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Review by wcnghj See Profile

  • Location: Rumford, Oxford, ME, USA
  • Cost: $30 per month
  • Install: about 16 days
Local provider, reliable, stable pricing.
Upload speeds are lagging behind as a result of the technology used.
Left their Internet for Time Warner, keeping GWI for basic home phone.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Update 12/31/2013: Left GWI for Time Warner's 15/1 plan with a promo price of $34.99 for 12 months. Keeping Basic GWI phone for around $30/month, includes incoming calls, Caller ID, Call Waiting, etc. All outgoing calls are 5 cents a minute.

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Update 6/10/2013: Things are still going well, have been on the 7/1 Package and All-Maine phone for quite some time. It's under $70/month including tax. I do think an upgraded upload speed is in order from them.

GWI: »www.speedtest.net/result ··· 8180.png

Comparison with LTE from US Cellular at the same location: »www.speedtest.net/result ··· 3215.png

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Update 7/15/2011: GWI recently changed their speed tiers,and will be automatically switching customers in the coming months. The new plans are 7/1 for $29.95 when bundled with phone and $34.95 for 20/1 when bundled with phone! I called today and they were able to switch me from the 5/1 to the 20/1 for no price increase! Cool! They said I would be able to get up to 16/1 based on my distance.

»www.speedtest.net/result ··· 2033.png

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Update 4-16-2011: Things are still going great! Speeds are regularly more than 5mpbs(usually 5.04) and uploads are around .85, on the 5/1 plan. I now have all Maine phone and internet for $59/month after tax. It is wonderful.

___

Update 5-31-08: I have upgraded to 5/1 for $4.95 more per month, I am working on getting my Westell 6100 working with GWI in hopes of getting better speeds than I am with the GWI provided modem.

GWI Supplied Modem:
»www.speedtest.net/result ··· 3995.png

Older Verizon Modem:
»www.speedtest.net/result ··· 3195.png

___
It all started when Fairpoint took over DSL and Phone in the area, I wanted out. The first day Fairpoint took over, we were without DSL for a few hours.

I decided to give GWI a spin. I ordered the Local Phone and Regular(3/768) DSL for $60 a month, and added inside wire maintenance for $3.33 a month, bringing the total to $63 a month. This is $1 cheaper than verizon was.

The Cons:
*Included Caller ID is just number ID(They clearly state this).
*If you want full Caller ID, you have to get it with other services(3 way calling,etc. This costs $5/month extra).
*Phone service took 16 days to get setup.

The Pros:
*Call Waiting is included for free on all phone planes!
*Internet speed on the download side is higher than advertised, and upload is very close!
*DSL only took 2 days to get the modem, and 2 more days for service to be active, 4 total days!
*https://selfcare.gwi.net/Login.jsp - Online Service for Phone Logs!

The modem provided was an older Westell model.


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member for 15.9 years, 790 visits, last login: 1.8 years ago
updated 10.2 years ago


yo
@rr.com

yo

Anon

Verizon

Fairpoint has not yet taken over the Verizon wired line yet. So you can blame Verizon for it . The Sale is complete but rest of transition will take a while.
wcnghj
join:2008-05-01
Simsbury, CT

wcnghj

Member

Re: Verizon

Meh, I can only imagine how bad it will get.

Review by pozhinat

  • Location: Augusta, Kennebec, ME, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
The rates that were promised were received for the most part.
Terrible customer service that does not respect its most loyal customers, a lot of drop outs and problems for wireless
The price was cheap and we got what we expected but the overall problem was the fact they practically told us to F off.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
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Services:
Value for money:

My family has used GWI for over a decade. My father enjoyed the
guaranteed rates that he was buying but did not listen to the rest of the
house plea for higher rates. At night when about 4 computers were all using
the broadband (mine being video games needing a lot of connection power)
the rates were abyssmal. Not to mention the router is in a very poor
position for our home. It is not centralized at all, we have a long house
and a computer at each end. Anyways my concerns with the speeds aren't what
I mean to address but you should consider that when you are deciding how
much speed you need. No my concern is that I am currently writing this
review on my Android. My father started listening to our concerns and
started shopping elsewhere. He told them this and later disconnected our
PHONE from GWI and only our phone. About a week later I get on my computer
and suddenly the internet drops. We call them up and they tell us our plan
was cancelled. Even after explaining the miscommunication they told us it
would take at least 2 weeks to re-order our internet. That they couldn't
just flip a switch and turn it back on. Oh but you could just flip a switch
to turn it off right? For a company that boasts its helping Mainers spare
themselves the hassel of not dealing with large companies and their flaws,
you really dropped the ball on this one GWI customer support. A loyal
customer for over ten years and you tell him you're going to take 2 weeks
to get his internet back up. Thank you for guaranteeing our move to another
company.


(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 11.5 years ago


Review by Jeremy1976 See Profile

  • Location: Belfast, Waldo, ME, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
Speed is back to normal for me
Not sure how long it will last
I'll keep my fingers crossed
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
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Value for money:

I dont have many options where i live i have underground utillities to my house and i live 500 ft from the pole so im pretty limited. I used to have Verizon and then they got bought out by Fairpoint i had a 3 mb dsl line and synced up at 1.5. So i decided to opt for GWI which offered a 10mb dl and 1mb ul. Pretty much my service has been very very sporadic with no connection or a weak connection to 6mb at the best. The problems are so bad ive made at least 50 phone calls to tech support, they must have a log on me 10 pages long because now when i call them they wont do anything to help me. As soon as i give them my user id theyre like oh this guy again. What can i say i pay $75 a month for phone and internet through them and im extremely unhappy with my internet. I never get a consistant connection its usually 3mb or less and i want better speeds. I play alot of games on my ps3 that is pretty much what i use my internet for the most thats the important thing for me and the experience is lousy. When i first started calling tech support they would mess with some settings and get me close to 6 mb dl again over the phone but now they wont even bother all they say is weve done everything we can on our end. Im so annoyed with them thats their job. When i lose half my speed thats a problem i shouldnt have to call them 5 times a week. Im gonna switch back to fairpoint i guess just because its cheaper and at least with them my connection was consistant even though it was slow, but i think the ping times were better with fairpoint. GWI says they offer high speeds but be careful because it might be a lousy connection that you have to keep resetting your modem and calling tech support a 100 times. And if you call to much tech support knows who you are and wont help you at all anymore. Ive had service through them four about a year, theyve got enough of my money.

Update: 1/23/12 So i had a visit today from a tech support guy his name was Frank he was a nice guy and seemed pretty knowledgeable he got my bandwidth back to normal for me. I discussed with him how i was actually more concerned with my Ping/latency then my actual bandwidth. He did some further tests and at my local hub and NID outside and found some grounding issues and has put a ticket in with Fairpoint (they are the telephone company who owns the lines). Hopefully they follow through with this. I was really really close to switching back to Fairpoint. I actually still have an order in with them to switch my line back over but ill call and cancel it in the morning. I feel like they are actually trying to fix the problem for me now and ill give them one more shot. I'll keep my fingers crossed and update when i know more.

member for 12.2 years, 30 visits, last login: 10.4 years ago
updated 12.1 years ago

erickh9
join:2011-06-14
Saco, ME

erickh9

Member

Tech visit?

Hello, this is Erick with GWI technical support. I am sorry you have been having connection issues and would like to help. I have a tech in the Belfast area today and we may be able to fit in a visit if you are available. Please give us a call at 800-229-2096 and ask for Erick in level 2. I look forward to hearing from you!

Review by MaineMike See Profile

  • Location: Portland, Cumberland, ME, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
No problems - Good Service
This is a good deal!
Pre Sales information:
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I have been using GWI for over seven years. I currently get 12 Mbps down and almost 1 Mbps up for $50 per month. I think it's a good deal and I like supporting a Maine company.

member for 19.8 years, 40 visits, last login: 3.2 years ago
updated 12.2 years ago


braynes
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Waterville, ME

braynes

Premium Member

gwi

YES It about the only real game in the state,very hard to beat.
Bruce






Review by hammerken See Profile

  • Location: Sanford, York, ME, USA
  • Cost: $80 per month
  • Install: about 2 days
Great service, reliable and as fast as advertised
none
fair price, good product, best offering in the area
Pre Sales information:
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They have great customer service, reliable, and fairly priced. Recent speed upgrade was a little overdue, but was at no increased cost! that' and phone service, all for a bundled savings. Recommended in the area as the one to use, cable was spotty and poorly supported.

member for 18.6 years, 14 visits, last login: 12.3 years ago
lodged 12.3 years ago







Review by erikthebean See Profile

  • Location: Manchester, Hillsborough, NH, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Extremely Stable Internet
No Static IP's G.DMT connection
Not a bad price
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
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Services:
Value for money:

Well MV Comm went under so I needed a replacement. I know that GWI serves Manchester, Exeter, Portsmouth, and Dover so since i'm in Manchester I figured what the heck. Placed the order with them, the deal with GWI is what you sync at is what you get. I was told by their sales dept that I could sync up at around 7-10 Mbps, but it looks like i'm on a older DSLAM (g.dmt not ADSL2+) so i'm only sync at around 3Mbps :-(. I kind of expected that, but if I was on ADSL2+ I think I would get faster speeds. That isn't the end of the world though due to reasonable latency rates, and I like that they use SPRINT for a upstream along with Level3.

All in all i'm satisfied. Wish i could get a static but i'm a residential account, plus if anyone can hear me ADSL2+ please :-D.

UPDATE: So GWI (Ryan) called to see how my line was doing. He was great to deal with I told him about my line being on g.dmt instead of ADSL2+. He did some changes swinged it over to ADSL2+ and didn't notice much of a difference and said it looked better on dmt so it was left there. He seemed to know his stuff and was able to answer all of my geek like questions. I totally recommend these guys.

8/28/11: I had GWI, but got a better price from a local company in New Hampshire, so I recently canceled my service. These guys are very good and I would recommend them.

member for 16.7 years, 1174 visits, last login: 4.9 years ago
updated 12.5 years ago


Review by ElJay See Profile

  • Location: South Portland, Cumberland, ME, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
Incredibly reliable connection with stable, predictable speed. Local company.
None
A great, local option for broadband
Install Co-ordination:
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I've had great experience with GWI at two locations since 2004. The connection is rock solid and the speeds are very consistent. In the rare occurrence when I need to contact tech support, I've always been helped in a friendly, competent manner at any hour of the day.

GWI has been deploying speed increases recently and I found my connection speed bumped up a bit, even though I thought I was already maxed-out for my distance.

member for 20 years, 2421 visits, last login: 24 days ago
updated 12.6 years ago

shit7
join:2003-07-14
Skowhegan, ME

shit7

Member

Welcome

Well I was in the same boat as you.also swiched from dial-up from prexar,I also have the same kind of modem.I can fully agree with you,the service is great.

Review by scotepi See Profile

  • Location: Augusta, Kennebec, ME, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Good speed, nothing blocked, great tech support
$50 for a 5/1, DSL
Little expesnsive but worth it to have nothing blocked on a home connection
Pre Sales information:
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Its DSL, my first hop is about 25ms and anything beyond that is only another 5ms. I get 4250/768 out of my 5/1 plan consistently. They don't block anything even downloading over 700gb in one month. Port 80 is open. Tech support rocks!

Its a bit expensive at $50 for only 5/1 but I don't have phone.

member for 12.8 years, 9 visits, last login: 12.6 years ago
updated 12.8 years ago

wcnghj
join:2008-05-01
Simsbury, CT

wcnghj

Member

Plan

What plan are you on exactly?






Review by buzz_4_20 See Profile

  • Location: Presque Isle, Aroostook, ME, USA
  • Cost: $39 per month
  • Install: about 5 days
Great Tech Support. People That Know What They Are Doing
Isn't Fiber
Great service with people in the know
Pre Sales information:
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Got my modem before I was provisioned. Still worked, just not at top speed. I don't have my full upload but after I emailed them and they told me that the signal levels at my modem limited me to slightly less than my 1meg up, i didn't care that it wasn't full speed because the told me it was the signal noise. No BS just the facts.

Now since Fairpoint has ended line sharing GWI has moved to a flat rate $50 plan for naked DSL users. up to 20/1. I'm around 12.5ish all the time. They told me about the exact speed I qualified for with no runaround. They've been great to me the entire time I've has them for Service and have seen virtually no downtime. I'll stick with this company for a long time to come.

member for 20.5 years, 5135 visits, last login: 42 days ago
updated 12.9 years ago


Review by fatpipeblues See Profile

  • Location: Brewer, Penobscot, ME, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Install: about 5 days
If close to CO cannot be beat in Maine
20/1 for $50/month no contract
Pre Sales information:
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Have used verizon then fairpoint in ME for over 5 years of solid DSL access. Never any problems with either company other than best speeds available was 3/768 plan. Recently GWI updated my local CO equipment which got my notice. Then GWI did away with tiered naked dsl pricing model to flat price regardless of speed. This really got my attention so I called to confirm and then jumped from fairpoint to gwi. To summarize those living close to CO can now get 20/1 plan for 50 bucks month. You will not find a better deal anywhere for these speeds. To note I am about 1000ft run to CO and am using own equipment (westell 327w) which is fine as long as you accept no modem tech support. The line was ready on install date (3-16-11). My modem took longer than usual to sync (several auto reboots) but did come up after 5 minutes. Quick tests showed speeds topped out near 8.5 mps. Looked at transceiver stats and noted line mode was still g.dmt. Quick email to tech support and they switched the line to adsl2 mode w/in hours and my modem synced right to 20/1. Consistent real world speeds of 18.5/1+- The adsl2 connect has been up for days without a release, for all practical purposes this line has a static IP. As unbelievable as it sounds I am now suffering from fat pipe blues as I have no idea what do do with all this new found bandwidth. Streams are flawless, bt downloads rip at 1800 or so when peers can support, and server dl are fast. Other than fiber this is as good as you can hope for anywhere but esp in ME.

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member for 13 years, 1 visits, last login: 13 years ago
updated 13 years ago