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Windstream Tries to Make Slow DSL Sexy by Calling it 'Merge'
Free Roku Box, Six Months of Hulu Plus

What's a cash-strapped phone company to do when you're unable to provide a quality, next-generation broadband or IPTV product to most of your footprint? Why a marketing campaign that pretends you offer a next-generation product, of course. Taking a page from the Comcast Xfinity playbook (sans serious network upgrade), Windstream Communications has decided to rebrand their DSL services under the product name Merge.

While they're calling it a "new high-speed Internet and streaming entertainment service," Merge simply takes the company's existing slow DSL (in 3, 6 and 12 Mbps flavors), and bundles it with unlimited phone, a free Roku streaming box, and six free months of Hulu Plus. Prices for this bundle start at 62.99 for six months, not including the usual assortment of surcharges and a $75 activation fee.

Click for full size
"We created Merge to give our customers access to something better: what we call the ‘entertainment superhighway," says a Windstream marketing executive. You'll notice (or more likely, you won't) Windstream goes out of their way at the Merge website, in the press release and throughout the order process to avoid mentioning at exactly what speed you'll be travelling this superhighway at, largely because most of Winstream's customers are lucky to get 3-6 Mbps.

Windstream hiked most DSL prices in January, and our user reviews for Windstream service aren't anything to write home about. Users consistently complain of slower-than-advertised speeds, or connections that slow down during peak usage hours -- things that a brand refresh aren't going to help. The name is a curious choice as well, bringing to mind gridlock (like the George Washington Bridge at 4:30 PM) long before it brings to mind cutting edge speed.

We've talked a lot lately how more rural-focused telcos (Windstream, CenturyLink, Frontier, Fairpoint) are in a very tough spot. Lacking the funds or will to seriously upgrade their networks means most of their users are on pathetically slow (by 2011 standards) DSL lines often barely capable of 3 Mbps downstream. The result has been that cable operators are eating DSL's lunch, as users flock to faster speeds provided by relatively inexpensive DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades. The only reason many of these companies even remain alive is thanks to the monopoly presence they enjoy in many rural markets.
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DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

1 edit

DataRiker

Premium Member

Festering Toilet

Their price of 70+ dollars a month is ridiculous and reeks of a festering crap filled monopoly toilet.

And how do any of these rural Teleco's lack money isn't USF still alive?
25139889 (banned)
join:2011-10-25
Toledo, OH

25139889 (banned)

Member

Re: Festering Toilet

that $70 activation fee could be to pay for that Ruku box after all someone has to pay for it. And they'd still have customers regardless of USF due to no other real options.

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

2 edits

DataRiker

Premium Member

Re: Festering Toilet

said by 25139889:

. And they'd still have customers regardless of USF due to no other real options.

While I appreciate your obligatory corporate defense, I do ask that it at least makes sense.

Also I was more referring to the monthly cost of service, I edited my post to make that more clear.
25139889 (banned)
join:2011-10-25
Toledo, OH

25139889 (banned)

Member

Re: Festering Toilet

i'm not defending them. I don't know why you always claim that. Unless you're a fan open everything up like our All Mighty Blogger on here.

Anyway- they'd still be alive without the USF. Customers will always have a landline phone until they're taken away when living out in the country. So regardless on how much the prices are- they'll always pay. Even people on here admit they only keep a landline is due to the fact of it always having power.

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

DataRiker

Premium Member

Re: Festering Toilet

said by 25139889:

Anyway- they'd still be alive without the USF. Customers will always have a landline phone until they're taken away when living out in the country. So regardless on how much the prices are- they'll always pay. Even people on here admit they only keep a landline is due to the fact of it always having power.

I'm still trying to figure out why this is a response to my post that's all.

USF in theory paid for most of the rural build out. Now its just a universal slush fund.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt to DataRiker

Premium Member

to DataRiker
You do understand that USF only covers voice services, and only that portion considered high cost?

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

2 edits

DataRiker

Premium Member

Re: Festering Toilet

Think real hard about how DSL travels.

Think extra special hard this time. Please for me, just once.
25139889 (banned)
join:2011-10-25
Toledo, OH

25139889 (banned) to tshirt

Member

to tshirt
i know that. That's why I said rural phone companies will ALWAYS be around, even without the USF.

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

2 edits

DataRiker

Premium Member

Re: Festering Toilet

said by 25139889:

That's why I said rural phone companies will ALWAYS be around, even without the USF.

Yes and I agree, so what?

Are you trying to say USF is no big deal?

Essentially we have a company who's DSL build out was largely funded on the back of USF voice build out. Yet this company is still low on cash to invest in their network.

USF is like giving a crack addict welfare. Yea some crumb money left over MIGHT make its way towards food one day. Maybe.

The vast majority goes towards crack, or in this case "upper Management"
mogamer
join:2011-04-20
Royal Oak, MI

mogamer to tshirt

Member

to tshirt
said by tshirt:

You do understand that USF only covers voice services, and only that portion considered high cost?

So they don't have any of their own money to invest? I would think that if landlines get some sort of subsidy, that there would be some of their own money left to invest into internet. Or is it ok not to invest in a system most of your customers can't leave?

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

2 edits

tshirt

Premium Member

because they could give you USF compliant ,,,some typo's matter voice over old lines that can barely handle 9600 on an analog modem with no chance of any xDSL . the cost of fiber and RT's close enough, and improvements to the copper to get DSL to the "sticks" is high and would come from the little/local telco's shallow pockets...if they could afford it.
even the big boys, with the cash flow to cover it and the large territories to average the cost are having a hard time justifying it.
the economics of build outs/upgrades in low desity areas are not favorable
macdude22
join:2005-09-08
IA

macdude22 to DataRiker

Member

to DataRiker
Maybe Windstream wouldn't lack for money if they didn't spend it all buying Iowa Telecom and then lowering the available service from 15 Meg to 12 Meg.

kpfx
join:2005-10-28
San Antonio, TX

1 edit

kpfx

Member

Re: Festering Toilet

No joke!

Then again, I guess when you receive over $250 Million in federal and state USF money to take care of your network overhead.... you don't need to invest in upgrades to more efficient fiber technologies (it just keeps printing that good 'ol USF money)! (source at bottom of post).

So I would not call Windstream cash-strapped. They obviously have plenty of money burning a hole in their pocket if they keep on this acquisition spree they've been on.

So far they've acquired:

- PAETEC ($ 2.3 Billion)
- Kentucky Data Link / Norlight ($ 818 Mil)
- Hosted Solutions ($ 310 Mil)
- Iowa Telecom ($ 1.2 Billion)
- NuVox ($ 647 Mil)
- Lexcom ($ 141 Mil)
- D&E Communications ($ 333 Mil)
- CT Communications ($ 585 Mil)

»www.wikinvest.com/stock/ ··· F3401831
»news.windstream.com/news ··· mergers/

IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

IowaMan to macdude22

Premium Member

to macdude22
Yeah that is bad, When I had Windstream for 6 months I had the 12Mb and while I saw 12.83 Mbps the upload was lacking and the ping was never below 20 MS

Now I see this

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

DataRiker

Premium Member

Re: Festering Toilet

12 mbit/s is excellent speed for DSL. Upload is not bad either.

OldCableGuy
@communications.net

OldCableGuy

Anon

Re: Festering Toilet

FYI Guys DataRiker is a known troll in the Mediacom forum, so take that in to account when replying. You are feeding the troll.

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

DataRiker

Premium Member

Re: Festering Toilet

said by OldCableGuy :

FYI Guys DataRiker is a known troll in the Mediacom forum, so take that in to account when replying. You are feeding the troll.

Did I hurt your corporate shill feelings?

I'm sure your more than happy to tell us why we should love shitty service. Oh and be happy to pay more for it too!
Fast Turtle
join:2008-02-19

Fast Turtle to IowaMan

Member

to IowaMan
Hell those are pretty decent figures, especially the ping time. I'm on TW Cable and my ping times are now avg over 100ms. I'd be happy to just go back to my basic speed package of 512/256 as my pings were in the 30ms on avg.

AuraReturn
Premium Member
join:2003-08-18
USA

AuraReturn to IowaMan

Premium Member

to IowaMan
said by IowaMan:

Yeah that is bad, When I had Windstream for 6 months I had the 12Mb and while I saw 12.83 Mbps the upload was lacking and the ping was never below 20 MS

Now I see this

That's pretty damn good and much better than what I get with my AT&T DSL in the "high-tech" San Francisco.

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

DataRiker

Premium Member

Re: Festering Toilet

That's what I was saying.

It seems he won the DSL lottery with his line.
AZinOH
join:2007-04-25
Swanton, OH

AZinOH to DataRiker

Member

to DataRiker
My 6 MB service has been pretty stable and support when needed has been good. When the next price hike comes around, I'll be benefiting from the $65 price-for-life for bundled internet and phone. My only alternative would be Time Warner which costs more.
I could have 12 if I wanted it but I don't right now. I have no complaints.






Thaler
Premium Member
join:2004-02-02
Los Angeles, CA

1 recommendation

Thaler to DataRiker

Premium Member

to DataRiker
No kidding. $60+/month for 3 mbps? They need to bundle that with some lube.

coldmoon
Premium Member
join:2002-02-04
Fulton, NY

coldmoon

Premium Member

MMMM - lunch...

quote:
...The result has been that cable operators are eating DSL's lunch,...
With the service quality I get with WS, I would gladly serve up lunch AND dinner for a cable and/or FTTH competitor to come into our neck of the woods; even with caps...
Ripperjack
join:2012-01-12
Fredericksburg, TX

Ripperjack

Member

Re: MMMM - lunch...

Same here. I can't get ANYTHING wired, I have to subsist on a crappy 3G MiFi connection, on the dodgy Sprint network. I'd give TWC my left nut, if they would lay cable in my street.
wheelbarrow
join:2010-01-06
USA

wheelbarrow

Member

!News for Windstream!

Slow DSL isn't sexy.

If they want to rebrand so badly, they should rename the company to Sh*tstream.
AndyDufresne
Premium Member
join:2010-10-30
Chanhassen, MN

AndyDufresne

Premium Member

All I have to say.

»Re: [Troubles] back like flaming case of hemorrhoids

Good luck trying to Merge at primetime.

RadActvLbstr
join:2009-06-19
Flinton, PA

RadActvLbstr

Member

Some times living in the woods sucks

I really, really, really wish Windstream wasn't my only option. One of the cons of living in a rural area

I'd rather deal with a cable service and data caps than Windstreams shitty DSL and unlimited data (they don't have to limit it, it's never fast enough for you to download anything)
AndyDufresne
Premium Member
join:2010-10-30
Chanhassen, MN
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter ERPro8
Netgear R7000

AndyDufresne

Premium Member

Re: Some times living in the woods sucks

I just wish the provided what the advertise at primetime. Look at WS forums, almost all complaints are for their performance during that late afternoon-evening time frame. There service crumbles during the time that most folks want to actually use the service.

See »Windstream bottom of the barrel- no surprise

FCC report pretty much nails them for underperforming most of the time.
Ripperjack
join:2012-01-12
Fredericksburg, TX

Ripperjack

Member

Merge? More like PURGE?

What a strange name, unless they are talking about merging network congestion onto a single connection for all users to share.

iamwhatiam
@verizon.net

iamwhatiam

Anon

"Slow" would be fine

if it weren't also over-priced.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

my word

feces broadband!

don't get me started on that I call at&t!
daveburstein
join:2011-04-07
New York, NY

daveburstein

Member

Even more confusing

In Marcellus New York, I found a different set of prices.

PC Protect High-Speed Internet 3Mbps
$52.99
Buy Now

PC Protect High-Speed Internet 6Mbps
$54.99
BuyNow

2x faster
PC Protect High-Speed Internet 12Mbps
$57.99

But couldn't find any listing of prices just for DSL.
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

Qwest

Qwest -- > now CenturyLink also has most of its footprint not upgraded.

But the business I work for in my area where Qwest was ILEC. AT&T serves my workplace with 15x15 symmetric connection and it's in a small town. Actually the AT&T division that serves us is AT&T global services or worldnet. I wonder how they got connected but it's unlikely last mile delivery is provided by AT&T? And the physical connection must be bonded copper T1s.

The Limit
Premium Member
join:2007-09-25
Denver, CO

The Limit

Premium Member

What's worse...

Is that this stupid rebranding is going to cost the company millions of dollars. Which won't be spent upgrading infrastructure, specifically infrastructure in my city and cities like mine that need upgrades to handle capacity, not to increase speed tiers.

This company is pathetic. I reported them THREE times to BBB, in order to force their hand at adding additional capacity to our CO. The Windstream forum and direct forum is full of people complaining about peak congestion, and absolutely nothing is being done.
sethf
join:2008-08-29
Danielsville, GA

sethf

Member

Putting lipstick on a pig

Windstream has invested exactly $0 in my area in improving infrastructure since 2004. I rarely get my full 3mbps (which is the fastest i can get) during peak times and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. This company is so frustrating.
Core0000
Premium Member
join:2008-05-04
Somerset, KY

Core0000

Premium Member

Irony abound.

It's like one of the other posters said, if Windstream had quit buying other companies out and actually invested in their own network...(Unless this is some long term plan.. but in this day and age I doubt it)

This is the whole reason I switched from Windstream to Newwave communications (Cable company) That TWC bought out a short while after that V_V;;, is WindStream's quality went down hill. My connection went from stable the majority of the time, to shitty and slow, and as that other user posted a pic of his speed, he has that horrible ping as well. Which I like to game online so that makes a huge difference to me.

Of course now Newwave/TWC, here recently, I dunno why, their quality has went down.

Its so freaking annoying it really is.

I mean if your not going to upgrade your networks, not even going to have a plan in place where you can upgrade a few select connections for a reasonable amount (IE. fiber to the home Install plus reasonable monthly rate) at least, for the services you do offer, do a good job.

BlueArcher
Premium Member
join:2003-03-11
Lexington, KY

1 edit

BlueArcher

Premium Member

Let's be fair please

I am a Windstream customer, I have 12 Mbps service. It is very reliable. I do know I am not in the majority, but I do live in a large city and not a rural area, so that helps.

I see all these comments about Windstream not investing in network upgrades. Windstream was one of the largest recipients of broadband stimulus funds, and they are upgrading their network all over their foot print right now. They have already announced VDSL and bonded ADSL2+ service for many areas for both residential and business lines that will deliver 24/4, 24/2, and 10/2 service to customers. I know, it is no DOCSIS 3, but it is something. In several cities they are also doing FTTH in green field deployments. In my city alone at last check they had about 15 subdivisions with fiber to the home.

For a small telco, I think they are being as proactive as they can, and I for one support Windstream so far.

••••

Tester11
@epri.com

Tester11

Anon

Windstream cash-strapped?

Then how come they have an 8% dividend? Not sure if the writer knows this!

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: Windstream cash-strapped?

Cash strapped in terms of being able to afford FTTN or VDSL upgrades....

BlueArcher
Premium Member
join:2003-03-11
Lexington, KY

1 edit

BlueArcher

Premium Member

Re: Windstream cash-strapped?

Like I said above. Windstream has already deployed FTTH and VDSL into a lot of areas, and are deploying bonded ADSL2+ in areas where VDSL is not feasible. This has been going on for many many months. FTTH has been deployed in my city for over 4 years.

brislo
@usa-companies.net

brislo

Anon

Shooting themselves in the foot.

If they don't have the capacity to keep up now what is it going to be like when everyone is watching their free HULU on their free ROKU box?

Moose 274
@windstream.net

Moose 274

Anon

Windstream issues

Oh to be able to even get DSL thru Windstream. Windstream tells me that I can't get DSL because I'm over 1.25 miles from a fiber optic switch so I'm left with ADSL. Therefore my speed is Ping 35ms, Download 3.08Mbps and upload of 0.38Mbps. Still faster than sattelite. wondering if microwave would be any faster.
Yeah I'd still be stuck with Windstream in that they bought my local harline telephone service (Altel) in Lincoln. Now instead of having my net server in Lincoln, appx 20 miles away my server is in Plattsmouth ~50 miles away. Rural being really helped, stats don't prove it I'm slower than 77% of DSL customers and for a hefty price to boot!

PeteC2
Got Mouse?
MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT

PeteC2

MVM

Way too much whining

Keep in mind the reported cost of "Merge" includes phone service. My mom in CT has cable internet with cable phone service. Her basic cable internet is no faster than normal dsl, and her combined cost is not much different.

Now, obviously for those who want/need higher speeds, dsl is not a very good solution, but the vast majority of internet service customers would not know 3Mbps from 24Mbps.

Sad
@mycingular.net

Sad

Anon

Windstream at Home

I'm in that percentile I am in a rural area with no choice I live with the Latency ISSUE every day i pay my bill :-(!!!!! I use my air card from work instead.
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

elray

Member

Slow?

Only Karl could label 12Mbps "slow".

What our esteemed blogger fails to address, is the fact that many customers in rural areas aren't willing to pay for even 3Mbps service.

No one needs IPTV services.
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