Welcome to the Product Spotlight -- a continuing series of articles highlighting individual products commonly used by our members.

In The Spotlight: Cablevision Optimum Online broadband service
Previously:
·Verizon FiOS spotlight
·HughesNet satellite spotlight

Most in Cablevision's service area (metro New York) know of the Dolan family's battle to take the cableco private, an endeavor in which the Dolans recently succeeded with a bid of $10.6 billion. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the buyout relating to Optimum Online is summarized in this article:

"The Dolans’ unwavering desire to take Cablevision private is predicated on their belief that the hard years of investment in system upgrades for new digital services and high-speed Internet access are over. Therefore, despite increased competition from phone companies and the broadband services on the TV front, the Dolans expect the company to generate significantly greater cash flow amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars annually."

So, are the Dolans correct? Is Optimum Online really complete and ready to compete?

When the service is good, its very good. »Boost with a little extra speed. Anybody else?

To receive Optimum Online broadband service, you must be within Cablevision's service area, which covers most, but not all, of the NY Metro Area (includes NY, CT, NJ, and PA). They do not offer service maps; instead, you enter your zip code and hope.

Professional installation is available, and though Optimum Online's website only states that you must call for pricing, it appears installation will run you $46.95. Many reviews state that installations go quickly and easily, even with double and triple play installations. However, there are a number of reviews that tell of some less than stellar installs.

When its bad, its very bad. »My connection spikes at random times in the day during games

You can also opt for a a self-install. The self-install kit includes set-up software, a modem, cable wire, splitter and installation instructions. Those that have chosen this route usually find the self-installation relatively easy to manage.

Time from ordering service to going live seems to average about 3 to 5 days, with some reports of service in as soon as one day and as long as 14 to 25 days.

Optimum Online does not require a contract, and they offer a 30-day money back guarantee, provided you return all equipment to an Optimum Store or by mail postmarked by the 30th day from purchase for a refund.


Optimum Online (or "OOL") offers 15Mbps download and 2Mbps upload. The service costs anywhere from $44.95 to $49.95, depending on the bundle chosen, with the largest savings coming from ordering Voice, Interactive TV and broadband all in one.

Additionally, you may purchase Optimum Online BOOST, which ups your speed to 30Mbps download and 5Mbps upload and gives you some extra services such as website building tools and hosting for your site (1GB of space), the ability to host your own web or e-mail server (DDNS, Port 80 & Port 25), send bigger attachments (up to 100MB per email) and domain name registration.

BOOST service costs an extra $9.95/month ONLY IF you already have Optimum Online and Optimum Voice service. For new and existing Optimum Online customers without Optimum Voice, the cost is an extra $14.95/month. BOOST service is not yet available in all areas.

Optimum Online notes that modems connected via USB will not reach BOOST speeds, and they recommend connecting through your Ethernet port for best results.

Since upping their speeds to 15/2 and adding the BOOST service, certain brands and some older modems are now incompatible with the service. You can check out this list[faq] in our Optimum Online FAQ for compatible and incompatible modems.

If you happen to have an older or incompatible modem, you may go to your nearest Optimum Store and exchange it[faq] for a newer, compatible one for free. The Motorola SBV5120 (pictured on the left) seems to be frequently mentioned as a good modem.

You may also want to check out this entry[faq] for a list of routers that are compatible with the new 15/2 speeds and BOOST service.

Optimum Online is currently running several promotions through the end of the month. Triple Play is available for $29.95 for each service (Internet, voice, TV) for 1 year. Optimum Online service is available for $29.95 for the first 6 months. You can get one month's BOOST service free if you order over the web.

Optimum Online also offers a small business class service "for smaller businesses requiring high-speed Internet access for four or fewer users" which looks to be almost exactly the same as OOL's residential service. The regular speed is 15/2, and BOOST is also available. The prices are also the same as residential: $49.95 for regular speed, $64.90 with BOOST service (prices are for new subscribers). Unlike the Optimum Online webpage for residential service, the page for OOL's small business service actually shows the price of professional installation at $46.95.

Although not mentioned on the page, according to this discussion[forum post] in our Optimum Online Forum, a static IP is now available to business customers who use Optimum Online for Business with BOOST added.

Optimum Online also offers Optimum Lightpath, an enterprise level service. You can check out the different solutions and pricing at the Lightpath website.

The cap is secret and what triggers it is not the same for all. The capping bot appears to use an algorithm based on how over-sold the node is, the amount one uploads, the time one uploads and the number of connections one is uploading to. »Re: Capping Discussion Here Only - Part 7

One of the biggest issues our members and reviewers have with OOL are the "secret" upload caps. That there are caps is not really a mystery at all. There has been a running discussion[forum post] in our Optimum Online Forum about OOL's penchant for throttling and capping its service since 2002[forum post]!

OOL apparently refuses to say just what the caps are and how they work[faq]. At this time, it appears that only the regular 15/2 service is subject to these "secret" caps, while BOOST service is not capped. Many reviews also mention the not-so-secret caps. A typical comment:

"They have a SECRET cap that is imposed for unexplained reasons that appear to vary from node to node. If you violate this secret capping limit, you ARE capped; they do NOT inform you that you are capped unless you discover it yourself. Then they read you the riot act and make you jump through hoops, and then they remove the cap. Not the kind of company I want to keep dealing with, but right now I have no choice."

Overloaded or oversold nodes[faq] (a typical cable node is pictured on the left) are not uncommon in cable broadband. Optimum Online is no different than most ISPs in this regard[faq]. The result is the end user will see a sometimes significant drop in speeds throughout the day and evening when many users are online. An extremely interesting and enlightening insight on OOL's perspective on capping and overloaded nodes comes from a review left by a person claiming to be an OOL tech:

OOL does not 'Cap' your modem. They throttle. Why do they throttle? Because like it or not, it is a shared Broadband network. What you do affects your neighbor. Do I think that the standards are a little high? Maybe, but I understand the logic behind it. Why do you think they make you agree to a terms of service? Another thing, Cablevision DOES NOT throttle download. I'm telling you this with honesty. If you need to cry about being throttled for uploading, then keep writing these forums."



Although Optimum Online's ToS is fairly standard for the industry, there are a few things worth pointing out.

If you choose OOL's regular 15/2 service, there are restrictions that are not placed on those who use the BOOST service. For example, customers using the 15/2 service are not allowed to run servers of any kind. If you do so, the OOL "secret cap" will kick in, and you will find your upload drastically reduced (download, as far as anyone can tell, is not capped on either service tier). OOL will also apply the upload caps if they deem your uploading activity excessive[review]. A good explanation of how not to violate OOL's restrictive ToS and get capped or have your service terminated can be found in our FAQ here.[faq]

Optimum Online does block some ports. According to our FAQ, "Incoming Ports 25, 80, 135 through 139, 1080 and 8080 are currently blocked. Some OOL users claim that there are others, but it has not been 'proven' over the entire OOL network."

Despite advertising up to 15/2 for regular service and 30/5 with BOOST service, Optimum Online guarantees only 2MB download in their contract[forum post]. If you are receiving at least the guaranteed speeds and customer service or a field tech deems your signal and connection acceptable and that the node is OK (even if it is overloaded), OOL will not take further action.

You may also have your service either temporarily suspended or terminated, at OOL's discretion, for any offense against the ToS or Acceptable Use Policy.


The opinions on OOL's tech support and 24/7 customer service vary widely. There are a number that pan[review] OOL's CS and a good many that report satisfactory service review. As with many services, it looks as if your CS and tech support experience depends on who you get on the phone or in the field.

If you are an OOL customer who has had bad luck with tech support, an excellent way to expedite your tech support experience and receive quick and direct help from Optimum Online techs is to post your questions and problems in our Optimum Direct Forum, a secure area for member-to-tech communication. The Optimum Online techs who voluntarily frequent the forum are some of the best. Many of our members have had frustrating issues quickly resolved, receiving the help they needed but were unable to get through official channels.


Optimum Online's biggest fault when compared to a service like FiOS is reliability. While a wide majority of FiOS customers point to extremely consistent speeds and service[review], Optimum Online customers speak of wildly varying speeds[review], slowdowns and far less than advertised performance due to various circumstances[forum post] -- especially with OOL's regular service, but even with the new BOOST service.

So, does the Dolan family's claim that Optimum Online's network is ready as-is to take on the ever increasing competition from telcos and fiber such as Verizon and its FiOS service hold any water? At the moment, with the recent increase in speed and introduction of the BOOST service, the cableco is holding its own. Based on our members reviews, the provider is graded as the second best cable ISP in the US and fourth best overall for cable ISP's, garnering a Silver Star Award for performance.

Optimum Online's advertised speed packages are comparable to Verizon's FiOS speeds as they are advertised on Verizon's FiOS website, and they seem to be a better deal price-wise[review] in some cases.

Although Verizon does offer a lower speed tier (5Mbps down/2Mbps up), it costs $47.99 month-to-month. Optimum Online's regular service and Verizon's middle tier boast the same speeds, 15Mbps down/2Mbps up. However, OOL beats Verizons month-to-month price: $57.99 for Verizon and $49.95 for OOL. Optimum Online's BOOST and Verizon's highest tier also boast the same speeds, 30Mbps down/5Mbps up, but again, OOL's month-to-month price bests Verizon's: $64.90 vs. $199.95. Verizon's prices do go down a bit, but only if you sign a one-year contract -- something that is not required with Optimum Online.

Perhaps Verizon realized the situation; earlier this year, Verizon upgraded its packages to 10Mbps/2Mbps, 20Mbps/5Mbps and 50Mbps/5Mbps in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and several other states. However, according to a bit of interesting info just noticed on an OOL service order by an alert member of our Optimum Online Forum[forum post], Optimum Online may be getting ready to answer this by upgrading their regular tier from 15/2 to 15/5.


As it is advertised, Optimum Online does, in fact, offer very good speed packages at comparatively decent prices. The majority of Optimum Online's customers are happy with the service in general (and the new speeds), with about an 80% satisfaction rate over the past three years according to our stats (pictured on left). And, as of now, Optimum Online is much more accessible than Verizon's mighty FiOS in Cablevision's service area.

However, this track record is offset by Optimum Online's strict enforcement of its ToS and AUP, its ridiculous use of not-so-secret "secret caps" on unsuspecting legit users of its services, only having 2Mbps of guaranteed speed out of a possible 15Mbps or 30Mbps and sometimes unreliable service due to overloaded/oversold nodes and other circumstances.

The bottom line comes down to the reliability and consistency issue. If you are receiving Optimum Online's service as it is advertised, it is an excellent deal and well worth the money. If you are unlucky enough to be in one of the various problem areas (ie. overloaded node) and only receive 1/5 or less the speed you are paying for, you're in for a frustrating experience.


Our Resources:
· Optimum Online FAQ
· Optimum Online Users Forum
· Optimum Online Recent Reviews
· Optimum Online Direct Tech Support Forum
. BBR Provider Ratings Chart
Other Resources
· Optimum Online Home Page