Frontier Communications → [DSL] Frontier Speed Issues at My Home

Well, I guess I have exhausted every avenue I have to complain, they just don't care.

Going to call a tech today, then go to local office to speak directly to my local manager, because he seems to have forgotten how to email me back,....at all!

Any other suggestions? I do not know what bonded DSL is, I have two lines running to my house, can someone explain what it is and if its possible for me?

Connection now hovers at best 2.0 at any time and at night down below1.0

Thanks

Yes, check your PM.

Thank You, I will try!

Well, all the call got me was a service call for a tech to come to my house, and probably give me the same run around as 6 months ago.

But I will keep my fingers crossed that some miracle will happen and something changes when he's here today.

They also told me bonded DSL is not available for me.

Is there anything I can ask him in tech lingo that might help me along?

Turns out No tech was coming to the house!

I got a phone call saying I am maxed out at what I can get! Apparently I am out of a remote pole mount and there are several complaints about the service out here.

So I asked about bonded DSL, not available to me. I asked about moving the remote to a 6 mbps service and he tells me its possible but they wont do it!!!!

I then began to tell him all the issues not only I but others in my area are reporting, and he told me they seem to be more worried about upgrading The City areas to steal customers from comcast, to which I told him they are nuts! anyone who would leave Comcast around here, at a minimum of 20 mbps constant to their DSL is out of their minds!

In the meantime Rural customers who cant get comcast are screaming for better service, and are willing to pay for it!

As usual ass backwards business thinking, ,maybe that's why they have to keep giving out 450.00 apple gift cards to attract customers, instead of just providing a superior service to the competition.

So the be all and end all is they are going to reset my pole mount, to see if it helps! To which I replied how in the hell is that gonna help if you've got me capped at 3.7 which I get 2.0 normally! Would it not be better to change the remote to a 6 mbps service,and then at high traffic periods at least people could get 3.0 instead of less than 1.0!

He didn't have an answer to that..............

Upping you to 6mbit when you're only getting 1mbit during peak hours isn't going to magically let you get 3mbit during that same time. You could be set at 100mbit and you're still only going to get that 1mbit due to congestion. If you can never max your connection out at the 3.7 (or close to it), then upping that cap does absolutely nothing for you.

Agreeing with Bonka. If your area is congested, the only way to get more bandwidth during peak hours is to upgrade the backhaul from your remote. I'd assume there are no more than 30 houses connected to a single remote--especially a pole mounted one. If you guys are getting around 1mbps during peak hours, I doubt they have more than a T3 connecting it, which is ridiculous. The least they could do is OC3 so 30 customers could have 5mbps at the same time. It's sad Frontier still has areas like this...

But here's a ray of hope for you: I've heard from some managers and reps that certain rural areas are being upgraded to support bonded service, so at the very least you could get the full 6mbps you're paying for, and at most you could get 12mbps bonded.

Here's a solution for the now: see if you can get a second connect line and then go out and buy the Zyxel bonded DSL modem they use. Wire the modem directly from the NID yourself and you can at least have 5-6mbps off peak and 2mbps during peak hours because you'd be bonding the connection yourself. Every tech and manager I've spoken to tells me it's always the same: DSL bonding is done through the modem only. Since you're getting such a low speed with such good line stats, they might even let you have the second connect for almost nothing. Demand something out of customer service and you might get something. The worst that happens is they say no. A middle ground is if you talk to askfrontier@ftr.com, they might be able to get your area manager to provision you higher which wouldn't help during congested hours but would help with off-peak hours.

Alternately, you could try a business line because I've heard in some areas Frontier puts business customers on separate DSLAMS with their own backhaul. I'm not sure about this everywhere and I don't have personal experience with it, but I have heard a few whispers.

I thought to get bonded DSL they have to have support on both sides, are you perhaps talking about Dual Wan?

Nope. Bonded DSL works the same as dual WAN in that it all takes place on the customer side. The Zyxel bonded DSL modem does all the work. All that has to happen on the CO side is Frontier assigns you two wire pairs instead of the normal one pair. If you have a second connect line, you're getting the second pair you'd get in an official bonded DSL setup, minus them realizing you're using bonding. Besides QoS, most networks, including Frontier's network, don't recognize anything higher than Layer 3, and DSL bonding takes place at least as high as Layer 4.

Note that you may have some issues getting bonded DSL to work on your own, but I've never done it so I don't know how difficult it is.

Bonded DSL *may* be different in your region, but I doubt it works anywhere differently than I've said above. Unless you're in a weird situation where the DSLAM/line card doesn't support higher than a particular speed but does support bonding at the DSLAM and they physically bond two lines at the CO, you'll have two separate lines with a bonded modem.

If you look at the bonding modems, there's only one WAN port. This throws most people off because they think a bonded modem would have two WAN ports. The RJ-11 connector can have two pairs (4 wires) from the NID to the modem. This is actually two phone lines in one wire, and the bonding modem treats them as two separate lines in one connector for simplicity.

The ZyXel requires different VPI/VCI on the second line. From my discussions with Frontier they will not assign any thing other than 0/35 for residential accounts in my area.

If you have a dual WAN router you can setup the second WAN to handle the overflow. It will not provide you with any redundancy since you come off the same remote.

We are in the same area. We have three T1's that serve our entire area. So I cam current set at 1.3 down and .175 up. Like you I pay the same price a those the get 3 down. Yes it sucks and Frontier is making no effort to upgrade the backhaul for the remote.

Hey Guys, Thanks for all your responses, getting some of the lingo down and what it does from you guys is starting to help in my conversations with local people. It seems as if I got a bit more attention yesterday after I let him know what I was talking about, then I didn't get treated like Joe 6 pack that just wants more speed.

Bonka....(Upping you to 6mbit when you're only getting 1mbit during peak hours isn't going to magically let you get 3mbit during that same time.)

What I meant was upgrading unit at the pole, not just for me but for any of the customers out of it, who are also getting screwed paying for Max internet and only getting 1-3mbps. Others in the same company are paying the same price and getting up to 12mbps...not fair

jamesonnorth......(the only way to get more bandwidth during peak hours is to upgrade the backhaul from your remote. I'd assume there are no more than 30 houses connected to a single remote--especially a pole mounted one. If you guys are getting around 1mbps during peak hours, I doubt they have more than a T3 connecting it, which is ridiculous. The least they could do is OC3 so 30 customers could have 5mbps at the same time. It's sad Frontier still has areas like this...)

Thank you for that, I know have more info on what needs to be done to help everyone. I was also told Bonded DSL is not available to me, and also have been told Business class isn't either. I do have a very small home business, so I was out of luck to begin with.

I already have a second connect line , had it from the get go because I was worried about coming from comcast to DSL with all the Internet use in this house. But i would be lost trying to connect the two together, and I asked that yesterday, and the tech told me It would not help.

Will check back on monday after they do the hard reboot, which wont do anything....then another call to the local manager, and if nothing from him....then up to the region manager I go..

Thanks again,...everyone

Three T1 lines for an entire area is madness. I don't even see how that works, because my high school of 400 students had two T1 lines and they were stressed then. I can't believe Frontier would leave you like that. I imagine the Frontier customers in your area don't use their connections much if you're even pulling 1.3mbps down. The .175mbps up is odd, as T1 lines are symmetrical. But with such a grossly underpowered backhaul solution, weird stuff is bound to happen.

If Frontier refuses to assign the necessary parameters to a line to enable the bonded modems to work, you may be out of luck apart from a dual WAN router/load balancer. I've never seen one cheaper than $400 that works very well.

I'd nag the techs, supervisors, customer support, and the corporate help people until you're upgraded. I can't believe any ISP would be installing free 100mbit WiFi and opening retail stores when their customers are so poorly served.

My remote was still being fed by a T1
Frontier is in the process of upping it to a T3 after my constant nudging and complaining about peak usage congestion.

Go staright to the regional manager.
How much of a run-around you going to put up with.
Get your neighbors on board and tell the RM the neighbors are unhappy.
Be persistent and remember the squeaky wheel gets all the grease

Regional manager in our area has never been helpful. Had to go to corporate after filing complaints with PUC and FCC, but we are still stuck with the low backhaul. FTR loves to quote how much money they spent in our state. It was bailout money and the majority of it has been spent around the capitol area. So it has not helped my area at all.

How did you get that info on th three T1 lines, I am trying desperately to build a case for lack on their part? any other info you can give me would be highly appreciated. Thanks

Bubba I emailed the all the managers listed for my area before Xmas.
I dint hear back so I emailed them 2 more times.
I finally got a response from the local manager in my area.
She told me I could get a 2nd line and I responded that I would have 2 slow lines during peak hours.(Now keep in mind, I can get over 6mbs during non-peak hours)
I kept an excel spread sheet of speedtests during different times of the day which showed when the slowdowns occurred.Since I'm a field tech for Verizon I pretty much knew there was nothing wrong physically with my line. I'm less than half a mile from the remote and my line is split at a filtered Dmarc/NID outside. The manager Gail sent a Field tech out to move me to a different system at the remote/DSLAM. The system I was on was 92% full according to the field tech. I took his cell # and he told me to call him in a few days to see if my speeds improved at night. They didn't and I called him and he confirmed my imitial assumption of Frontier overselling the area. He told me to call his manager Gail and tell her my neighbors and I were all seeing the speed drops and streaming movies/vids at night was impossible. She told me she would contact Engineering and see what could be done.A few days later she emailed and told me they could upgrade the bandwith from a T1 to T3. They had to wait for the cards and the Central Office Tech to do some wiring as well as a FT at the remote. She asked me to be patient and I told her my contract ends Jan. 11 2013. Should be any day now. Lets see what happens. BTW, you can follow my whole thread below including emails etc...Hope it helps bud
»Slow speeds every night

Heres a speedtest now after midnight where I live

How desperate are you for this type of proposal?

»www.dropbox.com/s/c3g7h3 ··· tier.jpg

Edit: In all seriousness though you should call whatever municipality you're in and see if Comcast is required to serve every single home. There might be a chance they are forced to serve every home in the area if they have a franchise agreement. Are you in Jackson Twp out there?

Thanks for that, I have asked why something couldnt be upgraded and I keep getting stonewalled, Thats the part I cant figure out.

Im on them everyday so I will keep pushing until its at least satisfactory.

All the help here is greatly appreciated.

Lol, actually it would be easier to go from the other end of the road , the topography that way is pretty steep!

I remember when the comcast rep was here, I told him if they left a spool of cable I would run the damn line from the end of the road Myself!
I Used to work for Asplundh years ago I have no trouble climbing poles!

Are there any settings at the pole outside my house that I can Look at? If So what am I looking For?

I have two lines to my house so I should have two separate hookups going to my house correct?

Update.....contacted my township, they do have a Franchise agreement with comcast, hopefully it shows serve all homes, waiting on an answer....

Here we are again.......... another night of unusable service!

And here is a copy of the response I got from a local higher up.
------------------------------------------------------------------
I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, I was away on a “special project” for the last 1-1/2 weeks.

I did have a tech reboot your DSL equipment on the pole on Monday---but according to your email, it did not improve your speed.

Honestly, I have done everything within my control to reduce the congestion you are experiencing.

Currently engineering is developing plans for 2013 to increase bandwidth in some of our main “pipes” which will start reducing congestion.

At this point, I have not been made aware of specifically where or when these upgrades will be implemented.

As soon as I receive any details, I will inform you.

I realize this is a small consolation, but I will submit your accounts for a month’s credit for your internet service.

This is the best I can do in the position I am in.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Well It's been awhile since I posted on this thread so I figured I would close it out with one more post.

In the time I have been gone I have tried everything to get our speed congestion issue fixed, and have had no good result. I have written emails, had phone conversations, and even face to face meetings with Frontier Techs and Reps. Still Nothing...........

I feel it is a great shame for anyone coming into frontier and being mislead by Sales Reps with no knowledge of the product for a particular location, then lying, locking someone into a long term contract, and then on top of it all not letting them get out of it without a penalty. In my case I knew on day one the speeds were not what I was promised and signed up for, and complained about it for the get go, but still no improvement in speed. Many Many phone calls from several neighbors, some who have access to other services and have left, others who are stuck have done nothing to change the situation.

Frontier Damn well knows there is a problem with congestion especially from 4 to 11 pm, and as I have been told by someone in a higher position has absolutely NO intention of fixing it!!! I will quote them "At this time there is no money allocated in the budget for upgrading of that area"....how outrageous!

Now I understand that just because I call and complain no one needs to jump out of their chair and run new lines to my area, or change backhauls or whatever. However when I was sold and promised 12mbps down, and barely get one on any given night I would think that someone would find this unacceptable, but I guess my neighbors and I are just simply not worth the urgency of fixing it.

So in the end I will more than likely be cancelling frontier, I refuse to pay for a service that I can barely access my email sometimes. I guess I could consider moving my family to an area that is up to date or Pay for a satellite service, only to find that because of Netflix, or Hulu, or Amazon prime, I now need to buy extra time because I felt like streaming a few movies, you know like the rest of the modern world!

So in closing I would like to thank all in this arena who have helped me in trying to overcome what apparently cannot be overcome, because we are obviously just not worth the upgrade to Frontier.
I am very thankful for all your direction, but in the end it was all for not.

Thanks Again for everything,.....Rant OFF

P.S. Before anyone rants on me, please take a moment to read thru the thread!

Mr. BubbaHyde

Bubba:

Considering what shitty service you've constantly had, I hope you haven't been paying for it. What has come out of the Franchise Agreement with Comcast?

Well I received a credit for 1 month of service a month ago, I have since let the acct go to the shutoff limit in protest, Unfortunately I must keep it going as My Cell phone is tied to the DSL via an AT&T Mcell tower. That's why I have a second connect, so that line doesn't interfere with the main one.

I have heard nothing from my local township in regards to the Franchise agreement, there is a monthly meeting in a week or so, I will have to attend.

If i could only get Bonded, I could get by with a 6Meg or so connection, but I keep getting told there is no way.

This is an Old EPIX area, or CTCO, Frontier took it over, and as far as I know never did anything to address the further out rural areas.

Again if I knew this was the level of service from the beginning, I may have gone to a combo with satellite and Frontier, I already pay them over 100.00 a month for this so, it could have been possible to split service.

If, I only knew

I'm from Shavertown aswell, but fortunately for me I live in an area where cable is available. My friend on the other hand who also lives here has frontier and he has been dealing with very similar issues as you for the past few months. We are both frequent gamers and it has gotten so bad at times that he can barely hold a skype call. When he first signed up(which was when the lines were owned by epix) he was getting a solid 6Mbps download at all times, but over the years it has slowly deteriorated down to what it is now. That being said I think that frontier majorly oversold the CO/RT and because they have a monopoly over certain sections of this area they can continue to get away with it. He has called support numerous times and their solution seems to be to drop a new router/Modem off on his door step(I think he has like 5 now) then claim the lines are fine and there's nothing els that can be done. His current contract ends in about two months and he has desperately been trying to find another alternative for internet, but thus far has had no luck. Hopefully more people in the area realize how bad they are being ripped off and put some pressure on frontier. Anyways I just wanted to let you know that your not alone and wish you goodluck with getting it fixed.

Thanks for the support! Monthly Supervisor meeting postponed so, in a holding pattern waiting on a call back.

Just so Sad I have to keep fighting for a internet connection, that can handle the most common things on the net today, like Gaming, Streaming services, Feel like I'm back on Dialup waiting for the Hi Speed to be brought to my town! lol