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Review by rbright See Profile

  • Location: Lexington, Fayette, KY, USA
  • Cost: $60 per month
  • Install: about 3 days
Great bandwidth offerings
Very unreliable performance, terrible technical support
Good overall value
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've been a broadband customer in Lexington, KY since the days of @Home in 2001. Several months after my installation, InsightBB took its place and has been serving the city's cable ever since.

In recent years, Insight has greatly improved its service offerings to include 10, 20, 30, and 50 Mb/s subscriptions. While many are enjoying these services at full potential, I have had severe issues with bandwidth in my particular area of the city.

Since my cable was installed into my new apartment, I have observed a speed trend of 28-30 Mb/s downstream and 3-4 Mb/s upstream during the morning and early afternoon (8a-1p). However, the speeds consistently take a dive to 1-5 Mb/s downstream and 2-3 Mb/s upstream after 2:30p. After two technicians have attempted to diagnose the issue, I still have a connection that becomes nearly useless in the later hours of the day.

Overall, Insight still provides the best service in Lexington. However, its customer service has a lot of room for improvement; and the offerings on its highest tier may have come prematurely in comparison with its operating capacity.

------------ Updates ------------

2012-06-19: I've lost track of the number of calls I have made since I moved. They're sending yet another technician to my home to run the same tests as the last one. If I was anywhere near this inefficient at my job, I would be unemployed.

2012-06-18: A new splitter was installed outside of my home? I was not present for this, so I don't know the details of what maintenance was done. All I know is that it didn't work.

2012-06-15: A third technician visited and ran tests both inside and outside my apartment. His tool yielded the same results as my laptop speed tests, and a maintenance order was issued.

2012-06-13: Since my cable was installed into my new apartment, I have observed a speed trend of 28-30 Mb/s downstream and 3-4 Mb/s upstream during the morning and early afternoon (8a-1p). However, the speeds consistently take a dive to 1-5 Mb/s downstream and 2-3 Mb/s upstream after 2:30p. After two technicians have attempted to diagnose the issue, I still have a connection that becomes nearly useless in the later hours of the day.

2005-01-28: For the past twelve days, an issue plagued the Lexington, KY area causing low download speeds and high latencies. Many users flooded the InsightBB forum here at BBR attempting to get some answers; however, no one seemed to be able to give us one. Nine days into the incident, an Insight representative that had seen the complaints on BBR sent me an e-mail to let me know that he was making the issue his top priority. While my experiences with Insight's technical support have been fairly negative in the past, I found this gesture quite admirable as this likely isn't in his job description. Other users on the forum also reported receiving a message from this individual. Several days later, I received another e-mail from the representative letting me know that they had found the problem and that it should be resolved. Sure enough, my speeds and ping times were back to normal.

2004-12-01: Both tiers were given another upgrade. This time, Insight decided to pay more attention to the bread and butter of their income. Plus users were upgraded to 6000 kbps downstream and 512 kbps upstream. Standard tier users were upgraded to 384 kbps upstream, once again giving Plus users only a 128 kbps upstream margin.

2004-11-27: We scheduled to have our cable activated in our new home on 2004-11-23. Scheduling the installation a week in advance, I assumed that there would be no problems getting it up and running on time. However, on the day of the installation, the individual responsible for the transfer would not allow us to go through with it because the person that ordered the transfer was not present when he arrived. Since Insight outsources to a third-party company, the individual had to make a call to his supervisor first. His supervisor then told him to make a call to Insight. Upon doing this, he was told that he could not perform the installation. Due to the upcoming holiday, we were forced to reschedule the installation for 2004-11-26.

We have moved twice while with Insight, and this has never been an issue. As long as a present individual was at least eighteen years old, the technician was allowed to make the installation. Regardless of what Insight's policy is, they should make you well aware of it when placing an order.

2004-09-01: Both tiers of Insight's broadband service were upgraded from 3000 to 4000 kbps downstream. However, only the standard tier recieved an upstream upgrade. At this point, subscribers to Insight's Plus service are paying almost double for an extra 128 kbps of upstream bandwidth.

member for 21.3 years, 568 visits, last login: 11.7 years ago
updated 11.7 years ago

steven19d7
join:2004-12-03
Louisville, KY

steven19d7

Member

hmmmmmmmmm

I work for Insight communications as a Direct Sales Rep. Not only do I sell the services I also install them. Your correct about the age limit. As long as your over the age of 18 and your not recieving att digital phone service you should have been fine.
steven19d7

steven19d7

Member

Re: hmmmmmmmmm

I forgot to add that I work in Louisville but It's the same company I would recommend that you call your local Insight service center find out what there policy is and if your right ask for the $20 on time guarantee. It's not much of a consolation but it's something.
kjtatum
join:2012-06-11
Lexington, KY

kjtatum

Member

Same issues with insight.

I have had a similar problem to you.

They've done multiple re-installs and will be putting in a new cable. I personally think that's BS because I'd have the issues round clock. The techs and myself have all noticed significant packet loss at the tap and it only happens after about 5pm. They've also claimed utilization issues.

I've tried 10.0, 20.0, and now 30.0 services all with the same experience.

Right now, I feel like I'm in a war of attrition. I call and get a credit on my account every week and keep escalating. Eventually they'll either fix it or cancel me because no way they let me keep it for free.
25139889 (banned)
join:2011-10-25
Toledo, OH

25139889 (banned)

Member

Welcome!

welcome to the word of TWC. They'll never fix it. Be careful and watch your bill. TWC likes to sneak in truck roll calls of $50 each.

AnonPerson
join:2000-08-26
Lexington, KY

AnonPerson

Member

Comfort in numbers

I've had very similar experiences here in Lexington. You can read my review if you'd like. Did you ever manage to get your internet fixed?

Mine has been working decently for almost a month now. I'm hoping it stays this way. There's no way I can fight them for another 6 months to get the next issue fixed, and I will certainly not be switching to Windstream.

Review by bobs944 See Profile

  • Location: Louisville, Jefferson, KY, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 2 days
Works most of the time.
Four day wait for earliest service call.
Horrible customer service.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've had 20MB internet service with Insight for seven months. I decided to upgrade to 30MB and was told it required a service call so the tech could verify that my equipment could handle the upgrade. I told them that was not needed as I have a UBEE doc 3.0 modem that can easily handle the upgrade and that I was unwilling to pay $20 to have a tech look at my modem to verify. After all, they have all the information they need on my modem at their service center. In the end, they lost their chance to upgrade me and make more money because of thier dumb policy.

member for 13.5 years, 110 visits, last login: 11.8 years ago
lodged 11.8 years ago


Review by AnonPerson See Profile

  • Location: Lexington, Fayette, KY, USA
  • Cost: $55 per month (month by month)
  • Install: about 2 days
Some areas of Lexington are reliable
They won't initiate maintenance ticket unless numerous people complain
There's a lot of 'red tape'. Techs often see the issue, but cant fix it because it's not their job
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

UPDATED --- JUNE 5, 2012.

Ok, back to the original problem. Between the months of December and March, I had a total of 12 technicians come out to my house. The first 4 techs lied and claimed they 'fixed' the problems I was having. Finally, tech 5 came out and recognized a problem. He was annoyed that I was being pushed around, and did all he could do to help. It wasn't until 7 more techs (a total of 12) coming to my house that the problem was fixed.

Eventually after 4 months of of hassle and headaches, a manager for Insight called me and said he noticed my account had an unusually high volume of trouble calls. He asked me for the specifics of what was going on, then told me he would investigate and call me back. As it turned out, one of the engineers knew that the node for my neighborhood was *double* capacity, but kept sweeping it under the rug so he wouldn't have to put forth the effort of fixing it. The manager told me the problem will be fixed that night, and it was. I was also refunded the previous 4 months for all my hassle.

From March until April, my internet was perfect. Near the beginning of April, my internet started having the same exact problems as before (Detailed in the original review at the bottom). It is now June, and I have called many more times and had several more technicians out here to no avail. Each tech that comes out here says they clearly see an issue, but cannot fix it. I have to call every single week and have a new technician come out here until the right manager notices my 'unusually high volume of tickets' and gets my internet fixed.

I might add...during prime time hours, my internet slows down to make online gaming and streaming video impossible. During these hours, packet loss is consistently above 2% at all times.

------------------------BELOW IS THE OLD REVIEW------------------------

I live in south Lexington area. At my previous residence, I had insight for over a year with no issues at all. In December I moved to a new residence not far away from the original, and my connection began to suffer.

My connection problems began with slow download speeds and high ping rates, but only during prime time hours (between 6pm and midnight). As time goes on, it has been getting progressively worse, now I get slow speeds intermittently between the hours of 8am and 2am the next day. If I get on before work at 6am, the connection is usually stable enough to watch a YouTube video or something along those lines. PC gaming and Netflix is still out of the question though.

I have called customer service countless times about the issue. Most of the time I talk to somebody that is fairly uneducated about technology and runs me through the canned checklist (reset modem, unhook router, etc etc). Once I do all these, I inform them that my speeds are still slow, in which case they tell me that the signal to the modem is good so they cannot see why there would be an issue. Since December, 5 technicians have been out to my apartment, 4 of them walked around outside then came back in and said they 'fixed' the problem but never told me what it was.

Finally the 5th tech spent over 2 hours here testing various things, replacing modems, etc. This tech saw first hand the speed and connection problems, and told me it *has* to be something on Insight's side, but that a ticket cannot be escalated to higher tier maintenance unless I go door to door and convince my elderly neighbors to call and complain all on the same day. The tech was actually quite helpful, and tried to make phone calls to get the ticket escalated himself, but he ran into red tape and restrictions.

Furthermore (and fairly unrelated), he informed me that one of the main hubs in Lexington (on Richmond Rd) was mistakenly installed in an area that floods during winter months. As a result during the winter, excessive amounts of traffic must be routed through the other hubs, it is only in the summer months that the bad hub can be utilized.

Long story short, Insight is doing a very bad job in Lexington right now. I wonder if it has any relation to Time Warner Cable's announcement to buy them out. Lets hope when TWC comes in, they fix all the damage.

Below are a few speed tests I've taken over the past 2 days at different servers around me:

Attachments:
Click for full size
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member for 23.6 years, 2299 visits, last login: 1.3 years ago
updated 11.8 years ago

ubelong2matt
join:2004-10-01
61705

ubelong2matt

Member

Informative Review

I have an unfounded loathing for KY and this seals the deal. I will refuse to go to this state ever as a result of this review. KY, you just lost yourself a customer!

Review by blccoa See Profile

  • Location: New Albany, Floyd, IN, USA
  • Cost: $85 per month (12 month contract)
Nothing
Customer Service
They are terrible communicators
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Been trying for two weeks to get Insight out to hook my mother up in her new condo. They keep promising me that it will get done. Tech came out yesterday to install and said it could not be done because outside of condo is not equiped to hook up services. They were suppose to do this all at once in a day and they failed. Insight Communications is terrible at communication. They can't get themselves on the right page and get the work done. They don't care since they are the only game in town. We need another cable company to come in and give them some competition. Their construction manager called and said it would be done this weekend. I seriously doubt it since this is Memorial Day Weekend. We ordered Cable (basic), Phone and 10meg Internet. So far we have not had a good experience with them.

member for 11.8 years, driveby review (so far)
updated 11.8 years ago


Review by retiredgrunt See Profile

  • Location: Clarksville, Clark, IN, USA
  • Cost: $75 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 5 days
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

What other options did you consider for broadband? Insight is a monopoly, not much of a choice unless you go with a slow DSL.



What SPEED/package did you order, at what monthly price? 10 meg for now (keeping costs down)

How was the order & install process? Ordering is easy, they want your money and would sell their mothers to make a dime. Unfortunately the install and follow on tech support call was unprofessional and amateurish. The installer was in a hurry and made 3 personal cell phone calls, worried about getting a baby sitter for a hot date I guess. He insured his lap top work on the Internet but not us. He told my wife he didn't touch other peoples computers, ok fine, at least stick around to see if she can get it going. I called tech support when I got home that night, must have been a person they found at a McDonald's, poor kid was in over his head and promptly ended the call with out caring if i had a reliable connection. Fortunately for us we know enough to configure a router and now all works fine, even the wireless stuff he said we shouldn't have.

What brand/model was the supplied equipment? An Old DVR box, had our own Arrias Cable modem from our last go round with Insight.



What good or bad experiences most struck you? Good: I got the Internet working myself. Bad: The lack of competition here, the best way to fix crappy customer service and a lackadaisical is to have a competitor that offers quality service and a genuine concern for customer satisfaction.

member for 11.8 years, 5 visits, last login: 10.8 years ago
lodged 11.8 years ago


Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: Columbus, Franklin, OH, USA
  • Cost: $60 per month
Few outages, decent speed
Frequently disabled for no reason, horrible customer service, speeds lower than advertised, high price
Some of the worst customer service I've ever had with any company
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

My experience with them has been horrible. Speeds constantly lower
than advertised and overpriced. Also they will frequently disable
your internet without warning for no reason. To get it turned back on, the
only option they offer is one phone number, where you must leave a voice
message because they never answer this line. They may not even contact you
the same day. I'm having to post this from my smart phone because they
still have not contacted me for over 3 hours. Needless to say, I will be
getting a different provider tomorrow. Hopefully someone who still understands
what a customer is.

(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 11.9 years ago


OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH

OSUGoose

Member

Um

I'm calling BS on this review, dosent smell right.

While yea I've had issues with speed, never heard or nor experience the need to call some VM number to reinstate the account unless it was past due.
burns113
join:2002-07-13
Louisville, KY

burns113

Member

Re: Um

It's what they started doing when you have a copyright complaint.

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH

OSUGoose

Member

Re: Um

Yea but every day like he states? Makes me wonder just what kind of bootleg stuff he was P2P'ing
burns113
join:2002-07-13
Louisville, KY

burns113

Member

Re: Um

Reviewer said frequently, not daily. They've done it to me without reason or warning, and it's a giant hassle, it's one of the reasons I switched to uverse.

Review by jrosw See Profile

  • Location: Scottsburg, Scott, IN, USA
  • Cost: $90 per month
  • Install: about 14 days
Download is great, very little downtime
Lies and false advertising
Unethical business practices
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Services:
Value for money:

So, after about 1.5 years with another ISP and having having them cancel my line without notice or reason, I am back with Insight.

Signed up for a package deal. I was supposed to get 10Mbps Internet, Digital Cable with over 250 channels and a DVR, and phone service for 90/month for the first year.. When the installer comes out, he brings a regular digital cable box and some mini boxes, no DVR. When I asked why and if he could update me to the correct package, he tells me I have to call Insight because he doesn't have the authority to change the package.

So I call, while the installer is still on the premises, and am told that due to my credit I have to make 3 months worth of payments and the upgraded package will be issued.

So the local representative who signed me up lied to me.

Fast forward 4 months. I have made every payment before it's even due. We call and find out when we will get the updated package and are told we have to pay $$104 MORE before we are upgraded.

So now their OFFICE lied to me.

So now I've been told three different things and not really sure what is going on.

member for 19.9 years, 784 visits, last login: 12 years ago
updated 12 years ago

Neutron1998
join:2004-03-25
Princeton, TX

Neutron1998

Member

Contract??

What contract did you sign? Insight doesn't require a contract.
25139889 (banned)
join:2011-10-25
Toledo, OH

25139889 (banned)

Member

TWC

welcome to the world of Time Warner Cable.

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH

OSUGoose

Member

Re: TWC

Um, TWC hasent done anything yet, they are operating this at arms length. Everything still says Insight on it, so chill on the TWC bashing bandwagon.

Review by Jfeld0131 See Profile

  • Location: Evansville, Vanderburgh, IN, USA
  • Cost: $125 per month
I can say nothing good about their cable Internet at this time.
Cable internet
Would NOT Recommend!!!
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I am very unhappy with the Internet provided by Insight! They charge customers for a service that they fail to provide. I am currently paying for 10.0 and in a recent speed test(performed while on the phone with Insight Tech Support) found out that I am only receiving 1.2mbps. Insight's Internet is a complete scam, when the technician arrived to determine why I wasn't receiving the service I am paying for he told me there is no solution available due to bottlenecking when multiple people are on at the same time. Which is completely unacceptable by my standards! I do not recommend Insight to anyone for any type of service after the "support" I received. I was also promised that a manager would be contacting me about my Internet, that never happened.

member for 12 years, driveby review (so far)
updated 12 years ago

burns113
join:2002-07-13
Louisville, KY

burns113

Member

MBps or Mbps?

Did the speed test display in MBps or Mbps? There is a difference. Insight sold you 10 Megabits per second, which would be 1.25 MegaBytes per second.

Review by Bamafan2277 See Profile

  • Location: Louisville, Jefferson, KY, USA
  • Cost: $160 per month
  • Install: about 2 days
Reliable service
Price
Better than Uverse

I have used Insight service for the last 8 years at 3 different locations. All have been good stable service and speeds as promised. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the price. $160 for all 3 services. Phone is almost double the advertised $25 due to all the taxes and "fees" they dont tell you about. I am afraid with the Time Warner take over that the prices will go higher than they are now. If they do I will drop everything but the internet and get OTA for TV service and magic jack for phone.

member for 15.5 years, 2827 visits, last login: 3.7 years ago
lodged 12 years ago


Review by OSUGoose See Profile

  • Location: Columbus, Franklin, OH, USA
  • Cost: $200 per month
There used to be a good thing, not any longer
Don't care to lose you
Avoid!
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

We now have all 3 services with them. The company can't promise to send their own tech's to install, even when there are notes printed on the work order, you'll still get a contractor that will half ass install it then want to scope out your house by going to every box to test on demand when in reality he's seeing what you have to break in later. Were stuck with Insight as WOW won't un-blacklist our house address. Insight does not care about 30+ year customers, when we moved here 7 years ago (across town) they were the first people we called, since 2010 service quality has gone down while prices and fees go up. DO NOT USE IF YOU CAN AVOID THEM.

member for 16.2 years, 5322 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 12 years ago