crop up again a few months later. Windstream needs to get its act together, as I'm getting tired of this.

UPDATE 03/04/10 Service has been restored, thanks to user Windstream. If it wasn't for him, I would probably still be having issues as of right now. Thanks man, you are appreciated in these forums.

UPDATE 06/02/10 I have been contacting customer support weekly now due to ping times in my area. Speeds are good, close to what I'm paying for, but high latency is not acceptable for VOIP or for my airave. No offense to you Jerry (I might have to start working through you again to get this fixed), but tech support has been subpar. Seriously, the reps should know that latency and speed are two different beasts. I had a rep INSIST that the reason why I'm having latency issues is because of the modem I'm using. I have two modems, tested them both, and I know that they are not defective because this used to not be an issue. Tech support has been edited on the review accordingly.

UPDATE 06/10/10 Still hasn't been fixed. This has been going on for a year now, high latency at night. I know it's oversubscription, because I've had 3 technicians come out and confirm the issue. I will be contacting the PSC and BBB, and if this continues to be a problem, then I will stop using Windstream services. This is unexcusable.

UPDATE 12/31/10 At this point, I don't recommend this service to anyone. Run far away from this company, that sums it up.

UPDATE 05/18/11 Still having issues with the service, I've called in at least six times in the last two weeks, and have been told that the ETA for the latency fix wouldn't be until August of this year. Weird, because if I stopped paying the bill, the service is cut off promptly, but if I demand what I pay for, I am given the run around. Have already filed a complaint with the BBB, now all I can do is wait. Wish I had another option, otherwise I would have already switched by now. Fact is, I need a reliable connection for school, and I can't have that apparently. So frustrating that Windstream can charge $50 (including taxes) for a 3 megabit connection, and still not deliver!

UPDATE 01/26/14 - I am no longer with Windstream. I moved to a different county. I am glad that I don't need to deal with them any longer. I now have service with TWC, and I haven't had an issues for the 2 years that I have had service with them.

Windstream Premium Member join:2009-03-31 Twinsburg, OH Windstream Premium Member 2010-Mar-4 11:02 am Update regarding the 2/28 Issue We confirmed with Tails that a latency issue was identified on the 27th of February in his area and was resolved within the following 48 hours. -JV 2010-Mar-4 11:02 am: · hey mods ·
	The Limit Premium Member join:2007-09-25 Denver, CO The Limit Premium Member 2010-Mar-4 4:13 pm Re: Update regarding the 2/28 Issue I've adjusted my review accordingly. 2010-Mar-4 4:13 pm: · hey mods ·
Windstream Premium Member join:2009-03-31 Twinsburg, OH Windstream Premium Member 2010-Jun-29 9:33 am Regarding 6/02 and 6/10 updates Tails, we were unaware of any issues still present with your service. Please send us a PM once again with your account info and we'll be happy to help. -JV 2010-Jun-29 9:33 am: · hey mods ·
	The Limit Premium Member join:2007-09-25 Denver, CO The Limit Premium Member 2010-Jun-29 11:51 am Re: Regarding 6/02 and 6/10 updates Latency spikes still at night, but not as bad as they used to be. Number is 919-7087360. I got a call from a general manager that won't get back up with me, he left the tech support number =/ 2010-Jun-29 11:51 am: · hey mods ·
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