Review by tech90 Location: Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, USA Cost: $197 per month Cincinnati Bell It is cheaper than Time Warner Cable Phone Support Overseas hard to understand If you can handle the poor overseas support it is cheaper than Time Warner Cable

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I had Fioptics for three months the service has been rock solid until now. I am having intermittent issues with connecting to the internet. When this happens my dsl light is solid and still has an IP. Cincinnati Bell has an intermittent server problem that causes you to lose internet access for about 5 to 10 minutes.

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Review by zach1008 Location: Florence, Boone, KY, USA Cost: $114 per month Install: about 1 days No Cap Cincinnati Bell so far things are good took a while to get installed but it was sub zero out will continue to update as time goes

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So I made the switch once the service was available. Install tech said I am the first in the neighborhood to have a cross-connect from the fiber post to the copper post for the neighborhood. We have Fiber to the neighborhood at this point. There is a possibility we will get FTTH in the future but they say the cost is making it a slower build out. For now I will give this a try. With the copper for the last mile I get a 50meg pipe into the house that brings TV and internet service. The ZTE gateway then provides the tv and internet connectivity. TVs can be connected with the Coax and a MoCA network or via Cat5e to the network. I have 3 TV's on MoCA and 1 on Ethernet. The Whole home dvr works for them all. The internet service I have is currently capped at 20meg which is what I had from TW but rarely got the full bandwidth. I have tested the speed using several test sites and am regularly getting what I am paying for.

A note about the sales process, it was great. I worked with a local rep that was up front and honest with me about what I can expect to get and based on the data in the system what I could get and actually have in terms of number of TV's and internet speed. If you are considering the switch contact me directly and I will share the Rep's name and number for you to mention that I referred you. It will save both of us $100 dollars over 10 months on top of any other discounts/promo rates.

The installation technician was excellent. He explained how things worked and what to expect with the setup. I have not had this kind of service in years from technician or sales for TV and internet. I felt bad for the tech as he was out in the sub zero temps working to get things connected and working for me. I have had the service for a day and half as of writing this review and so far things have worked as expected. I did create an issue trying to set things up for my work from home office. I enabled the DMZ to allow any and all traffic pass to my Cisco ASA and doing so caused freezing for the tvs. As an alternative, I have turned that back off and just setup NAT rules for a handful of ports that I need opened. Now the TV's work great and I can have my work network setup as before.

Since it is new, I will spend some time with the DVR and rest of the services and update my posting in the coming weeks. Installation occurred on Jan 6 for future reference.

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Review by Shortcirkit Location: Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, USA Cost: $125 per month Install: about 180 days Cincinnati Bell Blazing fast at everything!!!! It took 6 months to get the right technician to make it work Worth it! Just make sure the tech installs new wire to router direct!!!

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Had Time Warner. Too high priced. Had a lot of freezing but finally got it fixed on the 4th of July 2013. Yesterday. Had since December 2012. At first it was okay but things started getting worse after 2 months. Freezing Screens and internet.

But after new cat 5 e cable installed from Box outside direct to modem it is flawless.

I have 6 High Def boxes 2 computers a Roku streaming box and a PlayStation 3 all running on the 50 MB service with no issues as of 11:33 on July 5th 2013

ZTE Set Top Boxes and Zyxel Modem Combo. No more dongle for TV..

Tim was my tech yesterday. He is the best for sure.

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Review by ITpro452 Location: Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, USA Cost: $35 per month Install: about 5 days Modern technology (fiber). U.S.A. tech support. Satisfied customer. Good value.

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I have FTTN (fiber to the node, then DSL to the house) internet only, 10mbps down, 1mbps up.

Bottom line- reliability above average, speed as advertised, happy customer.

For you techies out there, here's more detail:

My FTTN has an intermittent latency problem, which manifests as slowly loading web pages. For the most part, it does not interrupt my work, as it tends to resolve itself within a couple hours. It happens every couple weeks.

No ISP is going to help with anything beyond a simple speed test, but this type of latency does not degrade speed tests. The more I read about different ISP's, I think CinBell is above average in their performance and support.

My problem is most likely in the old wiring in the house, but it could be tree limbs drooping on the wire in weather events. Or it could be some bizarre interference on the street DSL from my bizarre neighbors.

Either way, it's much better than my previous Verizon Wireless hotspot, and I vowed I would never go back to Time Warner 20 years ago.

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Review by toolman25 Location: Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, USA Cost Contract price not specified. Cincinnati Bell Good Picture quality Faster internet speeds, bundling picture freezes intermittently not all the time and bad phone support Good for the price and Picture Quality

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I finally qualify for Fioptics through Fiber to the Node. I ordered through Cincinnati Bell sales person. Getting installed was slow, installer did not have drill left at home. The installer had to rig new phone line in existing cable hole and twist tied the phone line on the cable line. Had 1 HD DVR and 4 HD boxes with whole home DVR. The boxes they provided were made by ZTE and the router they provided was a ZYXEL with an adapter for the TV to connect to the existing coax cables. After the install everything worked until it rained. Then no internet connection and static on landline. Got somebody out that day traced it to a problem on the street. The tech said it was an open local and that they fixed the problem. After that I have had no problems when it rains or snows. I even got their 30 megabyte internet. ZYXEL Modem was provisioned to 50 megabytes to support the TV and internet service. Will update if anything changes.

February 2013

Went to Time Warner Cable.

Had issues with my internet dropping and constant picture freezes on tv. Had three techs out said their was no problems at all, and everything looked fine.

Plus I was able to get the $200.00 Gift card and a good promotion for becoming a cable customers. I decided to get their signature home service. I will write a review for Time Warner Cable when I am done trying it out.

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Review by HarpSupport Location: South Lebanon, Warren, OH, USA Cost: $90 per month Install: about 4 days Cincinnati Bell Rock solid speed, reliability. Great value. HD DVR leaves a lot to be desired, limited on-demand. Much better than the alternatives

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Review / Story

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We moved to Ohio because of a new job in the area, and we had very little time to find a new place. The apartment complex we live in partnered with Cincinnati Bell to provide Fioptics service exclusively - so we didn't have much choice.

Install was horrible - but it wasn't Cincinnati Bell's fault. This is a new apartment complex, and we are the first residents to live in this unit. When the building was constructed, they ran microduct from each unit to the pedestal outside. In theory, and installation would be sending the fiber optic cable through the microduct, hooking up the ONT, and being done. In practice - it didn't work out that way. Apparently when the building was constructed, some of the workers were less than careful with the microduct and it was damaged. The install technicians (all 4) indicated that this was common in these buildings. By the third appointment - with four trucks rolled - they were able to get me going.

Despite that, I couldn't be happier with the service. We have the 50/10 internet service and it is incredibly fast and has yet to have an outage. Ping times are better than cable, and I've seen little congestion. My only gripe is that I can't get a static IP on the 50/10 plan. I'm also not away of any usage cap - a big benefit in today's tiered service world.

We also have TV service and it, too, has been rock solid. CB provides a good channel lineup and the HD channels look great. The only downsides of the service are an extremely limited on-demand portfolio (we came from Comcast in Atlanta where on-demand was full of content), and a poor choice of software for the DVR set top box (again, we came from Comcast where you could schedule recordings online, which was an amazing feature).

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Info based on experiences

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I do want to convey some of what I've heard regarding the Fioptics service itself. If you're considering it, you need to find out two things.

First, are you qualified as a FTTH (fiber to the home) or FTTN (fiber to the node) Fioptics customer?

With FTTH you'll have the fiber optic cable run all the way to your home. They'll install an ONT (optical network terminal) to provide your service. The only copper connection will be the wiring in your home. You will be able to get the maximum internet plan (currently at 100/20), and your TV will be provided over standard coax cable. If you qualify for this service, you can't go wrong - it's the way it should be done everywhere.

With FTTN, you'll have fiber optic cable run to a DSLAM near your home, and the service will be delivered over old copper lines. They'll install a VDSL gateway and provide you with ZTE IP set-top-boxes. This is very similar to AT&T's U-verse. If you are close to the DSLAM, and the copper lines between your home and the DSLAM are in good shape, your service should be great. You will qualify for very high speeds (comparable to cable, much faster than DSL), and you will be able to get Fioptics IP TV. The problem, in my opinion, with this scenario, is that sh*t happens - and your service may get better or worse over time.

-Second, if you are a FTTH customer, are you on the Motorola or Cisco/Scientific Atlanta plant?

Apparently, when CB started rolling FTTH Fioptics service, they were using Cisco/Scientific Atlanta equipment. At some point they switch to a Motorola based system - and have both systems operating today. With the Cisco/SA service, you get symmetrical internet speeds, but suffer with the truly awful Cisco/SA TV set-top-boxes. With the Motorola service, you get asymmetrical internet speeds, but get the much improved (but still not all that great) Motorola TV set-top-boxes. You don't really get a choice, and both are still much better than any alternative - but there can be confusion if you get to digging online, as some people will talk about Cisco/SA equipment, and some will talk about Motorola equipment.

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Final Thoughts

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CB's decision to follow in AT&T's footsteps to install FTTN is understandable, but disappointing. Using the same Fioptics brand, while having both FTTH and FTTN networks, is confusing to the customer (look at the CB support forums). I would also assume that long-term, it's more expensive (cost of rolling FTTN, then cost of re-rolling FTTH in the future). Despite this, I believe offering FTTN is better than nothing, and believe they will provide a quality service.

Having been lucky enough to qualify for true FTTH, I think fiber-to-the-home is the best option for delivering today and tomorrow's services. It's fast, reliable, and relatively future-proof. I appreciate that Cincinnati Bell has been forward thinking, and I hope to see them continue to improve an already fantastic service.

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Please feel free to contact me if I need to correct any gross errors. At the time I wrote this review, this information was correct to the best of my knowledge. I do not work for Cincinnati Bell, and do not represent them in any way.

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Review by thomasdietri Location: Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, USA Cost: $39 per month (12 month contract) Cincinnati Bell They offered a wireless router free, free install, cheap, 20Mbps down, 5Mbps up Connection seems to hiccup occassionally. Had service out today. Hopefully fixed. FiOptics is the best deal in town.

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This review is for the new Cincinnati Bell FiOptics offering. It is fiber to the home which can carry phone, data, and television. I have the phone and data plan. Previously I had the Cincinnati Bell DSL product, which is reviewed below.

Install went fine, but took longer than I had expected. They were on site for about 4 or 5 hours. They installed a new box in the basement where the phone lines enter, and would have run CAT5 to the router, but that cable was already in place. They removed the cover of my current jack and just connected a free floating box with Ethernet jack. Kind of sloppy, but it's under / behind my desk so not really a big deal.

Connection is FAST! One problem is that most sites cap my transfer at 1.5 or maybe 2Mbps (like downloading drivers or ISO's from a hardware manufacturer). Doing speed tests I can get 20Mbps down and 5Mbps up, but seem to experience hiccups. Tech support was here today and thinks he fixed it.

Overall this is the best value in town if you want high speed. Total package with unlimited phone, unlimited long distance, and unlimited data is about $63 per month.

They also offer the triple pack of phone, TV, and data for $89 per month with basic TV, or $99 per month with most HD TV channels.

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I've had RoadRunner cable and now Cincinnati Bell ZoomTown DSL. This review is for their DSL product. I've worked in networking and IT for almost 20 years.

I switched from cable modem to DSL to save money, and it worked. Install and cutover was quick and easy. Switched from VoIP digital phone with cable to normal POTS line with Cinbell at same time, and switched to satellite for TV.

DSL modem was small, didn't produce much heat, required normal phone jack and had output jacks to Ethernet or USB. I used my own wireless router instead of theirs. Signal was always strong and reliable. Service was never needed other than when I called to switch over to fiber. In short, it was a great product at a great low price. I would definately reccommend Cincinnati Bell ZoomTown DSL to a friend.

I've never needed their tech support, and I don't use their email, so I cannot comment on those items.

Now, I have seen problems where some people have their DSL modem take a jolt from lightning during a storm, and that fries the Ethernet jack on their home PC. They must then use the USB connection or buy a new Ethernet card.

I've also seen problems for people on the edges of the DSL range (18,000 feet from the DSLAM). If you're too far then your signal drops repeatedly, your modem cannot establish a reliable connection, and your experience will be awful.

pimphesus join:2003-09-04 Florence, KY pimphesus Member 2011-Feb-14 11:52 am Common Misunderstanding I just thought I would let you know that you are getting the speeds you are supposed to, but for a long time now ISPs have been advertising their speeds in MegaBits, which is .125 of a MegaByte. That means that 20 MegaBits = 2 MegaBytes. Have I explained it well enough? 2011-Feb-14 11:52 am: · hey mods ·
	parkerthon join:2011-02-20 parkerthon Member 2011-Feb-20 2:47 am Re: Common Misunderstanding I have Fioptics downtown Cincinnati. I live right by there NOC actually. It's blazingly fast. 30/30....testing gets me real close to 30mbps up and down no problem. New customers have to deal with the 10mbps upload limit. I've heard there's some definite issues with line quality within apartment buildings and houses that can cause these issues. I have a friend that is experiencing these issues as well. He actually is doing work for Cincinnati Bell as a contractor. Even having a contact withing the fiber department hasn't helped him get the issue fixed. Sometimes the wiring is simply too costly for them to replace. 2011-Feb-20 2:47 am: · hey mods ·
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Review by mAlfunkti0n Location: Loveland, Clermont, OH, USA Cost: $30 per month Install: 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 CableGei Location: Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, USA Cost: $44 per month (12 month contract) Install: about 7 days Cincinnati Bell FTTH 30 Mbps down / 30 Mbps up Installation can take the better part of a day (but well worth it!) Cincinnati Bell FiOptics - Best Broadband Connection in Cincinnati!

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Update: 08/30/09

This review is for the FiOptics ZoomTown service, not ADSL ZoomTown. Cincinnati Bell provides their new broadband service over two different platforms depending on where you live -- FTTH or VDSL2. Both are able to acheive the same speeds that they offer. This internet connection is BLAZING! The latency is great, and the upload is amazing! This service blows TWC's DOCSIS 2 Road Runner away!

Original Review of ADSL Service:

I mainly got ZoomTown to compare it to Road Runner. While I found ZoomTown to be pretty reliable and decent for DSL, I didn't really find any advantages to using ZoomTown over Road Runner.

The regular price is $44.95/month. Since I was only getting about 1800/384, I can't say it's a great deal. If you're closer to the CO so you can obtain full speeds, it's not a bad deal, but some other DSL providers are lower in cost.

iansltx join:2007-02-19 Austin, TX iansltx Member 2009-Nov-5 1:33 pm Symmetric? The FiOptics website lists 10/2, 20/5 and 30/10 tiers. So the actual service is 10/10, 20/20 and 30/30? Nice... 2009-Nov-5 1:33 pm: · hey mods ·
	CableGei Premium Member join:2004-05-27 Castle Rock, CO CableGei Premium Member 2009-Nov-6 7:29 pm Re: Symmetric? I should note that it depends on where you live. All of the advertising suggests that it's asymmetrical as you stated; however, Cincinnati Bell operates two platforms. If you are in an area on a Motorola platform you will get 10/2, 20/5, or 30/10. If you're on the Alcatel/Cisco platform you'll get 10/10, 20/20, 30/30. As a customer, you have no control over this - it just depends where you live. You can tell by looking at the cover of your ONT and what brand it is. Obviously this may not be forever, but it is indeed how it is as of now. 2009-Nov-6 7:29 pm: · hey mods ·
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Review by Angry_Kid Location: Lebanon, Warren, OH, USA Cost: $109 per month (12 month contract) Install: 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 transfer 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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