Donkaroo
join:2000-07-02
Hawley, PA
 ·Vonage
 ·ProLog
| Horrible
I just received my second notice today telling me I'm using too much bandwidth. The thing is they consider ALL usage in those reports, including normal web browsing and email. It's not like its only counting actual downloads of games/movies/data from work etc. I have 4 computers in my house with 3 kids and these threatening letters are getting annoying. I purchased their top package of 15/2Mbs thinking that would allow for "unlimited access". I was wrong.
I moved here from NJ and Optimum Online offered a Boost package of 30/5Mbs that imposed no caps. It was great. It seems like PenTeleData is hinting at making me upgrade to a commercial account. That would be fine if they offered a decent package, but they dont. $180/month for their 10/1Mbs package. Thats ridiculous. I'm really starting to despise not having a choice when it comes to broadband service. Its some racket they going. I looked over my contract and the only thing referring to caps is that its at their sole discretion. How can I ensure my kids stay within a limit if theres no limit given?? Absurd.
When I received these letters I asked my kids about it and they said they download mainly overnight so its done the next day. They also put caps on the speed so the line doesn't slow to a crawl while downloading. I just don't see the issue with this. Now knowing that my service can be cut off is very displeasing as I need access for work. Being that DSL isn't even available here really puts me in a bind. I don't like being "strong armed" or threatened into a commercial account when this is a residential household with 3 kids using the internet for everyday activities. They advertise downloading movies/songs etc in their commercials! That is by far the biggest reason for getting broadband in the first place. Its getting to the point where I actually wish broadband would be regulated and do away with these monopolies. |
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AndrettiFan
Premium
join:2007-10-18
Alburtis, PA
| I would go to your local township / city / borough organization in charge of offering the license for them to operate in the area and complain. At worst, you wasted a little of your time. At best, the letters will stop and you still have your service.
I'm still waiting for them to fix speeds locally since I'm paying for 7MBs service and I get less than 1. |
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Donkaroo
join:2000-07-02
Hawley, PA
·Vonage
·ProLog
| I may very well do that. My biggest gripe is they keep referring to a contract that has nothing listed about caps! Even in their 2 warning letters it only states that I'm using too much bandwidth but still doesn't tell me what these caps are. The first letter said to cut back my usage. I told my kids about this and said to cut back a bit. The following month I received a second letter. I had cut the total bandwidth used almost in half and still got a letter. Again, no mention of what cap to stay under.
The thing is, there are alot of options for them to enforce a cap. Even if it changed often they could give a generalization in the contract. Something along the lines of-"stay within 100GB/month. These numbers may change at any time". Otherwise the warning letters are pointless. I received two letters and yet I still had no idea how much bandwidth I'm allowed to use. After the second letter I called them to see what was going on. The woman I spoke with was very nice. Aside from the fact of trying to upsell me to a commercial account within 2 minutes of the call, she was very helpful. She even gave me the numbers I need to stay below, which were 80GB/s down 45GB/s up per month. Why they cant just include these numbers either in the contract or in the warning letters is beyond me.
My other gripe are caps in general. I completely understand the need to have them on a network that functions on a shared usage policy. The thing is times change. A full movie is over 4GB. Just by downloading 10 movies a month is well over 40GB. With all these companies offering full movie/game downloads, streaming music, VOIP, etc. the need for broadband increases every day. Since I'm not running any sort of network I don't see how I should have to pay for a commercial account. Not only does it cost 3 times as much for half the bandwidth, but you have to sign a 3 year contract!
The only thing I can hope for is for more competition to be allowed in my area. My only choice is what I have now or dialup. For whatever reason DSL isnt offered here. It is available on the other side of my development, but not here.
And I experience the same network degregation as you. I haven't hit 15 Mbs since I moved here. Most times during the day I get such slowdowns that even loading web pages take forever, or timeout all together. I also get at least one power outage a month causing loss of service. And to top it off, I have horrible packet loss throughout the day. It reeks havoc on my VOIP line and my son was just complaining it makes online game playing unbearable.
Good luck getting your service fixed AndrettiFan, and thank you for the suggestion. |
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