 | Anon |  Vrooooom - or so the ads say....
They shipped me the ADSL modem & software. It was a simple self install. The speed is there - most of the time. My biggest bitch is that when I am not actively using the system, the "server has dropped connection" message pops up causing me to have to connect again manually - which takes 10 or 20 seconds. Contrary to their ads, this is NOT what I call "always on".
I recommend the system however, especially to anyone who is paying for a second phone line and dial-up ISP service. It only costs a couple bucks more than that and is MUCH faster. | |
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| | Comments About Centurytel I have been a CenturyTel ADSL subscriber for about 90 days now. I was a BellSouth DSL customer for two years prior. The techs who did the install were VERY professional and knowledgeable. Since they are the only game in town (not counting the local cable provider), beggars can not be choosers. The advertised UL/DL speeds are roughly half what I had at BellSouth. It is still a fast and reliable connection. I was also spoiled by BellSouth's spam filter. Within two or three days of CenturyTel's activation, my inbox was flooded with garbage (no, I do not disclose my e-mail address to everyone). I give them a thumbs up.
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 | | | Re: Comments About Centurytel Hey, I got your email. I called centurytel this evening and had them sign me up. SO hopefully when I get a letter or whatever they do to let me know if I qualify or not hopefully it will say I did. Nice to know theres more people that read this forum and get online in town here other than me. Do you game any dizbuster? | |
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piithPremium
join:2002-01-20
Medford, OR | Just Got it
I have yet to ask what ,what speeds I am to get, but I am happy with what it is at now, more then 3x's what I was getting with ISDN . . Happy Happy . .
first of the software really didn't work, that night when I got home ( I do love that 24/7 tech help) I called, for me that is 1am (-8GMT)10 minutes later I was on Line . . SWEEeeeeeEET
now in time I'll give a better review, but for a start, I like it | |
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| piithPremium
join:2002-01-20
Medford, OR |  Re: Just Got it
basicly Im just getting 70% of what I am paying for, still better then ISDN. They still had problems with the account, it was like I never had one, twice we had to create a new account. Pings go everywhere.
their Tech help is still getting high marks from me, but as for customer service, they need a lot of improvement.
'
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I am Not There I do Not Sleep | |
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mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR |  Why 512/256 only? (Oregon)
I'm paying $50/month for 512/256 (440/220 actual). I'd pay $75 for 768/256.
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Mike | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: Why 512/256 only? (Oregon) Just talked to our friendly field tech. He said that CT will be offering higher speed packages Very Soon!!
Great news.
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Mike | |
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| | piithPremium
join:2002-01-20
Medford, OR | Re: Why 512/256 only? (Oregon) That would be nice | |
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piithPremium
join:2002-01-20
Medford, OR |  If you can go with another
their customer service is about as good as a man telling a woman that there is no pain trying to deliver the baby
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I am Not There I do Not Sleep | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: If you can go with another
--
And you may ask yourself... Where is that large automobile? | |
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Alan4MSUPremium
join:2003-03-29
Dothan, AL | Works good....when it works! | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: Works good....when it works! Always vote with your wallet. And let them know why you're leaving. You can many times get them to give you concessions to stay if you're willing to escalate it.
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And you may ask yourself... Where is that large automobile? | |
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| When will Centurytel upgrade their speed pakages?
[text was edited by author 2003-09-10 00:23:47] | |
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| piithPremium
join:2002-01-20
Medford, OR | Re: When will Centurytel upgrade their speed pakages? yeah
centuryTel is not interested in giving out good service, as long as they know they are your only choice
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I am Not There I do Not Sleep | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | They are now. Call customer service and ask for 768/512. | |
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| |
| Re: When will Centurytel upgrade their speed pakages?
Or is it for all the areas that Centurytel DSL services in?
[text was edited by author 2003-09-18 18:25:46] | |
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| | | mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: When will Centurytel upgrade their speed pakages? I have the option of CT DSL, many 56K dialups, or satellite broadband. So, not really competition where I live, but they also serve an area near me where Comcast is in.
According to my friendly local field tech, you need to call the customer service number and ask for higher speed package. Insist.
--
And you may ask yourself... Where is that large automobile? | |
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| | | I am in customer service for centurytel and we are piloting a 3 tier speed (256/768/1.5)service in La Crosse, WI. Our only other speeds are in the St. Louis suburbs, where a speed of 768 is standard. If centurytel is your only choice for local service, it is only because your state has not deregulated its phone utilities. If they have, there is no other option only because no other company is willing to spend the money to service your city. | |
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| | mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: When will Centurytel upgrade their speed pakages? What's curious is to look at the speed tests for CT and note how many 1500 services appear to be testing here.
Someone is opening the pipe.
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And you may ask yourself... Where is that large automobile? | |
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| | piithPremium
join:2002-01-20
Medford, OR | it is deregulated, just yoiu have this section you have this section, so in a sense it is not deregulated, so you have no other choice but who the state decided your to have
, my speeds are no different if I went with another ISP, so why should one pay more for a different ISP, because your stuck with crappy service, and really it is not just centuryTel, it goes on with all Phone companys here, because you can not switch to another company, so then you get crappy service
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I am Not There I do Not Sleep | |
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| | If you're having connection problems I run a router as a firewall, and for the last few weeks have been going crazy because my DSL connection was disconnecting every three minutes or so, then immediately reconnecting. After much hair-pulling, diagnosed the problem last weekend. Apparently, about two weeks ago, CenturyTel reconfigured their system so that it is no longer possible to ping from within their network. My router runs an app which sends a couple of pings to see if the connection is still up, without any response to a few tries it assumes the connection is down and reconnects. That's what's been happening, killed the syswatch app and now everything is fine. Two weeks without being able to download anything or listen to streaming audio, thanks for the notice CenturyTel... | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: If you're having connection problems Our email was acting odd today, so I tried pinging the mail server and got a time out. Ditto for the news server. Called my friendly neighborhood field tech and he informed me of the same.
Also found out by running the dslreports tweaktest with my router set to pingable that I was still not pingable.
--
And you may ask yourself... Where is that large automobile? | |
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| | Centurytel and Westell A90-210015-04 modem Is this modem usable with Centurytel DSL service? I just bought it off Ebay, and am not sure if I can get it to work... If it is usable, how do I configure it for use with Centurytel, ie, what are the vpi/vci settings, etc. (when I hook the modem up, i get the flashing green light, it speeds up, then slows down again) | |
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| | | Re: Centurytel and Westell A90-210015-04 modem It should be compatible, the vpi/vci is 8/35 | |
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 tstolzePremium
join:2003-08-08
O Fallon, MO
kudos:1 | centurytel universal service fee | |
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| piithPremium
join:2002-01-20
Medford, OR | Re: centurytel universal service fee | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Any updates? | |
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| | | The universal service fee is not a tax. It is however, charged on every line in the U.S., whether local line, long distance line, or internet line. Centurytel does not have to charge it separately, but does have the legal right to charge it. | |
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| | Alternative to CenturyTel in Oregon I've recently found that in the CenturyTel areas in western Oregon Peak Internet is offering DSL service, which is 640,
but works without the PPPoE, it's plain TCP, so you get 640k, not 420, for a 50% increase in speed for the same price. Peak is a locally owned company with good tech support, I'm switching this week myself. BTW, their package is 640/512, and none of the single-user/multi-user bull that CenturyTel tries.
Even if you don't want to switch, I found that if you call CenturtyTel customer service and tell them you want to switch they will offer you a free month of service to stay with them, can't hurt. | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: Alternative to CenturyTel in Oregon Peak just buys dsl from CT or QWest as needed to support their clients.
According to my sources, CT can only offer in 512, 756, and 1.5 Mbps increments, so if Peak is offering 640, they are buying 756 from CT to get you that speed.
Call CT and ask for 756. Insist on talking to a local field service tech. The system will supply up to 1.5Mpbs.
I used Peak for many years when dial-up was the only solution. I have a friend in Corvallis who switched to them from Comcast. He has had some connection dropping issues that come and go. Not nearly as stable as he'd like.
Post back on how Peak is working for you. I think competition is good, and CT won't publicly offer more speed until they get pressure from the customer.
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And you may ask yourself... Where is that large automobile? | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: upgrade RT to DSL? Your line qualification may allow for higher speed, but my experience with CT is that they sell what they want to, not what your line will support.
For example, I am 2.3 miles from the Remote Office. I originally was offered 512/256 and was happy to get that after dealing with satellite broadband. Now I'm getting 1200/600 (1.5/768 setting) from the same connection by the field tech turning it up at his end.
good luck.
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"Get your haggis, right here! Chopped heart and lungs boiled in a wee sheep's stomach! Tastes as good as it sounds. Good for what ails ya!" | |
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|  chd176
join:2003-01-10
Winfield, AL
 ·CenturyLink
| One more question...on your prequalification results did they send it to you in the mail within 48 hours? This seems kinda fishy to me because generally USPS takes it's time...I don't see why they couldn't just call ya...or better yet when the technician comes to your house leave a note on your door stating if you were prequalified or not...the rep I spoke with said I might get a phone call but it wouldn't be likely...
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Sotec 1.2 Mhz, 224 MB RAM, DW6000, windows XP home, Direcway SRS, G3C, signal 75 | |
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| | mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: upgrade RT to DSL? You have to talk with your local field tech to get the results. If they did the install they typically leave a work slip with a contact for any problems.
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"Get your haggis, right here! Chopped heart and lungs boiled in a wee sheep's stomach! Tastes as good as it sounds. Good for what ails ya!" | |
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mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | CT now using GigaNews
This addresses a huge missing in their service. Giganews has much better retention of posts.
You'll need to modify your news account settings to include a user name: CTyxxxxx@centurytel.net where CTyxxxxx is your CT user id; and your CT password.
good luck!
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"Get your haggis, right here! Chopped heart and lungs boiled in a wee sheep's stomach! Tastes as good as it sounds. Good for what ails ya!" | |
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| | | Re: CT now using GigaNews I was happy when they switched; but unfortunately; they still ahve limits on traffic.
I went to a pay for NG service (sub $3/mo) thru forte (the people who make agent) I've not gotten an error or had a problem with the service... | |
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 rjacksonPremium,Mod
join:2002-04-02
Ringgold, GA
kudos:1
SMC Networks
VOIP Tech Chat
ViaTalk
Teleblend
Vonage
| CTDSL + STUSB + WinXP Hey there, I am helping my father-in-law out with his Windows PC and CenturyTel DSL connection. We're upgrading to Windows XP, and I have reservations about his DSL connection. The modem he has is one of those SpeedTouch USB modems (big green sperm). I admit I am unfamiliar with Windows, especially XP, and even more unfamiliar with USB networking.
Does this combination work? Are there any special hoops I am supposed to jump through first? Will Windows' built-in PPPoE client work with CenturyTel DSL or do I have to use their own connection software?
Thanks. | |
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See 6 replies to this post |
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| | phone lins is busy !!! | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: phone lins is busy !!! Do you really have CenturyTel in the Phillipines? | |
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| | | | Re: phone lins is busy !!! who u ? | |
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| | | mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: phone lins is busy !!! A bbr member who is a CenturyTel customer. You're posting a question regarding your connection in a supplier specific forum. And you're not posting a whole of info either.
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"Get your haggis, right here! Chopped heart and lungs boiled in a wee sheep's stomach! Tastes as good as it sounds. Good for what ails ya!" | |
|
 BungieNinjalo
join:2002-10-29
Saint Paul, MN | Tracert I myself am not a Century Tel subscriber. It's my mother in law who has just received the service. Anyhow, I can't seem to ping any websites, do tracerts or run a line quality test here at dslreports. Here's what happens in the tracert:
1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms BASE_STATION [192.168.2.1]
2 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms dslrouter [192.168.1.1]
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 * * * Request timed out.
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 * * * Request timed out.
8 * * * Request timed out.
9 * * * Request timed out.
10 * * * Request timed out.
11 * * * Request timed out.
12 * * * Request timed out.
13 * * * Request timed out.
14 * * * Request timed out.
15 * * * Request timed out.
16 * * * Request timed out.
17 * * * Request timed out.
18 * * * Request timed out.
19 * * * Request timed out.
20 * * * Request timed out.
21 * * * Request timed out.
22 * * * Request timed out.
23 * * * Request timed out.
24 * * * Request timed out.
25 * * * Request timed out.
26 * * * Request timed out.
27 * * * Request timed out.
28 * * * Request timed out.
29 * * * Request timed out.
30 * * * Request timed out.
Trace complete.
Anyone here have any ideas? | |
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| Dranyam
join:2003-05-01
Olive Branch, MS
1 edit | Re: Tracert I use CenturyTel, and haven't been able to ping any websites or run any tracerts for a while now. Not sure when I first noticed (a few weeks to a few months ago), as it's not really something I do often, but I do know that it hasn't always been like this.
I searched around when I first noticed I could no longer be pinged (apparently, since I can't do line quality tests anymore) and I remember finding a tiny little bit of information, but then something probably grabbed my attention and I never looked into it again and forgot whatever it is I read.
Edit: According to some customer reviews for CenturyTel on this website, "privileges" like tracert and ping were disabled when the Blaster Worm hit. I would think it'd be okay to give that stuff back, now.. | |
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| | Nihil5
join:2001-11-20
Springfield, MO | Re: Tracert said by Dranyam:
I use CenturyTel, and haven't been able to ping any websites or run any tracerts for a while now.
That's just retarded. I'm stuck with CenturyTel at work and their network/routing is crap. They probably won't turn ICMP back on so users can't point fingers that it's CENTURYTEL's network that is crap, not somebody else's problem. | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | CT turned off ICMP Ping during last year's major worm outbreak in January/February. | |
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1 edit | New Speed Tiers announced Apparently, Centurytel has new speed offerings on their website (Centurytel.net) featuring:
256/128 - 34.95 a month
768/256 - 44.95 a month
1500/256 - 54.95 a month
NOTE: I'm not sure if these speeds are available in all Centurytel serviced areas. | |
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See 10 replies to this post |
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| | Fails ping tests I keep getting error messages from Tango Manager saying it has failed to reach 2 specific DNS addresses. Should I disable these tests that were automatically set up in the Tango Manager installation? My service seems to work fine, I just keep getting the annoying pop up boxes every ten minutes.
Thanks in advance! | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: Fails ping tests If you're relying on ICMP ping to work, it won't as CT has disabled it on their network. That is, if someone outside of CT tries to ping your CT IP address it will time out. | |
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| | Centurytel and SpeedStream 5861 routers. I know this is an older router; but it works..
and it is compatible with centurytel; or it should be.
but it refuses to connect...
I get errors like
"spurious ATU-R detected"
"uncompatible line"
Most of the time it's
connecting to ... using * over PPPoE
followed by
line dropped
I was on yesterday for about 1 hour (new service) but at 512/256 -- I called support to say I should be at 1.5; but their response was "You shouldn't be online until friday; so call us back then" I promptly fell off dsl connection & haven't been back on since...
Any idea? anyone else using this router? | |
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| | | Re: Centurytel and SpeedStream 5861 routers. Hi Jassing,
I have a older 2 port Speedstream 2602 router and a new Belkin 4 port router, I can't seem to get either of them to work. Or if I do my speeds drastically drop. I would appreciate any answers to this question too. I really would like at least one of my router's to work for when I would like to use my laptop, which is handy now and then when I sit at my table to take digital pictures of birds in my bird tree.
Spicey | |
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chd176
join:2003-01-10
Winfield, AL | logon ID | |
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| mikehdWhat day is it?Premium
join:2000-07-11
Lebanon, OR | Re: logon ID You'll need a logon id and password. They'll assign you one, like CTE12345 for a logon. Your email will be cte12345@centurytel.net but you can alias it to john.smith@centurytel.net on their community portal www.centurytel.net
Call their 800 tech support line and get your id. | |
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| chd176
join:2003-01-10
Winfield, AL | oh ok, thanks for your time. | |
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new
upgrade RT to DSL?