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Review by Mrcincinnati 
UPDATED: 38 days ago
member for 38 days, 0 visits, last login: 38 days ago
 Cincinnati,Hamilton,OH
 $30 per month
 Cincinnati Bell
 "Reliable, always on interruptions very rare. Call Center/tech support good to excellent."
 "My connection speed deteriorated over time 7K Mbs-> 3k -> 1.3 downloads"
 "I'm going to try road runner turbo after 9 years with zoomtown"
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I have been with cincinnati bell for 9 years.. I don't recall any problems with the initial install, a tech came by, hooked up a dsl modem and it worked. I had connection speeds up to 11k mB/s down* and 2K up for years. About 5 years ago, this slipped down to 3k mB/s down and 1 k mB/s up. I called tech support and they couldn't improve the speed. (the technician changes some settings in their system). This later deteriorated to 1.3k Mb/s download speeds (700 up) shortly afterwards. I've talked to tech support a few times about this and have tried to disconnect all of the phones in the house, and tightening any connections to no avail. So they haven't been able to improve it.
In all fairness tech support seemed fairly knowlegable and helpful on every call and were also very responsive with help setting up E-mail, POP3 and SMTP etc. I can't say they were bad, I just think I've got a line that is losing quality. Voice is fine, the phones work fine, not alot of noise in the signal. THe copper phone lines could easily be over 50 years old. (cloth insulation twisted solid core wire) It could be the modem, I've had the same one for 9 - almost 10 years now. (Cisco 675) They never suggested replacing that, but I would think the modem either works or it doesn't.
I'll be switching to Road Runner Turbo (TIme Warner) in two days. I'll write another review of my time warner service/ functionality then. Already a little concerned, I have digital cable with time warner and the DVR reboots periodically for no apparent reason. Hopefully that doesn't represent an interupption in Interned connection as well.
So I thought zoomeown was pretty good until recently.
* 11k on some tests with 7k being more normal.
Followup comments:  deejal
join:2002-12-28
Cincinnati, OH | me too I am also switching because zoomtown has really taken a turn for the worse. | |
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Review by Heddly
Posted: 58 days ago
member for 1.4 years, 12 visits, last login: 41 days ago
Covington,Kenton,KY
Contract price not specified.
"Technicians were honest about the reason my connect was slow"
"Cinn. Bell would not upgrade my city's Trunk Line when a new one was closer for higher speeds"
"Get Cable with Phone,TV and Internet"
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I had Cincinnati Bell Zoomtown for 10 years and my internet connection averaged 700-800 download speeds. Technicians who visited my home to test my end of the connection all complained about the old lines that Cinn. Bell were using for my area of the city, while there was a newer,faster and closer Trunk Line available not 1/2 mile from my home.
They all said that my internet connection would double or more if Cincinnati Bell would consolidate the local connections to my city through the newer Trunk Line.
I had Satellite TV at the time but switched all of my Services to my local Insight Cable company and have been pleasantly surprised with all of their content.
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 Review by Angry_Kid
UPDATED: 72 days ago
member for 5.7 years, 644 visits, last login: 39 days ago
Lebanon,Warren,OH
$109 per month (12 month contract)
 about 4 days
"Very reasonably priced, fast & reliable connection"
"Not QUITE as fast as TW, but better package deal"
"It's nice to have a choice in cable internet providers."
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It's not "really" Cincy Bell -- it's the erstwhile Lebanon (OH) Telecommunications that was bought by CB. Normally, CB's broadband internet is via DSL whereas this version (i.e. the former LTC) is actually cable. D/l is ~5 MB/s vs TW's ~6, but the u/l is ~800 kB/s vs TW's 350.
CB's on-line storage/webpage offering is equally as poor (nearly pathetic) as TW's -- both charge EXTRA(!!!) to enable ftp access. For free, you get some sad, pitiful, sorry excuse for a 'webpage' **ahem** 'interface'.
The package deal (digital cable & internet) is slightly cheaper than TW, customer service is equally hideous for both. CS is via a local (former LTC) provider, NOT through CB. Amusingly, if you call the main CB customer support and tell them you're having problems with your _cable_, they "correct" you and inform you that their service is DSL. Once you explain that you live in Lebanon, they give you a local Lebanon number to call -- they can't/won't transfrer your call.
All-in-all not a bad deal, despite the quirks (don't get me started about their DVR even though it's orders of magnitude better than TW's).
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Review by jduffy
UPDATED: 130 days ago
member for 2.8 years, 292 visits, last login: 24 days ago
Cincinnati,Hamilton,OH
$40 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
Cincinnati Bell
"Reliable"
"Slow, line prone to interference, have to bundle to get $40 price"
"For a few more, bucks a month, Road Runner is much faster"
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I was a long-time Cincinnati Bell Zoomtown subscriber. Gosh, I think it was more than eight years. Zoomtown was reliable, but being a ham radio operator, anytime I used any real power (greater than 25 watts) to my high frequency transmitters, Zoomtown would lose the link. This was a major problem especially when I moved one of my Cincinnati Bell land-lines to VOIP with Vonage. The other issue is the ADSL2 was supposed to be installed over a year ago to take the speed up to be competitive against Road Runner. It never happened. I think Cincinnati Bell is in such bad financial shape over the acquisition and disposition of Broadwing, that they simply cannot invest in their network.
Several weeks ago, I ordered a trial of Business Class Road Runner. 768 up and 6 down. I could also run my own servers for web (I could do this on Zoomtown) and email (I could not run email servers on Zoomtown). Also, RR gives me a dedicated IP address. The price is $59.95, about $20 more than Zoomtown. But ultimately I will move the home phone to VOIP. I am now paying Cincinnati Bell $40 for the Complete Connections phone package now, so when I go to VOIP that will run $25 a month so the net difference is $5.
I gave RR a try while keeping Zoomtown. Wow, what a difference in speed. I mean it is incredible and the upload is a bit faster than Zoomtown. So I had Zoomtown disconnected and keeping RR.
There was one other issue with Zoomtown. Tremendous latency with some websites - click and wait and wait and wait. Many other ZT users said it was problems with the DNS servers.
If I did not have the interference issue and if the speed would have been upgraded, I probably would have stayed with Zoomtown. But ZT stopped being competitive around here against RR, so I got tired of waiting and made the move. I am glad I did.
Now getting almost 10Mbs download and 1.5 Mbs upload with Road Runner. I have not seen anything comparable with Zoomtown. It was worth the change.
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Review by JLDunn
UPDATED: 137 days ago
member for 3.9 years, 955 visits, last login: 110 days ago
Moscow,Clermont,OH
$25 per month
about 1 days
Cincinnati Bell
"Good value, No usage limits"
"Too far from CO for highest speed"
"Very pleased"
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Cincinnati Bell's ZoomTown ADSL just came to my neck of the woods in the country and I am finally able to get rid of my HughesNet satellite service. Coming from satellite almost anything other than dialup would be welcome and ZoomTown is better than I expected.
I am too far from the CO to get the maximum speed of 5000kbps but I was able to get connected at 3000kbps. The installer said that at around 10db the connection would start to have problems and at 3000kbps my connection is 15db which should give me plenty of margin. My speed tests in the first few days of use are 2700kbps down and 700kbps up. I had them put in a whole house POTS rather than putting a filter on each phone connection.
I had a wireless setup with a Hughes HN7000S modem connected to a Linksys router and was able to replace both with the Cincinnati Bell furnished Westell 327W wireless modem and the wireless signal is stronger than the Hughes/Linksys setup.
Followup comments: KingofCola
join:2007-02-07
Greer, SC | POTS Splitter JL,
Can you tell what brand of POTS splitter they used? | |
| | JLDunn
join:2005-07-26
Moscow, OH
 ·Cincinnati Bell
| Re: POTS Splitter I did not see a brand name on it but it was small enough to fit in the small telephone connection box on the side of the house. The small filters they give you to connect to each phone connection when you do not have a whole house POTS installed also do not have a brand name on them but they do say made in China.
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Cincinnati Bell Zoomtown ADSL | Westell 327W | Win XP SP3 | | |
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Review by mAlfunkti0n
UPDATED: 148 days ago
member for 5.5 years, 303 visits, last login: 148 days ago
Loveland,Clermont,OH
$30 per month
about 4 days
"Fast, stable service. Cheaper than RR, faster than RR. Upload is great."
"None so far"
"Head and shoulders above RR."
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Time Warner recently started slowing to far beyond unacceptable levels. I called their support line several times but nothing was being done. I had the 15Mbit service, which DID work really well for quite some time. Recently, even during non peak times the service had been around 2-3Mbit. I got tired of the run around, and the "retention" department calling me a liar when I tried to get their lower tier service price matched to Zoomtown. Enough was enough, I called Cincinnati Bell, had the service installed and receive great speeds and service.
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Review by SainterThom
Posted: 172 days ago
member for 4.1 years, 6 visits, last login: 172 days ago
Maineville,Warren,OH
$33 per month
about 1 days
Cincinnati Bell
"For Lebanon area, faster than Road Runner"
"Not a DSL package...in Lebanon it's cable, and all the problems cable has carries over"
"I wouldn't go back to RR for anything...if only ATT would come this far south..."
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Speed is excellent and as advertised... Was promised 8.0 mbps, expected 6.5, got 7 out of the box with no tweaking, on a wireless connection no less! Install was quick and the tech was gracious although he said that he used to be a TWC contractor; so he had experience to fall back on. Interesting that the phone company used an MTA and is using VoIP technology, but I guess it makes sense since they bought the LOCAL cable company (non-TWC).
All in all, if you live in Lebanon, you have a choice between Embarq (Blech!), TWC, and Cincinnati Bell. I don't recommend counting out CBT based on what goes on everywhere else, becuase it's different here in Lebanon. TWC gives the lowest prices in Southwest OH to Lebanon, and CBT beats it by about 10 bucks a month (for video, internet, and phone) but the cable tv service is not as professional. So that should be your factor. If you're looking for the best speed without paying a premium for business class or "Turbo" service, CBT is the way to go!
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Review by toolman90
UPDATED: 175 days ago
member for 1.9 years, 43 visits, last login: 9 days ago
Cincinnati,Hamilton,OH
$73 per month
Cincinnati Bell
"has reliable connection and speed for the price"
"very bad tech support and could be faster"
"It is a good service for the price and I would recomend it"
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I recently hooked up to zoomtown had no problems setting up the equipment. It worked great when it was up and running.
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Review by RedRSX04
UPDATED: 184 days ago
member for 265 days, 5 visits, last login: 105 days ago
Erlanger,Kenton,KY
$38 per month
about 8 days
Cincinnati Bell
"Easy to setup and install"
"No where near the advertised speed of 5Mbps"
"Not the best value considering cable options regarding speed vs price"
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We live in NKY in the Erlanger area. Recently we decided to switch from Insight cable TV/Internet to Direct TV due to more sports programming options. With Insight, we were recv'ing a SOLID 10Mbps down on our Internet connection (any machine in the house) for approx $30/mo.
Once DirectTV was installed, we contacted Cincinnati Bell to have their highest speed DSL package installed as well. Cincinnati Bell (Zoomtown or Fuse.net) offers users two packages:
1) 768Kbps down for $15/mo
--or--
2) 5Mbps down for $30/mo ($25 if you bundle)
Additionally, we had to pickup land-line telephone service in the house for DSL to work (we've not had/nor needed a land line in our house for several years as everyone has their own cell phone.) The total monthly cost for the DSL service and land line is $38/mo plus taxes and fees.
Our house is located less than a mile from the switching station.
Unfortunately, the most we've been able to pull from the new DSL service has been approx 1.2Mbps - which is nowhere near the advertised 5Mbps - even after tweaking (on any machine in the house.)
We contacted the Cincinnati Bell (Zoomtown) support department who provided every excuse under the sun as to why we may not be able to pull the advertised speed of 5Mbps -but- no solution to our issue. I complained as to the price vs. speed, noting that basically I'm not pulling much more than their 768Kbps service, but paying for their 5Mbps service - the rep offered to discount our service $5/mo.
I'm thinking seriously that I'll switch back to Insight cable - the speed/price value of DSL vs. cable in this area just isn't in the same ballpark.
Followup comments: 
Anon1
@fuse.net
| Speed & Wiring I think there are two leading culprits to low bandwidth results...
The Zoomtown modem will train itself to the highest possible sustainable speed. Based on your 1Mb comment, there are two probable culprits:
1. House wiring.
- Either the wiring connect at the demarc box outside your home has a "incomplete connection" or the wire within your home is spliced, respliced, twisted and taped together - creating significant signal loss and the net result is the speed you are seeing. My experience has taught me that all of the copper on the wires coming from your house needs to be connected at the demarc. With a voice only connection, a lousy splice is no problem. Lousy splice being where the wire jacket is removed, and along with it a fair amount of the copper inside.
- Your distance to the Cincinnati Bell phone cabinet / central office. DSL is design to work best within 18,000 feet of the central office. Distances beyond that can create bandwidth constraints.
Check and fix the outside box wiring and rerun a dedicated wire for the zoomtown modem. If that doesn't do the trick, the ball is in bell's corner. | |
| | ShawnJ
join:2009-01-20
Louisville, KY
| Re: Speed & Wiring I have done online speed tests for Insight and Zoomtown. The tests tell me that Zoomtown has a 15Mbps Download and 12Mbps Upload that is compared to Insight's 10Mbps Download and their 1Mbps Upload. With that said then Zoomtown is the better choice. I used to live in NKY and i had Zoomtown an it blew Insight outta the water for speed. | |
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Review by ff2366
UPDATED: 190 days ago
member for 1.4 years, 19 visits, last login: 87 days ago
Mason,Warren,OH
$25 per month
about 7 days
Cincinnati Bell
"Consistent, solid bandwidth. Modem doesn't require a lick of babysitting / reboots etc."
"None that I can think of."
"Best deal around. Threw Sprint and Time-Warner out on their ear 6 months ago and haven't looked back."
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A year later...
For a year I enjoyed a 5mb connection - my typical download speed was 4.1mb - uploads averaged 650k. All of the sudden this week, Cincinnati Bell downgraded my pipe to a 3mb download - which means I yield around 2.1mb.
So while it was a good thing while it lasted - Cincinnati Bell doesn't see the logic in leaving well enough alone. It does feel like a bait and switch and I will switch providers and pay the premium for the principal.
I work at home 3 days a week. All to regularly my Time-Warner connection would lose it's network access. I run a constant ping test in the background to a couple of DNS servers to validate when and where the link failures occur and it my connections would die several times a day. 7 visits by Time-Warner over a 3 month period, movement of router, replacement of wires, validation of signals - nothing could fix the fact that the Time-Warner network simply isn't built for high availability. My gut tells me that they perform network maintenance and restarts anytime day or night as they saw fit with no regards to the folks who subscribed to the service and used it for work. One day my VPN connection died - I looked out my front window and sure enough, the Time-Warner truck was down the street and the tech has his head buried in the roadside box. Service was restored 20 minutes later.
The other positive piece is the fact that I haven't had to look at the Cincinnati Bell DSL modem since it was installed. Haven't had to restart, reboot - nothing. It has worked well since day 1.
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