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This service started out with Verizon several years ago (hence my installation reviews reflect Verizon's earlier stewardship), and was bought up several years ago by Frontier. DSL and POTS under Frontier started out on a par with the previous Verizon level, but about two years ago, notable deterioration of DSL download speeds began occurring at peak hours, at times bringing things to a complete halt for several minutes. Apparently, server and/or line capacity isn't keeping up with traffic levels, especially after 5pm until 11pm when a lot of users stream data or game. Also, there continue to be unrelated (but fortunately infrequent) problems with POTS heavy line noise/static (caused by cracks in the aging copper) that interfere with the phone service, but not the DSL running at a higher frequency. The copper lines to this area are old and poorly maintained. The service still remains priced at $14.95/mo "for life," as originally contracted with Verizon. 10/6/14 Update: in discussing this with a Frontier tech on site, Frontier is currently only using one pipeline for all the DSL service in this entire NE Indiana region; speed complaints have been growing rapidly for several years as the capacity has completely saturated during the peak evening hours, and the frustrated techs are getting the brunt of the complaints. Unfortunately, Frontier management is apparently ignoring the problem and feedback from its own techs, as it instead chases after fiber customers - all of which creates a major ongoing problem for those of us DSL users who haven't been given fiber service into our areas nor are on any schedule for getting such service. Most nights, DSL speeds here often intermittently drop to or below dial-up speeds for several hours at a stretch, and Frontier seems unwilling/unable to deal with the problem or to honor their speed commitments. 12/11/14 Update: service continues to deteriorate in terms of how often the speed slows down. From 1600 hours onward, download speed deteriorates virtually every night. By 2030, speeds are at 20kb/s or at a complete halt (even the speed tests sites "hang"). At 2300 or 2330, speeds generally start rapidly recovering until by midnight, speeds are back to mid-day normal. Am currently paying for full service, but in practical terms am receiving only 17 hours or less per day of usefulness. At evening speeds of 20kb/s or so, almost no website will download more than a header or two without stalling out completely. Tech support is useless in this situation, as phone reps are in denial and field reps all point at chronically overloaded DSL trunk servers and a management team that refuses to remedy things. 2/13/15 Update: On 15 December, I wrote a complaint letter to the local Frontier general manager. Three days later, a rep came to the door and explained that Frontier had found a problem wherein the neighborhood was being served by a single T1 line dating back to the "old Verizon days", rather than a DSL trunk. He indicated that a hard-wire changeover would be complete within 10 days and the various neighborhood accounts switched over by early January. This was accomplished as scheduled, and since early January, our DSL service has been running 100% of the time at its max-rated speed for the account type. In retrospect, while Frontier might have various trunk-server problems, this was not that. Their speed and accuracy in responding to the complaint letter was commendable. The only negative is that their Field Support didn't correctly identify the actual problem cause much earlier on. 9/28/16 Update: Service has remained largely within contracted DSL rates since 2015 problem resolved. However, visibly poor physical condition of lines, poles, pole boxes, and area connection hubs causes occasional intermittent DSL slowdowns in very wet weather. One is left with the impression Frontier is mostly just riding their copper-wire business sector into the ground. member for 19.1 years, 7367 visits, last login: a few hours ago updated 7.4 years ago
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