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Review by ccseifert 
Posted: 8.3 years ago
member for 8.4 years, 607 visits, last login: 3.5 years ago
 Mahopac Falls,Putnam,NY
 $39 per month
 about 15 days
 "Install went smoothly"
 "Inconsistent speed and disconnects, horrendous service"
 "Find something else if you value service after the sale at all."
| Pre Sales information:
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(ratings below consensus)
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I've had RCN Cable for about three months now. The speed is unimpressive to say the least, rarely getting anything over 200k, and that is a rare sight. For a period of about a week and a half, my connection went down once each evening, and then about every other day for the next week. However, this all pales in comparison to my recent dealings with RCN in the last few days.
This past Saturday, I had my cable TV downgraded because I don't watch a lot of the channels I was paying for. They had to go to the pole to do it, and apparently while the tech was up there, he managed to unplug my modem as well. When I got back in town on Sunday, I called them up to find out what was going on. After waiting for 45 minutes to talk to a support rep, we do the normal tests to get cable back up and running, and it is determined that a ticket needed to be opened.
I called them back the next day (Monday) to see what was going on. I was told that I had to meet them at my apartment the next day (Tuesday) between 1-5pm. I took time off of work to make this appointment, and was promptly at home at 12:55 in the afternoon.
After waiting for two hours, I called to make sure that everything was still as scheduled. I was told that yes, I was third on the tech's list and that he was most likely on his second appointment at the time.
I waited until 5pm, the end of the time frame, and called again. I was informed that he was on his way directly to my place.
I waited until 6pm, and called again. They said that they didn't know what was going on, so they would call their dispatch center and then call me back in 20-30 minutes.
I waited until 7pm, and called again. They said that they couldn't get in touch with their dispatch center, but that they would keep trying and call me back in 20-30 minutes. I informed them that rescheduling was not an option, and if it required that the tech climb the pole at 11:30pm with a flashlight, so be it.
I waited until 8pm, and called again. Same story.
At 8:30pm, I finally get a call back from them. They tell me that the according to their records, this appointment was actually made for Wednesday rather than Tuesday. I tell this woman that that was not the case. She says that's what their files say. I ask why then did everyone I talked to say that he was on his way, aside from the fact that the original appointment was made for Tuesday? She can't explain it. In the end, she offers to reimburse me for downtime and a missed appointment, "since I thought it was for Tuesday." Please.
This treatment of customers is reprehensible. I'll be leaving here in a few hours to see if they actually do show up today, which is what she said they would do. We'll see. Suffice it to say, I'm not too optimistic.
If you value service after the sale whatsoever, I suggest that you look for something, anything other than RCN cable. They are terrible.
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Review by fireracer7
Posted: 8.4 years ago
member for 8.6 years, 59 visits, last login: 3.5 years ago
Brookline,Norfolk,MA
$49 per month
about 30 days
"Actually came through on delivery date, excellent installers"
"Sometimes can slow down at around 8:00 pm, a tad expensive"
"Good high speed internet service if you can afford it."
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Since April 2000 through September 2000, I have ordered 3 DSL services and none has ever followed though. Online I check out to be 1500 feet away from the CO which made DSL even more attractive. When ordering on the phone, the reps would comment on being so fortunate as to live so close to the CO. However, that was all a farse, for when it came to the delivery date, noone ever showed. Whether I ordered from Covad to Phoenix Networks, everyone had to have Verizon evaluate them. Verizon never showed up on the various dates they said they would; I can recall numerous days I had to stay home from work on to invariably call them up at the end of the day asking them where they had been. An I kept getting different answers, the most common of them being that there was not enough capacity at the local CO. After the torturous 5 months, I gave up. However, in January 2001 RCN was beginning to advertise its cable modem service. In April, a local sales rep called up and offered ot come over to my house to explain the services. Delighted I agreed and ended up ordering through him. The ordering process took 1 night, and by the next day I had a delivery date. RCN's contractors showed up promptly and on time, and the installation was quick and painless. The cable modem service has been extremely quick, except for the occasional time (at aroud 8:00 pm) where everyone in my neighborhood is home and online. Otherwise, I have no complaints.
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Review by trey enterprises
Posted: 8.4 years ago
member for 8.8 years, 105 visits, last login: 2.3 years ago
Mahopac,Putnam,NY
$40 per month
about 3 days
"Quick install. Free modem."
"Early difficulties with service."
"The best bet for Putnam County."
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This review if for RCN Cable Modem service in Putnam County, New York. After being thrown all around looking for an ISP, I almost gave up until RCN called saying their service was offered. I called up, set up an appointment, when I was told I needed an Ethernet Card prior to installation. They suggested a Linksys Ethernet Card, it performs great, is easy to set up, and only cost around $15.00. I installed the Ethernet Card and the tech came and dropped off the free cable modem. It was a 3Com SharkFin Modem. After setting it up, he noticed a weak signal and the next day another tech came and ran a whole new line into my room. Everything was perfect. However, RCN ran quite slow due to router problems, which took a while to fix. After these problems were corrected, my speeds have been great. I get 1.3 - 1.4 kbps down and 700 - 900 kbps up at all time of day. I am paying for 1.5 mbps down, and the upload speed is not capped. My average pings (mostly to Counter-Strike servers) are between 10 and 80, which is great. I download at an average of 200 kbps. After being hooked up, I went to www.rcn.com where I set up my e-mail, newsgroups, and web space. Additional e-mails are available, but a request needs to be phoned in. They provide their own IRC and Newsgroup servers, which are great. I use Outlook Express to access my e-mail and news. 10 MB of web space is offered. A tutorial is available at www.rcn.com to began making web pages. Also, RCN provides three Counter-Strike servers which give me an average of 40 ping. One of my favorite aspects of the service is that they offer a constantly updated web page with the status of all their services. It is located at »status.rcn.com. My cable TV service from RCN is great as well. I pay $40.00 a month for the cable modem service. My IP is dynamic, but only changes when if I unplug my modem for a few days. RCN also offers a free 56k dial-up account for use if there ever are any outages. When calling tech support, waits are usually between 0 and 10 minutes. Tech support is quite helpful and the techs are knowledgable (except for a few special cases). To sum it up, RCN was bumpy at first, but now is great. Performance doesn't even deplete during storms and outages only occur rarely, when the TV goes out. The other services in my town are the major 56k providers (ATT, Earthlink, AOL), Verizon DSL, and Bestweb 56k and DSL. Both Verizon and Bestweb are complete jokes. Earthlink's 56k access is good, but if you are like me and need high speeds, go with RCN.
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Review by rparshall
Posted: 8.4 years ago
member for 9.5 years, 26 visits, last login: 8.4 years ago
Framingham,Middlesex,MA
Contract price not specified. (month by month)
about 8 days
"Quick from order to install, good reliability"
"Took digging on my part to find out rate plans, occasional packet loss"
"Very good option, especially versus AT&T Broadband"
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I got an RCN advertisement in the mail for serveral telephone, digital cable, cable modem packages. As I was very unhappy with the hardware and service from my current cable provider (AT&T Broadband), I decided to see if I really could switch over.
The package I got is $120 monthly, but that includes:
One phone line:
-free local calling (includes several area codes that cover most of Massachusetts)
-caller ID
-voice mail
Two digital cable converter boxes:
-70 channels including several HBO and Cinemax stations
-good hardware (unlike the garbage from AT&T Broadband)
Cable modem/ISP:
-3Com modem
-Dynamic IP
-three POP accounts
The connection has been typical of other cable modem service I've had in the past (Time Warner in NY and OH). Slightly slower at peak hours, but typically quite fast (guess my neighbors haven't signed up yet). I've only lost the connection once, and it was back up in an hour. The only reason they don't get a five is that I've had several instances of high packet loss (23-30%) that seem to be the fault of their backhaul provider (ALTER.NET).
All in all, everything has been a breeze! and the connection is fast and reliable. I'd definately recommend them to anyone in the Boston Metro West area.
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Review by bluedog9
Posted: 8.4 years ago
member for 8.8 years, 15 visits, last login: 5.1 years ago
Princeton,Mercer,NJ
$40 per month (month by month)
about 10 days
"Fast download 300K-500K+++ , pretty knowledgable tech support"
"3-4K upload - nuff said - sending a friend an MP3.... just try it..."
"Only available high speed under $50. Great if you only download alot. (so much for not being a file leech...)"
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Tested: Linkline LA, CA
542K download/ 3K upload (yes that is 3k!!!! - how awful is that?)
Tested: Megapath SJC,CA
1130 download/ 4K upload (yes that is 4k!!!! - how awful is that?)
Reliability:
I have had this over two years and for the first year, I did alot of unplugging of the modem to reset. Our cable was always fuzzy on some channels which indicated a line problem to me. Sure enough the edgers (landscapers) in our community had partially cut about 6 cables to different condos. RCN replaced this last spring and the cable modem has been reliable ever since.
Installation:
Actually, they were prompt and usually are (they've been out here 3-4 times). The guy knew how to get it running and 5 minutes tops + 15 to drill and run the wire to my home office. Unfortunately it wasn't the most asthetic job, but I should have watched him.
FYI - I later installed a Linksys router on the system and had problem setting it up myself despite 20+ years computer experience. Kudos to Linksys. Their techs asked which Cable system I was using, cross referenced it in their database and set me up in 10 minutes. Linksys routers and cards are all I use now. They are cheap and very good and reliable (wireless networking decision is out for now as I haven't tried it but have heard bad things.)
Problems:
My problem is that the upload of 14.4 is VERY SLOW. Now NOTE THIS: RCN has changed it's one-way modems to 3Com OfficeConnect CMX modems which have an external 56K upload, which is fine with me. I'd take 500K/50K any day (33.6 upload?) I am having mine installed on Wednesday, and I only just found out about this (they have been using them for 6 months!!!). I have a Hyrid N-202 with an internal 14.4 modem - non-upgradable.
What sucks is that RCN constantly brags about their new Megaband service and how fast their cable modems are. They are fast on download, but the upload is so bad it almost makes you hate the modem. AND I have to also pay $20/month for the other phone line for the modem. I just wish they could at least give me a date that they might be here.
NOTE: I hear that my area (montgomery twp.) is getting Optimum Online, something about they have to wire the whole township. OOL in this area is said to be amazing (10+ sources). What a strike that will be to put their service in RCN's backyard -
Yes, RCN is based in Princeton and Princeton has the WORST cable (some house still have A/B boxes - remember those?).
Hope this helps. Overall, I need high speed access so I am willing to suffer but I would sacrifice the super high speed download for a 100K upload.
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Review by daves3
Posted: 8.4 years ago
member for 8.4 years, 1 visits, last login: 8.4 years ago
Framingham,Middlesex,MA
$40 per month (12 month contract)
about 20 days
"downloads much faster than dial-up"
"unavailable about 1-2 times a month, stupid tech support"
"you make the call"
| Pre Sales information:
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speed: ad says up to T1. I might get 120 kbps at 3:00 am
price: about $40 (package deal)
equip. one 3com cable modem
install proc: OK
dynamic IP
Pluses: include decent download speed, decent browsing speed. It's hard to go back to dial-up once you have broadband.
Minuses: The tech support people are plain dumb. They can walk you through checking IP settings, resetting your modem, looking for your mac address but forget anything beyond that. I haven't had to call them for months though. When the service is down, it's down. What are you gonna do? The company has some problems with their services.
RCN seemed like a solid company from the outside, but I can't say they have impressed me.
1. We were getting bills for $0.00 for about three months in a row, then got one lump bill for about $375.00 (we have a package deal (TV, internet, local phone).
2. Their phone service totally bent us over and didn't even call us in the morning. If you want details, email me.
3. My downloads peak at about 80 kbps. When it was first installed, I was getting up to 120. Still, 80 is much better then 46, which is the tops with my former dial-up (Ultranet- a subsid. of RCN). Internet service is unavailable for 4-6 hours about every month or so.
4. Maybe they are getting hacked, but the commercial video is often not synched with audio. It's kind of funny. It'll be a commercial for coke and the audio is for a femine hygiene product. Please note, this doesn't bother me, but it says something about the company.
All in all, I can't really compare RCN to other cable internet providers, so I don't know if the grass is greener, but RCN has some serious issues.
You decide.
daves3@netscape.net
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