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Review by Refresh See Profile

  • Location: Poulsbo, Kitsap, WA, USA
  • Cost: $80 per month (36 month contract)
  • Install: about 10 days
More reliable than smoke signals for connectivity
No reliability, ineptitude or non-education of phone techs
If you have another option for broadband, go with it.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Rather than a blow-by-blow review, I will just post an account of tonights festivities with CenturyLink. Take this, and extend it out for about six years.

Kind of long read, but this is a normal experience for me, as a user of CenturyLink services.
====================================================================
I have CenturyLink DSL. Please take pity on me. Having CL as an ISP has been akin to being trapped in a cartoon, only it's not funny. Here is my latest experience with them.

Like I said, this is just the latest experience with these folks. I have had experiences like this ever since CenturyLink took over Embarq. Bandwidth issues, privacy issues, ineptitude. Nothing but laughs, right?

Since there are no other providers on my street, I am stuck with them. Comcast has lines running seemingly everywhere around my neighborhood. I'm sure if they shot a cable down this street, every single household would subscribe to their television, internet, and even phone services.

There is a piece of fiber optic cable buried 50 feet from my front door, owned by the local power company. However, due to Washington state law, they are not allowed to sell to residential customers, and can only wholesale to businesses.

Satellite, you say? Nope. I won't be subjected to that nightmare again.

I'm thinking that using smoke signals to communicate with the internet would be better than utilizing this "service".

Read on for a giggle. Why am I posting this here? Heck, I'm posting it everywhere. Maybe if I make enough noise, someone up the chain will hear.

2014-02-19 - 5:00pm

Spoke with Wayne at Qwest. Found out that he was with Qwest when I read him my account number. Since the IVR phone system doesn't give a caller an opportunity to bypass the prompts if they don't have a phone number, except if you press '1' for new customers, it routed me to new Qwest services.

Wayne attempted to transfer me to CenturyLink, but hung up on me instead.

2014-02-19 - 6:00pm

Spoke with Aubrey at the support line. Explained to her that I on 2/15 I had my voice service discontinued, with the exception of the state-mandated emergency services. This was done for two reasons:

prevention of further information leakage by CenturyLink. On two seperate occasions, CenturyLink has released my unlisted telephone number.
Stopping the 20-30 solicitation calls that were being received daily. After changing our phone number for the second time, we began receiving a large number of telemarketing, charity, and survey calls.
On 2/19/2014 at approximately 8:20am, we received two solicitation calls. One was a live caller, who wanted us to purchase an ADT alarm system (which we already have). When asked how she got the call through, she stated that the computer dials the number, and she simply answers the call.

The second call was received at approximately 3:40pm. The recorded message was left on our answering machine regarding the placement of a security sign in our front yard.

Aubrey agree that this was not right; we should not be receiving any calls on our voice line. She offered to change the phone number once again, and insure the call blocking was in place.

I asked Aubrey if this would interrupt the internet connection, as we had had problems with changes in past which would interrupt our DSL internet service for 1-5 days. She stated that our internet service would not be interrupted. However, as soon as she pressed "the button" internet service stopped functioning.

Giving Aubrey this information, she seemed puzzled, and immediately requested a supervisor. Approximately 20 minutes of them doing whatever it is they do when the customer is on hold, and the internet service returned. I believed my problems to be resolved, and bid Aubrey thanks and good night.

I spent another 15-20 minutes eating the dinner that I had missed while on the phone with CenturyLink.

2014-02-19 - 6:30pm

Returned to my computer to retrieve email, and perform other work-related functions, and found that I was not able to instantiate a VPN connection. Further checking revealed that I could not attach to some websites such as www.yahoo.com, www.msn.com, etc. One website would load correctly, www.google.com. However, searches failed.

At this point I began troubleshooting my equipment:

disable bridged mode on DSL modem, restart modem - no effect
remove router, connect computer directly to DSL modem, restart modem - no effect
re-enable bridge mode, reconnect router, reconnect computer to switch, restart all equipment - no effect
So no problems found with equipment.

Now, I begin investigating routing issues. Note that no static routes are present on any of my equipment.

The connection between my outside interface (xx.xx.xx.xx) and the CenturyLink interface, or gateway (xxxxxxxxxxxx.sta.embarqhsd.net [xx.xx.xx.xx]) appears to be rock solid. No packet loss, 14ms ping time. Not bad for going all the way to Oregon.

When measuring to internet locations however, packet loss jumped to about 31%. By tracing the route between my host and the remote site (for example, www.google.com), it was found that the connection or routing tables between the following two hosts was having a problem:

por-edge-12.inet.qwest.net [205.171.130.73]
phn-edge-06.inet.qwest.net [205.171.12.142]

Now, (about 7:00pm), I called in once again, this time to the highspeed internet support line. After walking through the above troubleshooting procedure, with the tier 1 tech, he realized I actually knew what I was talking about, and passed me through to tier 2.

I once again explained the above troubleshooting procedure to the new technician, Verna. Verna agreed that the troubleshooting procedure was sound. I explained to her where the problem appeared to be, but she told me that my problems were due to an old modem (model 660R), which should have been replaced long ago.

One more time, I explained to Verna, with a few more details, specifically that every time that a change is made to our service, internet connectivity is lost for one to five days. I also explained once again where the trusty traceroute and ping was showing the problem to be, and the connection between me and the gateway was fantastic. Nope, Verna says it is the modem.

Fine. So Verna orders up a modem, which will not be here for two days. Wonderful.

Verna provides 15 days of credit on current bill, and asked if there was anything else I needed from her. I asked her why internet connectivity is lost every time a change is made. For example, when we added call blocking, and lost internet for two days. Really.

I have to give Verna credit. She took my heated questions with aplomb, and expressed empathy for my problems. She was a real trooper, and there was nothing she could do about my issues. Sorry about dropping the "S" word on you, Verna. You didn't need to listen to an angry geek.

2014-02-19 8:00pm

After cooling off for a few minutes, I realized that I had left the ping monitor running, and wandered back to the home office to turn it off. This is when I noticed that no more packets were being dropped. Some quick testing reveals that somehow, internet functionality has returned!

Well, almost. I'm still getting intermittent drops, and general unresponsiveness. Time for some more looking around.

Some test, like ISPGeeks.com, seem to think I am coming from Witchita, Kansas. I find this interesting, since previously (and for the last several years), these sites report me as coming from White Salmon, WA.

Could this be the root of all the evil ? Did CenturyLink lose a peering point in Portland ? Could it be repercussions from a fiber cut that happened recently in California ?

I, or any other customer, or (sadly) most of the phone techs, will never know.

member for 10.1 years, 2 visits, last login: 10 years ago
lodged 10.1 years ago


linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

about ISPs

Century Link has a footprint in 38 states. Any net user in any state can be routed X number of hops over Y number of carriers between your location, and, let's say google. Pings, and Timeout are probably more important.

Why your neighbor is serviced by company X, but you are not serviced, is all about territory and to whom can use it. Service to residents can be decided by the state legislature, the city you live in, or your county/parish as it is related to your land location.

While I originally had a lot of problems with connectivity where I live, it was resolved when old copper wires were replaced. I left after that for a couple of years due to other issues.

When I came back I stopped roto-calls and solicitations before it began. I de-listed the number before the service was turned on. I do not answer numbers I cannot identify. A couple years down the road when CL upgraded to the DSL over copper phone I had a lot of problems with it. CL finally pulled all the splitter jacks and installed a whole house filter outside on the company side of the box. The modem was upgraded to ZyTel. I've had next to no phone or net problems since.

I've lived in rural America and had the same kinds of problems with 10 providers in three states. Overall the phone company provides a more reliable and stable service than the more expensive cable company.

Aside: There was two years or so when I could not keep a router working (without a lot of interruptions), and the internet up for more than 3-6 months at a time. It was not compatible. I finally found one that did a couple of years ago. It's been fine ever since. It is a mystery that an ABC router works while an XYZ router does not.

Review by crjt85 See Profile

  • Location: Red Oak, Montgomery, IA, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified. (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 10 days
Awaiting an agument over cacellation fee
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I decided to go with Centurylink because they promised I would get 12 Mb where I live (5 blocks from the phone building). They actually said 20 Mb would be possible on a business account. Well, the apartment had no phone line and while I could have installed the wiring myself I decided to have their tech do it as that way if there were issues they wouldn't stick me with a bill for resolving them. This was all done efficiently in early December (2013).

The tech's test meter showed exactly the speed I was promised. Everything worked fine until around Christmas Eve, when the the modem started dropping the connection. I waited until the day after the holiday was over, thinking it might simply be additional users, then called Tech support. Now please understand that I am not complaining about the customer representative or the technicians, all were as polite and helpful as could be. The first tech thought he'd found the problem, bad connections, and all was great again for a couple of weeks and then the same problem began all over again.

The next tech they sent out didn't call me but when I got home that evening it was back to high speed and stayed online, for a couple of weeks, then the same old issue came back except it would now usually stay online for a minute or less. Now, I was told their system was showing errors, and although I thought at first it might be weather related it was very random. I could not pin it down to time of day, day of the week or anything else for that matter. I tried to give them as much feedback as I could in case they could put together some sensible reason for the issue. Having worked with phone lines myself I know that apparently random outages can be hard to find, but once again found myself on the phone with tech support. Another visit from a tech and once again he thought he had fixed the problem, that was about 10:30 am last Monday after tech support had elevated the trouble to local supervisor level. He showed me a display on his laptop which showed errors all over the place before his visit but almost 100% service after...

And it lasted until about 2:30 pm, when guess what, it started all over again. And the resulted in about my 7th call to Centurylink, this time to cancel the service. Not much sense in paying for something I can't reliably use. I estimate since installation the service has been unusable almost half of the time.

Once again I want to stress that I am not blaming the individuals, but do Centurylink not review their own service and equipment when obviously persistent faults are reported? Everything, the line install and modem were all Centurylink, so d'ya think maybe they should check their own lines... I mean it's only 5 blocks to their building. How hard can that be?

By the way I live in Red Oak Iowa and have heard others complain but have no idea of the scale of phone and internet issues.

member for 10.1 years, driveby review (so far)
updated 10.1 years ago

CenturyLink
join:2009-03-09
Boise, ID

CenturyLink

Member

"Awaiting an agument over cacellation fee"

Hello!
Yes, that does indeed sound like a frustrating experience. I can imagine you are feeling quite upset about the whole ordeal. While it's unfortunate we're unable to keep your service, I'm hear to help if you need, or have trouble getting the account closed. You can reach me directly at TalkToUs@CenturyLink.com.

Sincerely,
^Doug
CenturyLink Help

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Me too

I went through the same thing at my house. Finally a savvy old lineman removed all the inside line filters at the jacks and replaced it with a single whole house filter outside and then updated the modem. It's been fine for over two years now.

Five years earlier CL replaced the aging copper lines to my house because it was nearly useless regarding internet.

You have a new line ergo the errors on CL side are between the exterior of your apartment and the plant five blocks away. Chances are, if you have not added a new wireless router, the issue is between the wiring in the building and the plant. (Not all home routers play nicely with CL equipment.)

Review by Eighthman See Profile

  • Location: Troy, Lincoln, MO, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • Telco party CenturyTel
Speed stays consistent
Price is way to high
All out reliable
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

No longer with CenturyLink due to the outrageous pricing for 3.0 Mbps and phone service. Hope this helps.

member for 22.8 years, 3924 visits, last login: 18 days ago
updated 10.1 years ago


Ed in oregon
@qwest.net

Ed in oregon

Anon

Slow internet Pay for 1.5M be happy with a consistant half

I've had Centurylink for almost two years. The only speed offered on my lane is 1.5M. I would be happy with even half that. The ONLY reason I still have them is due to they are the only ones without a data cap that serves me. I was attempting to stream a couple of 15min youtube clips and the speed was running at 144kbs and I was buffering!!!!!!! I've spoken with them twice with hollow promises of new fiber to the distribution point..etc etc etc. I get so stinking fed up with that! I pay $42/month, and if my wife wouldn't like to have some access during the day, I would get rid of this pain.........






Review by Hazy Arc See Profile

  • Location: Greenwood, Greenwood, SC, USA
  • Cost: $46 per month
Connection is ok during the day
Connection slows considerably during evening, no forseeable speed increases on the horizon
If there was a viable alternative, I'd be gone in a heartbeat.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've been a Centurylink (previously Embarq) customer since 2007. I'd like to sit here and tell you it's been fun and games since I became a customer, but sadly that is not the case.

In the 5 years I've been a customer, I'd say my connection has been flawless less than 20% of the time I've had it. In fact, in 2008, I had scheduled a cable install after dealing with a high latency/slow speed problem for over 5 months. Only after I was personally contacted by an employee of then-Embarq asking me to allow them to help did I stick around. It turns out our area had been placed on bandwidth exhaust (big surprise there), and the problem was fixed another 2 months later. Since 2007, I haven't sniffed a speed upgrade - I had 3Mbps then, and that's where I'm stuck. 5 years and no upgrades? Come on!

Nowadays, I rarely get my advertised speeds, and I am experiencing high latency and slow speeds during the evening. I know, I know - why not go to cable? The answer is two-fold: First, my local mom-and-pop cable provider (Northland Cable »User reviews - Northland Cable Television) is notoriously bad, even worse than Centurylink (if that's possible). I have to laugh when I see folks complaining about Comcast/Charter/etc. - I'd give anything to be serviced by them. The other reason I haven't dumped Centurylink is because I have been a true dry loop DSL customer since I started, so I literally pay $39 a month for 3Mbps internet, no bogus taxes or fees that are tacked on like with their insulting "Pure DSL" offering. Since they no longer offer true dry loop DSL, I'm hesitant to drop them - especially if Northland didn't work out. If Centurylink ever removes my grandfather status, I'm outta here.

Ultimately, like many other smaller towns in the United States, the problem is lack of competition. Well, let me rephrase - Centurylink and Northland are certainly in "competition" in Greenwood, South Carolina - but it's a contest of who can provide the worst value for the most money.

member for 17.9 years, 4483 visits, last login: 1.1 years ago
updated 10.2 years ago


Sandy
@centurytel.net

Sandy

Anon

Centurylink Internet Service

Bundled services (CenturyLine called with offer). Accepted. Was to be upgraded from l.5 to l0 mgs along with 5 yr contract, price lock, etc. Guess what. Got shuffled to another bundle which did not have the 5 yr (was one yr), price was different from one quoted and it took two weeks, numerous calls, several hours hold time to even speak with anyone. Has been a horrible mess. May have gotten a little better but internet speed is always below 5 mgs of the 10mgs that I am supposed to have. Like others, the afternoon, evening hours are the worst. Sometimes, the internet light on the modem goes off and I have to turn off and back on after three to five minutes to get it to come back up. Not too happy with the whole thing.
ArizonaSteve
join:2004-01-31
Apache Junction, AZ

ArizonaSteve

Member

Sorry to hear that.

This is not good news since Centurylink just took over Qwest here in Arizona. Qwest was terrible before though so I guess nothing will change.

UpNort
@frontiernet.net

UpNort

Anon

Re: Sorry to hear that

I've had Qwest for years in MN and have been VERY happy with them. I nervous about the switch to CenturyLink. I hope they provide the same good, reliable service we've been getting from Qwest.
BigC23
join:2011-06-01
Rustburg, VA

BigC23

Member

Re: Sorry to hear that

Personally I would start looking to see what your other options are. They're pretty horrible.

jchambers28
Premium Member
join:2007-05-12
Peculiar, MO

jchambers28

Premium Member

Re: Sorry to hear that

I agree they do suck.

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

So sad

I've never heard of 'bandwidth exhaust' but I have heard of being oversold, and of needing to upgrade equipment in the plant to meet customer demand, bad card, and various other plausible reasons.

If you have eliminated all possible wiring issues inside your house, the problem is then moved between box on the outside the house and the nearest POP. You should have a later model router, and best modem for your area system from CL. (I have an ASUS PnP for pc that is flawless as CL does not support non-pc products and I use Mac).

The other issue could be distance from the plant and/or your card in the local plant. If it is all 100%, the chances are the bottom line is the plant needs to be updated. It may come this summer. I remember about 3 -4 months when all was perfectly erratic; I rebooted modern 12 times daily. That mess disappeared, the speed increased and all was wonderful. I am in the middle of nowhere and isolated. I think 10/1 is wonderful -- most of the time. Be patient. The squeaky wheel gets the most grease th quickest.

momof4
@centurytel.net

momof4

Anon

Internet speeds getting worse and worse especially at night

Click for full size
Click for full size
My letter to Centurylink tonight: This has been going on far too long, with many many phone calls to tech help!!! We get most EVERY NIGHT Download speed 0.42 mbps and upload 0.25mbps. We are paying you $75-80 per month for HORRIBLE AWFUL SERVICE IN EVERY WAY!! You finally sent a real tech out to the house who is nice(Frank) but he cannot fix the problem inside or outside. WE have had HORRIBLE SERVICE FOR YEARS, It fluctuates terribly and now that I have been trying to do home business work for over a yea, I feel you owe me/us a HUGE CREDIT!!!!!! we have been keeping track of speeds and I have filed a complaint in a possible class action lawsuit. I have never done that before even when a hospital did a bad surgery and was afraid of us suing but we never did, we are not that type of people. BUT! we DON'T DESERVE YEARS OF OVER PAYING FOR A SERVICE THAT ISN'T legally giving us even near the minimum required.

Review by db7099 See Profile

  • Location: Jefferson City, Cole, MO, USA
  • Cost: $70 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
  • No Cap
Dependable at best
Poor Speeds
Go with someone else if possible
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I had Centurylink before and tried to get them to upgrade speeds for over 8 years with no luck. Switched to cable and got 15 MBS, now cable is dropping this area and I was forced to switch back after 2.5 years. After 10.5 years total Centurylink still has not upgrades this area, keep telling me I'm 17,000 feet from server and 1.5 mbs is all I can get. I'm sorry but 1.5 MBS nowadays is like Dialup was 10 years ago.

Funny I live less than .5 miles outside the city limits of the Capital City of Missouri, you would think I could get at least 5 MBS. Pretty bad, No Cable company anymore and 1.5 MBS internet.

member for 10.2 years, 68 visits, last login: 9.5 years ago
lodged 10.2 years ago

brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

brad152

Member

Cable company dropping?

You must live in a very unprofitable area if the cable company is even dropping you.

Did you try to speak to a local tech about the load in the area and possibly VDSL2 install? If you're in such a low-profit area then the RoI must just not be there to maintain it.
db7099
join:2013-12-23
Jefferson City, MO

db7099

Member

Re: Cable company dropping?

From what I read on the net VDSL2 maximum distance is around 13,000 feet, I'm 17,000 feet from the server they tell me.
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

brad152

Member

Re: Cable company dropping?

Well if they do a remote VDSL2 terminal it's possible to get it closer, and there are other profiles other than VDSL2 8A (8b has same distance as ADSL2+ due to power output)

There are ways to get it done, and if you're willing to pay for a business account, at 17k feet you might be able to pay some cash to have a fiber line ran but since that's over 3mi i would not count on it.

Maybe get with your neighbors and offer to split the VDSL2 upgrade costs and sign a contract with the local management?
sparky007
join:2011-08-25
Phoenix, AZ

sparky007

Member

Fixed Wireless

Might want to check out a few Fixed Wireless solutions..

»radiowire.net/HTML/Coverages.htm

»www.ktis.net/
db7099
join:2013-12-23
Jefferson City, MO

db7099

Member

Basically live in a dead spot

What I was told by the Previous owner was that when they made the cable franchise in this area Mediacom got it but evidently this street wasn't on the map they looked at back in 1973. Basically Mediacom has this whole area except a couple streets, Classic cable came in and picked up this street, few years later sold it to Cebridge, then Cebridge sold it to Suddenlink. Worst Cable service I ever had. I can't pickup any wireless hotspots, but I can get 4g LTE through ATT, not paying that price for capped internet. Radiowire just works off of Hotspots doesn't it, can't find much info on the net other than a contact phone number.


linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Actually

1.5Mbps is a broadband speed. The fastest speed a dialup modem could manage was 56K; 48.8 was closer to reality. The truth if you want a faster speed you need to move closer to the equipment.

You will find the same speed and the same complaint from coast to coast. Telephone companies such as AT&T and Verizon, and cable companies like COX and Comcast sold off their small and midsized markets in the 90s to new companies like Suddenlink and Frontier. They don't want Troy or Branson. They want St.Louis and KC, and cities with dense population and universities. AT&T is in Rolla and Columbia, but it is not where you live, or where I live either. I lived in SWMO when Cox sold out and the sudden disaster moved in. It was total disaster which is one of the reasons I left.

Review by BHayes00 See Profile

  • Location: Las Vegas, Clark, NV, USA
  • Cost: $130 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 3 days
Friendly Service?
SCAM ALERT. They're using the recent CenturyLink Fiber in Las Vegas announcement to dupe customers into buying DSL, not fiber.
Buyer beware. Make sure your getting what you expect.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

We had a sales lady come to our house and told us the neighborhood was recently upgraded to Fiber throughout. I was skeptical, so I pinned them down on upload and download speeds. They said it would be 10mbps down and 7mbps up. 7? I thought, you mean 768kbs right? The tech said no, 7 mbps. Knowing that DSL is not capable at those speeds I gave them the benefit of the doubt, maybe it's fiber with a cap. Fiber with a cap would still be pretty nice, and maybe in the future the cap could be increased.

Anyway still being skeptical I meet the install tech at the front door, and stop her before she starts any work. So this is a 7mbps up and 10mbps down connection right? No she says it's 10mbps down and 1mbps up. Is it fiber to the house or copper? Copper. At that point I tell her to not even bother, call her manager and cancel the order. She was nice enough and I credit her at least for being honest about the service she's was actually installing.

Beware of these people trying to dupe you into thinking you're getting fiber, but actually just getting DSL. If this isn't bait and switch I don't know what is.

Note: the $130 amount was the Internet and Prism Premier TV Bundle.

member for 10.2 years, 2 visits, last login: 10.2 years ago
updated 10.2 years ago

54761437 (banned)
join:2013-01-18
Durham, NC

54761437 (banned)

Member

Fiber

I thought Centurylink was rolling out FTTH in Las Vegas? Or is this another one of those press release deals?
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

1 edit

brad152

Member

DSL is capable of 7Mbps upload easily

VDSL2 is perfectly capable of 7Mbps on the upload. I've had 40/20 from CenturyLink here in Phoenix (although on 40/5 currently)

I could not be happier with them personally, especially compared to Cox.

Also, if your neighborhood was recently upgraded to fiber, then you should at least be able to get 40/5, as when they swap to "fiber" that means they've installed a VDSL2 node so you can get up to 80/40 or 100/12 if you're close enough to the node.

This is the speed I'm getting on my 40/5 via 2.4GHz WiFi:


Rob_
Premium Member
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL

Rob_

Premium Member

Re: DSL is capable of 7Mbps upload easily

If Centurylink didn't CAP their data.. naa, they are being owned here:



-Rob
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

brad152

Member

Re: DSL is capable of 7Mbps upload easily

in Phoenix they do not enforce any caps (Cox does) and Cox's nodes are so overloaded you never get near your speeds for any sustained amount of time. I was paying ~$100/mo for Cox internet that had such bad jitter and packet loss during the day (has happened in four different pars of phoenix) and so many techs out that just admit the CMTS is just overloaded with no plans to fix

Not to mention all the random outages and SDV not wanting to tune - I just dumped Cox and went satellite/DSL, pay $60/mo less and 4x as happy.

Sure, at 3am i'd get my full speed but that's not when I want to use it!

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

I don't think so.

I don't think CL was trying to dupe you. I think the person going house to house was ill-informed. I have 10/1 DSL over copper uncapped.

The 1 uplink is usually around .82. It won't support VoIP but it does support DSL phone over copper. I don't have much trouble, but I don't game or watch streaming movies, either.

techyguy
@rr.com

techyguy

Anon

Re: I don't think so.

Caveat, out of curiosity what is the difference between DSL phone and voip? Is it the same as POTS?

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Re: I don't think so.

POTS: Plain Old Telephone Service. Telecommunication over wireline across America fifty years before the Internet
VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol - Skype
DSL: Digital Subscriber Line. It is almost as good as POTS when installed properly.
BHayes00
join:2013-12-21

BHayes00 to linicx

Member

to linicx
I thought that originally as well, which is why I asked to speak with her supervisor. It was her supervisor that's supposed to be technically knowledgable that quoted those numbers. After talking with centurylink directly they basically claim ignorance cause they "outsource" the door to door sales to a third party company and have no knowledge or apparently oversight into how they sell their service.

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Re: I don't think so.

Somehow this does not surprise me. CL hired Company XYZ to canvas and market. Apparently XYZ wrote their own script and sent untrained canvassers out. Or it didn't write a script and let them sink or swim in 'unfounded' facts.

Review by ccode See Profile

  • Location: Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN, USA
  • Cost: $26 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
  • Telco party Qwest
easy ordering and install, consistent connection
slow
Have just moved on to Comcast
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I ordered their 7Mb service at their introductory rate of $24.99 for 6 months, the fastest available to my address. Tech was only able to get 2.7Mb due to long distance my phone line travels to the network access point. I tried it for a few months but we were barely able to stream Hulu or Netflix and were then unable to have any other simultaneous internet activity on my in-house network. There was just not enough bandwidth. As of today, I have cancelled the service and just has Comcast 25Mb service installed, which is already a huge improvement.

member for 19.7 years, 747 visits, last login: 3.9 years ago
lodged 10.2 years ago


linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

This is

Distance from the plant (office) to the house is the real disadvantage. It is what it is. I live in a very rural area but I am not far from the plant. I have a very reliable phone and Internet 10/1 from CL. Cable does not have the same limitations. If I was a mile farther down the road I could not reach this speed. Our local cable offers 15/5 for $200.

Review by jlangley777 See Profile

  • Location: Mount Dora, Lake, FL, USA
  • Cost: $79 per month (24 month contract)
Horrible, horrible service and the worst customer service in ANY industry!!!
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Great suck-ups during the initial sales phase. Then the trouble begins. Customer service is quite possibly the worst I have ever encountered at in time, in any industry. The most frustrating part was trying to disconnect my service, where I ran into person after person who was poorly trained, rude, obstinate, condescending and robotic. The one thing they were NOT was helpful. I would rather go back to rabbit ears and a DVD player before I would EVER give Century Link another penny. Save yourself the aggravation and pass these incompetents right by.

member for 10.3 years, driveby review (so far)
updated 10.3 years ago


Review by dmk08809 See Profile

  • Location: Clinton, Hunterdon, NJ, USA
  • Cost: $43 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 12 days
Good local line techs in NJ, TalkToUs folks here are responsive and genuinely try help
Slow speeds, sneaky hidden fees added 2x over past year, caps
Cannot recommend any longer. Has gone downhill since becoming CenturyLink. Why do they make themselves so difficult to like?
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I miss the days of long ago with Sprint Local & Embarq before their transformations and eventual merger into CenturyLink. I was one of the original DSL subscribers here in Clinton NJ when it was first introduced in 2001 and can draw upon years of experience where both the technical and customer service aspects of their offerings were remarkably good. (previous review at »Review of Embarq Now CenturyLink by dmk08809 )

Due to "the need for speed" I left CL for Comcast's 50/10 offering in 2012. After a really bad first few months with Comcast back in the Fall of 2012 and after cancelling CL's DSL, I came running back to CenturyLink craving a good, reliable solid internet connection.

The service I ordered was 10M/896k "Pure DSL" however due to the ancient copper cable plant servicing my area (some spans are lead-sheathed and pulp-insulated) the best speeds I could reliably hold were 5M/832k. It was a far cry from the 50M/10M service I had from Comcast at the time but at least it worked. Not much could be done to condition my line for 10M so it ended up at 5M but mostly stable. I say "mostly" since it dropped / resynced sometimes multiple times per week.

Setting up service installation was not timely or well-communicated. After several missed appointment windows service was eventually up and running thanks to a very diligent and conscientious install tech who replaced my drop from the pole due to squirrel damage. I gotta say, those "old timer" techs still around were/are fantastic -- especially compared to their contemporaries at Comcast!

My biggest gripe with CL isn't just the relatively slow speeds available and lack of any new meaningful feature offerings in 6+ years. Its the added fees this past spring ($1) below-the-line and another $2 recently announced. On top of that, you're bound to a 12 month contract and costs increase to $60 + taxes + fees per month for naked DSL after the 1st year. And no, these arbitrary after-the-fact fees are not an excuse to get out of contract w/o ETFs. Not at all a competitive or good value, and even worse for customer perception!

I had a fair share of billing disputes with these guys too. First month was prorated at the full undiscounted cost which they fussed about crediting ~$10 for. The second time was more recently when they dinged a late fee HOWEVER my account was on auto-pay! I called and had to be rather assertive eventually getting the $6 fee credited but it was a tense exchange. Never got an explanation as to why the auto-pay that month didn't function either... Listen, errors/mistakes happen. All I asked was CL "do the right thing" to own up to their error but each time I had to push my case much more vigorously than I should have had to. Left a very bad taste about what CL has become: They don't seem to care one bit about customer goodwill or providing enhanced or improved services - it is all about short-term revenue now. Nothing more, nothing less.

Long story short, I ended keeping CL's DSL for the 12 month contract period and dropped this just this past week since it was headed another $22 per months higher starting with my next bill. The CSR I spoke with seemed indifferent and uncaring at best, didn't even try to persuade me otherwise. At least I have an option now since my Comcast service has been remarkably stable since March but that's another story..

I will say the TalkToUs folks here on DSLR for CL are great, especially Joey. I wish more folks at CL were like him!

Bottom line is I cannot recommend CL any longer here in Hunterdon County NJ. They truly used to be head-and-shoulders above their competition but that's sadly no longer the case. And its not because the competition has improved, but rather CenturyLink has apparently become very complacent about service/features and almost shows contempt toward their customers. It wasn't always like that; around here at least they at one point had a nice, small-town, smaller-company feel to them and actually outwardly appeared eager to provide a good customer experience. Sadly like many other companies, the new CL is nothing like its former components and it really, r-e-a-l-l-y shows and certainly not in a positive way. I'd almost have to say they've reached parity with Comcast - both fighting for the bottom rung of the ladder! Ugh. *sigh*

member for 22.5 years, 3545 visits, last login: 5.9 years ago
updated 10.3 years ago


linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Sprint?

Sprint stopped offering land line in the 90s when they moved to wireless. CL began life in a tiny WI community as a family owned local phone service for 15 families. CL bought Embarq a few years ago to expand west.

What telephone companies hate is oversight. And they don't like the Federal Rules that state they must maintain a connection from border to border, and back- up equipment in the plant to maintain a connection when there is an unexpected power failure.

If you signed up for 10/1, chances are you are getting the same DSL over copper I do. The difference between us is probably distance. I am four blocks from the local plant. No Internet or Cable has federal oversight. I have phone, net, DISH, and I'm 50 miles from a regional office.

The biggest problem most of us have is NO competition. I am served cable Internet and telephone DSL by two telco working out of the same plant using he same fiber. Both are outrageously expensive.

dmk08809
join:2001-09-08
Clinton, NJ

1 edit

dmk08809

Member

Re: Sprint?

Yes, SPRINT. As in Sprint Local, which was formerly United Telephone of NJ (d/b/a New Jersey Telephone Company) before that. Note this was NOT NJ Bell out in the northwestern part of the state. I still have my original DSL modem with Sprint markings from 2001 as a matter of fact in a closet somewhere. Sprint [Local] was a combination I believe of UnitedTel and Centel which not only did they have a LD business but a fairly sizable local operation too that served mostly rural areas. Wireless was cited as one of the main reasons they bailed on wireline and split off into Embarq sometime in 2006.

From Wikipedia: "In 2003 Sprint began recombining their local telecom, long-distance, wireline, and wireless business units into a new company, marketing the combined company as "One Sprint"." ... "The local operations were spun off in 2006 to become Embarq." ... "On October 27, 2008, Embarq announced that it would be acquired by Monroe, Louisiana-based CenturyTel, Inc" ... And finally that was merged with Qwest to become CenturyLink.

Anyway, my DSL here was limited by both distance (~9100 wire feet or so from the CO) and line quality. Even with all bridge taps removed and some plant conditioning the best I could get was 5M/832k. One of the techs here told me some time ago it had to do with thin wire gauges spliced in the span and ancient pulp-insulated lead-sheathed cable plant. I gathered the copper plant in some of my run dates back to the 1940s or perhaps even earlier. I'd bet that was fully depreciated long before I was even born! :P

I'm fortunate to have options at least though you'll never hear me sing praise about Comcast. Neither is very customer-centric. And its disappointing that CL has chosen to basically ignore any upgrades, service improvements, or investment into this area of NJ. For the same price we'd be paying CL for 5M/832k, I'm getting 50M/10M w/ Comcast with about the same level of customer service indifference and residential-grade reliability.

I wasn't kidding when I said I miss the old days where United/Sprint/Embarq had a small truly local feel to them, sponsored local events and even offered annual CO tours as part of a public relations gesture back in the mid/late 80s!

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Re: Sprint?

Sprint, I think, doesn't have much choice these days. The foreign company they tied up with has tunnel vision: my way or the highway: no exceptions. Sprint "retention" was a group of really great problem solvers. Trying to be the good guy and provide a fair service for a fair price turned into one gigantic financial loss for Spring. On the other hand the others never played by the rules, and still don't. They made promises to weak-knee-yellow-belly-legislators, sold off huge debt and old equipment to the unsuspecting, while they spun a sugar web of lies, and then did exactly what they planned to do. I watched the careful deconstruction of the American telephone system in four states. The local land line carriers all did the same thing: They provided the least amount of bandwidth (at the highest price they could squeeze out of customers) without offering customer service. It can only get worse before it breaks.

Where I live rural is 50 miles from the nearest large town. Where you live rural begins about a mile outside of the Trenton plant. I'm within with the mile; I get a solid 10/1. You're outside of the mile. Speed drops every X number of feet. You get the 5/1. As far as I know, the best speed DSL over copper can attain is 10/1. It won't change until CL changes to FTTH or LTE. Where I live there is 4000 customers in 600 square miles of corn, beans and cows. What do you think my odds are of me getting anything like FTTH very soon? Probably about the time everyone in NJ has their own T3 at home. We don't have Comcast or AT&T -- I heard it was $140 for 6/1 in a county seat seven miles from me. .

WE have a second phone company using the same equipment to offer speeds up to 15/5 for $150 plus the cost of expanded cable package, plus modem, plus a below the line $2 retransmission fee. I think my $73 for a landline and 10/1with CL is pretty good deal where I live.

Review by ebgwd6 See Profile

  • Location: Hodges, Greenwood, SC, USA
  • Cost: $85 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 14 days
Bundle with phone for $85/month and unlimited long distance is free
Slow, slow, slower 1.5 meg on paper and 0.4 meg in real lift, NO Tech Support
Sometimes the lower speed is better because of less errors on line
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

We are right at the distance limit for 1.5meg but there are issues on the line quality. Sometimes you can get 1.5 meg but when the neighbors get on the internet it gets really slow. We call each other and keep track of our internet use and share the evening so that other neighbors can watch Netflix too. It is like the old party line in the 60's.

We use the ZyXel EQ-660R
System Name: EMBARQ
ZyNOS F/W Version: V3.40(ACZ.9) | 11/07/2007
DSL FW Version:TI AR7 07.00.02.00
Standard:ADSL2PLUS

Have plenty of experience logging into the modem/router and resetting to get the line back up after errors have stacked up.

Phone support is very painful.
They always start with stuff like, pull off your socks and shoes and count your toes. We try and explain that the simple stuff has been checked before we call but they normally start with the pull of your socks and shoes and count your toes.

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member for 10.3 years, 3 visits, last login: 9.4 years ago
updated 10.3 years ago


linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Me too

I have the same equipment. As you move away from the office the speed drops in small increments. Truly the only way to get faster speed is move closer to their equipment. For most of us this is not an option.

The thing to understand is rural is handicapped by large swaths of farm land and small communities. My county has 15,000 population. Telco is not going to invest a million dollars to bring 50 Mbps to 4,000 people. We use what we have and be glad it isn't the 28.8 dialup that some still have.

As far as the modem this is what I understand. My friendly tech breaks down technical issues into simple language."The modem loses its mind and forgets how to go home." For whatever reason it drops the connection and you have to reboot. There are days when mine can't find the POP, and it's in plain sight.

Bad weather, snow, ice, high wind, brutal heat, squirrels, contractors and a dozen other things are enemies of the internet. If you have a lot of brown-outs or power failures, you really need to look into a UPS.

Good luck!
ebgwd6
join:2013-11-23

ebgwd6

Member

EQ-660 software reset


EQ-660 password
The "modem" is really a modem/router combination. The errors buildup till they block the packets being transferred. At that point the flow of packets stop. I login to my "modem" and do a software reset often, when this problem occurs. It seems to fix the modem for a few house.

Just point your browser to »192.168.2.1/rpSys.html

Password should already be there, so just click on LOGIN.
Then click on IGNORE on the next 2 windows that open.
Click on DIAGNOSTIC and then GENERAL.
At the bottom of the page is button for RESET SYSTEM.
Click it and wait about 90 seconds.
The internet works better each time I use this software reset for my "modem".
Hope it will work for you, too.