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This is a sub-selection from Questions about Light Star

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

Matt3 to DVDdude

Premium Member

to DVDdude

Re: Questions about Light Star

said by DVDdude:

I am in a Light Star neighborhood in High Point, NC. I have a few questions for anyone who has Light Star.

1. Are there any download caps? (I usually download around 100 GB per month).

2. Do they provide any Usenet newsgroups?

3. Do they provide email accounts?

4. Are their rated speeds reliable?

I am currently using Roadrunner, but I am fed up with the constant outages. I would like to switch to Light Star because of the higher speeds.
1) Not that I have seen. 100GB should be no problem.

2) No

3) Yes, you get a northstate.net email address. I have never used them though.

4) Yes. However, my 15Mbps/2Mbps service is really about 12.8Mbps/1.7Mbps. I was told during the install that you lose TCP/IP overhead as they cap your rate right at the speed you purchase, rather than slightly over to account for the protocol overhead. I NEVER experience slowdowns and they don't throttle any protocols at all.

I have had Lightstar for a few years now and I had RoadRunner in Greensboro for 5+ years before that. Lightstar is a better service and if you're having reliability problems, you'll love Lightstar.
DVDdude
join:2003-06-15
Greensboro, NC

1 edit

DVDdude

Member

Thank you so much!

I have tried to get more information about Lightstar from NSC but their CSRs are not very knowledgeable about it.

I have been fighting roadrunner for months now. The service in the Jamestown/High Point area drops down to 1mbps on weekends. This is unacceptable.

I really hope they do provide newsgroup access with Lightstar. Time Warner removed their free newsgroup access months ago.

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

1 edit

Matt3

Premium Member

said by DVDdude:

Thank you so much!

I have tried to get more information about Lightstar from NSC but their CSRs are not very knowledgeable about it.
You are absolutely right. Which package are you going with? Make 100% sure before the installer leaves your upstream is provisioned right. They were trying to tell me my 15Mbps package only had 1Mbps upstream. I had to provide the name of the rep I talked to to prove it was in fact 2Mbps upstream because they had no idea. The 30Mbps package has a 5Mbps upstream rate, 15Mbps has 2Mbps, the 9Mbps/6Mbps have 1Mbps upstream. I think the others have 512Kbps and 256Kbps, but I'm not absolutely sure.

Where are you in Jamestown? I'm off Mackay Road in Bordeaux.

EDIT:

Here are some photos I took a year or two ago of their install: »[Fiber Pics] North State Communications Lightstar Pics
DVDdude
join:2003-06-15
Greensboro, NC

DVDdude

Member

Thanks for the upload tip. I will definitely make sure things are right before the installer leaves. My roadrunner issues are most likely with the node in my area being oversold. I don't expect Time Warner to ever fix it. They don't care.

I'm in the Deep River area of HP. The NSC website lists the following prices/speeds. I assume these are bundle prices (I already have north state phone service).

Prices as low as:
• 768 kbps......$14.95/mo
• 3 Mbps.........$29.95/mo
• 6 Mbps.........$34.95/mo
• 9 Mbps.........$49.95/mo
• 15 Mbps ......$59.95/mo
• 30 Mbps.......$159.95/mo
Promotional pricing for 12 months, some restrictions apply.

I was thinking about the 15mbps package. That is about the same price as what am I paying for Roadrunner Turbo.

I assume they have to install an ethernet wall jack as well as the box on the outside of the house (I saw your installation pics).

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

Matt3

Premium Member

said by DVDdude:

I assume they have to install an ethernet wall jack as well as the box on the outside of the house (I saw your installation pics).
I pay $69.95 with no other NS services. I think you'll probably pay $5 less. I had NS phone for a while (alarm system) and I believe it was a $5 discount.

They will (for free) install everything on the outside of your house and wire one internal jack for phone/internet. And yep, it's just a standard CAT-5e jack.
DVDdude
join:2003-06-15
Greensboro, NC

1 edit

1 recommendation

DVDdude

Member

Time Warner is coming out this weekend to look at my node. I'm pretty sure it is being oversold/overloaded. If they aren't going to fix the problem, then I'll be setting up a LightStar installation appointment ASAP.

Thanks for all the info. I'll keep this thread updated.
This is a sub-selection from Questions about Light Star