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Review by ShellMMG  - Location: Grass Lake,Jackson,MI
- Cost Contract price not specified.
Good "Reliable, local tech guys are great!"
Bad "The whole install coordination"
Overall "A HUGE improvement over satellite/wireless or dialup"
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Pack lots of patience when installing new service! The only thing that went RIGHT from drop to connecting to the network were the diligence of the local gents completing the post-winter drop and hooking up the modem. We even had our dry loop disconnected and given to a new customer, creating an afternoon of sheer panic until a tech physically fixed it!
Since our install the only trouble has been Mother Nature with power outages or regional congestion/interruptions at CO's. it's been very reliable in speed and we were even bumped up from 3mb to 6. Our drop is also ready for when/if bonded DSL ever comes though.
member for 4.4 years, 1282 visits, last login: 4 days ago
lodged 25 days ago
Comments:
 | | FRONTIER = WORST COMPANY WORLD WIDE THIS IS THE WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER DELT WITH. FIRST I LOSE INTERNET FOR A MONTH, REFUSE TO PAY THE BILL THEN THEY TELL ME IF I PAY THE BILL THEY WILL PROVIDE HOME PHONE SERVICE FOR THE SAME RATE. THEN THEY NEVER PUT IN THE PHONE AND SAY NONE OF THAT WAS DICUSSED AFTER I PAID THEM. INTERNET COULDNT BE ANY SLOWER WITH THEM, GOES DOWN 15 TIMES A MONTH! I WOULDNT WISH THEM ON MY OWN WORST ENEMY. | |
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| Review by MrBungle87 - Location: Durham,Durham,NC
- Cost: $85 per month (12 month contract)
Good "VDSL is great; better modems and hardware on VDSL."
Bad "ADSL is slow and oversold in many markets. Customer support is hit and miss."
Overall "If Frontier's VDSL packages are available in your area, they become a lot more compelling."
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UPDATE, 8/9/2013: so far, so good. Haven't encountered any real issues since being switched over to VDSL in January. Still getting consistent 25Mbit (usually 30) downloads. Ping times could be better (around 60-70ms now), but this is the nature of interleaving, I suppose. My only real complaint is upload speed, or lack thereof. At the time of installation, uploads averaged 1.6Mbit (while being advertised at 3Mbit), and have since decreased to an average of 1Mbit. I'm not sure why uploads are low, but I'll have to talk to our local Frontier manager again to figure it out.
UPDATE, 1/24/2013: VDSL (25/2) is installed using the Actiontec V1000W modem/router, and speeds are great. 30Mbit down, typically, and roughly 1.3Mbit upload, which is less than I expected, but still double what I was seeing on ADSL. The only problem is ping times are higher now, at about 80ms (probably due to interleaving instead of fastpath). Will update if and when anything changes.
If you're relocating to the Triangle area of North Carolina and value a fast Internet connection, avoid Durham at all costs. In this area, Frontier and Time Warner have all but cornered the market on broadband (though, Frontier has no real claim to call what they sell 'broadband'). Time Warner will offer you up to 50Mbit/5Mbit service (down/up), provided you pay them $7-11 per month for their modem/router on top of the $99 standard (non-promo) rate you'll pay for their highest speed tier. By all accounts, Time Warner is a ripoff--though, in all their beneficence, they've deigned not to cap your usage, yet. The nominal pricing for TW's 20/2 tier is about $55 a month here, and you can use your own modem in this instance (read: no monthly modem rental fee to line their pockets). So, that might be more attractive, value wise, but still expensive.
Then, your only other option: Frontier. Ah, Frontier. When Verizon sold their decrepit copper infrastructure to Frontier in mid-2010, we didn't know what we were in for. It turns out, my worst suspicions about Frontier were realized. From the very beginning, the changeover involved Frontier taking on aging equipment it couldn't or wouldn't maintain, overselling DSL, delivering infuriatingly slow peak time speeds, and engaging in highly questionable customer service practices. We were on Verizon's 3Mbit/768Kbit plan and, for the most part, we got the advertised speeds and decent ping times (even during peak hours). Amazingly, Frontier managed to shoot that all to hell with their mere presence. Download speeds plummet daily to sub-1Mbit, and any sort of Youtube/Hulu/Netflix/ESPN3/Skype activity is out of the question. This goes on for HOURS.
I'd spoken with so many different customer service reps and technicians at Frontier that I had a better handle on their problems than they did. Being the aficionado for networking that I am, I got tired of their piss poor answers and decided to take this to Frontier's General Managers for both my county and the state of North Carolina. Finally, a GM was giving me some concrete answers. I live 4224 feet from the CO and according to technicians, our line quality is great, as are the SNR/attenuation numbers, yet we're still stuck on 7Mbit service that suffers nightly and drastic slowdowns. The GM tells me I am easily eligible for the 12/2 "Ultra" package, and I should be eligible for the 25/2 "Ultimate" tier. But he's still researching things at our CO, and I'm waiting for the final word on where we'll go from here.
So to all of you weighing Frontier as an option, I would suggest you do your homework before pulling the trigger, because their VDSL deployment seems spotty at best, and you probably won't be able to get the information you need from call center people in Washington state. Considering we pay $35 a month for Internet, we definitely don't get $35 worth of service. I'd gladly pay another $10 a month for consistent 12/2 speeds, and the GM claims the VDSL network runs on different hardware and isn't oversold like the lower speed tiers. Time will tell. I'll be updating this when we move to a higher speed tier.
But take this as a cautionary tale for broadband in the Durham area. Many other points around the Triangle have AT&T U-Verse as an option (like Cary), but U-Verse is also highly localized to various towns and neighborhoods here, and if you live in a rural area, your options will be even more limited. The price you pay for living in a "less profitable" region.
member for 260 days, 113 visits, last login: a few minutes ago
updated 57 days ago
Comments:
| | In regards to VDSL availability To be sure, VDSL availability is typically when available when you are withing 8000 feet from the central office to be capable for speeds up to 25mbps, we have been doing a lot of work since verizon was around, keeping in mind it has only been 2 1/2 years since we took over and started improving upon Verizons Antiquated networks. I apologize if you didn't get good answers from here in the Washington Call Center, I am extremely proficient in the systems and can definitely assist in this as well. If the issue has been addressed and investigated, then you should be good to go (at the very least being able to get bonded DSL for the 12/2mbps speed), I've checked the terminals in Durham/Raleigh area and do see that the Central office is equipped for VDSL (up to 40mbps for Business, 25mbps for Residential). We have a number of people available for VDSL but like with all internet providers (except wireless) it is distance related. | |
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| Re: In regards to VDSL availability Thanks for your reply. The technician who installed VDSL (25/2) told me he wasn't sure whether VDSL or bonded ADSL2 would be used since we were the second house in the area they've installed VDSL. But, it seems to be working well. I also have to give credit to the technical supervisor for our area who called me and gave me information about our true total loop distance (which was longer than I thought due to a large cable loop on another street), but they either removed or replaced a tap and loop length decreased.
I do have one question for you, though: I'm seeing a lot of errors (presumably) under "30 Minute Near End FEC Interleave" and some under "30 Minute Near End CRC Interleave". Fastpath is disabled so I guess there must be a distance consideration in still using interleaved mode on VDSL2? Either way, my download speeds are great, so I don't know how accurate the SNR and attenuation stats the modem is reporting are. I've attached a screenshot for your perusal. Hopefully, you can make some sense of the FEC numbers.
I'm also seeing higher pings than before (75-100ms), which I'm guessing is due to interleaving. Is there a way to test whether fastpath would cut ping times? | |
| | | | | | I have Frontier DSL on Camano Island, WA zipcode 98282. Do you know if anything can be done to improve speeds? I am on the south end of the island, so I imagine I am far from the CO, and it looks as though we're routed through the Everett, WA pop. Do you know if VDSL is available, and can I bond two DSL channels together if I add a second phone line with Frontier? You can write me back at jakej1978 AT g mail dot com
Thank you. | |
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| Review by zebibyte - Location: Fairview,Multnomah,OR
- Cost: $130 per month
Good "Great speeds, Nice HD TV"
Bad "Core network can get overloaded links"
Overall "FIOS service is great if you can get it"
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Great 35/35 FIOS service and full HD channel package. I"ve got my ONT inside in a closet, so no weather related issues. Ethernet handoff to my own router, works great.
member for 7.4 years, 315 visits, last login: 5 days ago
updated 59 days ago
Comments:
| Review by isp10002 - Location: Burbank,Wayne,OH
- Cost: $40 per month (12 month contract)
- Install: about 7 days
Good "Consistent fast speeds"
Bad "Nothing so far."
Overall "Great service, frontier needs to work on getting faster speeds"
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I got this installed a few days ago, we got the highest package we could get 3 Mbps down 768k up, speeds are very consistent I'm getting 2.5 mbps down and . 5 up all the time, fast speeds, but I wish I could get something a little faster but 3 Mbps Is fine I play Xbox live and rarely have lag, but I wish I could get faster speeds buy 3 Mbps will have to do.
Update 1 week later
So far frontier is doing great, but I'm getting 2.5 mbps down and . 6 upload out of the 3mbps down and 768k up. I play Minecraft and Xbox and have no lag, I plan on staying with frontier for a long time in till cable comes to my area. I can stream 720p videos with no buffering and 1080p with little buffering.
Update 1 Month later:
Still rock solid service, but i did notice something yestorday, It was raining heavily yestorday and i notice my xbox was lagging a bit, i do a speed test download and upload are fine, but ping is 105+ ms when is is usally below 75, hopefully it doesnt do this all the time or i will make frontier do something about it. I hope its not because of a waterlogged dsl line or bridge tap. But anyways still great service so far, The only thing that makes me mad is when a family member is streaming netflix when im playing xbox, then one of us has to get off. I hope to see a upgrade in another year or 2, Maybe they will get bonded out here or move us to a closer hub. But everything is great, Hopefully it stays like that.
May 18th:
Still rock soild service.
June 18th:
Nothing has changed.
July 25th:
Still great service!
EDIT August 4th: Recently we have been having problems with dead spots in some parts of the house. The net gear modem/router is downstairs in the basement so we got a cat 5 cable and ran it from the netgear 7550 in the basement to a new netgear n600 dual band router on the middle floor. Now we don't have dead spots in the house and everything works great.
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member for 345 days, 212 visits, last login: 14 days ago
updated 62 days ago
Comments:
| | Terrible service! My father who is 75 just moved into a retirement community where Frontier is the only provider of internet/tv/phone service. He has waited over two weeks for a technician to come turn on his service only to get an automated call at the end of today to say they aren't going to make the appointment. I tried to call the number only to get a rude customer service rep to say he'll have to reshedule. Frontier has represented themselves very poorly. They missedare their appointment and the customer service rep stated their appointment times are a ot committments they just try to make the times. I have never experience such poor service. If we had a choice we would not use Frontier. Terrible!! Awful!! | |
| | | My father who is 75 just moved into a retirement community where Frontier is the only provider of internet/tv/phone service. He has waited over two weeks for a technician to come turn on his service only to get an automated call at the end of today to say they aren't going to make the appointment. I tried to call the number only to get a rude customer service rep to say he'll have to reshedule. Frontier has represented themselves very poorly. They missedare their appointment and the customer service rep stated their appointment times are a ot committments they just try to make the times. I have never experience such poor service. If we had a choice we would not use Frontier. Terrible!! Awful!! | |
| | | When we first switched to frontier, it took them 2 weeks to get our service turned on. The kept coming out and "flipping a switch" and nothing worked. After 4 visits we finally got them to come in a fix the outlets to get our service to work. When we moved we explained what had occurred during the initial install and asked that a technician come in and make sure everything was ok before they left. They refused and told us it wouldn't be necessary, so after 3 more "switch flipping" visits they told us they would come in a do the outlets again. But the technician took it upon himself to decide it wasn't unnecessary. And guess what? We still don't have internet. It has ow been 3 weeks and have another schedule today to get our service activated. What really makes me mad is that frontier is our ONLY choice for internet otherwise I would have been rid of those worthless idiots. We spoke two TWO supervisors now and were promised someone would come in. If they do not I will be in there office in Bloomington and making a scene. I am starting to wonder if they recruit their staff at the special Olympics. | |
| | | | Re: Worst service ever What do you mean by "flipping a switch" where? on the nid? | |
| | | | | Re: Worst service ever I don't know. That's what they said on the . That they just had to flip a switch and didn't have to ever come in the apartment. | |
| | | | | | Re: Worst service ever I feel so lucky to have good service, i can stream hd videos without buffering,the choices around here are century link or frontier and the highest they can provide is 3 mbps. | |
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| | | | there is no switch to flip. the rep has to go to the central office and loop the line through the dsl equipment or if it is a remote changed the port to one with dsl or dial tone and dsl on it. there is no switch to flip | |
| | | | | | Re: Worst service ever That's not true...there's is a switch.
I signed up for DSL Lite and had it for 4 years then switched to DSL Max over the phone Frontier had to send me a new modem. Once installed I ran a speedtest and it was the same old speed, lite version, I called they sent a "tech" out. The tech called the office, they flipped the switch and it worked.
Now 2 months later, it's back to 0.77 Mbps!
I called again, this time she tried to sell me an "Upgrade" for $10 a month...Frontier Communication are lairs
I'm going to check out a hotspot. | |
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| | | did you have a self install or did you pay for a full install? self install means it is good to the nid on the side of the house, full install is good to the jack... so it matters what you got. | |
| | | | | Re: Worst service ever Ha i dont get how peoples wiring is so bad. My wiring was installed by gte 12+ years ago or more probally. | |
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| Review by icex - Location: USA
- Cost: $20 per month
- Install: about 8 days
 Focal
Good "100x better than colane cable!"
Bad "Install date took awile"
Overall "Love it"
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7/20/13
I've had ups and downs lately with Frontier. It seems the service drops alot now adays, and stays down for 2-3 hours at a time sometimes.
I called and talked to a tech about the issue. He told me to plug my modem straight into my pc. When I informed him the modem was in bridge mode, he stated it would still work. I told him it would not because it goes through my linksys router. He got smart with me telling me I had no idea what I was doing and he has done this for years. I told him I've done it for years as well and know what I'm talking about. He creates a ticket and says it'll be installed the next week, and offers to sell me a bunch of bs.
The following Wensday it was fixed. Sometimes my speed goes down to 1-2mb and sometimes it'll still crash for hours, but not as bad as before.
I still recommend Frontier but expect to be treated with respect when I call their tech support.
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*5/27/2012*
They upgraded me to 6mb. I have been getting around 5.5mbps steady. I love frontier (its alot better than colane cable!)
Ordered 3/26 and was given a install date of 4/9. Neighbor ordered 3/27 and got it 3/29. I waited paitently until the 5th and went to the Central office and asked why I hadent got mine installed yet. Next day they came and installed it.
I use to use colane cable, and had a 6mb package. I would only get 500k through the evenings with a ping of over 500. Horrible..
Anyway, Frontier was suppose to be 6mb but since they just installed the dslam it is currently 3mb and we are suppose to be updated to 6 by the end of the year
Overall im happy.
member for 9.3 years, 3128 visits, last login: 13 days ago
updated 77 days ago
Comments:
| | :) I love hearing peoples positive reviews  I love it as well. | |
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| Review by darthfadar - Location: Mcminnville,Yamhill,OR
- Cost: $39 per month
- Install: about 7 days
Good "Fast, stable"
Bad "Haven't found any bad, yet"
Overall "Better value than Comcast"
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Got Frontier FIOS, today. Tech was on time, polite & answered all my questions. All hardware was installed & running with an hour & half.
Tech then helped setup wireless configuration & verified all devices we running on the network.
Speeds are great. No latency & the price is half of what Comcast offered.
Good to go!
member for 12.1 years, 2092 visits, last login: 12 days ago
lodged 112 days ago
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| Review by Blackbird - Location: Fort Wayne,Allen,IN
- Cost: $15 per month
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This service started out with Verizon several years ago (hence my installation reviews partly reflect Verizon's earlier stewardship), and was bought up a couple of years ago by Frontier. DSL and POTS under Frontier have remained mostly on a par with the previous Verizon level - that is, fairly good, although there seem to be occasional spells when the Frontier DSL system goes into a deaf/dumb mode for minutes at a time when I'm trying to access sites on the Internet, even though the modem shows things supposedly being OK. Also, there are unrelated sporadic problems with POTS heavy line noise/static (caused by cracks in the aging copper) that interfere with the phone service, but not the DSL running at a higher frequency. The copper lines to this area are old and poorly maintained (dating back to Verizon's ownership, when little physical line maintenance was done - now those chickens are coming home to roost under Frontier's ownership, after strong winds or heavy rains).
The service still remains priced at $14.95/mo "for life," as originally contracted with Verizon.
member for 8.7 years, 2754 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 156 days ago
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| Review by William - Location: Washougal,Clark,WA
- Cost: $30 per month
- Install: about 7 days
Good "No complaints"
Bad "Nothing so far"
Overall "Reliable, fast, no lag"
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As an satellite user, was quite skeptical about Frontier was even really available here, my location is over 10 miles from the nearest town, there is a remote terminal about 2 miles down the road. Had Frontier DSL since 02-23-12 and took about a week for the install, using the Westell 7500 modem/router, all in all quite happy with the service.
Started with 3 Mbps down and 768K up, see speeds of ~ 3 Mbps down and ~ 1 Mbps up, don't recall exact date upload speed increased to 1 Mbps from 768. Have yet to contact Frontier for support, been over a year now. Pings generally stay below 50 ms, all hours of the day, do spike every now and then, higher pings don't bother me, coming from satellite, not an online gamer.
member for 3.4 years, 1387 visits, last login: 15 days ago
updated 157 days ago
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| Review by Stimpy - Location: Oberlin,Lorain,OH
- Cost Contract price not specified.
Good "# of hops, speed constant, few dropouts."
Bad "others in my town mention problems, other's stories."
Overall "I love Frontier. As far as personal experience, they've been perfect."
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I've started on Verizon and recently went from a single 768kup/6Mbdown to 2Mb up/12Mbdown bonded service. I use Second Life, which is sensitive to packet loss and latencies. I've had a few more packets dropped with the bonded ASDL, but its literally been from a few hundred dropped packets out of millions to a % or two.
The service, from the operators from the techs who've come to the house, has been outstanding. I came from AT&T which used Indian operators who were nice, but seemed pretty powerless. Verizon and now Frontier seem to have happier workers.
tl;dr: Frontier is great!
member for 251 days, 1 visits, last login: 223 days ago
lodged 251 days ago
Comments:
| Review by taighitu - Location: Arlington,Snohomish,WA
- Cost: $35 per month (24 month contract)
- Install: about 1 days
Good "It is more consistent than when we had Verizon."
Bad "High latency and ping times every now and then."
Overall "Not bad for the money."
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We got Verizon when we built the house. Had problems with Comcast.
We have a bundled package, DSL, phone and Directv.
3 meg download and 768 upload, we're not heavy streaming movie users, mainly e-mail, news and chat rooms so no need for high speed.
They supplied Actiontec router/ modem which has been changed 3 times now and latest one has been running for two years without problems.
Tech support is good, friendly although not always able to come up with solutions especially high latency and ping times to our local office.
member for 7.3 years, 1088 visits, last login: 2 days ago
lodged 252 days ago
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