dslreports logo

Review by VegasMan See Profile

  • Location: Las Vegas, Clark, NV, USA
  • Cost: $70 per month
  • Install: about 3 days
  • No Cap
Symmetrical 1gpbs
Good Service
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Everything with install was great. 20 minutes and he was done.
Only issue I have noticed since install 6/23 has been a few nights when the local network has been congested and it will direct traffic to Phoenix so ping times will increase.

member for 21.3 years, 7330 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 82 days ago







Review by Jessenwn See Profile

  • Location: Minneapolis, Anoka, MN, USA
  • Cost: $121 per month
  • Install: about 16 days
Unlimited and high speed
Rough customer support
Hope you don't need extras for residential fiber.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

During the installation phase, there was several problems which resulted in the tech having to be rescheduled. After having verified the paperwork was in order again, we were notified that there wasn't equipment available to complete the install. Third attempt, the installation was quick and painless.

After activation, I wasn't given information retaining how to use my own router setup (PPPoE login, pass, etc) to replace the C4000XG we were supplied with. After managing to figure it half of it myself by using the modem's current settings and piecing together what I could, things ran fine.

Now the bad which has caused the most headache over the last two days is trying to get a Static IP for a Post-paid Residential Fiber plan. I have combed through their FAQ, verified that Post-Paid could request it. Every attempt to speak to a representative ended with another reason as for why the process couldn't be done. I didn't see any information retaining to how "E-Shop" accounts aren't supported, nor that there are territory issues that could prevent it. If anything, the FAQ is extremely misleading and/or out of date. Due to this, I'm starting to regret leaving Xfinity even though the main drawing point to switching to CenturyLink was the upload speed and the uncapped connection for IPTV.

For those wishing to switch to the service, verify and get in writing you're able to get a Static IP as some services (Directv, etc) allows only four home location resets per year and any time you need to reset your router, there is a chance you'll have to reset your home location or call support.

Link to FAQ: »www.centurylink.com/home ··· ses.html

member for 1 year, driveby review (so far)
updated 1 year ago

FreeBSDfan
join:2022-04-28
Seattle, WA

1 recommendation

FreeBSDfan

Member

Static IP pain, dynamic IP pain

I have CL Fiber. I wanted a static IP, since the dynamic IP changes whenever I reboot my OPNsense box or change something in my homelab.

The postpaid account is a mess. You could rent a CenturyLink gateway on a prepaid account, so why can't we have static IPs? I just said "I'll live with a dynamic IP".

It's a bit hard for a Tor relay operator, since if I change my IP too frequently, Tor clients are less likely to use me.

The service generally is good, despite what I said.

Review by phreich See Profile

  • Location: Portland, Clackamas, OR, USA
  • Cost: $65 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
Great speed and solid connection via true fiber to the home
Customer service is not the best, especially overseas reps
Recommend service highly, but be prepared to jump through hoops with retention dept.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Centurylink's fiber to the home in the Portlland, Oregon metro area works flawlessly, and they have no data caps.

I got upgraded to fiber at their technician's request when my then 40Mbps bridged VDSL started having issues due to the old copper up on the poles. Since then it has been rock solid. I just upgraded to gigabit service, and that went well too, with a couple of caveats (see below and the "update" at the end).

The only issue I had was the "retention" customer service rep I placed the order with had told me she would include a free replacement modem with the upgrade, but she forgot to place the equipment order. I had to call back and get the "retention" department again and they ordered the modem, and placed an offsetting credit on my account to cover the cost. The regular customer service folks (overseas call center) said they couldn't supply the modem without charging me for it -- but the "retention" (US call center) folks were able to do it.

The reason I needed the replacement modem is that the ZyXEL C3000Z that I got when they converted me to Fiber had always had a flakey web gui. Many of the "advanced" settings (like port forwarding) didn't work, the web gui would glitch out if the modem hadn't been rebooted recently (I suspect the program had a "memory leak"), and if I attempted to reboot the modem via the web gui, the modem would always lock up.

My hope was that the newer Greenwave C4000XG they were now supplying new customers would work better, and it has. However, see update below -- there is an issue with higher speeds. Port forwarding works, and the modem seems stable. This newer modem also has vastly improved wireless capabilities -- it has wireless ax, which is an improved version of wireless ac. Wireless ax is also known as "wifi 6". The only issue I ran into is that it went into a bootloop when I tried to use the "Dynamic DNS" function. I had to do a factory reset to get the modem working again. It is too bad that Centurylink doesn't do thorough testing of their modems functions before they start sending them out.

A few suggestions when adding (or upgrading) to Centurylink Fiber:

1. Centurylink usually offers new customers a free "fiber modem" so you don't have to buy one or rent one from them. But you have to ask for it, otherwise they might not give you one. If you are upgrading from DSL or VDSL to fiber, they often can offer you this deal too, but you have to ask for it.

2. Centurylink also offers new customers free installation. Again, you have to ask for it, or they might not give it to you.

3. Regarding the "Fiber modems" they offer, make sure to request the latest (as of 11/2022) the Zyxel C3510XZ. All the other fiber rated "fiber modems" have serious firmware glitches that are NOT getting fixed. The C3510XZ also has wireless AX, which can offer a real wireless range and speed boost to newer devices that support AX. It will also work well with older wireless AC and wireless N devices too.

4. Make sure they put you on a "price-for-life" plan. These usually don't have a contract, but guarantee they won't raise their service rates as long as you don't change your service. There's no downside -- if they lower their rates, you can have them put you on a new rate plan with that rate, and hopefully it will also be a "price for life" plan.

5. It makes sense to review your rate at least once a year to see if they have lower prices. Centurylink won't automatically lower your bill -- you have to ask for it.

Update as of 11/2022.

Since I qualify for the new $30/month "Affordable Connectivity Program" (aka ACP) federal subsidy, I decided to contact Centurylink about upgrading my speed to Gigabit. Since I was already on Fiber, there were no equipment upgrades required -- just the upgrade in the service from 80Mbit to Gigabit service. I did the upgrade, and due to the subsidy, my monthly total cost actually went down a bit.

Centurylink's standard charge for Gigabit service is $85/month, but a quick call to their "retention" department can net you a permanent $20/month "loyal customer discount", which brings the bill down to $65/month. Subtract the $30/month subsidy and that becomes $35/month for Gigabit service. It's a great deal.

Problem with Greenwave C4000XG "fiber modem":

However, there was soon an issue that surfaced with their provided C4000XG "fiber modem". On my main computer, it would freeze that hard wired port multiple times a day. All other ports and wireless access would still work. I tested this on different ports, and the problem followed. I tested my cabling, and there were no issues found. A reboot would clear it up, but it kept occurring, sometimes up to 10 times a day. I contacted their technical support, and they replaced the c4000xg modem with a new c4000xg. The same thing happened. I contacted them again, and this time got connected to a US based technician, who determined it was a problem with the firmware in the c4000xg. She then sent out a replacement "fiber modem", a Zyxel C3510XZ, and since then the service has been flawless.

Discovered they offer a phone&gigabit fiber plan bundle for same price (almost):

In one of my subsequent calls to Centurylink, the rep mentioned that they have a phone/gigabit internet bundle for the same monthly cost as the gigabit fiber by itself. The only additional cost are the fees and taxes for the phone line, which add up to around $8-$9/month in my city in Oregon. This sounded like a no-brainer upgrade, but there was an issue.

Centurylink new policy: addresses with Fiber are only allowed phone via service via Fiber (VoIP):

The rep assured me that the phone line would continue to be available should there be a power failure. This turned out NOT to be true. It turns out that Centurylink has a policy that, once a line has been upgraded to fiber, they will NO LONGER provide copper pair service to the address. This is true even if the old copper pairs are still present and functional. Due to this, when the power goes out, the power to the Fiber end-point in the home goes out, and it's that end-point that provides the phone port for fiber connected customers. Unlike some providers, Centurylink does not provide a battery backup to rectify this.

I escalated this issue up to the Oregon Public Utilities commission and to the Oregon State Attorney General's office of consumer protection. The PUC said that, unlike regular copper pair POTS (plain old telephone service), Centurylink's fiber based phone service was considered to be VoIP, and so was unregulated, and wasn't required to work during power outages. The State AG office said similar things, but got the Centurylink rep assigned to the complaint to agree to a one-time good-will exception to pay for a battery based UPS (Uninteruptable power supply) via a credit to my account to offset the expense.

/Begin Rant/

This policy of Centurylink to refuse to provide copper pair based POTS telephone service (which is still regulated, and does require them to provide service during power outages), seems a disingenuous and sneaky attempt at avoiding regulation. Their "reasoning" is that they don't have replacements for the switches this older service has. That's not true. Copper based switches are still made and are available and could be installed where needed -- but it is likely the case that the specific ones they are using are no longer available, so this is really a form of dissembling....

I know that some (likely younger) folks may not understand why this is important. The reason the regulations were put in place that mandate that regular telephone service works in a power outage is that it is considered an "essential service" that can prevent loss of life, especially for the elderly, the young, handicapped, and infirm. (Note, that's why, if you have a non-voip land-line, it is important to have at least one "regular" corded phone in the home, because that phone will still work from the power supplied via the phone line.)

One other ramification of this is that home security systems usually relied upon POTS telephone service to dial their security monitoring centers even during power failures (the better security systems had integral battery backups so they would continue to work when the power was cut).

Cell phones don't provide a sure connection either -- especially during major emergencies when their towers go down or their services are overwhelmed with voice traffic.

/End Rant/

member for 6.6 years, 11 visits, last login: 1.2 years ago
updated 1.2 years ago


Review by jg99 See Profile

  • Location: Boise, Ada, ID, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Telco party Qwest
DSL is reliable so far, decent price
Wish they would've blown the CAF-II money on FTTH instead
it's DSL
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

DSL was finally made available in my area last year, thanks to CAF-II. The DSLAM is around half a mile from me, and is fiber fed. It's VDSL2 only since it's brand new too.

Currently, as of may 2022, I have 20/1.5 DSL from Centurylink. I am using a C2100T modem I bought off eBay so I don't have to pay their rental fees (and supports bonded so whenever I can get that, I'm ready). Speeds are as advertised, and haven't had any line issues. The modem says the max I can attain is around 24.5Mbps down and 6Mbps up. Line syncs at around 22Mbps down and 1.6Mbps up. I'm hoping to get a bonded connection as soon as they offer it here or if i get in touch with the right person.

I did a self install, though had to have a tech come out anyways because they didn't correctly hook me up down the street. The indoor wiring is brand new, done by myself using cat5e to the NID.

UPDATE 5/17/22: After talking with a higher up and pushing through a bonded order, I now have 40/3. Tech came out and got the 2nd line up and running, and he cleaned up the first line. I could technically get 100/10 and I will be attempting to get ahold of engineers because after cleaning up the lines and getting everything working, my line stats for each one show a max attainable rate of about 65Mbps down and 12-13Mbps up.

Update 8/27/22: Still very reliable, both lines haven't had a single CRC error since getting bonded installed. The CL website now lets people on this DSLAM order bonded too, unless they're close enough to the DSLAM to get 40/60Mbps, then it still only offers single line.

member for 10 years, 2217 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 1.5 years ago

watmore
join:2007-07-27
La Pointe, WI

1 recommendation

watmore

Member

Happy for you!

Enjoy your speedier connection. Good work on getting bonded by the way. I had VDSL 20/1.5 for years and it was rock solid. Would still have it but moved.

Anon04334
@63.155.113.x

Anon04334

Anon

CenturyLink web/email bugs

My wife spent about 3 hours on hold wanting to know why the CL login screen demanded that she change her account password. An email was sent with a link. The link directed her to a web page that purported to allow her to change her account password. However, she'd get the message "We are unable to provide that service currently. Please try later".
After calling CL Tech Support (they could do nothing), she was routed to billing, who offered to *delete* her account! She wisely refused. You have to understand that much time (hours) on hold was wasted here.
So what was the answer? Easy and it's amazing that the CL people didn't know about it.
My wife receives her email in plaintext with remote content disabled. If instead of the plaintext copy in the "change password" email, one uses the HTML copy, you're directed to the proper web page and the password change sails through.
In other words, the links in the HTML version of the email message and the plaintext version are *different*!
I'd like to be able to tell CL about this, but I'd have to get in touch with someone who knows what I'm talking about--and this is next to impossible. So if any CL personnel are reading this, please pass it on to the correct people. It's not that hard to create a functional web site, folks.
FWIW, my wife runs Debian Bullseye and uses Thunderbird for her email.
--Chuck
jg99
join:2014-03-08
Boise, ID
·CenturyLink
ZyXEL C3000Z
Asus RT-AX58

jg99

Member

Re: CenturyLink web/email bugs

said by Anon04334 :

My wife spent about 3 hours on hold wanting to know why the CL login screen demanded that she change her account password. An email was sent with a link. The link directed her to a web page that purported to allow her to change her account password. However, she'd get the message "We are unable to provide that service currently. Please try later".
After calling CL Tech Support (they could do nothing), she was routed to billing, who offered to *delete* her account! She wisely refused. You have to understand that much time (hours) on hold was wasted here.
So what was the answer? Easy and it's amazing that the CL people didn't know about it.
My wife receives her email in plaintext with remote content disabled. If instead of the plaintext copy in the "change password" email, one uses the HTML copy, you're directed to the proper web page and the password change sails through.
In other words, the links in the HTML version of the email message and the plaintext version are *different*!
I'd like to be able to tell CL about this, but I'd have to get in touch with someone who knows what I'm talking about--and this is next to impossible. So if any CL personnel are reading this, please pass it on to the correct people. It's not that hard to create a functional web site, folks.
FWIW, my wife runs Debian Bullseye and uses Thunderbird for her email.
--Chuck

imo you'd be better off posting on the forum instead of replying to my review.

Anon04334
@63.155.113.x

Anon04334

Anon

Re: CenturyLink web/email bugs

Ah, what's the point? The CL people will never see nor understand if they did happen to see it. They live in a world where everyone is supposed to be on Windows 10 or 11.

Thanks for reading anyway!

Review by intel1212 See Profile

  • Location: Henderson, Clark, NV, USA
  • Cost: $65 per month
  • Install: about 14 days
Inexpensive, good bandwidth, reliable
All good so far
Fiber Internet service in Southern NV (LV) great value for $ at $65 month!
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Have had CL Fiber, symmetrical 1 gb service for about a year. Free router supplied, C4000XG. Free install. $65 a month. What is not to like about this. I could have gone with Cox Gigablast at this location for $119. No brainer for me. Also, I was able to remove the C4000XG and replace with my own router (Unifi USG 3).

Service has been solid as I monitor the connection with Uptime (free account). Running at 99.999% up. This is a new build out for new community.

Install ordering process was a bit weird, but going into this with patience, knowing what I wanted, it was okay with me. I did notice lots of attempts to up sell their other products, so word of advice is to watch for that and check your order and 1st bill. Install tech was good, on time, in and out in about 2 hours as he had to install the GPON to the fiber on side of TH. I already had Cat 6 run to the location, so install was easy, fast... I set up an automatic payment to CL from by bank, so easy!

If I could get this service (Fiber) at my primary home in Henderson NV, I would order this, like yesterday!! I can only get DSL based tech at my home, my reason to having to use Cox.

member for 16.1 years, 992 visits, last login: 4 days ago
lodged 2.1 years ago


Anon82117
@8.26.182.x

Anon82117

Anon

What is the speed you?

Hello,
I am in Henderson, NV as well but older community having same CL fiber as well for more than an year.
So I am getting 800/850up here with CL, peak not 960+ which I usually get 15-20% more when I was in Los Angeles market with Spectrum and Frontier who are both no contract, no modem fee and same day installations.
I would like to hear more about the quality of speeds which I have major holidays (labor days, july 4th, long weekends) and major slow downs in Henderson which my connections to major speedtest sites are hitting 100 or slower. I think CL's backbone is not good especially I signed up for business and consumer accounts.

Review by Ray See Profile

  • Location: 85120
  • Cost: $55 per month
  • Install: about 8 days
Fast install, great phone support.
Speeds have dropped considerably since install.
TBD
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Had Cox for years, moved to a new location where it was no longer available. CenturyLink quoted me 40Mb speed, that's exactly what I got. They came on the day when scheduled, took only a few minutes to set up as the previous owner also had CenturyLink, and there was already a box on the side of the house.

Got a Zyxel C3000Z, seems to have decent configuration features. I was able to easily turn off the built-in WiFi and use my new TP-Link Deco mesh system for wireless (half acre). Tried turning the firewall security up to "high" but that caused the Deco to fail. Need to work on dialing in the sweet spot on that to turn off as much inbound as possible and still let the Deco work.

Too early to say anything about reliability, but so far, so good! I also haven't received a "regular" monthly bill yet, will fix monthly price if I got it wrong.

Also, now that I have seen the modem they supplied, I decided to change from leasing to buying it outright. Customer support did their thing quickly and even ended up applying some additional discount to my bill which was nice. Had my new modem in a couple of days and was able to easily switch it out and print a pre-paid UPS label to return the original (I didn't really need a "brand new" one, but it was nice of them).

Update 2021-04-19. Speeds have dropped considerably since install. Now ranging from 8.6-15.1 Mbps. FCC app shows an average of 13.5. Boo.

member for 22.9 years, 6388 visits, last login: 1.3 years ago
updated 2.9 years ago


Review by rdawg23 See Profile

  • Location: Springfield, Greene, MO, USA
  • Cost: $65 per month
  • Install: about 14 days
  • No Cap
Fast and reliable
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Ordered Quantum Fiber (CenturyLink) and got installed in about two weeks. Installation required the install of a conduit from the pedestal on the west side of my lot to the other side of my driveway, which happened about a week prior to the technician's visit. They also ran the fiber up to the house at the same time. Naturally this did tear up the yard a bit (nothing beyond what was reasonably expected), but worth the hassle to get better service. They did plant new seed and straw.

The speeds I'm getting are oh so close to the rated 940 Mbps speeds claimed - 935 down/939 up. Latency seems to be about half what we experienced on the incumbent Cable provider's network, Mediacom.

Service came with free equipment - a Calix 803G ONT and a router. I chose not to use their router and stick with my own. The ONT is about the size of two decks of cards stacked.

member for 13.4 years, 355 visits, last login: 2.2 years ago
lodged 3 years ago

XaveT
join:2015-07-10
Springfield, MO

XaveT

Member

CenturyLink Fiber

I'm so jealous. Are you on the E side, say Sunshine and 65 area? I'm on the SW side, and I can't wait until I can get this.
rdawg23
join:2010-09-22
Springfield, MO

1 recommendation

rdawg23

Member

Re: CenturyLink Fiber

Sunshine & West Bypass area here.
plmills
join:2000-12-10
Springfield, MO

plmills

Member

Re: CenturyLink Fiber

Hey, sorry for bumping the topic after so long, but I'm in the same general area and thinking of scheduling an install. Do you have any thoughts you could share about how your speed and reliability have been now that it's been a while?

Have you had to use their tech support or customer service at all?

I have to say I'm nervous about switching because my sister uses this company (not here in Springfield, and certainly on nothing like a fiber-based network) and they haven't been easy for her to contact or competent to fix problems (to say the least), so I'm really looking for someone like you with some local experience with them here in town to ease my concerns before making the jump.

Review by NurseRN See Profile

  • Location: Saint Paul, Ramsey, MN, USA
  • Cost: $65 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Evertyting a fiber gigabyte should be
I need to strap myself to the chair and use a helmet everytime I surf the web!
Mind-blowing gigabyte fiber speeds, no contracts and at a price locked for life that a working American can actually pay
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I looked back at one of my reviews of a DSL service which was logged 12 years ago at the same home address I'm still living today. I laughed at my joke when I said that "I had moved from NYC to the Socialist Republic of St. Paul, MN". I should have prefaced the remark with the disclaimer that my "socialist" remark was used as a pun for the insane corporate socialism and favoritism found here in this, otherwise, nice city, which translated in utter monopolies for many years. Comcast or whatever other company was before it, for example, had a 40 year stretch of complete cable monopoly in St. Paul, MN. Moving from NYC, I was stunned by the lack of choices once we made St. Paul our home. I had to pick, in the end and to my chagrin, Comcast as my internet provider because, eventually, the DSL service became unusable and there were no other choices. My experience with Comcast over a span of about 10 or so years, should have been captured as a script and used as a comedic sitcom. Too long of a story to narrate here but the final straw came when after "renegotiating" yet another yearly contract, they throttled the speed down to a point where I couldn't even stream Netflix.

When CenturyLink arrived in St. Paul (or the Twin Cities) sometime in 2016, my first attempt to do business with the company failed miserably. Abysmal reviews in just about every market across the country explained my experience. Another long story which bordered on criminal practices. I stuck with Comcast (for lack of any other choices) until this year. I started getting flyers in the mail with offers from CenturyLink. I knew that gigabyte fiber was available at my home address as they (CenturyLink) had installed the fiber optic cable from the pole outside and to the back of my home. This is also part of my failed first attempt to do business with this company.

When I found out that Comcast had throttled my internet speed (as it decreased exponentially over the years and with my every attempt to negotiate a deal where I wouldn't have to take a second mortgage on my house and pay for the internet cable service), I started looking for an alternative. Sometime in February I saw a "65.00/month including taxes, for life, no contracts, gigabyte fiber internet service" offer from CenturyLink. I decided, as I had nothing else to lose at that point, to pull the plug on Comcast and go with the new fiber service.

Oh, I forgot to mention ... The equipment was included and so was the install.

The day the tech came to my house, I was elated. Cancelling Comcast called for a glass of champagne! It was worth it. The tech declined the alcohol so I finished the bottle alone. The new fiber service has been simply amazing. The install process was flawless. The equipment is excellent. The gigabyte fiber ready wireless router included in the deal is perfect. I have a mix of mostly Apple products here. Not a glitch. Speeds are in the 900's both up and downstream. I now stream everything with great success however ...

The best of all fortunes was that the following month of March when the COVID plan-demic was put in place like a plague on the world and on all of us! The wife, the kid, everyone worked and went to school online from home. All of a sudden, the entire network in my house went from normal to insane and without the fiber gigabyte, it would have been extremely difficult to pull this off. The wife was video-ing for 8 hours a day seeing patients as if she was in the clinic. The kid finished her 5th grade online using Zoom, etc, etc. Not one single issue! Switching was truly a blessing in disguise.

I'm going on seven solid months of using this service from CenturyLink. I think the company had finally realized that treating customers poorly will hurt the business in the long run so they changed gears and started creating services and offers fit for the American working class, based on real value and without tricks and deceptive practices. I can appreciate that!

They get a solid 5 big ones from me, so far! I hope it stays this way.

member for 21.8 years, 130 visits, last login: 3.5 years ago
updated 3.5 years ago


Review by BellAtlantic See Profile

  • Location: Rio Rancho, Sandoval, NM, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Telco party Qwest
Consistent speed tests even during peak times, low-latency, great upload speeds, remained solid during COVID
No issues so far!
Very pleased; cheaper, faster, better than cable in my area; bill went down!?
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Preliminary Review, July-19-2019:

Had CenturyLink (Qwest) VDSL2 service installed two days ago in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

My neighborhood had been on port exhaust since we moved in, but since several homes are for sale in the neighborhood, I was checking daily to see if service became available. Persistence paid off, and I was able to order 120mbps down/10mbps up service via CenturyLink's website.

CenturyLink has always been horrible with pre-sales information (I was a customer with them years ago back east, and I had to fight hard to convince them that my loop length was sufficiently short enough to their DSLAM to get service). Because the folks at CenturyLink's call centers are totally clueless, no one could tell me what the upload speeds were for the plans I was being offered on CenturyLink's website. The call center staff literally did not know the difference between upload and download speed. From reading the DSL Reports forums for many years, I knew there was an 80mbps down, 40mbps up plan offered in some areas. I really wanted an upload speed better than 10mbps that came with the 120mbps plan, but because I could not confirm what the actual upload speeds were, I just ordered the highest speed plan available (120mbps).

Installation day came and the tech arrived on-time. He was extremely helpful, friendly, and willing to talk technical details with me. I explained that the call center was totally unhelpful in revealing available upload speeds, and that I would like to be on the 80/40 plan, if available in my neighborhood.

The tech explained that I was lucky to get service, as the neighborhood is indeed in port exhaust, but a couple ports just freed up. He also explained that he'd have to test the ports, verify my loop length (~1400 feet), and run some tests to determine what speeds would work at my premises. He also cautioned me that the DSLAM is fed by a 10gig fiber, and due to the DSLAM being subscribed at capacity, I may experience slow-downs during peak usage hours.

After testing, everything looked good, and since my loop length was sufficiently short enough, he was able to put me on the 80/40 plan. He tested the signal levels with his meter both at the pedestal out front and at the wall jack in my office. Everything looked great.

I opted to purchase the modem and was supplied with a C3000Z. Plugged it in and synced up, no issues. Speed tests have been consistently sufficient, ranging from 75-80 mbps downstream, 38-40 mbps upstream - even during peak hours. Granted, I've only had the service for two days, but I'm happy thus far.

I put the C3000Z in transparent bridged mode, and I'm running my own pfSense firewall/router. Works great.

I previously had Cable One (now Sparklight) cable internet, 100 down/10 up with a 300 gig per month bandwidth cap (both upload and download counted against the cap, too). The plan cost $10 more per month than I'm paying CenturyLink, and now my upload bandwidth is 4x faster, my latency has improved significantly, and best of all, no more ridiculously low data caps.

I will continue to test the connection regularly and post any updates, but for me, CenturyLink is offering a great value to us in Rio Rancho, NM.

A lot of people on DSLR and elsewhere in general love to rag on CenturyLink, but honestly they are one of the few, if not the only, ILEC I've seen that has been actively expanding their residential DSL service in the past few years. While every telco is going to have issues and generally be a pain in the rear in some fashion or another, I'd much rather be a paying customer of a company that has demonstrated far more goodwill to its customers than Verizon/AT&T have by actually making *some* effort, even if small, to expand their DSL service and continue providing service to existing customers.

Update: February-18-2020

Still going strong. Connection seems extremely stable with a few FEC errors, but nothing major and no drop-outs. Even during peak hours, speed tests (for what they're worth) still reveal I'm getting within a few Mbps of my advertised speeds. Love the fact that I have a "half-symmetric" (80 down/40 up) connection, which is about as close as you can get these days to a fully-symmetric connection (which is how it _should_ be). Extremely pleased with the value I'm getting over cable, even though the speeds are slower. NOTE: Price of $48.47 includes all taxes, fees, and other nonsense.

Update: July, 2020

My CenturyLink bill went DOWN for some unknown reason! It was at $48.xx since turning on the service, and now its $45.00. I think that may be a first! We'll see if it remains consistent at the new lower amount. Service remains absolutely fantastic without any interruptions or noticeable slowdowns during COVID.

member for 9.6 years, 122 visits, last login: 128 days ago
updated 3.6 years ago

tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

3 recommendations

tmc8080

Member

aging copper

copper is a dead-end technology, whatever version of dsl being used..
If fiber optic lines are within 2000 feet of customers, they might as well make it a full fledged FIBER NODE and deliver FTTP services over it.. A fiber optic cable is capable of WAY MORE than 10 gigabits as a back haul.
The cost to do fiber in that instance is going to be far cheaper in the long run and have the added bonus of being capable of SYMMETRIC speeds. The only main issue is running an Ethernet cable from the ONT to the main router.
watmore
join:2007-07-27
La Pointe, WI

watmore

Member

80/40


MountainBell, glad it is working great. Question is your 80//40 vdsl bonded service or a single pair? Just curious.
BellAtlantic
join:2014-07-12
Rio Rancho, NM

1 recommendation

BellAtlantic

Member

Re: 80/40

It is bonded and my loop length is somewhere between 1000-1400 ft from the DSLAM.
the65gto
join:2000-08-31
Apopka, FL

1 edit

the65gto

Member

CL fiber install

Post deleted

Review by squirrel08 See Profile

  • Location: Boise, Ada, ID, USA
  • Cost: $90 per month
works great
speed is only about 70 Mbps down instead of 100
It's the only option in my area for non-capped wired Internet.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I ordered bundled "Internet and home phone" Internet: 100 Mbps - 100 down / 10 up, phone: analog landline

I'm paying $89.89 a month with no contract. I purchased the modem to avoid the monthly modem rental fee.

I have not had any problems with the service since I have had it.

CenturyLink forced me to pay a $99 install fee where a technician came to my house and installed the modem.

Because of the coronavirus, It took a while to get my service installed, but once installed works great.

My speed test results:
»[DSL Speed test: 67.09/9.13 63 ms]

One note:

CenturyLink may have sent me a modem which had an exploit in it... I'm not sure if the exploit was fixed before I got the modem.
»www.lykosec.com/post/cve ··· -routers

Also, CenturyLink does not implement secure BGP:
»blog.cloudflare.com/is-b ··· tiative/

Test if your ISP implements secure BGP:
»isbgpsafeyet.com/

member for 3.6 years, 1 visits, last login: 3.6 years ago
updated 3.6 years ago


former qwest
Premium Member
join:2014-01-04
out there

1 recommendation

former qwest

Premium Member

at 100 Mbps you have bonded service

tech install is required, you could not have done this yourself.

your download speed at 70 could be an issue of distance.

no comment on your C3000A.