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Whyohwhy
@73.42.154.x

Whyohwhy

Anon

[Qwest] DSL service downgraded by CenturyLink

My sister has CenturyLink DSL. She signed up with them two years ago when the Comcast cable on her street became too unreliable (whole other story!). The fastest download service available was 7Mbps, so that is what she went with. It was fast enough for her light needs.

All was well until recently when she noticed web pages loading much slower than usual. I ran a bunch of speed tests for her at different times of day, all around 1 Mbps. I called CenturyLink.

It seems CenturyLink discontinued the 7 Mbps service without even notifying her. Why they did this, I have no idea. It isn't like she lives in the boonies, she is in the middle of fairly high density neighborhood.

It wouldn't be so bad if she (and everyone else on her street) had other options for broadband. To make it even more infuriating is constantly hearing the CenturyLink ads on TV how they are rolling out 1 Gbps speeds in some markets. Jeesh, she lives in the city and can't even get 7 Mbps!

Does this sort of thing go on all the time?
Whyohwhy

Whyohwhy

Anon

PS: On the CenturyLink website, they are still offering 7 Mbps tiered service at her address.

One other thing: When I called CenturyLink about the low speed, they suggested "CenturyLink Jetpack" (Verizon bundle). Great. Why not just restore her 7 Mbps line?
TheMayor
join:2002-05-09

TheMayor to Whyohwhy

Member

to Whyohwhy
Anyway you can get what model modem she's using & what the line stats the modem is reporting? (i.e SNR, Attenuation, Connection status speed, etc)

Last I checked 7 Mbps is still a speed that's offered.

Whyohwhy
@73.42.154.x

Whyohwhy

Anon

Yes, they are still advertising 7 Mbps at her address, but only 1.5 download is available now according to customer service.
Rainia
join:2014-07-28
Nathalie, VA

Rainia

Member

said by Whyohwhy :

Yes, they are still advertising 7 Mbps at her address, but only 1.5 download is available now according to customer service.

Usually this means they oversold and now have bandwidth exhaust in that area. Hence, they bumped people down to 1.5.

Whyohwhy
@73.42.154.x

Whyohwhy

Anon

I kinda suspected that was the case Rainia. So how about they come out and upgrade our street back to 7 Mbps? They are out there upgrading other locations nearby to 40 Mbps and my sis can't even keep her 7 Mbps. Good grief.

CenturyLink probably over-sold due to the Comcast cable being toasted as well.
Rainia
join:2014-07-28
Nathalie, VA

Rainia

Member

said by Whyohwhy :

I kinda suspected that was the case Rainia. So how about they come out and upgrade our street back to 7 Mbps?

you got me. best i can do is shrug. my area is "permanently bandwidth exhausted"

Whyohwhy
@73.42.154.x

Whyohwhy

Anon

There really outta be a law...

As much as i detest doing business with Comcast, I guess I should be thanking my lucky stars I don't have to rely on CenturyLink as my sister has to.

JT
@207.119.40.x

JT

Anon

Contact your own (State's attorney general's office) and file a complaint with them!

This will help prosecute bad company's that scam you within your own state.
gapmn
join:2013-11-10
Saint Paul, MN

gapmn to Whyohwhy

Member

to Whyohwhy
CL is a business offering consumers a product. If CL no longer offers you a product you like, you have to find the next best product you are willing to pay for or look for a product somewhere else. CL is in the Business to make money, plain and simple. If it does not make economical sense to supply a particular product anymore, they will quit selling it. There is no "law" that will keep a company in business if it forces a company to loose money. Only the government can stay open with a perpetual negative balance sheet (and that can only last so long).
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

brad152 to Whyohwhy

Member

to Whyohwhy
It's most likely cost prohibitive to run fiber out to where your sister lives (i'm assuming if Comcast doesnt even want to serve it, CenturyLink wont have much interest either)

Right now, the DSLAM is most likely fed off of T1 lines being bonded together. So they'll either need to increase those and that costs big $$$$ or run new fiber and that cost even more $$$$$$

I've lived in places like this, and i just decided to move somewhere it was cost effective to get the services i want. A huge yard with minimal neighbors is nice, but a fellow geek as myself needs connectivity so i'll deal with a slightly smaller yard and get what I want.
chevyowner
join:2013-07-04
Preston, ID

1 edit

chevyowner to Whyohwhy

Member

to Whyohwhy
Was the modem replaced around the time the service was downgraded?
I ask because I was told by centurylink when I got my current modem that if I had centurylink send a new modem my speed would be downgraded from 7mbps to 1.5mbps.

PS
It may have been 256k not 1.5mbps if they supplied the modem.

Whyohwhy
@97.113.197.x

Whyohwhy to brad152

Anon

to brad152
Sis does not need fiber, a plain ol' 7 Mbps DSL would get her by. Apparently that is too much to expect from CenturyLink.

As far as CenturyLink making a business decision: If CenturyLink cannot find a way to make money providing DSL service in a high-density area, and compete with Comcast, I really have to question their business model. I won't even get into their incredibly horrible customer service.

Comcast does have a cable here as required by their franchise agreement with the City. Unfortunately, there must be something wrong with the cable. Before everyone switched to DSL internet/satellite tv, there was a Comcast/Xfinity repair truck parked on the street almost every day. This went on for years and years. Really, the people on this street should take their case to the City and see if they can get any action there.
Whyohwhy

Whyohwhy to chevyowner

Anon

to chevyowner
chevyowner, same old modem she has used for the past two years when she first signed up.

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
·Charter

nunya to Whyohwhy

MVM

to Whyohwhy
I find it difficult to believe that the Comcast service is worse than CenturyTel. I guess every situation is unique. Ordinarily, cable blows DSL out of the water.
It's been a few years. Perhaps your sister should give Comcast a 30 day trial. If things work better during the trial period, tell CenturyTel to shove off.
gapmn
join:2013-11-10
Saint Paul, MN

gapmn to Whyohwhy

Member

to Whyohwhy
Brad152 was explaining that your sister's DSLAM is probably not fiber fed and is probably congested. Thus, that is probably why she was downgraded in speed.

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

DataRiker

Premium Member

As a technician I can tell you this is probably not the case.

What is far more likely is something is causing the SNR to take a nose dive and the customer was forced to a different profile. A half way decent tech would have troubleshot the issue instead of taking the nuclear option.

It could (and probably is) be something as simple as bad and or pulled on cross connect at the Xbox.
gapmn
join:2013-11-10
Saint Paul, MN

gapmn

Member

Yes, that is very possible. If they would post the line stats, it would help with trouble shooting their problem.
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

brad152 to Whyohwhy

Member

to Whyohwhy
Well if Comcast and CenturyLink are both "bad" on the street, then there is something wrong with the clientele there.

I do know parts of Phoenix that has just awful infrastructure from both Cox and CenturyLink, but those are parts that are old and are full of less than desirable customers (lots of unpaid disconnects, cord cutters, etc)

So either the neighborhood has awful customers, the node/DSLAM is simply congested and needs new fiber ran (i see this all the time back east on CenturyLink), or it's a bad pair (or an issue at the crossbox as mentioned before)

but since she was on a 7Mbps profile, i'm assuming it's an ex-Qwest area so it's most likely fiber-fed already so i'm going to lean more to a bad line pair or internal wiring issue.

Whyohwhy
@73.42.154.x

Whyohwhy

Anon

It is indeed an "ex-Quest" area. It is a decent enough neighborhood, but I sure wouldn't leave my door unlocked

Whatever the problem, I do not expect to see any resolution any time soon. Even CenturyLink suggested she sign up for wireless. Myself, I would take another gamble on Comcast (as I have done). A fast connection that mostly works most of the time is better than a slooooooow connection that sorta works most of the time.
jmiller
join:2013-06-25
Minneapolis, MN

jmiller to gapmn

Member

to gapmn
said by gapmn:

CL is a business offering consumers a product. If CL no longer offers you a product you like, you have to find the next best product you are willing to pay for or look for a product somewhere else. CL is in the Business to make money, plain and simple. If it does not make economical sense to supply a particular product anymore, they will quit selling it. There is no "law" that will keep a company in business if it forces a company to loose money. Only the government can stay open with a perpetual negative balance sheet (and that can only last so long).

As much as I dislike CL and dislike the idea of what happened to the OP, you are correct. A business like CL is not obligated to provide any level of broadband.