 Review by semick 
member for 9.7 years, 141 visits, last login: 22 days ago
updated 4 years ago
 Cleveland,Cuyahoga,OH
 $70 per month about 29 days Cavalier "Price, 2-3X faster DSL than AT&T" "Long Customer Service Queue times, poor service in Ohio" "be prepared to fight to get your money's worth"
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despite the advertising in Ohio you will not get:
Remote call forwarding
Anonymous Call Rejection
Call Blocking
No Call waiting caller Id
No voicemail notification on your phone (only the stutter dial tone)
No documentation on web site for Ohio customers
7-3-07
I think I'm the first Ohio customer to post a review on here.
Our family has been using AT&T POTS and DSL and paying between 80-90 a month with caller Id, and call waiting. I really wanted the anonymous call rejection and all the other included calling features including voicemail. I was quoted dsl download speeds of 1,000 - 8,000 kbps and being about 7,000-8,000 feet from the C.O I am hopeful of better speed.
I'm currently getting 1239 / 323 (Kbps) from dslreports speed test. The Cavtel bill is supposed to be
HI-SPEED INTERNET with Unlimited Long Distance Calling, just $49.90
+ "Tax" (didn't ask about USF but I will). I think it is supposed to be about 67$.
I will post the total price on the first bill when I get it. I was told it would take about 13 days.
The cable company here in Euclid, Ohio was Adelphia, now time warner and that costs about 80 a month and would be about 120-130 I believe for cable + internet + phone.
if cavtel doesn't work out I will go to roadrunner I think.
Scott Emick
Euclid, Ohio
8-1-07
I noticed I couldn't connect to google today on at&t dsl. I picked up the phone and dialed a few wrong numbers, got a different voice on the error messages. I'm assuming cavtel finally is in! I swapped out my at&t DSL modem for the Zhone modem they sent me, plugging my 4 port wireless router into that. 30 seconds later, I am up and running again.
My first flash speed test I got 1308/477. So I have an improvement in my up speed from at&t, that is good. But I am not seeing the DSL2 speeds yet. I will remain hopeful at this point.
8-3-07
My speeds are now averaging 1200-1300 down and 600 up. Calling features are not yet working like *77, *72, *60 etc. Calling customer service average wait time is 20 minutes. I called dial tone repair and they said the switch was working, sent me to customer care (who had originally sent me to dial tone repair).
I am going to keep calling them until they get my calling features working. Also I cannot click on any of the broadband tv content on their website, it tells me I am unauthorized.
I didn't have incoming calls for the first 2 days either. There was a porting problem from AT&T. At least basic phone service is working and voicemail as well.
8-5-07
Peak speeds on DSL 1600-1700 down and 788 up now. Average is about 1.5 down and 600 up. Customer service and dial tone repair are clueless how to fix my *77, *72, and *60. These services simply do not function. Repair just asks me if I need instructions on how to use them (duh, no). And customer support cannot remove and reassign the calling services because my "order is in progress". I wonder how many days/months/years my order will be in progress. A simple matter of turning on some flags in a switch to allow me to use anonymous call blocking, call blocking, and call forwarding for Cavtel is a monumental task. In my last email to them, I simply told them to please just clip on to the damn line and test the services yourself. I have been using enhanced calling features like these for 20+ years now and don't need instructions. I am a bit disappointed in the ADSL2 speeds, but eventually I will test from the network interface and if the speeds are better, then I will run new wiring to the modem. I have given up calling customer service for now, the hold times are ludicrous.
8-13-07
Calling features (other than call waiting, three way calling, and voicemail) remain disabled. I believe that Cavalier even had AT&T come out and switch the wire pair I'm on from the C.O. to here which removed a bit of a hum but didn't do too much to improve speed I am hovering around 1.9 down and 600 up or so.
I would really like my calling features. I cannot understand why these do not work. I thought that was basic software that came with the switch. I also don't understand how Cavalier can close out trouble tickets without clipping on to my line and test if the features work, or ask me to do it. As of today, I am going to start including a link to this review and remind Cavalier that they are *spotlighted* in Broadband Reports web site.
8-14-07
Today like many days I call into customer service and she cannot find the account after I waited 45 minutes on hold. Then she hangs up on me. I cannot bear to wait in queue today again so I fire off another email asking When are my &*^% services going to work? I think I need to put in a PUC complaint and file an AG complaint to get someone there to actually help me.
8-18-07
Well it has been 4 days and several complaints later. They have established a new trouble ticket and have fixed absolutely nothing. I don't get any status updates or feedback other than "we're working on it". Yeah, and I am working on winning the lottery every day too and getting hit by lightening. In case I didn't mention it, here in Cleveland this is what I am experiencing:
working:
voicemail
call waiting
three way calling
call return (*69)
Speed Dialing (*74)
not working:
voicemail notification on phone
caller id w/call waiting
Call blocking (*60)
Anonymous Call Rejection (*77) - this one is very important, one of the reasons I switched to Cavtel
Call Forwarding (*72)
8-20-07
DSL has been down since yesterday at 2PM. Luckily I have unlimited data plan on my Alltel phone and a USB cable. I could not get through to customer service on the phone during the day, but woke up at 3am and was able to get through. Apparently they have some issue on their network because my modem connects to the DSLAM ok, but I cannot ping anything. 12 Hours down so far, I will see how long this goes on.
5AM
I couldn't sleep so I decided to change my wan port on the router to static ip and fill in the DNS. So the tech guy was wrong, the network seemed fine except maybe their DHCP server was down. But at least my internet is working again.
8-28-07
Well after 4-5 more customer service calls and about 10 emails to Cavalier, nothing has changed. The switch here in Cleveland is still not programmed for call forwarding, Call Block, Anonymous Call Rejection, Call waiting caller id (I just think they don't offer this one). I always get different answers each time and never any resolutions. The only thing that keeps me on with them is the faster DSL speed that I am getting over AT&T. I am consistently getting almost 3.0 mbps down and 700 kbps up. They screwed up my first bill and charged me the 34.95 + 25.00 for the DSL instead of 49.90, so I had to call and get a 10.05 credit. Also I was charged 2.00 for a Data Service Recovery Charge. I am not sure what this is but I will enquire.
9-21-07
I now have all my calling features except Anonymous Call Rejection, Call Blocking, and there also is no Call Waiting Caller ID or Voicemail Notification (other than the stutter dial tone). One of the original reasons I switched to Cavtel was for the Anonymous Call Rejection and this remains a sore point with me. Customer service queue times are still terrible and no IPTV yet here in Cleveland. My bill is incorrect each month, I have to call and get a credit every month because they aren't giving me the package rate. Instead I am being billed seperately for phone and DSL. My down rate remains consistant at around 3 mbps which is a great improvement over AT&T (I am 8,000 feet from the C.O.). My up rate is consistant at about 700 kbps. My overall phone bill is about the same as AT&T so I have really gained nothing for all the heartache except a little DSL speed. I did run into one friendly customer service agent who credited me for almost an entire month's bill though after he heard my story. Becuase of that, I have actually realized savings over AT&T although not the way I had envisioned doing so.
10-12-07
I just wanted to say that lately it seems like I am getting through to customer service quicker and they are handling things a little better. I have to call each month to get a 10 dollar credit because I am on the 49.90 plan and am being charged 10 dollars too much. This is because the billing software has a problem with recurring credits I am told. Beware that you can get into an infinite loop with the automatic voice response system when it asks you what your billing issues are. This could be the reason for the decreased hold times, all the customers are simply caught in that infinite loop! You have to keep hitting 0 at the right times, talking at the thing doesn't seem to help.
12-15-07
Cavalier is finally billing me correctly! It is amazing...Now I am just waiting for the IPTV in Cleveland along with anon call rejection, call block, call waiting caller id, remote call forwarding, and anything else they feel like throwing in.
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