Suddenlink → Moving to Suddenlink Area, Questions.

I will be moving to a Suddenlink area (Jonesboro, AR 72404) at the end of the month and have a few questions. I've talked to two sales reps with Suddenlink, and it was hit or miss. One was extremely helpful and knowledgeable, the other not so much. So thought it would be better to get information from actual customers to compare-

1. Are static IPs available on Residential plans? If so, how much extra should I expect?

2. The highest plan they offer is 100mb x 7.5mb. That upload is a bit on the low side compared to what I have now (40x40), is there any chance they'll increase that or offer a faster upload plan in the future? How likely is Suddenlink to push out upgrades? or should I not expect any changes/improvements for awhile?

3. Does Suddenlink generally oversell nodes/backhaul? Or should I expect to receive fairly consistent speeds? This question is probably area dependent.

4. I know Suddenlink has data caps; while I think that's a rip off - I don't expect it to be that big of an issue (I currently average around 200GB/month). But my question is: what is the data cap for 100mb service? 250GB or 350GB? I've found conflicting information on this.

5. I will be buying my own modem and already have a router(Asus RT-AC68U). Does anyone know if the Jonesboro area is 8 or 16 down channels? Don't really want to spend the extra on a SB6183 if a SB6141 will be enough (other 8 channels not in use).

6. Does Suddenlink block any ports on residential accounts?

I work in IT for a living, and internet is one of my top priorities when moving... I won't be hosting servers, but I do remote alot both via RDP and VPN connections to servers across the country (the need for the static IP). I also do tend to have days where I push 20GB in upload (I generally run about 120GB down, 80GB up per month) but that is all over SFTP/FTP, RDP, and basic HTTP. I don't use torrents or P2P file sharing whatsoever (haven't in years, other then the occasional Linux update).

Just trying to figure out what my options are.

Thanks!

"1. Are static IPs available on Residential plans? If so, how much extra should I expect?"
Answer: No.

"2. The highest plan they offer is 100mb x 7.5mb. That upload is a bit on the low side compared to what I have now (40x40), is there any chance they'll increase that or offer a faster upload plan in the future? How likely is Suddenlink to push out upgrades? or should I not expect any changes/improvements for awhile?"

Suddenlink Speeds are usually in 4 tiers in each market.
In my Market they just upgraded the speeds.
50/5 $39
75/7.5 $49
100/7.5 $59
150/7.5 $79

"3. Does Suddenlink generally oversell nodes/backhaul? Or should I expect to receive fairly consistent speeds? This question is probably area dependent."

Never had issues with node being overloaded in my area, Though I suspect low data caps keep everybody off the network.

"4. I know Suddenlink has data caps; while I think that's a rip off - I don't expect it to be that big of an issue (I currently average around 200GB/month). But my question is: what is the data cap for 100mb service? 250GB or 350GB? I've found conflicting information on this."

In my market the data caps are as follows.
50/5 250GB
75/7.5 350GB
100/7.5 450GB
150/7.5 550GB

Data is $10 per 75GB if you purchase ahead of time other wise its $10 per 50GB. I did some Linux ISO downloads and that coupled with Netflix I hit 220GB in 14 days. This was on the 50MB package. I don't need anything faster.

"5. I will be buying my own modem and already have a router(Asus RT-AC68U). Does anyone know if the Jonesboro area is 8 or 16 down channels? Don't really want to spend the extra on a SB6183 if a SB6141 will be enough (other 8 channels not in use)."

That is unknown. Really depends on the speeds that you plan to subscribe to. I had a SB6121 and it struggled with the 100MB plan. I purchased a SB6183 and it worked better.

"6. Does Suddenlink block any ports on residential accounts?"

Port 25 Standard is blocked. (E-Mail server relay)

"I work in IT for a living, and internet is one of my top priorities when moving... I won't be hosting servers, but I do remote alot both via RDP and VPN connections to servers across the country (the need for the static IP). I also do tend to have days where I push 20GB in upload (I generally run about 120GB down, 80GB up per month) but that is all over SFTP/FTP, RDP, and basic HTTP. I don't use torrents or P2P file sharing whatsoever (haven't in years, other then the occasional Linux update).

Just trying to figure out what my options are.

Thanks! "

I work in IT also, Welcome to the forum.

Forgot to add, I left Suddenlink over the low caps. If you have a DSL provider in the area or a 3rd provider in the area that is unlimited take it.
250GB on a 50MB package is outrageous.

Thanks for the reply...

I just jumped in a sales chat to ask directly, and got completely different answers again.

This time, 100mbps is not available and max is 50x3 for $59/month. Another house, only about a mile away, qualifies for 100x7.5 though...

Here is what she stated is available:

15mbps download speed and 1.5mbps upload speed $39 a month (250gb of monthly usage allowance)
30mbps download speed and 2mbps upload speed $49 a month (250gb of monthly usage allowance)
50mbps download speed and 3mbps upload speed $59 a month (350gb of monthly usage allowance)

Funny thing is the website shows 100x7.5 is available for $79/month, but doesn't mention a 30mb package. Sales rep on the phone also skipped over the 30mbps package and said it was 15, 50, and 100.

That is what I had available before May. 50MB was the fastest offered. When the upgrades came they added the 4th package and the 15MB package became the 50MB Package, the 30MB became the 75MB Package, and the 50MB Package became the 100MB Package.

What you describe sounds like you could be on a different node, and it's not yet upgraded to support 100mbit.

Total speculation on my part.

From what I know, the only way to get a static IP is to get a business plan. The have separate
»www.suddenlinkbusiness.c ··· business

I am not sure how up-to-date this system is, - but you can try to check the plans for your new address here:
»www.suddenlink.com/
As other people indicated, there are areas that are upgraded (and some are upgraded twice in the past year), and some un-upgraded areas.

One advice: when you'll be signing up for the service, keep a log of all the calls to SL, with the names of people you spoke with. At least you would be able to have and reference information who misinformed you. And when shove comes to push, - you can talk to the CSR managers and they might be able to check recordings of those conversations.

Their systems have been doing some crazy stupid things lately. One of the more fun is taking your area (aparently in the sales system) and showing it as un-upgraded. Fun stuff.

Like addressed, static IPs are for business/commercial accounts. These have no caps currently and actually offer slightly more upload speed, but cost a bit more and come with a contract term.

They won't kick you for varying heavy usages, that's more aimed at non-stop saturation of residential accounts. What they WILL do though is happily tack on overages.

SL residential blocks a few of the common server ports while business/commercial only blocks 1 port that the DHS suggests is a common threat (225 or something like that).

Read this also.
»www.suddenlinkfyi.com/to ··· netinfo/

It sounds like you're a "power user" if you're wanting statics and are seriously concerned about the cap. I'm in the same boat. Try for the business plan... faster upload and you don't have to worry about caps. Worth a few extra bucks.