seilogramp
join:2002-05-01
Lawrenceville, GA
|  [Upgrades] Switching form fastaccess DSL to Charter
Here's what I currently have:
TV - $56.99 for Charter cable TV w/ exanded basic (not digital). I have no desire to upgrade my my cable TV package.
Internet - $37.95 for AT&T Internet service using their "FastAccess DSL Xtreme," which is up to 3 Mbps download speed. I'm not at all happy with the performance. Speedtests show that I'm rarely getting 1 Mbps.
So I want to get rid of AT&T's internet and go with Charter. Hopefully using my $37.95 I'm saving on my phone bill and applying it to my cable bill. After calling Charter, it's not so simple, and will involve upgrading my TV to Charter digital. Like I said, I have no desire to upgrade my cable TV access, I rarely even watch TV.
The package I ended up agreeing to was (I think) digital cable and the "PLUS" Internet service, which is up to 10 Mbps download speed. Again, did not want to upgrade the TV, but the salesperson said it was not possible to get the 10 Mbps Internet without going with digital cable. The cost is $89.95 for 6 months then jumps to $104.98. After reading the tiny mice type on the Charter site, I see there is an early termination fee of $120 if you cancel before 2 years is up. Also, I will need to purchase a modem. The salesperson said I would need a DOCSIS 3.0 compliant modem. I currently have a Linksys BEFCMU10 cable modem, which is probably 5 years old, so definitely not DOCSIS 3.0.
So my questions are: 1) am I getting scammed? 2) is Charter Internet any better than what I currently have? 3) Is there any way to get the 10Mpbs speed without upgrading my cable TV plan? 4) what brand/model cable modem is recommended? Thanks for any input. |
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Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO
| The only tier that charter actually uses D3 with is the 60Mbps tier. The rest all use D2(or older). Even if you have a D3 modem with a D2(any less than 60Mbps) tier, it will fall back to D2 status. Your linksys should handle 10Mbps without any real issue. However Charter does not like to push firmware updates for linksys products(firmware updates on all Docsis modems MUST come from the ISP side). Motorola is probably the best supported modem out there (for all ISPs). If you wind up buying a new modem you MAY want to consider buying a D3 model anyway. Last I checked there was only about a 30% price premium for D3 over D2 modems, which I would consider as cheap future proofing.
Last I checked stand alone 20Mbps was only $70 here(varies by market), so I would think that you should be able to get a better price than what you are being quoted. |
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seilogramp
join:2002-05-01
Lawrenceville, GA
3 edits | said by Lazlow  :The only tier that charter actually uses D3 with is the 60Mbps tier. The rest all use D2(or older). Even if you have a D3 modem with a D2(any less than 60Mbps) tier, it will fall back to D2 status. Your linksys should handle 10Mbps without any real issue. Today I purchased a Zoom modem that was doscsis 2.0. I'm sure that will be fine.
Last I checked stand alone 20Mbps was only $70 here(varies by market), so I would think that you should be able to get a better price than what you are being quoted. The TV + Internet is $110. Standalone Internet I believe is $54 for 10Mbps. |
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Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO
| The problem with the zoom (or any brand other than Motorola and ambit, both issued by charter in different markets) is Charter hates to support the firmware. So if there is any issue with the zoom, that would normally be fixed by a firmware update, you are (most likely) going to be stuck with that issue(users cannot upgrade the firmware on their modems). |
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dsl14350
join:2005-06-16
Holland, MI | reply to seilogramp
Do you have a landline phone w/ATT? Seems like you could triple play w/Charter and go with 5meg internet to get a better deal for two years.
Just thinking out loud. |
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cork1958
Cork
Premium
join:2000-02-26
Fruitport, MI
 ·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Charter Pipeline
1 edit | reply to seilogramp
I believe my bill for expanded basic and 5/512 speed was $94 and some change, just before I switched to Verizon DSL, about a year or so ago.
The price you quote is pretty close to what I remember that package costing back then also.
Why did you HAVE to upgrade to digital?
Yeah,
You REALLY should've went with a Motorola modem. 
--
The Firefox alternative.
»www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/ |
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BF69
Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| reply to seilogramp
said by seilogramp :Here's what I currently have: TV - $56.99 for Charter cable TV w/ exanded basic (not digital). I have no desire to upgrade my my cable TV package. Internet - $37.95 for AT&T Internet service using their "FastAccess DSL Xtreme," which is up to 3 Mbps download speed. I'm not at all happy with the performance. Speedtests show that I'm rarely getting 1 Mbps. So I want to get rid of AT&T's internet and go with Charter. Hopefully using my $37.95 I'm saving on my phone bill and applying it to my cable bill. After calling Charter, it's not so simple, and will involve upgrading my TV to Charter digital. Like I said, I have no desire to upgrade my cable TV access, I rarely even watch TV. The package I ended up agreeing to was (I think) digital cable and the "PLUS" Internet service, which is up to 10 Mbps download speed. Again, did not want to upgrade the TV, but the salesperson said it was not possible to get the 10 Mbps Internet without going with digital cable. The cost is $89.95 for 6 months then jumps to $104.98. After reading the tiny mice type on the Charter site, I see there is an early termination fee of $120 if you cancel before 2 years is up. Also, I will need to purchase a modem. The salesperson said I would need a DOCSIS 3.0 compliant modem. I currently have a Linksys BEFCMU10 cable modem, which is probably 5 years old, so definitely not DOCSIS 3.0. So my questions are: 1) am I getting scammed? 2) is Charter Internet any better than what I currently have? 3) Is there any way to get the 10Mpbs speed without upgrading my cable TV plan? 4) what brand/model cable modem is recommended? Thanks for any input. That Charter guy is an idiot. You do NOT need digital cable. If so how come they offer internet without having to have cable AT ALL?
I have had Charter internet without digital cable before. I swear Chater hires tards on every level. They must get some kind of tax write off for doing that. |
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seilogramp
join:2002-05-01
Lawrenceville, GA
| I have had Charter internet without digital cable before. I swear Chater hires tards on every level. They must get some kind of tax write off for doing that.
I just got done with a chat session with Charter in attempt to iron this out before Tuesday's appointment. Quoting the chat support person "I understand that I can do a customer upgrade for you by just adding internet access without touching your cable." However I will need to call to cancel the service and redo it based on adding Internet alone. |
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seilogramp
join:2002-05-01
Lawrenceville, GA
| reply to BF69
I think the reason for adding digital cable is that the package deal that worked out the best for me came with digital cable and 10Mb Internet. Most of the good deals are for new Charter customers only, so I do not qualify. Could be that adding Internet by itself to my current cable TV bill may be more expensive than the package deal I was quoted. I'll find out after I call them tomorrow. |
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myrden
join:2009-12-14
Lawrenceville, GA
| reply to seilogramp
Let me know how the Charter internet service is in Lawrenceville (I'm in the Collins Hill area). I had Charter cable 10 years ago and it drove me to satellite TV (which I am very happy with). I have been on at&t for internet for 10 years as well, but I am stuck on the old bellsouth IFITL (1.5Mbps) and can't get any faster connection with at&t (and recently, it's been running ~0.5 Mbps in the evenings). I am very tempted to jump to Charter, but remember all too well how inept they were at providing cable tv. |
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msmisfit
join:2004-09-13
Lawrenceville, GA
| I have excellent internet service from Charter [5-6 years], but I only have 5M. I think I've read a few complaints about the higher tiers around here. Some people are not satisfied though, without 100% of their maximum speed... all the time.
FWIW, I'm just south of the Collins Hill area. |
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GvilleDSL
join:2009-11-12
Greenville, SC
·Charter Pipeline
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to toddbs98
I switched from At&t DSL to Charter recently and im very happy. I havent had any problems what so ever. Speed is constant and the connection is stable. Ive had Charter in the past in other locations and it wasnt a great experience but it seems they have got their act together in my area.
It really all depends on your area. There are many factors that come into play. |
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seilogramp
join:2002-05-01
Lawrenceville, GA
| reply to myrden
said by myrden : I am very tempted to jump to Charter, but remember all too well how inept they were at providing cable tv. I've never had a problem with Charter cable TV. I had Charter Internet service about 3 or 4 years ago and was driven to DSL mostly because of high pings when gaming. Found out that at that time the shared access with neighbors was causing a problem, especially when neighbors were sharing data via P2P software such as Kaaza, Morpheus, or Napster. The service was very good at times, but also very bad at other times. So we switched to DSL. The DSL, though never as fast as Charter, was at least consistently average. Lately it's been consistently bad! We were paying for DSL Xtreme service, which is supposed to be "up to" 3 Mbps download speeds. Usually was only 1 Mbps. I told support that they either had to get this working as advertised, switch me back to "standard" service (might as well pay for what we are getting), or cancel the account. AT&T sent out a technician to test the lines and replace the DSL modem. Things did not improve, so here I am back with Charter's "Plus" service, which is up to 10 Mbps.
I know it's only day 1 of service with Charter, but it is very good so far. Ran several speedtests and always in the 9 to 10 Mbps range.
With AT&T DSL gone, now I can get rid of the phone service, and wireless, then I will be AT&T free.  |
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gordon1fan
Roll Tide Roll
join:2001-01-26
Talladega, AL
| reply to seilogramp
I'm also switch from AT&T Fast Access DSL Xtreme 3.0 to Charter HSI 5/1. AT&T connection was reliable, but the speed just was not fast enough for me. AT&T is doing nothing to upgrade the infrastructure here in Talladega, AL. I sure don't see us getting U-Verse anytime soon.
I got my Charter Cable Internet installed last Friday for $39.99/internet + $5.00/cable modem per month. So far, so good. No slow down in speed, reboots or disconnects.
I told my wife I would give Charter a week before calling AT&T to disconnect the DSL.
So far I'm a very happy customer!
--
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
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apple212
join:2009-12-17
Los Angeles, CA
1 edit | Good luck |
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GvilleDSL
join:2009-11-12
Greenville, SC
·Charter Pipeline
·AT&T Southeast
| said by apple212 :Good luck charter has worst customer service EVER and prepare to have unstable internet and modem reboots that THEY cannot FIX Just because the service in your area is terrible doesn't mean its like that every where else. CS however is usually pretty bad regardless of the ISP in my experience. |
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jeffro
join:2007-04-20
Holland, MI
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to seilogramp
Charter CS is bad. Some of the worst I've ever dealt with. Their HSI on the other hand has always been rock solid for me. I've rarely had an issue maybe 3 times since I've had it. Phone as well. TV is lacking IMHP but that's another discussion and I won't go off-toic to discuss it here. |
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toddbs98
join:2000-07-08
North Little Rock, AR
clubs: 
·Charter Pipeline
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to seilogramp
Good luck to you on your transition to Charter. You will miss the days of reliable Internet access and enjoy many days a month of intermittent to no Internet access,random modem reboots and non-existent technical support. Charter works very hard at keeping their worst ratings of any US Internet provider with both Consumer Reports and JD Powers.
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Patriots always speak of dying for their country never killing for it. Bertrand Russell
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Rampage522
join:2001-10-18
Birmingham, AL | Copying and pasting much, are we?
For me, Charter internet has always been good to great. I've been an HSI customer for about 8 years. |
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