 Review by mouseferatu 
UPDATED: 1.1 years ago
member for 5.6 years, 2539 visits, last login: 3 days ago
 Im not sure
 $49 per month
 "The jury is out but it leans against FairPoint- I haven't found many yet."
 "Complete confusion surrounds this company and its takeover of N. New England Verizon"
 "I wouldn't go there if you have a viable alternative HSI option."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
I was a Verizon FIOS customer for years with few problems, and am now a FairPoint/Verizon sub-contracted lost-in-the-shuffle customer.
FairPoint purchased all NH, VT, and ME Verizon assets last winter. At this point in time, I am not all that sure that they have figured out what they purchased yet, but it is my hope that they do so before Verizon backs out of their support role all together. That will be on Thanksgiving weekend in my locale if the NH PUC's current consumer information is correct.
Pre-Sales info really involved the sale of Verizon to FairPoint in this case. We we poorly informed, often uninformed, and sometimes misinformed.
Shortly after FairPoint took over, the ONT at my residence failed. The co-ordination in getting it replaced was difficult. FairPoint's residential customer service referred me to Verizon, and Verizon refused to deal with me because they said that I wasn't their customer, and didn't appear to know that they held the sub-contract for all fiber lines. Some several days and a dozen phone calls got me nowhere. It occurred to me that a trip to the local Duncan Donuts might, and it did- a Verizon truck was there and the guy told me how to deal with the mess.
The connection reliability is poor and the excellent Internet access that we were accustomed to with Verizon appears to be a done deal... We have had two new ONT's and are on the third router. The dropped connections are becoming tiresome, and the lousy Actiontec routers are as well. I always used a NetGear Draft N router, but some change in the configuration of the ONT will not allow it to recognize anything but the Actiontec. Tried a couple other brands to get a Draft N router. Nothing. Nada.
Sluggish speed is a new issue as well- we have always gotten at least 10/2, and now 3.5/1.5 seems to be more typical.
The most frustrating aspect of tech support is the number of calls and excessive hold time that it takes to get anything done. No one seems to know who should be responsible for a problem, asking for a manager gets you a promise that "someone will call you back" (they haven't thus far), and the foolish canned message that "you can access us on the web" is pretty useless when you have no Internet connection.
I give them a "two" for services, simply because they still beat dial up, and they are better than my local cable option in this specific location. They do not offer TV, or a "triple-play" type package. The phones are fiber, so they also go down when there is a major malfunction. This is a cell dead zone, so that is problematic for most people.
I give them a "two" for value for money, as they are up- even if it slower- most of the time. The local cable vendor was down more than it was up.
Essentially, I would recommend that you consider all options before going this route. As FairPoint is the only game in town for many folks, it is an inevitable choice, but there are areas in northern New England that are handled well by cable, alternate DSL options and satellite. I would consider them.
Also, check your bill carefully. We have had a number of weird charges that were not ours, mostly out of Nevada and the Islands, billed "for a third party carrier". I have never had problems with either slamming or cramming, so this was also new to me.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Fairpoint Communications |
|
Fairpoint Communications
·
·