Any Major Channels not offered in HD?

[DLCPhoto]

I have Windstream for internet and I don't have any complaints. I'm able to get up to 12Mbps but most people in my town are only able to get 6Mbps. Here at work I believe we only have 3Mbps and it works just fine.

Doing a little more digging on Windstream's DSL delivery in general, and their reputation looks relatively bad (although, as with everything else, those with problems are going to be doing the posting, not those who are happy with the service). DSL Reports has many Windstream reviews, and very few are compliementary.

BBB's website has this to say about Windstream:

According to BBB files, Windstream Communications, Inc. has a pattern of consumer complaints alleging slow or inferior Internet speeds. Consumers typically allege that the Internet speeds provided by Windstream are slower than those advertised by the company and that attempts to resolve Internet speed issues directly with the company are unsuccessful.

Windstream has responded to some complaints stating that it cannot guarantee error-free, uninterrupted service and that service performance will vary based on factors such as computer member, age of the computer, and Internet congestion. The company has responded to other complaints by stating that it is aware of Internet traffic issues in a consumer's area and that it is working diligently to resolve Internet speed issues by installing new equipment and system upgrades.

Windstream has responded to BBB request for a response to the allegations presented by consumers by explaining on-going upgrades that include a combination of network equipment supported by copper-fed and fiber-fed wires, depending on the location of the customer. In 2013, Windstream spent approximately $80M to upgrade and plans to upgrade approximately 85% of its customers.

Windstream states that in an effort to address the other 15% of their customers in copper-fed areas, they have applied for funding from the FCC for funds from Connect America Fund (CAF) and plans to match this funding to support projects for under-served areas to begin construction in early 2015.

Customers who will not benefit from upgrades will be given option of migrating to satellite broadband or Internet Access, which utilizes copper-fed areas. Internet Access is provisioned at 1Mbps, is an "AS-IS" services and is sold at a $7.50 discount.

BBB has seen a decrease in complaint volume since meeting with Windstream regarding these specific issues.

This is pretty worrisome. TWC has been pretty fast and dependable for these past 3 years, with a rare outage, and decent response to problems.

Decisions...decisions...

 

[ncted]

Doing a little more digging on Windstream's DSL delivery in general, and their reputation looks relatively bad (although, as with everything else, those with problems are going to be doing the posting, not those who are happy with the service). DSL Reports has many Windstream reviews, and very few are compliementary.

BBB's website has this to say about Windstream:



This is pretty worrisome. TWC has been pretty fast and dependable for these past 3 years, with a rare outage, and decent response to problems.

Decisions...decisions...

So, keep TWC for Internet. That is what I do. You can get a promo price if you threaten to leave. You would need at least 2 cable feeds coming into your residence to accomplish this, depending on how many TVs you want to feed.

 

[KAB]

So, keep TWC for Internet. That is what I do.

I would do same. Why go backwards to DSL? I can't imagine much cost difference.

 

[DLCPhoto]

I'm exploring the cost differences. I currently have TWC for TV, Internet and Phone, with a recently re-negotiated monthly cost of $130 (guaranteed for a year).

Dish, by itself, AT250, 1 Hopper, 1 SuperJoey, 1 Joey, would be $70 plus taxes/fees. TWC Internet and Phone has to be less than $60 to avoid my monthly costs going up. I'm doubtful I can get that, but will see what they can do.

(Ironically, my TWC Internet connection has out of nowhere become flaky - modem resetting every few minutes. This, fortunately, is a rare occurrence.)

The cabling issue is another consideration - both Dish and TWC will want to use the existing cabling. Will one end up having to set up a new set of cabling? We need 3 primary TV connections, and 2 others for some kind of minimal access (possibly mirrored).

 

[KAB]

TWC Internet and Phone has to be less than $60 to avoid my monthly costs going up.

Well, you surely will be saving money on the TV end with Dish, no? Rob Peter's savings to pay Paul's excess.

 

[DLCPhoto]

Well, you surely will be saving money on the TV end with Dish, no? Rob Peter's savings to pay Paul's excess.

Not really.

Currently, $130/month with TWC for phone, TV, Internet.

If I switch to Dish for TV, it's $70/month + fees/taxes, leaving $60 or so for internet/phone.

The "problem" is that my renegotiated rate with TWC for all 3 bundled services is pretty darn good, so achieving the same cost with 2 (or even 3) different providers for these services will be difficult.

 

[KAB]

Not really.

The "problem" is that my renegotiated rate with TWC for all 3 bundled services is pretty darn good, so achieving the same cost with 2 (or even 3) different providers for these services will be difficult.

Which begs a question that I don't recall you addressing...why do you want to switch?

 

[DLCPhoto]

Which begs a question that I don't recall you addressing...why do you want to switch?

Yes - an important question.

Initially I was looking for overall cost savings when TWC was about to raise my rates significantly. That led me to look at all my options for all 3 services. I then called TWC back, indicating that I could duplicate their services for $130/month with Windstream/Dish, and they basically ended up matching it. Locked in for a year, with no contract.

But in the course of the research, I came to like the flexibility of the Hopper/SuperJoey/Joey technology, with the built-in Sling, and that led me here. I like the integrated approach of the DVR system, with the 5 tuners. We currently have 3 separate DVR's, and this becomes somewhat cumbersome at times. Then you add Sling into the mix, and it became quite attractive.

The more I read about Windstream in particular, the more reluctant I would be to rely on that for my Internet. So that left me with keeping TWC for internet/phone, and doing Dish separately, but this may not be cost effective.

Of course, yet another option would be to purchase one of the Sling products, and just add that to my TWC setup. Not exactly the same as having it built-in, and it doesn't solve the integrated DVR approach, but it certainly would be the simplest solution.

Don

 

[Scherrman]

Doing a little more digging on Windstream's DSL delivery in general, and their reputation looks relatively bad (although, as with everything else, those with problems are going to be doing the posting, not those who are happy with the service). DSL Reports has many Windstream reviews, and very few are compliementary.

BBB's website has this to say about Windstream:



This is pretty worrisome. TWC has been pretty fast and dependable for these past 3 years, with a rare outage, and decent response to problems.

Decisions...decisions...

Well I don't have many options. We have Windstream, Mediacom, Prairie iNet, and satellite internet. I've had Mediacom and the price and speed was good but their service is terrible.

 

[DLCPhoto]

Well I don't have many options. We have Windstream, Mediacom, Prairie iNet, and satellite internet. I've had Mediacom and the price and speed was good but their service is terrible.

Understood. Many of the complaints I read were from people who also had no other practical choices for broadband.

My comments were not meant to disparage Windstream, but I read enough to persuade me that, as stated above, it would be a step backward for me to go from my fairly reliable and fast TWC to DSL. But clearly, it works quite well for many (most?) people; glad you're in that group!

 

[ncted]

You get what you pay for. In my estimation, the Internet service is the only one worth paying for from TWC. You can always try Windstream to see if you like it. If not, cancel and switch back. TWC usually has win-back promotions for former customers. Also, check with your neighbors to see if any have Windstream and like/dislike it. Windstream does have many paying customers, so it must be working well for plenty of people. My parents switched to Frontier to save money over TWC on Internet, and they are perfectly happy with it, despite it's otherwise poor reputation. Either way, Dish is light years ahead of TWC when it comes to the user experience. Navigator is a steaming pile of poo.

 

[KAB]

I had DSL with AT&T, and it was quite "squarely" to what I have now (Uverse which I know is not an option for you).