Selected ISP Support > Windstream > Finally!

Finally!

Once back in 2006, when they turned up the DSLAM originally. But they had just just just bought the system from Alltel, so I suspect things weren't as screwed up in their company communications as they appear to be now. It took hours to apply, then only a couple days for the tech to hook my phone line through the pin and DSL at the house.
My new remotes are still sitting without power hooked. I know there is also new fiber to them as with my own eyes I saw them lay new fiber. I have no idea what is taking so long. I don't know here if they don't have the fiber hooked to anything at the far end? They put in so many new DSLAMs in my area, I suspect one thing that will slow them down is how many lines they are going to have to reroute. But the power meter isn't even the poles that feed them power, so they are no where close to anything yet. The fiber and DSLAMs were installed by contractors, leaving Windstream techs to hook them up.
I suspect it will take a year or two for them to actually use the new equipment. No wonder we all get so frustrated.
--
| Speedstream 4200 Modem - 3m/384 plan | W98-W2KSP4-XPSP2 - All AMD | Buffalo WHR G54S with Tomato 1.18 | 3 downstream switches feeding 6 total clients (no wireless) | Including the Data port on the side of my neck |

That sounds pretty much identical to our situation. They put in the fiber in Feb last year, put in new dslams in March, power meters were in the first of April. I noticed my attenuation halfed about 2 days ago, and the field tech confirmed it was turned up yesterday. As a side note, I also saw them run fiber to a cell tower about 5 miles outside of Windstream service area a few months back. Contractors run the fiber, installed the dslams, and apparently are also connecting them. I just hope it doesn't take another damn year to be able to get my speed turned up now.

reply to Cuzinshaggy
To be fair, they did not buy from Alltel... In 2005 Alltel spun off its wireline division in order to focus on wireless, and Verizon spun off the former GTE Southwest wireline assets into Valor Communications. Valor then acquired Alltel Wireline in 2006 and renamed the entire company Windstream.
--
user formerly known as 'bsc'

Not to be pedantic

reply to Piggie
In my area, contractors installed fiber and dslams back in may, we just got service turned up this past month. I was given the direct email and phone number to my local manager, I just kept asking for updates every month or so, and he would always respond with one, after they turned mine up, they cut us over to the new equipment almost immediately, have you tried getting in touch with your area manager or supervisor?

Blue, I don't think Alltel ever intended to stay in business, but what ever. They sold to Verizon wireless or something like that, and I didn't know Valor bought wireline from Verizon. I think the deal goes way back to a golf course. You filled in some interesting holes I didn't know!

I used to have the number of the Alltel supervisor, but no idea now. How does one even get their number?
--
| Speedstream 4200 Modem - 3m/384 plan | W98-W2KSP4-XPSP2 - All AMD | Buffalo WHR G54S with Tomato 1.18 | 3 downstream switches feeding 6 total clients (no wireless) | Including the Data port on the side of my neck |

One of the tech support people at WINCanHelp@windstream.net was giving me updates and contacted the area manager, I guess the manager said I could contact him directly instead and they gave me his number and email address. You might even try calling your local retail office and see if they will let you talk to him or ask them for his office number.

reply to Cuzinshaggy
Well so far.....I called last night and upgraded to 6, the girl said I'd have 6 by 7 today. I get home from work and still have .5 so I call to check on it. I am promised I would have 6 by 8 at the latest. 8 rolls around and still .5 so i call again. The girl tells me nothing is wrong on her end and patches me to tier 1 tech. The tech guy tells me he can't do anything because the business office is closed. Well if they're closed then who patched me to him? If it wasn't the business office, then how did the girl know nothing was wrong on her end? Every single dealing I have had with Windstream is just jacked up. Now I have good enough line stats and can't get upgraded. For goodness sake can't they at least give me the 1.5 I've been paying for till the 6 goes through? What gives?

Hope you get that sweet 6mb tomorrow. Keep us updated. They are finishing up with the work on my DSLAM in Campobello, SC as we speak with an estimated ETR for the end of this month. I hope we'll both be "out of the woods'" by mid April. Surprised the 12MB service isn't available with the upgraded hardware?

reply to Cuzinshaggy
Congrats on finally having some light at the end of that tunnel. Sadly I think SC and GA are the two worst states that Windstream serves.. as far as equipment goes. With FL and TX not far behind. After everything gets turned on you still may have a couple weeks of spotty service. At least this was the case for us. One thing always leads to another when making major network changes like this. Just hang in there and don't fully expect things to be 100% fixed on the date they turn it up. But I'm really happy people are starting to get some resolutions to these major problems.

Unless you have other options in Kershaw.. lol (cable or fiber of course)

reply to Cuzinshaggy
Well, looks like I got happy too soon. Now the story is that it's under review with no completion date. My neighbor already has his 6 upgrade and his phone line runs through my freaking front yard! How does mine need to be reviewed when both of ours come out the same box and I actually am closer to the box than he is? Like I said, his line actually goes through my front yard to get to his house! How do I know? My house was just built last year and they had to mark his phone line to get my water line run. It just doesn't make sense!

Get in touch with Windstream on here man. Most of the t1 techs haven't got a clue. Also, your line may be on another pair that takes a different course than your neighbors. My brother actually lives closer to the DSLAM than I do but his loop runs from our ped and is actually further down the line than we are.. We would actually have about a mile taken off our distance if the loops were ran directly down the road that serves our homes.

My neighbor is directly beside me opposite from the access box and dslam. We come out the same access box! Ours lines are almost side by side until they get to my house and mine comes to my house and his goes through my yard to his yard and house. Its crazy. I just don't understand what the deal is. My modem stats are 42 for attenuation and 33.5 for SNR. That should be 6 down all day long!

reply to Cuzinshaggy
After being told a different reason every time I called, I finally called my field tech Monday and got it turned on! I was treated like it was my pc, flat out given the runaround, and was even told it was due to a "latency outage" in my area. Each time I explained I was on a new dslam, and was pretty much treated like "this is our response so you must believe it". In my last conversation with the 1-800 people I was told that I had 6m since the 14th(which I clearly didnt). I can go on and on, but the problem was they had my pin in the old dslam turned up to 6......... Once I talked to someone not reading off a que card(the local tech) everything was resolved. Here's my recommendation to Windstream.........
Train your phone support! For god sakes, if they're going to be tech support, shouldn't they be able to help? On a side note, let them know that que card doesn't fix everything.
Quit with the false information! I'll bet that 9 out of 10 people here wouldn't be raising immortal hell if you would just be honest with them. I was told at one point my internet was slow because of a latency outage when it was clearly capped at 512. Even after I told them my line being capped at 512 was the reason, they still insisted I wasn't getting 6 because of a latency outage.

For now, I have 6mb down and it's working like a freaking champ! I hope it stays this way, but looking at the track record I kinda have my doubts. Hopefully I'll be wrong and this is the end to my ISP troubles! I'll post back here from time to time and let you guys know how it holds up!
Good luck to all of you that are just starting to see the upgrades appear. I hope you have less trouble than I did!

That's awesome man, glad you got that squared away. I just hope it stays that way for you.

I'm still waiting to hear about my upgrades scheduled to be completed by the end of March...not exactly looking terrific at the moment but I think they are somewhat close to finishing up. Hope I'm the next one up posting a "FINALLY" Thread, lol. Keep us updated man!

reply to Cuzinshaggy
cuzin, back in early 2010 I called in about where I worked that we were paying for 3m and getting 1.5m
They told me there was a speed issue and no one bar no one could speak to a supervisor or get any help until it's resolved for the whole area.
I told them no, I have been here at all hours and I have meters and no matter where I download, I am only getting 1.5M, that it's throttled at that speed or I would see a download start higher or the occasional spike above 1.5m but I never ever never have. I could not get past first base.
I talked to the local tech and they found I had been assigned to some special pin (I didn't understand this part). He said it was a commercial static IP that was locked at 1.5 in hardware but could be programmed so customer service saw it as set to 3m. I understand most of a dslam and I know the local guy, honest as the day is long in and out of Windstream. So I 110% believe what he told me. But it fixed it. Had it not been for him, we would have never even gotten a ticket open or tech show up. I been there dude. Pretty sorry way to run a CS dept!
--
| Speedstream 4200 Modem - 3m/384 plan | W98-W2KSP4-XPSP2 - All AMD | Buffalo WHR G54S with Tomato 1.18 | 3 downstream switches feeding 6 total clients (no wireless) | Including the Data port on the side of my neck |

Yeah it was over a year to get new equipment in my area but they finally did it. But only after emailing and texting the CEO for a few weeks. This is a Saturday peak time speedtest

Now I wonder if they get the new DSLAM working if they sell 6 m. 3 is fine but it barely runs Netflix. 6 will run and let one person surf pretty nicely, if it's really 6. I am afraid to upgrade, then pay more and still get barely over 3. Since no one else has 6 on my DSLAM there isn't anyone to ask. Or once everyone figures it out will it go to heck again? Sorry, despite having apparently fixed my problem, nearly 4 years makes a man or common pig skeptical of a company.

--
| Speedstream 4200 Modem - 3m/384 plan | W98-W2KSP4-XPSP2 - All AMD | Buffalo WHR G54S with Tomato 1.18 | 3 downstream switches feeding 6 total clients (no wireless) | Including the Data port on the side of my neck |