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Review by kjpwv See Profile

  • Location: Fairmont, Marion, WV, USA
  • Cost: $60 per month (24 month contract)
A universe better than where I came from, HughesNet
Had some issues with install, but when I got a smart tech guy on the phone he took care of it all
Thank freaking god I finally have real internet. May not be better than a land option, but it beats the hell out of Hughes
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I live in an internet hole between Time Warner and Comcast Systems, I had no option other than HughesNet. I had it for two of the longest years of my life. I saw a billboard in Morgantown saying "Ntelos Wireless Broadband Coming Soon" and now a week later I have it. I'm so happy words fail to express how great it is to be rid of that stupid sat.

member for 17.4 years, 1270 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 15.4 years ago


yolarry
join:2007-12-29
Creston, WV

yolarry

Member

...

Congratz.

Now if I have have a tower over here in creston, WV






Review by cvoixjames See Profile

  • Location: Lexington, Lexington City, VA, USA
  • Cost: $34 per month
  • Install: about 3 days
good price
lag time
good value
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

ntelos wireless worked well for me, I din't get blazing fast speed but good enough. I am one of the lucky ones in my town that had a good view of the tower. I had to move the modem around to find the best reception.

update: march 2008

Even though the price was good, the problems with latency became an issue. It wasn't so much the download speed, about 512 or so, just the lag time that so often struck when surfing the web. A page would become suspended, then after a while (5 seconds or so), it would download. Not your quintessential broadband experience.

Plus the trees are now covering the modems view of the tower (where the modem was).

Back to dsl! (Embarq), and a landline. (I was able to drop my cell plan down to 450 minutes)

member for 19.8 years, 1511 visits, last login: 12.5 years ago
updated 16 years ago


Eazy
@ntelos.net

Eazy

Anon

Carter's Mountain

I feel like I'm the only person who ever calls Ntelos with Carter's Mountain connection problems. In the last few months things have gotten worse. There are lots of adequate days but when it's bad, it's bad.

You ping their own server and get 100% dropped packets. Or 75%. Turn around and the next day it might be fine. Or maybe a couple hours later it's working well enough.

I love these guys and think broadband rocks but it is discouraging to be told by their techs that if I am the only person calling to complain about dropped packets (they can verify this themselves), they aren't going to do anything. I think the support staff is mostly friendly and try to be helpful but I just want it to get better.

I talk to my four neighbors who also have Ntelos -- one with a direct line of site on the tower -- and all report problems. But not everyone calls.

All I can say is Ntelos isn't going to know about problems unless we call. At least that's what they tell me.

I've been an Ntelos customer for years. Had a test modem when they first got their hands on them. Signed up when they started offering the service. The last few months have been tough. Many more dropped packets and timeouts than normal. I actually don't care about speed, just care about connectivity.

seeingwhite
join:2006-03-04
Monroe, VA

seeingwhite

Member

Re: Carter's Mountain

Eazy, you are not alone. The Tobacco Row Mountain tower in Amherst currently has an open trouble ticket. The ticket is over 2 weeks old and has not been resolved.

Check out »ntelosusers.freeforums.o ··· ndex.php. I created the forum so that we would have somewhere to go to work through these problems. Tell your neighbors to register and post their problems too.

I think the site has been successful so far in getting more people to call nTelos about the Tobacco Row Mountain issues because I am not always the first person to report a new problem anymore.

Eazy
@ntelos.net

Eazy

Anon

Re: Carter's Mountain

My experience with my neighbors is that they don't want to complain. I would say Ntelos works fine more than it doesn't but when it's bad, it is really bad.

It's embarrassing to call up after 40 minutes of 100% dropped packets and to be told "well, nobody else has reported a problem". I wish other people took the time to keep them informed as Ntelos support claims to have no idea there are problems (but they have been able to look at my connection and see multiple dropped packets).

I don't think some of these people realize it wasn't always this way.

pgg
@ntelos.net

pgg

Anon

ntelos is unuseable at this point...

...but it's all I have access to. Their Carter mountain antenna is on the fritz more times than not.

...wouldn't recommend.

Review by bobbin See Profile

  • Location: Lynchburg, Lynchburg City, VA, USA
  • Cost: $34 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 4 days
hi speed ISP for the country, losing the DWay Dish
miss the good folks at Earthlink
no hassle high speed
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

nTelos Portable Boadband - Residential. Installed in my area in
February 2005, I had been on a waiting list. for a couple of months.
Elizabeth called back as promised, took the order and delivered the
modem within four days by UPS. See »www.ntelos.com/wireline/ ··· bro.html
First month cost is $49.95 set up fee
and 34.95 monthly. Uses the Ripwave Navini networks 2.6gHz portable
modem. No installation, no external antenna, no phone line. Advertised
speed is up to 1.5 Mbps down and 550Kbps up. Unplugged the DW6000,
reset the netgear router, plugged in the Navini and it went right to
work. Measured downloads at 400-600 Kbps so I started worrying about
external antennas. Waste of time. Read the nTelos site faq and got a
fifty foot lan cable. Tried the little modem out in every windown of
the house. One of the ground floor windows under the front porch
provides the best location. Down loads bounce around in the 1.2 - 1.3
Mbps area. Still a little worried about the path I put the laptop in
the truck and went on a "field test". Turns out that even parked within
a couple of hundred yards of one of their towers, down loads bounce
around in the 1.2 -1.3 Mbps area. Best thing is just to forget it, use
it. I get six Email addresses, 20MB server space in the deal. Static
IP is an extra cost item I don't need. Got the NAT in the LAN/WAN.
Best of all that ugly Direcway Dish is coming off the house in the spring! Earthlink provided free use of the old eMail addys for two months and offered a bargain rate for dial up and continued same eMail. O yeah, downloaded DrTCP and reset all fields to default. Will update review in the spring particularly if the foilage loss peaks up.

Update at end of May. Bandwidth has declined with the increase in leaves. Installed a 14 dbi flat panel just above the roof line today (5-28). Downloads jumped from 300-400 back to the 1.3mpbs area. Uploads similarly returned from the 40-60 range back to 300-400 range. Will be fine tuning direction for a couple of days. More later if significant changes occur. (I'm still a very happy camper!)

More on the external antenna. June 9. I had shopped www.sharperconcepts.net for the 2.6GHZ MMDS antenna. The pigtail to interface the Navini is the 19 inch MCX-plug to N-male. I added a length of cable between them (N-male to N-female) in order to clear the roof line. Adjusting the antenna direction is critical. The process involves moving the antenna and rebooting the Navini. Fine tuning movements of 5 degrees or less are needed. At each test the best indicator is up and down speed. The Navini diagnostics signal level software is almost useless IMHO. Great connection, beats the satellite every way.

member for 22.6 years, 1321 visits, last login: 2.6 years ago
updated 18.8 years ago


vobguy
A fool with a tool is still a fool
Premium Member
join:2003-01-21
Mineral, VA

vobguy

Premium Member

Lucky you!

I am checking to see if I can get the service up in hadensville. I am not holding my breath though.

I love the country but I do miss my cable modem. And I am so over Direcway that I could scream. Part of it is my ICS host I use to share my network I am sure, since it tends to need rebooted alot, oh well.
Jessesk81
join:2005-05-29
Harlingen, TX

Jessesk81

Member

Whats the fuss about Sattelite "Dway"?

Why do I hear people always complaining about satellite broadband?

bobbin
Gone Fishin
join:2001-08-15
Lynchburg, VA

bobbin

Member

Re: Whats the fuss about Sattelite "Dway"?

It's just not a good experience. See »HughesNet Satellite
for details.
oscube
join:2006-01-25
Lynchburg, VA

oscube

Member

nTelos Portable Broadband

We have experience with external antennas for Navini Ripwave radios used by nTelos in the Lynchburg area.

We also offer Satellite Broadband services using the newest equipment like WildBlue for those outside of DSL, Cable & wireless coverage areas.

If you are going to attempt to attach your own external antenna outdoors to a Navini Ripwave, you need to comply with Articles 810 & 820 for your personal safety, the safety of your home and others. These articles talk about the proper grounding that has to take place so you don't create a potential hazard to your life or property.

See our web page for more detail »www.oscube.com

bobbin
Gone Fishin
join:2001-08-15
Lynchburg, VA

bobbin

Member

More on the antenna


Here it is spring again, leafy trees and variable winds equal highly variable connection rate. Took the modem for a walk about inside the house. Decided that a window wasn't as important as altitude. With the modem back on the flip up antenna we located it on a beam above the dining room table. (higher than the outside antenna) We found that the Navini can maintain connection using the additional built in antennas regardless of the variable path issue. Speed test back to 1320/202 today. Happy again!

BobN

seeingwhite
join:2006-03-04
Monroe, VA

seeingwhite

Member

Re: More on the antenna

I think there is a strong possibility that ntelos is oversubscribed and is therefore doing one or both of the following.

1.) Bandwidth Throttling: Resulting in high latency at the first hop, and occasionally dropped data requests.

2.) Download Caps during peak usage hours of the day: Why is it that I get 1 meg down after 11PM but at 11AM I WONT get over 500kbps? I think there is a 500-550 cap based on my testing and experience. Night time changes in propagation causing this discrepancy is doubtful.

I could be wrong about one or both of the above, but my experience tells me I am not.
too2late
join:2006-08-07
Madison Heights, VA

too2late

Member

Madison Heights

Hi
I live in Madison Heights and have been using the Ntelos wireless for about a year because I can't really get anything else. It works ok in the fall/winter/early spring but the thick leaves in the summer cause a real problem. I get a really poor signal strength and quality and the connection drops about every 5 minutes. Do you think that the external antenna would help in my situation? I really don't want to pay the money for the antenna to find out that it doesn't work, and www.sharperconcepts.net says that they will not take items for return unless they are broken.

thanks for any help you can offer
afpreppy33
join:2005-06-28
Charlottesville, VA

afpreppy33

Member

Re: Madison Heights

I'm wondering the same thing, I just got Ntelos and I only get a red signal strength, and it occasionally drops too. Would getting this antenna improve the modem from dropping? Also, on the www.sharperconcepts.net website, it asks what connector I need...would it be male or female, or what?
Thanks so much

seeingwhite
join:2006-03-04
Monroe, VA

seeingwhite

Member

Re: Madison Heights

I am in Monroe. I have the 14dbi sharperconcepts antenna. Signal strength has increased, as well as signal quality. Out of nowhere, though, I will get a drop out for 3 to 5 minutes. This happens a few times an hour. This issue is fairly recent -- ever since the bad lightning storm a month ago that took out the ntelos tower off of Tobacco Row Mountain. So I'm not sure why I am loosing signal when I never did before (even with the leaves). Maybe they changed something when they repaired/replaced the base station at the tower. Or maybe there is something new in the area that could be causing interference. Not sure what the problem is, but I would hold off on the external antenna until this gets sorted out.

KrishnaDC
@41.207.x.x

KrishnaDC

Anon

Is my modem being capped?

I have a navini 2.5/2.6. the trees near my house are always leafy! my isp advertises 64/64 and that is really slow. i pay around $21 per month. navini diagnostics says signal strength is perfect but quality is sometimes good sometimes really bad! that causes the modem's speed to be barely dial-up's speed most of the time. i wonder how your max speed is 1500/550 and mine is 64/64?!?! is my isp capping my modem's speed??? can i do anything to increase it's speed to 1500/550 like you???

seeingwhite
join:2006-03-04
Monroe, VA

seeingwhite

Member

Re: Is my modem being capped?

"is my isp capping my modem's speed??? "
Yes.
"can i do anything to increase it's speed to 1500/550 like you???"
No, other than ask them to increase their speeds.

bobbin
Gone Fishin
join:2001-08-15
Lynchburg, VA

bobbin

Member

peaking the speeds

I generally agree that Ntelos has oversold the Tobacco Row site. I've helped several neighbors fine tune their systems and found that nothing beats physical height. Put the Navini as high as you can get it and still maintain indoor temperature control. Then move it about in very small increments (1-2 inch) while watching signal strength. At the best signal and quality point park it and then any variations in short term are loading related. Long term for me reflects changes in foilage. I've learned to peak the winter signal with the modem location and the summer signal with the flat panel antenna location although now with the height, I could get by with only the modem.

Bob
bobbin

bobbin

Member

Re: peaking the speeds

Ntelos are having trouble with temperature on Tobacco Row. With an outage almost all of the previous week and again yesterday when outside temperatures peak over 70 F. A quick call to the 800 number netted me a free dial up replacement and credit for one one month service. Interesting that the dial up remained available all of this week. (Maybe they knew the system would cycle off again when the front passed by?) Standard procedure seems that the people on the tech support desk have no idea what is wrong or when it will get better. I guess two weeks to install a new AC unit isn't sufficient. Probably takes 30 days just to cut a PO. Tisk Tisk!
bobbin

bobbin

Member

Re: peaking the speeds

Back up today. All in the green, signal and quality, for the first time. 1200 back and 250 up with the outside temp above 70. I'm happy again!
mcgeesm
join:2002-07-28
Earlysville, VA

mcgeesm

Member

Re: peaking the speeds

i'm on nTelos' Piney Mountain tower, and I'm having the same mysterious signal dropping problems others are having. nTelos blames it on obstructions, but I keep telling them I have a direct line-of-sight to the tower with no trees between us. Not sure what to do. I have decent speeds when it's working, but the signal drops way too often.

bobbin
Gone Fishin
join:2001-08-15
Lynchburg, VA

bobbin

Member

Re: peaking the speeds

ours is dropping out as well. Seems to cycle now, day and night. May be some kind of load sharing device? Most troublesome when I'm in a web site dialog and don't get a reply for many minutes. The need for RELIABLE isp connection is becoming more important than peak speeds. Shame to say, but I have few other options.

When it's there, the signal is green for both quality and level now. When it's gone, nothing. No longer following the temperature, but reliably returns withing five to ten minutes?

Josh T
@ntelos.net

Josh T

Anon

So Annoying

Wow, this is starting to get really annoying. I live right outside of earlysville and were getting the signal for like 70% of the time. Otherwise its just a red flashing light. Im really really really close to tower, I can see it clearly from my house. They need to fix this, cause right now id rather use dial up that this. Just because its more stable. Uggg, I wish we could get real dsl here. =/

RP
@ntelos.net

RP

Anon

Ntelos portable broadband

I have used the Ntelos portable broadband for about 18 months now. When the service was new, and relatively unknown (not many users) everything was well. Now I am lucky to see down speeds that exceed 100kbps (if the service is actually working). I can see the tobacco row tower from my house (approx 2-3 miles) and obstructions are not a problem. I have also tried different antennas with no change. I have been told by tech services, I have an excellent signal and they don't understand why my speeds are so low. They also tell me consistently, that I am the first one to register a complaint about speeds. This I find hard to believe. Unfortunately I suspect as many others here do, Ntelos has oversold the service and is now rationing the bandwidth. I would not recommend this service to anyone. At this point it is so bad, I and am actually considering switching back to dial up.

Teacher
@frontiernet.net

Teacher

Anon

Thanks to all for your helpful comments

I was about to recommend ntelos to my sister (in Elon) until I read your comments. As previously noted by a poster, reliability is more important than speed.

One must wonder what it would take to get them to honor their obligation to provide fair value for the money their subscribers pay.

For now, my sister will be staying with dial-up. It's slow, but it doesn't drop three or five times an hour, and it costs only $10 a month.

seeingwhite
join:2006-03-04
Monroe, VA

1 edit

seeingwhite

Member

nTelos Portable Broadband Forum

Unfortunately, the problems with the Portable Broadband service have become a regular occurrence during the evening and now even during the day sometimes. Unreliable would be an understatement unfortunately.

I set up a forum for us to discuss these problems and hopefully consolidate our knowledge. Perhaps we can even forward our concerns and information to nTelos at some point.

Check out the forum. I did this for us, so I hope it can be of some use: »ntelosusers.freeforums.org

LTB
@ntelos.net

LTB

Anon

Re: nTelos Portable Broadband Forum

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with problems with my wireless service.

I'm over in Stuart's Draft and am having a devil of a time with getting anything done on the internet. Matters only become worse when I try to play any internet-based games enough to the point that I wonder how long it would take me to make back the $300 termination fee if I unsubscribed to the game.

Come December, I'm definitley going with something land-based even if I have to pay exorbitant amounts to get Adelphia to hook my house back up to the "cable grid".

bobbin
Gone Fishin
join:2001-08-15
Lynchburg, VA

bobbin

Member

Tobacco Row Fire

Anyone got eyes on the crew from appalachian power? Speculate on power up? OR did the site go up in smoke too?

Bobbin
bobbin

bobbin

Member

Re: Tobacco Row Fire

Sites back up

seeingwhite
join:2006-03-04
Monroe, VA

seeingwhite to bobbin

Member

to bobbin
Thankfully, the fire took out the power lines to the tower only - not the tower site itself.

More info here: »ntelosusers.freeforums.o ··· php?t=62