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 Review by ebenezer 
member for 24 days, 7 visits, last login: 2 days ago
lodged 3 days ago
 Hudson,Pasco,FL
 $82 per month about 2 days "Solid Connection - Above Advertised Speeds" "None" "Great Broadband Connection"
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Consistently get 70 Mbps down and close to 6 Mbps up. These speeds are somewhat higher than what they advertise. Was able to get the user name and password for my cable modem via tech support after a somewhat comprehensive and lengthy identification process (this is a GOOD thing). Compared to a year ago, the phone support seems to be better than what it once was. Support personnel are either better trained or BHN did some house cleaning.
Comments:
  BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you for reviewing your recent Bright House experience! If you need anything please let me know...
Gary | |
| | | | Re: Thank you for reviewing your recent Bright House experience!  | |
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Review by zhaunie
Fair warning: reviewer joined this week
lodged 4 days ago
- Orlando,Orange,FL
- $55 per month
- about 3 days
- "It works at the advertised speed - plus a little more sometimes"
- "Price"
- "Solid service, but not great prices."
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Speedtest: »www.speedtest.net/result/2619864499.png
We moved into our current house at the very end of November, and brought Bright House along with us. I had considered U-verse, but had tons of things going on, so I put off the decision-making. Up until the bill due in March, the service cost exactly $51/month. Now, they've decided to increase the charge to $52, add a modem fee of $3.50, and that's taxable, so the final price comes out to $55.73.
I'm dissatisfied with the increase in price; especially when reading from others on here the speeds/prices offered in other parts of the country. I'm looking at other providers now.
U-verse offers 12 down at $51/month (after an introductory rate for the first year), so I'm trying to find out what the final monthly bill would be for that.
Comcast in this area has been bad in the past. I hear they're really good in other places, but they acquired Adelphia's assets here - which were terrible. Maybe they've fixed things by now, but I just don't know. They advertise better speeds at lower prices, and their box is actually in my backyard, so maybe it would be ok.
Comments:
BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you for reviewing your recent BHN experience! If you need anything please let me know.
Gary | |
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Review by jspayneii
member for 4.5 years, 19 visits, last login: 5 days ago
updated 5 days ago
- Saint Petersburg,Pinellas,FL
- $146 per month
- "Best connection quality and reliability I have experienced"
- "Tech support can be slow to solve problems"
- "It works well."
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After upgrading my High Speed to the 30Mbps a month ago, I have not had a stable Internet connection. I have had 9 different technicians out. No one has been able to identify and solve the issue. Up until the upgrade, everything worked fine.
Update 4/3:
Gary was great in getting my issue resolved. My internet has worked for several days now.
Even with my issues, I do have to say that between Bright House and Verizon, Bright House wins hands down. Verizon was less than cooperative when we moved one of our stores last week. They were scheduled to come out and move our phone lines, and Internet on Thursday. Well, they cancelled the move of our Internet service, and their service department was unable to correct their error. Bright House came out and installed Friday morning, because Verizon wanted us to wait for 3 more days.
The service and reliability of Bright House is far more consistent as well. We use to have a couple DSL lines at our corporate office. One was getting the 1.5Mbps. Another one was lucky to connect at 512kbps. Verizon's answer was basically "there is nothing we can do". Since we have installed Bright House, we haven't had one issue.
Comments:
BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you for take the time to review your recent experience As you know we've been working together on this. At last we spoke no issue was detected over several days and then I didn't hear from you again. If the things we worked on are continuing please visit your direct forums thread and update me.
Let's also talk about the downgrading discussion you had with CARE as the above doesn't make sense...I have a hunch there was a failure to communicate somewhere in that discussion.
Gary | |
| BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you! I want to thank you again for reaching out to me regarding your original experience. It would appear we have resolved the problem at this time. If you have any problems don't hesitate in calling or emailing me right away.
Gary | |
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 Review by maj urinator
member for 13.1 years, 1367 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 11 days ago
- Davenport,Polk,FL
- $114 per month
- about 30 days
- "fairly cheap and works well"
- "poor on demand quantity for HD TV"
- "it works"
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Moved from PA, to FL. Ordered bright house cable (TV , Internet, and Phone),
The actual installers were great, had lots of problems with the company getting them to do the actual installation. Was told twice that it was not going to happen due to it being not cost affective for them (I live in the middle of a large open area). Each day after the "not going to happen" calls I was called by "the president of service" who told me that since he was the one I spoke with when i ordered the service (really?) he personally was guaranteeing that I would get service but it was going to take a few weeks as they needed to get the county's permission to run a conduit under the road outside the my property and then had install a hookup box on that side of the street.
Well long story short its installed and working,
Internet is sped is 11 MB Down and 1.5 MB upload not super fast but enough for web surfing, email, Skype, and streaming videos and movies (of course faster would be better...)
I did look at other options during the whole installation ordeal and while the TV via Direct TV would have been a good deal, I could only get me internet via Verizon at estimated best effort of 3 MB Download and 1 MB Upload which they said would cost about 80 per month just for the internet with a additional $40 for phone.
We make and receive lots of long distance call overseas friends and family members. So could not just go the cell phone route and the international rates are so high.
We do Skype a lot with family and friend overseas and here in the US.
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Review by softbaked
member for 23 days, 4 visits, last login: 2 days ago
lodged 20 days ago
- Melbourne,Brevard,FL
- $118 per month
- about 14 days
- "Internet speed is acceptable"
- "Very expensive, price(s) are outrageous, TV is commercial saturated"
- "High price and poor service are a direct result of a govt. sanctioned 'cable' monopoly"
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Central Florida Bright House should be the poster child for why granting a government sanctioned monopoly to a "cable wire" company should be against the law. The prices are the "highest in the country" (see link below) and the products/services are below average due to television commercial saturation, refurbished DVR(s), fluctuating internet speeds and some/most field technicians/installers who are either lying or under-trained most of the time, and now they charge you $3.50 per/month for the cable-modem and $14.00 per/month for the DVR on top of their over-inflated, higher than average price nation-wide.
I have "basic cable" with "standard internet" for $117.52 per/month and every three months I have to call them and threaten leaving just to keep it at that price. This does not include the repeated / time consuming / angry calls I had to make just to get my internet speed up to what I was paying for and they kept insisting that the "problem was on my side" until the 4th tech who came out (senior tech manager) before I was able to prove it was their line(s) that had to be replaced. It took/wasted a total of 10 hours over three weeks to finally get the speed I was paying for, and get this... every time I would call, the first-tier of support would try to sell me a faster package swearing "that must be the problem" I wonder how many poor suckers have been tricked into upgrading service they will never use?
Then there is the DVR problem(s), as a Bright House customer I have gone had to replace over 10 DVR(s). I know an employee first hand and BH does NOT purchase new DVR's, they only purchase refurbished DVR's (they will deny but its true) and then charge you from $12 to $16+ per/month for them and the only decent brand they carry is the Cisco models but... they do not like to give them to you unless you have bought into their whole-house DVR plan (the Cisco's are also the only model that PIP works with too). 6 out of the 10 DVR's I have had brought to my house for replacement have had issue(s) very soon after install, that's right they do not completely check returned DVR's and just put them back on the truck(s) I have missed time from work and my social life many times just trying to get a working/reliable DVR that I pay for every month.
Then there is the billing department, I just spent last Friday afternoon getting an extra $40 charge off my bill because of transaction errors on their side and it still took me over an hour of aggravating/time wasting phone time to get it removed and to make it even worse their first "answer" to the fix was to "upgrade to another package" you cannot even talk to these people without them trying to shove another service/product down your throat. In fact when you call and complain about pricing the pitch is the same every time (OK we'll just upgrade your package and keep you at the same price) does not cost them a penny more while giving you the illusion you have gotten more.
I guess this all might be worth it if they had competitive pricing, decent equipment, fair charges and skilled/knowledgeable people working for them but for the most part none of that is there.
This link will show you that Bright House is the most expensive provider in the country. Scroll down to "CABLE Internet Providers" on the bottom of the page
»/gbu
This link will show you how much better Bright House is to their customers when they are forced to compete. Just read the title.
"Time Warner Cable's arrogance perfectly illustrates why the cable industry is so disliked"
»www.reddit.com/r/technology/comm···rfectly/
This link exposes Bright House for most of it's unethical practices
»stopthecap.com/tag/time-warner-cable/
I am not a competitor, I am a customer and I'm sick of the greed and sub-par service/products/pricing Bright House provides and when Google Fiber or another competitor will try to compete in your area Bright House will hire every lawyer and grease every politician to keep them out and keep you trapped in a fleecing price model.
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| |  No Competition?
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| BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you for your recent review... Just to clarify a couple of important things...we are not Time Warner Cable. TWC and Bright House Networks are entirely two different companies. See »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright_House_Networks
The average billing you referenced is not actual pricing but the average "customer reported" price based on the last few reviews here at DSLR and by no means is official, national or even scientiifc for that matter.
In your area there are no less than 3 alternative providers, hardly a competitive poor "government sanctioned cable monopoly" as your review indicates.
I see that you have just registered here. Going forward if you have any problems or concerns please reach out to me in our forums and I would be glad to help.
--
~All truth goes through three phases. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident. - Arthur Schopenhauer ~
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| | Reviews:
 ·Bright House
1 edit | Re: Thank you for your recent review... You guys are trying to side-step the point.
Bright House has a "government sanctioned monopoly" for the actual wire CABLE. There are no other competitors "allowed" to use that medium.
@BHNtechXpert
hardly a competitive poor "government sanctioned cable monopoly" as your review indicates
We both know this is not true or you are in denial. They got that using lobbying tactics on the local/state politicians.
»influenceexplorer.com/organizati···5d1f68cf
[would you like me to provide hundreds of other links?]
You sir are a paid employee/spokes person for Bright House, your job here is to put out rumor-fires and muddy up the discussions under the guise of "tell me your problems, PM me and we can work it out". You have everything to gain from keeping the truth from these people... it's your JOB, and when you get those people in a private PM you calm/quite them down by "upgrading their service(s)" at no price increase to them, it cost you nothing and they think they have somehow won something when in reality what you gave them does not cost Bright House a penny more and they are still paying the highest rates in the country for this service.
@BHNtechXpert
"I see that you have just registered here."
So your trying to discredit me by implicating that I must be some kind of nubbie who does not understand the complications of your business? or this is my first time here at DSLR? Nice try but I give the readers here more credit for their intelligence than you do, and... I have been a Bright House hostage/customer for over 10 years and... wait for it.... I work in this industry!
@BHNtechXpert
"The average billing you referenced is not actual pricing but the average "customer reported" price based on the last few reviews here at DSLR and by no means is official, national or even scientiifc for that matter."
OK folks he is saying that the data collected here at dslreports.com is not valid because the sample data is too small and not up to date... really? dslreports.com is the "largest non competitive" collector of data as it pertains to the cable industry input by the actual users/consumers who pay for and use these services and updated daily. I think the validity of dslreports.com speaks for itself.
@BHNtechXpert
here at DSLR and by no means is official, national or even scientiifc
That is hilarious, your right @BHNtechXpert we need to hire some scientist to get the real prices Cable/Internet providers are charging their customers in the USA! Do you realize that you just insulted the very backbone/core of what dslreports.com provides? so your saying we should discount everything we read here at the DSLR website because it's not "scientific"? lol
The link that I provided to prove that Bright House is the most expensive provider in the country (because of the monopoly) is from this very site dslreports.com
Charts - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Compiled weekly from ISP reviews received
(read the section towards the bottom of the page "CABLE Internet Providers")
»/gbu
hmmm..... Bright House is the most expensive provider? your saying that the data on dslreports.com is not valid or useless?
The truth folks, Bright House has been fleecing Central Florida for years and years and will continue to charge the highest prices in the country for the services they provide because they have a government sanctioned monopoly on the wire cable they procured this monopoly using good old fashion lobbying (see above) and campaign contributions for local elected officials. They spend millions to keep us hostage at this 1500% mark-up price.
Do you want to read how Bright House charges their customers when they have real competition? Follow this and read, read, read
»www.reddit.com/r/technology/comm···rfectly/
I have many, many other links and proof @BHNtechXpert I will be sharing, sprinkling on these forums.
And in-case anybody missed this informative link from above.
»stopthecap.com/tag/time-warner-cable/
@BHNtechXpert
"In your area there are no less than 3 alternative providers"
They love to say this, do you really feel that Dish, AT&T, Direct TV are valid "oranges to oranges" compared providers for speeds and services? If one of them could use the wire cable then Bright House would be very afraid and the prices would sky-rocket down and the customer service experience would go up.
Nice try @BHNtechXpert but I'm going to continue to show these people what you do not want them to see.... the truth about the shady overpriced services that Bright House forces us to pay, the most expensive in the country because they have no competition on the cable wire due to a monopoly they acquired via political shanagans and when Google Fiber tried to setup in Orlando Bright House spent every legal force they had to prevent it because.... they would have a true competitor which would force them to price their products at the national level and I have not even began to tell these people the story about how their tax dollars paid for the infrastructure that Bright House is preventing competition from using.
So have fun trying to politically correct my naming standards in your attempt to divert the truth in the words I have provided. | |
| | | BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Re: Thank you for your recent review... Have a great day "softbaked" and thank you for sharing your unique viewpoint of the cable industry. | |
| | | GeNomer
join:2013-01-21
Indianapolis, IN | In my area Bright House and Comcast overlap. There is no way 2 cable companies can use the same lines, so they both run their own separate lines on the Utility poles, right below the power lines and phone lines. Maybe back in the 80's 2 companies on one line would work when there was only tv and not that many channels. But there is no way that would work now.
Also, I don't think Bright House has any control over how many commercials there are. They are just the carrier. The channels make their own decisions on programming and commercials.
I feel for you on the dvr issue though. If you want a brand new piece of equipment, it might be best to buy your own and get a cable card from bright house for it. | |
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Review by wbrightfl7
member for 8.7 years, 698 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 27 days ago
- Orlando,Orange,FL
- $164 per month
- "Excellent HD quality, wide selection of channels and steller customer service"
- "Poorly developed DVR Electronic Program Guide. Channel line-up complicated and confusing"
- "If you don't utilize the programming guide much then BH cable is a great choice. Internet service stable."
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I switched over to Bright House Central Florida last year from Dish Network, when Dish dropped AMC and other channels which I like. BH HD channel quality is excellent and they carry all channels which I like to watch. I have the Turbo internet service which works quite well most days. Week days around 7-10pm it slows down a bit and Netflix times out, but all other times it’s great.
What BH needs to improve on is their DVR software. It is poorly developed. No imagination. The programming guide is hard to read and you can only view 1.5 hours at a time in the guide since they shrink the guide into a small box, instead of allowing a full-screen option. The Dish Network and TIVO DVR guides are far superior. BH needs to listen to all of the customers telling them they hate it and create something which is easy to read and user friendly. BH channel line-ups are very confusing. Coming from Dish, where there was 1 channel number for each channel (SD or HD), I was able to easily memorize my favorite channel numbers. With BH it’s impossible to memorize channel numbers in the thousands. Example, Dish Network HBO East is on channel 300. If you have a SD receiver, it displays in SD, if you have an HD receiver, it displays in HD. One channel number instead of 2, which are separated. The Dish program guide also gave you to the option to only show subscribed channels and to show only the HD version in the guide if you have an HD receiver. The BH guide you have to manually use the favorites feature to pick and chose the channels to show, which is a royal pain in the rear.
If the programming guide isn’t important to you, Bright House rocks. If a good guide is important to you, take a look at Dish Network , Direct TV or consider buying a TIVO to use with BH.
Comments:
BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you... For taking the time to review your recent Bright House Networks experience. If you need anything please let me know.
Gary | |
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Review by MikeSpears
member for 59 days, 22 visits, last login: 14 days ago
updated 27 days ago
- Riverview,Hillsborough,FL
- Contract price not specified.
- about 1 days
- "Great service, static IP's on residential, great CS/Tech Support Teams"
- "Subcontractors unless you specifically request a BHN tech, Static IP's require a tech to come out, upload speeds are low"
- "Great provider, better than VZ Fios in my opinion"
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I switched from Verizon FiOS to BHN, and so far, BHN has been better than VZ. I've had BHN for about a month now, and haven't had a single outage. It's pretty awesome that I can get static IP addresses on my residential account. My only issue is the low upload speeds.
Comments:
BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you... For taking the time to review your recent Bright House Networks experience. If you need anything please let me know. | |
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Review by SilverSTreak
member for 36 days, 3 visits, last login: 30 days ago
updated 30 days ago
- Sun City Center,Hillsborough,FL
- $55 per month
- about 3 days
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Came to BH Networks for my Phone and Internet after my long time ISP (Earthlink) tried to upgrade my DSL connection and instead broke it and after a week weren't able to return me to even my prior service. So BH to the rescue.
I don't watch movies online so only needed basic internet speed and the $55 service quoted was
a. Faster than the DSL I was replacing,
b. Included all the "extra" phone services that I lacked with Verizon Call waiting/forwarding, Caller ID and long distance service - because of cost) and lastly
c. ended up just a little less that I had been paying to Verizon/Earthlink
The Order/Install process was very satisfying. Tech came on time when promised and I had internet service the moment he left and phone service later that day. I was actually impressed!
Things were fine for the first month or two. Services seemed stable and performed as expected, but then I noticed an occasional "slowdown" of my internet connection. I also got occasional reports of friends trying to call me and getting a busy signal when I knew we weren't even at home. Eventually, the slowdowns got worse, and I started trying to investigate. One day I tried to place a call and - no dial-tone so I looked at my modem and the lights indicated it was rebooting. Further internet sleuthing indicated I was not in this boat alone, but since it was intermittent and short duration, I needed to find a way to track the outages. I found an online tool (Net Uptime Monitor) that pings three different sites every 5 seconds and when ALL three sites fail to respond for 200 MS or more it logs an entry and times it until they come back. Now I could see exactly when and how long my services were being interrupted. Armed with that I tried BHN support - not good. They wanted me to reboot my modem (which I had already done, and try a bunch of other things that totally ignored any of the inputs I had already gathered. They also were insisting that my personal router could be the source of the problem and that I needed to remove it to see if the problem resolved before they could/would do anything else! Bottom line was - you look fine from here right now. I gave up for a few days but the problems persisted and appeared to be getting worse so I reconfigured my network, eliminating my personal LAN entirely (so now I have no Wi-Fi and only one computer connected in a 5 computer household. After a few days I was beginning to fret that maybe they were right and then boom - my monitor indicates lost connection, I have no phone dial tone and sure enough my modem is in a reboot. I tried calling as soon as the phone came back on, but I couldn't get through because the modem would reboot and drop my calls every couple of minutes or so. So now I have to resort to calling support on my pay as you go minutes cell phone! After an annoying long time navigating call trees and waiting in a queue I finally get a support rep and reexplaining my issues and history (again - UGH!) I tried to get escalated to a 2nd level of support but all they were willing to do was send out a tech. So the tech comes out, finds some signals "marginal" and rewires my cable coming into the house (eliminates 1 connector), and just for safety's sake swaps out my modem. All looks good - until about 15 minutes after he left and bam - more of the same modem reboots... I immediately recall and they send the tech back out that evening. He tells me he can't find anything wrong and that "looking at the entire block sees no errors of any kind" - in other words - It must not be a real problem! I insist that he escalate to his manager which he says he will but I have yet to hear from anyone else for over a week now. Actually did run clear for about 4 or 5 days and then yesterday and today its back with 10+ drops a day... Have tried posting in the BHN specific forum here on DSLReports and am patiently awaiting a hopefully helpful response.
Update: After posting here in DSL reports, I got an email from BHNTech - Gary. He questioned me some about my issue and assured they would get to the bottom of the problem. He apparently was able to employ some specific monitoring tools that coupled with information I was able to provide about when my issues were happening he detected that there was indeed some problem that required the field techs to come out. One came as promised and after listening to me describe the intermittent nature of the problem he monitored the cable for some time and did detect some anomalies that prompted him to run a new line out to the street, and back to the distribution point. Well, since then I have been cruising right along with zero issues for 4 days now and I am pretty confident that the problem is resolved.
My only nagging concern is that it took the considerable effort on my part to come to DSLReports and thus find Gary in order to get my issue addressed. Why he or someone like him wasn't cued in say maybe after my 2nd or 3rd call to customer care is beyond me.
Comments:
BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you for reviewing your recent BHN experience. As we have discussed in the direct forums I will be in touch on Monday to address each of your concerns. Thank you for reaching out to me.
Gary | |
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Review by jessehclark
member for 35 days, 1 visits, last login: 31 days ago
updated 31 days ago
- Orlando,Orange,FL
- $138 per month
- about 2 days
- "I have TV and Internet, sometimes"
- "Everything else"
- "Don't do it unless you have to"
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READ UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF POST
Brighthouse is awful. Literally, the only reason I have Brighthouse is because no other internet or cable service providers are available in my area. My only other option is to get satellite service, and I don't want to sign a contract. I cannot wait to move so I can get rid of BH.
INTERNET
When I moved here 2 years ago (august 2010) I ordered their mid-tier (i think it was 15mbps at the time) internet package. I had numerous issues with their internet service, which they refused to diagnose since I was using my own modem (because they charge monthly if you use theirs). Read that again: they charge you monthly for their modem, and will not troubleshoot if you use your own. I had to add one of their modems to my service, go pick it up, install it, and wait for the problem to recur before they would sent someone out. Turns out their installation tech pinched the cable on the side of my house in the siding, which made a hole in the cable covering, and it would short out every time it rained, cutting off my internet. Great work guys. Took about 2 months to resolve that issue and 4 or 5 tech visits. Most recently (jan 2013) i was paying $50 for 10mbps internet.
DIGITAL CABLE TV
Then yesterday (march 2013) we added cable service. The tech showed up on time, but was here for 5 hours and we were only having 2 rooms installed. First he had the wrong boxes, so someone came to exchange them. Then one box was not working, so he had to come back. Then we were informed that since one outlet wasn't connected it would be $20 to fix that, and another $40 to add an outlet where the tv was in the other room. Free installation, yea right! Cox in Gainesville installed multiple outlets for free when I lived there, and only charged $25 to come back out to add another one later. Most importantly, I wasn't told about any of these charges while scheduling the appointment.
Then they said they had to upgrade my modem (it is a nicer modem) because all of their bundles make you upgrade to 30mbps internet. No way around it. However it wasn't just a modem that they installed; it was a big gateway (wireless router + modem) that barely fit where I keep the modem and router. I told the tech, well, since this is the modem, why don't we just take my router out of the equation so don't have problems when I call for tech support. He said OK but there's a monthly charge for adding wireless networking. Apparently they use the same equipment, but charge you to "unlock" the wireless feature of your router. Ridiculous. *update: i don't mind paying $3.50 a month for a docsis 3.0 modem. the modem is great. i'm just commenting on the fact that BH wants you to pay a monthly charge for wireless networking, a feature available with my current equipment, because they disable it.*
"WHOLE HOME DVR"
I put quotes around that because I asked repeatedly during the ordering process how the whole home dvr worked. I asked if I was correct in my understanding that the "main box" is the dvr and that the second box merely networks with the main box to view the recordings, and I was told yes. I asked if I could both view and record shows from the second box (with the understanding that the recording was actually happening on the main box) and I was told yes. I asked if I could rewind and pause live tv on both boxes, and was told yes. I cannot do those things. The second box in the "whole home dvr" is just a receiver that allows you to view the recorded shows stored on the main box; you cannot record from it and you cannot pause live tv. You have to record on the main box, then just watch it on the other. It is POSSIBLE to have that functionality, but it would cost me another $20 a month to add a second "networked hd dvr."
PRICE
MOST IMPORTANTLY, BH's TV service and internet speeds are NOTHING SPECIAL for what you pay. My bill is $140 after tax and i get 30mbps internet and their ONLY AVAILABLE digital cable package with "whole home dvr" (a joke) in 2 rooms. Verizon Fios offered 3x faster speeds and 2x as many channels in 2x as many rooms for less than that when my girlfriend lived in Tampa. And my best friend has AT&T Uverse and says he pays about the same amount and their service is so much better. Ridiculous. *i am fully aware of the pricing schemes and introductory offers made by other providers. i am not relying on a misleading mailer for "$29.99 HDTV 1,000 channels and 100 DVRS!" I compared the true average monthly cost of the 190+ channel pack with 2 DVRS (whole home) after tax, equipment fees, etc.* Do your homework, kids.
I tried to negotiate with BH and explain that they were more expensive and had fewer features than other companies, could they give me an incentive to order cable, and I was told that BH does not offer price matching or other discounts. I complained about the install process and received no offer or compensation. Lots of sympathy from the CSR's, they were all very nice, but completely powerless to do anything. Lastly, as a side note, the Brighthouse TV app took days to start working and nobody we called knew anything about the app. *the app now works, but only on your home wireless network.*
CONCLUSION
This whole company is terrible. The moment a) I move or b) another service becomes available I will switch. They don't care about their customers, and are completely inflexible on their pricing because they can be. They have a monopoly and internet and cable where I live, and just don't care how frustrated or unhappy you are because they know you have nowhere to go.
DISCLAIMER
I do not consider Clear a valid alternative for internet, nor do I consider 1.5mbps DSL an alternative. When I say there are no other internet providers, I mean that there are no other 10mbps+ internet providers where I live. None. As for TV, there is no comcast, no uverse, and no fios. Everyone can get Dish or DirectTV, but you have to sign a 2 year contract and everyone knows what happens during hurricane season. I dare (read: beg) anyone to find me another internet or cable provider on Candlewyck Drive in Orlando, FL. Seriously, please. I hate Brighthouse.
Just in case BH reads this, if you want to make me and my girlfriend happy, here's what you'd have to do: give me internet and digital cable with the ability to watch and record from 2 rooms for $100 a month. It's what fios and uverse offer, and I don't think its unreasonable. *that means you BH corporate. your pricing is not competitive.*
UPDATE 3/7/2013
Spoke with Gary from BH at length today and fixed a few things. For one, he corrected some settings on my modem so that VPN/port forwarding will work since it was not previously set up as a bridge.
To be fair,I have updated by ratings. Install coordination went from 0 to 1, since the tech did show up on time and eventually got everything working.
Since BH fixed my cable issue (over a year ago) the connection has been very reliable. So, connection reliability is a 3/4 and not a 4/4 since some channels do drop out from time to time, but overall very good.
My scorched earth stright 0 ratings initially (and accurately) reflected my feelings about the service I received. However, I have updated their tech support rating from a 0/4 to a 2/4. Despite the poor customer service I received previously, Gary's excellent support brings that rating up significantly. I heard BH has a program in the works to clone Gary and replace all techs and CSRs with an army of Garys, so when that comes through I will probably hack dslreports to bump BH up to a 5.
The service they provide is good- the internet is fast and the channels are clear.
I do not believe, currently, that BH represents any great value for the money. A 4/4 rating to me would mean better service than competitors at a lower price. A 3/4 would be same service same price. A 2/4 would mean either better service at a higher price or lesser service at a lower price. A 1/4, which is what I have given, represents a slightly lesser service at a slightly higher price. BH does not have some of the features their competitors have, which is fine, but they have not discounted their services to reflect this. A 0 would be BH if they did not have Gary.
The one category I have not bumped up from a 0 is pre sales information. Gary apologized for the incorrect information I was given, but it is apparent that I was not told what I should have been when ordering service, and the reps did not follow BH protocol.
Comments:
Reviews:
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·MegaPath
| DirecTV/Dish & Clear Actually DirecTV and Dish do NOT make you sign a contract. You can OPT OUT by paying full price for the boxes and equipment. Dish will let you sign up with 1 TV and their service for $199 and pre-pay for services. DirecTV requires you to purchase all equipment up front.
Also Clear is actually another service/solution. Their service is above 10Meg and is fully unlimited unless the tower is fully maxed (which generally isn't the case). Also they have no download caps- meaning what ever the tower has- you can have as well. Some markets have tiered speeds but its still the same- unlimited usage.
Also AT&T isn't going to be available in VZ Markets. | |
| BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you for reviewing your recent BHN experience... It would appear there are multiple things to address... please allow me to help. Reach out to me in our direct forums here or via email at BHNtechXpert@mybrighthouse.com and I'll be in touch soon.
Thanks,
Gary
--
~All truth goes through three phases. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident. - Arthur Schopenhauer ~
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| | | | Re: Thank you for reviewing your recent BHN experience... I just got my whole house dvr too and It sucks. It stops recording and doesn't record at will... SUCKS!!!! | |
| | | BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Re: Thank you for reviewing your recent BHN experience... said by Customer :I just got my whole house dvr too and It sucks. It stops recording and doesn't record at will... SUCKS!!!!
Please register here and reach out to me when you get a moment.
--
~All truth goes through three phases. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident. - Arthur Schopenhauer ~
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| next page (previous review)
 Review by TOhawk
member for 11 years, 145 visits, last login: 34 days ago
lodged 34 days ago
- Orlando,Orange,FL
- $42 per month
- "Fast!"
- "nickel and dime you, Recently have to pay $2 more for cheap modem"
- "Lack of options, ok service."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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Overall ok service. I wish i had more competition in the Orlando, FL area.
Today the internet service is intermittent. Ultra Slow. Feels like 14.4k modem times....
If I had homework due today, would be in deep trouble....
Recently Brighthouse started charging $2 more monthly for a cheap modem fee.
Bad move!!
Waiting for good competition to show up in the area.
Comments:
BHNtechXpertBHN StaffPremium,VIP
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL
kudos:74 | Thank you for reviewing your recent BHN experience... There should be no reason why your speeds aren't up to your expectations. Please reach out to me either in our direct forums or email at BHNtechXpert@mybrighthouse.com and I'll be in touch with you. | |
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