| See my thread on Centralia issues. I am paying for 10M and getting anywhere between 76k, and 10.6M, been having this problem for months, probably since I upgraded in June last year if not longer. I am not quiet as bad off as you as I am not getting disconnected, but still not getting near what I am paying for and have received the same run around with tech support.
Late at night my internet works like a charm, esp on weeknights, but weekends, weekend afternoons in particular? I might as well be on dial up. It is pathetic. They don't care, they are getting paid. |
2 edits | reply to RonW
Hello Troy, MO. I am about 10 miles SW of Troy. I moved here in September of 02, and have had trouble with Centurytel phone and DSL since. Strap in... my story goes like this:
I had dialup from 8/02 - 11/05 that would disconnect if the ground was saturated. It would slow to a crawl (if thats possible for dialup) on nights and weekends. I called constantly to complain. Ive worked with computers for 15 years. I dont claim to know everything, but I know more than most of their techs I talk to, and get tired of hearing pathetic excuses.
In November of 05, they told me DSL was now available, so I signed up for 1.5mb/256k service for $30/month, as this was the fastest service available. I had trouble immediately after the service was turned on. Although the DSL sync light would be on, I would lose connection, and have to reset the modem. My speeds hardly ever topped 125kB down. I was told that "125 is about right for a 1.5mb service, and really, 125KB is about all that line will handle in that area" to which I replied "you have no business being a tech. Max speed for a 1.5mb is about 187KB/second, and if your line can only handle 125KB then you should be selling a 1mb service, as those numbers are pretty compatible". She told me I was mistaken, and that the max was 125KB - 130KB. I gave her the following link (since she evidently didnt know what she was talking about) '»www.matisse.net/bitcalc/' She told me that link was wrong, that the information on it wasnt accurate. Anyway, my troubles kept on. After 8 months and countless phone calls, I was informed they had discovered a large batch of the modems they had supplied to their customers were flakey, and they sent me a new modem about 6/06. So, after about 10 months of lies and excuses telling me nothing was wrong, when I knew different, and could prove different, they admitted there was a modem issue and sent me a new one. Nice.
I actually went a couple months without connections issues, even though the speed issue was never resolved. In 8/06 I was sold a 3mb/512k service. I never came close to max speed on this service either, topping out around 250KB/sec as opposed to about 375KB/sec. BUT, this proved they were lying as I had always received that "the line would only support 125KB - 130KB" when I had 1.5mb service. I easily surpassed that speed, but once again came nowhere near the speeds I should. It got so bad one night, I was d/l the latest Ubuntu distro and it was only kicking along @ 75KB/sec. I thought maybe their server was flooded, no big deal, had no idea it was my service. With computer d/l @ 75KB/sec, I didnt even have enough bandwidth left to check my email on a different computer....... Thunderbird would simply "time out". That was pathetic.
I immediately called and went through the same BS as always with the tech wanting me to rewire my network so I could have a computer connected directly to the modem and turn off my A/V, Firewall & Spyware blah blah blah. I refused to do this yet again, as I told her first thing what I had done... which was took the modem outside and plugged it directly into their box on the outside of the house, and connected my laptop directly to the modem. By doing this, and still having the same problems, I proved the problem had nothing to do with the lines from the box in, or any network settings, router etc.. She didnt care, and had no business being a tech. She told me, and I quote "you cant plug your modem directly into that box". When I told her that the modem was capped she replied "Ill have to take your word for that, Im unaware that our modems are capped". When I insisted on talking to a supervisor, they finally sent out a tech. The tech plugged his little laptop into the box outside, and couldnt even bring up a connection. Dial tone, but no connection. He brought his laptop inside and I allowed him to plug into the modem, still nothing. I plugged one of my computers into the modem so he could see what I was talking about. We ran tests @ speakeasy. speedtest. here and centurytel's own website, and got a pathetic 600kb - 700kb/sec speed. Half or less of what I pay for. Here is the kicker.... the tech told me that I shouldnt even have 3.0 service, as it wasnt available where I lived. So they sold me a service I shouldnt have even had. He called in and had me knocked back to 1.5 service. Problem was, for 18 months, I had paid for 3mb service, that I shouldnt have had. How sad is that?
To this day, the issues are unresolved. Centurytel flat out does not care. As the person from Troy can attest, Centurytel knows you cant just go across the street to "Acme" phone company, and get a different phone service or broadband service. They have you over a barrel. My phone bill runs almost $100/month for 1.5mb DSL and one residential phone line with an unlimited local toll/long distance package. While this is cheaper than when I had 2 lines, dialup, and paid "X" amount for each call (everything out here is local toll) it is still a lot higher than what someone who lives in a suburban area would pay. It sickens me that people simply cant get what they pay for. I live NE of Warrenton in a small subdivision. I have had 3 neighbors check their speed with the same poor results. I have tested the service of 2 other individuals, and 2 businesses and had the same poor results. Funny, if I call Centurytel, they say nothing is wrong, and they arent aware of any problem. I am to the point now of seeking legal help and possibly initiating class action. After reading all the Centurytel customers on this site with the same problems, I am motivated even more to do so |
