Frontier Internet

[Tdbo]

Has anyone had any experience with Frontier internet?

We have always been with NetZero. However due to a fairly substantial price jump, I am exploring other options.

I can get internet in a bundle with my landline for not much more than the cost for the landline. However, reviews on line regarding their service are frightening.

Any first hand experiences are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[simple_gifts]

I have Frontier; they recently acquired ATT's infrastructure in CT so maybe my comments aren't applicable; (ATT just does wireless in CT now)

Bads
1) expensive for the speed I have (3Mbs). In fairness I haven't asked them for a price reduction. New customers apparently get twice the speed for less money.
2) occasional 'major slow downs'; like 8000 ms (8 sec) ping times to google DNS; i have not put in a ticket

Good
1) The two times I have put in tickets I did NOT spend 2 hours on the phone like I did with ATT; The tech support seems to know what is going on and will gladly sent a guy out to check continuity. I argued with ATT on several occasions because the tech support clearly didn't know ANY of how the stuff works (e.g. I have a separate DSL modem supplied in 2000; when the link light goes out, there is a continuity issue; I could not convince ATT tech support that nothing I did @ my computer was going to fix the issue until someone checked continuity)

Overall, it has been pretty reliable

 

[Donald]

Is this DSL? How many feet are you from one of their switches?

These companies like Frontier and Fairpoint bought all the copper that ATT, Verizon and others did not want anymore. They do not put any money into the equipment. In many cases they are the only one to supply broadband.

 

[Nate1979]

Frontier recently came to our area to compete against Comcast. In our area Frontier is putting in fiber optic. We signed up with Frontier, saved a significant amount compared to Comcast. In addition we cut the cord and went to only internet service and use a number of streaming services - netflix, hulu, amazon prime, etc. We have the most basic service available in our area - costs about $40/month for FIOS 30/30. With FIOS when they say you get 30/30, you get 30/30. Sometimes we notice some slowdown in the evening but very rare. There is also no data caps. All around I'm very satisfied. When I signed up we also got a number of deals like Amazon gift cards.

 

[loneryder]

Here in WV it's dsl and they advertise 3-5mbs but I'm lucky to get 1 and that is in the am. When the kids get out of school forget it. In the evenings it just locks up and your computer won't do anything. I have an AT&T mobile hotspot that I use in the evening which runs on 4glte. I tried satellite but it slows in the evenings, has long latency, and I don't trust the way they count data.
WV has such lousy service from them that the AG filed a class action suite against them for not providing what they advertise. Frontier settled with a $500m set aside to improve the service all over the state. They also set aside $20-30 m to cut our bills. I only pay $9.95 a month but I don't get much. Google Frontier West Virginia lawsuit.
Nothing has happened yet.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: loneryder
Here in WV it's dsl and they advertise 3-5mbs but I'm lucky to get 1 and that is in the am. When the kids get out of school forget it. In the evenings it just locks up and your computer won't do anything. I have an AT&T mobile hotspot that I use in the evening which runs on 4glte. I tried satellite but it slows in the evenings, has long latency, and I don't trust the way they count data.
WV has such lousy service from them that the AG filed a class action suite against them for not providing what they advertise. Frontier settled with a $500m set aside to improve the service all over the state. They also set aside $20-30 m to cut our bills. I only pay $9.95 a month but I don't get much. Google Frontier West Virginia lawsuit.
Nothing has happened yet.


Actually your more likely to get what they say with DSL than other types of connections. FIOS is shared for example. DSL is not shared. But DSL is all how far you are from the switch. And its best to run with less than the max your line can run at. You need some headroom. The phone company guy with his fancy meter can tell what the line can actually run at. Then you back off 20% and thats what you should ask for from the phone company.

There is also bonded service where they take two physical lines and make one higher speed line. More reliable as you have 2 lines.

The phone company around here is installing remote switches on the telephone poles. So with a remote switch you might be 2000 feet from a switch vs 2 miles.

Lastly there is G.Fast as a DSL standard over copper. They are starting to make hardware for the standard. But do not hold your breath.

 

[loneryder]

I don't know how they plan to improve service. It's mostly a rural area. The big box where I am hooked in is about .25 mi but we are a couple of miles from the main roads where the lines seem to run. Unable to stream anything or watvh a youtube video. Would love to cut the cable to Directv.

 

[JustinH]

My family in rural ohio has frontier.

They are a company who buys the aging Verizon/ATT infrastructure, the copper stuff and they are reselling DSL products usually.

I would suspect that the service reliability will not be good, nor fast, but in some areas it is the only high speed internet available.

I think my aunt gets a 5 MB plan with 512KB up.

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Is this DSL? How many feet are you from one of their switches?

These companies like Frontier and Fairpoint bought all the copper that ATT, Verizon and others did not want anymore. They do not put any money into the equipment. In many cases they are the only one to supply broadband.


It is supposed to be DSL. Don't know how far away I am from one of their switches.
They bought Verizon out here. That is why I am nervous about making the switch.

 

[Donald]

OP - what was NetZero providing for broadband? Cell based hotspots?

The phone company will know how far you are from a switch. The max is 18000 ft.

I have been using DSL since 2007. Marginal at best. More reliable since I got a bonded circuit. (Each line run at lower speed, more headroom, less errors).

I am on the town broadband committee.

We are hearing it costs $20k to $30k per mile to run fiber and they want 20 customers per linear mile to run it. So looks like they are willing to invest a little over $1k per customer. My street is less than 20 customers in a mile.

I am hoping for a remote switch to be installed. I doubt I will see fiber.

 

[TWG1572]

My Frontier experience is pretty consistent with what everyone else reported. Aging infrastructure, known congestion issues, and an unwillingness to fix/address the problems. I had a 3/1MB plan and was typically lucky to get 2MB. When I called in to complain, the answer was that my line had capacity to handle more but they were throttling due to traffic. They stated it was a known issue, with no ETA for resolution.

After 5 years of the same song and dance, I canceled a couple weeks ago. We now have a service that beams internet off communication towers to a dish on our roof. $60 for 12mb service, no caps. You may want to see if something like that is available in your area.

Customer service was as frightening as reported online. I learned to use the chat functionality so that I had a written record of what was said and what promises were made. I was burned a couple times with reps making inaccurate statements or signing me up for services I didn't request. I had to talk to a supervisor on that one to get it addressed.

I'd never advocate going with Frontier, unless it's your only option. Unfortunately, it is for many people.

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: TWG1572
My Frontier experience is pretty consistent with what everyone else reported. Aging infrastructure, known congestion issues, and an unwillingness to fix/address the problems. I had a 3/1MB plan and was typically lucky to get 2MB. When I called in to complain, the answer was that my line had capacity to handle more but they were throttling due to traffic. They stated it was a known issue, with no ETA for resolution.

After 5 years of the same song and dance, I canceled a couple weeks ago. We now have a service that beams internet off communication towers to a dish on our roof. $60 for 12mb service, no caps. You may want to see if something like that is available in your area.

Customer service was as frightening as reported online. I learned to use the chat functionality so that I had a written record of what was said and what promises were made. I was burned a couple times with reps making inaccurate statements or signing me up for services I didn't request. I had to talk to a supervisor on that one to get it addressed.

I'd never advocate going with Frontier, unless it's your only option. Unfortunately, it is for many people.



Thanks for the feedback. You confirmed my concerns. Will probably continue with NetZero because I really dislike TWC, especially after it took them three weeks, two service calls, and three hours on the phone to restore two tiers of channels that stopped functioning. WOW is now in the process of establishing service in my community, and should be up and going in 2017. Maybe I'll sit on things and see what they can do.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Absolutely terrible. I'd give them zero stars if I could.

Took them over a month to restore my phone and internet when it went down. The thing that made me angry was they said a tech would be on site, and then they never showed up. Many others have this problem as well. It took going to the local Frontier office and leaving a handwritten note taped to their door to get anything done.

 

[bmwjohn]

and what is a bonded circuit? ATT DSL in central Indiana, very poor performance.

 

[oilpsi2high]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwc6r7FaN5k

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: bmwjohn
and what is a bonded circuit? ATT DSL in central Indiana, very poor performance.


A bonded circuit uses two pair connected to a modem designed for it. Say you had a line that was pushing 5 mb but was capable of only 5.25 mb. Not much headroom. They add a 2nd pair and run each line at 4 mb and you get 8 mb. Each line works better as your not pushing it to its max capability. In my case they installed it at no cost and did not give me any more speed (but each pair now had some headroom) but now I almost never have DSL problems. I had one last week, first in 6 months and it was a bad modem that was replaced. Prior to the bonded circuit keeping the DSL up was a disaster. Working from home 5 days a week using Citrix to a virtual desktop, I would almost immediately know if the DSL burped or went down. Oddly a week after the bonded circuit was installed my contractor position was cut. Now I work from an office with 1 gb connectivity.

One thing I leaned when my modem was replaced (I always ask lots of questions when a technician is in my house, phone, oil boiler, appliance repair, does not matter, always asking and learning) is that the 2 pair are not treated equally. One is the main and one is the helper. Loose the helper and your OK, but lower speed. Loose the main and your SOL.