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When I moved in to my apartment, I had a choice of having my DirecTV moved to my new apt, get Comcast, or try RCN. I wanted a bundle package with internet+cable, so DirecTV was out (and they're expensive anyways), and my previous dealings with Comcast have soured me for life towards them. I'd never heard of RCN, so thought I'd give them a shot. I've been VERY happy. The channel selection is great (I have the "total premier package), the internet is super fast (I have the 15Mbps package, but always get 25MPbs), and any issues I've had are handled quickly. Their customer support is just simply amazing. I'm always able to get in fast, get help fast, and they come out fast. They're SO nice too, completely the opposite from other companies I've dealt with in the past member for 12.1 years, 35 visits, last login: 6.9 years ago updated 12 years ago
I have the older 10mbps and tv plan for about 6 months now, and I am very happy so far. I switched from verzion fios, don't get me wrong, fios was great and super fast, but they were charging me $140 a month and now I'm paying half price for almost as good service. The RCN internet so far has been more than adequate for me, and I haven't had any downtime yet for 6 months. I never had downtime with fios either, I think most ISPs has gotten pretty reliable. The advertised down speed is 10mbps, but I usually get more than that, usually around 10-15mbps. The up speed is only 2mbps, which is the only thing I would complain about, it is a bit slowing uploading large files now, but at half price of fios, I will gladly wait an extra few seconds every now and then. The TV service is good so far too, I gotten most of my favorite channels. A channels I like were missing, like NAT GEO, but I really don't watch too much tv anyways. There is also a half second delay when switching channels, it might be annoying if you like to channel surf, but I prefer to just use the tv guide. Overall, I think RCN provides good value for the services. Once my "intro" rate expires though, hopefully I could switch to whatever new bundle they have and get a new intro rate, otherwise, I will still jump ship. member for 12.1 years, driveby review (so far) lodged 12.1 years ago
Update: 2/22/12 I recently updated my package and I have been upgraded to 75/6 Internet, a TiVo Quad Tuner DVR along with a TiVo Premiere and 2 Previews. Since my last review, RCN has added about 30 more HD channels. They are still missing some big ones that the competition does have (BBC America HD, MSNBC HD, CBS College Sports HD) to name a few. The TiVo DVR is among the best DVRs in the industry. The Q records up to 4 shows at once and can stream them to any other TiVo in the house. The internet speeds have tripled to 75/6 thanks to DOCSIS 3, and remain rock solid. I have at least 95% of the bandwidth available to me at all points of the day. Slow downs are very rare. I can count on 1 hand how many outages I've had since updating my review almost 3 years ago. The bottomline for many comes down to price. I pay for 5 boxes (2 DVR/3 HD Receivers) Showtime & Starz, 75/6 Internet and unlimited local and long distance. The total comes out to about $160 with taxes. With Comcast that would cost me well north of $200/mo. That coupled with the great support here in the forums is enough to keep me with RCN for a long time. Update: 1/20/09 RCN has just crushed all of the analog channels in my area. While the HD channel selection has improved greatly, it means that every TV has to have a cable box hooked up to get any sort of programming aside from the local SD channels available on ClearQAM. There are now around 80 HD channels and the quality is superb. Looking forward them to add more in the future. Internet and phone remain rock solid. Update: 5/27/08 *RCN now offers almost 40 HD channels and an upgraded Aptiv guide with their cable service. This has improved the TV viewing experience significantly. The are preparing to launch HD VOD as well.RCN sales called a couple of days ago and offered to drop my package from $179 to $129 ($140 including all boxes). I had to sign a 2 year contract to do so, but i've been satisfied with the service, so why not? I don't see FiOS happening in my neck of the woods for sometime, and that's all I would switch to.* RCN has been an excellent company to work with since day 1. I went from Verizon DSL, which was inconsistent to Comcast, which worked but was never close to the speeds that they advertised. I paid for the "performance" tier and that didn't make much of a difference. I found out that RCN had just ran lines on my street from a neighbor, so I called RCN, and scheduled an install and 3 days later they were at my door on time. The installation was done properly with minimal wire showing. I ordered the Mach 20 cable modem service with 2 digital cable boxes, digital vision plus, and HBO. With the phone service it comes to about $179/mo with taxes. It beats the $220 I was paying for Comcrap. The speeds have been very consistent, above and beyond what comcast was giving me. It never dips below about 16mbps during prime time. Cable is fine, but On Demand can be improved. It takes between 2-5 minutes to load and the selection isnt as good as Comcast. I don't consider it to big a big issue since i do not use on demand too often. I'm happy i got to kick Comcast to the curb, and it was worth it. member for 16.9 years, 738 visits, last login: 5.9 years ago updated 12.1 years ago
Over all no real issue with them other than they will not let me use my SBG6580 cable modem gateway in the Boston area, (review was emailed from domain gmail.com) lodged 12.2 years ago
Moved into a new apartment that was only serviced by RCN. I was a bit skeptical as I was coming from Comcast's Business Class service but I have been beyond impressed with RCN so far. I ordered the 60mbit internet service (recently upgraded to 75mbit) and I actually receive those speeds most of the time. Sometimes it slows slightly during peak hours but this can be expected. Their cable TV service is very good as well. They offer a TiVo Premiere box for only a couple bucks more than I paid for the ancient Comcast DVR at my old place. The TiVo itself makes the service that much better. I just wish they had more 3D content including ESPN3D but hopefully that comes. My building includes basic cable service, but with all of my other services including a sports package and a static ip address, my monthly bill comes to around $120 which is around what I paid for 1/3 the internet speed with Comcast Business. Very happy with RCN so far and highly recommended to others. member for 21.6 years, 6448 visits, last login: a few hours ago lodged 12.2 years ago
At first I only wanted to get away from Comcast so I was the very first customer in my neighborhood. Now, I'm so glad I switched when I did. My neighbors with Verizon and Comcast lose service all the time. In the many years that I've had RCN we have only lost service once during an ice storm. The customer service is excellent and I think it is a testament to RCN that they are leading the Tivo charge. The fact that I can now get Tivo Preview is awesome! I love RCN! I would do free commercials for them I'm so satisfied. The only thing that could possibly make them better is to have more installations across the country so their customer base could grow and continue to compete with the likes of Comcast and Verizon. Did I say I love RCN? member for 12.2 years, 1 visits, last login: 12.2 years ago lodged 12.2 years ago
My service was fine for over a year, then in the end of November I noticed it was terribly slow. Ran speed tests and found i was getting less than 1Mbps, but somedays would get as high as 5Mbps. not sure if related or not, but the first week of December I got a pre-recorded call from RCN saying they had upgraded everyone to 20Mbps down 2Mbps up for free. Called in and they happily changed my plan to be the same as everyone else 9was paying for 20 down / 2 up but everyone was getting that for the lowest price now). Service has been mostly unusable since the end of November. have called into tech support many times, usually they do not know what to say other than "we can send someone out to check" and that they never see any problems with my service. The past 9 or 10 days i only get 0.5 Mbps down every day/night. most websites/services timeout, which means no working from home (VPN dies constantly), no online gaming, etc. Glad i don't have a contract so can go someone else for service. :-( member for 12.3 years, 7 visits, last login: 12.1 years ago lodged 12.2 years ago
Had TWC as an option initially and now have FIOS option as well. Have the 3mb+premier cable package. Install was easy and have Motorola DCX3400 dvr. Update: Just got a mailer from FIOS with a very attractive package. $64.99 triple play for a year. Considering switching after the Knicks season is over b/c they still don't have MSG HD. If FIOS doesn't get MSG by the end of the year though might switch back. Update: Now that FIOS has MSGHD I have decided to switch over. I wasn't really that upset with RCN but they do have some holes in their offerings like the Big Ten Network and the WLIW subchannels. I will not rule out coming back at some point. member for 15.5 years, 6001 visits, last login: a few hours ago updated 12.3 years ago
When issues show up, it's near impossibly to get help through regular channels. Luckily, the reps that are on the board here can be tremendously helpful. member for 16.5 years, 68 visits, last login: 11.6 years ago updated 12.3 years ago
I've had RCN internet service for a little more than a year now. It suits my needs just fine indeed. I decided to go with cable modem service, after two unpleasant experiences with DSL providers. Speeds, ( 5 Mps download, 384 Kps up ) are consistently where they should be, whether I use the company's speed testing sight, or speakeasy's speed tester. The Tech who came by was prompt, courteous, and had excellent work habits. As my building was already cabled up for RCN service, he was finished in about 20 minutes. I'm not certain if he was an RCN employee, or one of the contractors. I should point out that I am only a broadband internet service customer. I have no cable TV, phone service. For interested parties, my modem is a Motorola SB5120, which I supplied myself. You can usually buy these at any of the big box stores, frequently on sale. The only real problem is that they don't service all areas. If your area is not listed as having service available, call the company and double check. Update, 10/11/09: I just upgraded to 10 Mbps (down) / 800 Kbps (up) for ten dollars more per month. All is well, speeds are where they should be. It didn't even take 24 hours for the speed bump to take effect, after I called. FIOS is available to my apartment building, but I see no advantage to it for my purposes at this time. Update, 11/19/11: I recently received a phone call from an RCN representative, informing me that my service had been upgraded to 20 Mbps (down) and 1.8 Mbps (up) at no additional cost. I ran speeds tests at speedtest.net and speakeasy.net and indeed, the speeds are as advertised and consistent. Likes: -The fact that with RCN, you can use your own Modem. No proprietary modem required. -RCN makes broadband internet service available as a stand-alone product. You do not need a "package deal", common with other providers. member for 18.2 years, 54 visits, last login: 8.1 years ago updated 12.4 years ago
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