How is Fioptics? (Cincinnati, Covington: sales, 2014, how much)

[mike1003]

Cincy Bell Fioptics is finally several blocks away. I know that this has been asked before, but those of you with Fioptics, Are you still happy?

How is Fioptics compared to Time Warner (I'm sick of Time Warner's price gouging and so so programing. I'm definitely sick of Time Warner's customer service and support)

I really don't want to go DISH after many of my friends poor experience

[kjbrill]

The FOPTICS service to me has been erratic. Speed varies considerably. Turns out the price they quoted me was a one-year comeon rate, not made clear by the salesman at all. When they installed in my neighborhood they did saturation door-to-door sales, I believe conducted by a third party outfit and not Cincinnati Bell employees. These shysters would tell you anything to get your name on a contract. After the one-year comeon they raised my rate considerably.

Frankly I cannot say the performance, either TV or Internet, has been any better than TWC. One of the irritants to me is the TV and Internet signals will be lost in the middle of the night. Sometimes the signal is restored in a few minutes, sometimes it takes as long as a half hour. This happens with no warning. I don't know if it is a some sort of maintenance routine they go through, but it is disconcerting. I will get a message on my PC from my router monitor, a Belkin which has both hardwired and wireless capabilities, that the network signal has been lost. Frequently I have to restart the PC to get it restored. I used this same router with TWC and never had a problem. The Belkin is capable of 100.0 Mbps speeds so I doubt it is the problem.

Frankly, the fact CB quoted me a one-year comeon rate made me furious. Once the so called trial period was over and they raised the rate to the quote normal rate, my bill was right back to the level I had been paying TWC. And I do not find the service at all superior, if anything not quite as good, specifically the spasmodic Internet speed. If it wasn't such a hassle I would switch back to TWC. But they are just as bad. They will quote me a rate lower than what I am now paying CB, but when pressed will only guarantee it for a year. I feel it is another comeon. I feel the business practices for both outfits are misleading, and from that standpoint don't like either one.

For whatever reason, I never had a problem with TWC service personnel. Whenever I had a situation to contact them, which was seldom, they were prompt and usually took care of the problem. The most frequent item was failure of the cable modem used to convert their cable signal to Internet Ethernet. Seemed like it would decide to fail on a weekend or some other inconvenient time. The wife would raise such a stink, I got into the mode of just pulling the cable modem, taking it down to the TWC store in Tri-County Mall where they would happily exchange it for a new one. Once in awhile a settop TV box would also fail. Since we had multiple, I would swap boxes until I identified the one which had no TV signal. Same thing, cart it down to the TWC store where they would give me a new one. Sure I was spending my time and expense doing their service, but I could correct the problem quickly and get the wife off my back.

One of my concerns is the FIOPTICS service uses a centralized control panel. CB installed mine in my basement. The fiber optic lead is run from outside to this panel which is a multi-function conversion device. One function is it converts the fiber optic signal to the standard coaxial cable TV lead. This was connected to the existing TV coaxial cable in the home and the CB settop boxes installed in place of the TWC equivalents. The second function is it converts the fiber optic signal to the standard CAT-5 Ethernet for internet. CB installed a new CAT-5 twisted pair cable from the control panel in the basement up to our 2nd floor computer room. They provided a router for PC connections, but it was a cheap thing which I immediately replaced with the Belkin when they left. The third function is it converts the fiber optic signal to the standard 20ma analog telephone signal which is connected to the existing house telephone wiring. My understanding is if anything goes wrong with either of the functions they do not attempt repair in the field but swap out the entire control panel. Obviously this is not a DIY proposition.

If you decide to go ahead with FIOPTICS, my advice is several-fold. First is nail down the ongoing cost. Be careful of the one-year comeon trial rate. If they refuse to quote you a rate longer than a year, my advice is forget it. If you are upset with TWC rates, you will be furious when CB ups yours like they did mine. Make them put the Internet speed in writing. Like TWC they can adjust the Internet speed to different levels.

One thing I should mention, after my first year with FIOPTICS was up and I received a new bill stating my trial period had expired and I would now be billed at the normal rate, I was livid. In fact, I was so incensed I contacted TWC and gave them a work order to reinstall me. Since I now had internet phone, TWC contacted CB to inform them they would be transferring my telephone number. So I get a call from CB inquiring what was wrong. I said because you shafted me, that's what. After stating my feeling it was not at all clear I was not quoted a normal rate, a supervisor said they would extend the rate I had been paying for another year, which they did and I cancelled the TWC reinstall. Now I cannot prove it, but I do believe they also dialed down my internet speed, as it seemed to definitely become slower. Well my 2nd year is now up, and my bill was increased from $104 per month to $156 per month. I call that about a 50% increase.

Oh, BTW, we have No premium TV chnnels.

[mike1003]

With Time Warner selling to Comcast and then being handed of to Charter (the worst of the worst) who has Fioptics experience (good or bad) TV and Internet.

I truly believe there is no good choice out there, just the least of the worst

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by mike1003

With Time Warner selling to Comcast and then being handed of to Charter (the worst of the worst) who has Fioptics experience (good or bad) TV and Internet.

I truly believe there is no good choice out there, just the least of the worst

You are probably correct about that. I have Fioptics TV, Internet, and phone. For the most part it works OK. For some reason in the middle of the night my router will lose its network connection and not recover. I could probably reboot the router and it would recover, but I just reboot the PC.

Performance wise there is no way I can rate CB better than TWC, in any respect. At times the TV wil hang for several seconds for no apparent reason. Same for the internet, just sits there for several seconds, then goes on.

But my biggest complaint is the cost. CB has managed to almost double my bill since the initial installation. So if you feel TWC has been reaming you, wait until CB gets ahold of you.

So if you get the idea I am not a happy customer, You are right, I AM NOT!

[WILWRadio]

I have used Comcast in Indy and I am not happy with the service. I've already had more disruptions to my internet service in about 8 months than I had in my entire 8 year stay in the Kansas City area. I used AT&T and Century Link DSL which was very reliable. See, I don't malign KC at every chance I get or try to fabricate nasty things to say about it. When it is justified then I do so.

I did not hear that Charter Communications is buying Comcast or at least the customer base in Cincinnati. Did I miss something? I don't think the deal for Comcast to buy TWC has gone through yet since I am getting mail from TWC asking me to sign up for internet service at my home in Covington. I'd rather have TWC than Comcast but I don't know anything about Charter or their reputation for internet service.

[kjbrill]

As I said, my primary problem with CB is cost. When they installed in my neighborhood they had a blanket of sales people which I could tell were not CB employees. They had only one objective, get my name on a contract. If they told me I was being quoted a promotional rate, they must have whispered it. Yes, what they quoted was below what I was paying TWC, so I signed up.

After a year they kicked my rate big-time. But after another year they have kicked it again. I am now well over what I was paying TWC. This kind of treatment just makes my bottom itch. I don't know about you, but I don't like being misleaded. In fact, if I could identify the individual, they would have my fist in their face, old as I am.

Tell them I want a Cost for my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years minimum. That is what I found they don't want to do. They want to succer you in on a promotional rate and then up it significantly. Don't let them do that to you. At least know what you are getting into.

[mike1003]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

I did not hear that Charter Communications is buying Comcast or at least the customer base in Cincinnati. Did I miss something? I don't think the deal for Comcast to buy TWC has gone through yet since I am getting mail from TWC asking me to sign up for internet service at my home in Covington. I'd rather have TWC than Comcast but I don't know anything about Charter or their reputation for internet service.

Charter buying all area Time Warner systems

Charter to gain area Time Warner subscribers | www.daytondailynews.com

[Ohky0815]

I like our net with Cincy Bell. Its cheap and seems fast. I know its $35 but im not sure on how fast.

[computerpro3]

Fioptics is by far the best internet in the area. The horror stories about 1 year trial rates are absolutely true, but it's not really debatable that they offer the best technical internet in the area.

The Westel routers they routinely supply customers with are crap, that is why the internet drops out for some customers. And the routers that most people buy at big box stores are pure crap as well. The trick is getting Cincy Bell to install an ethernet wire right from the box into your house and using your own router (they are reluctant to do this). If they refuse to do this, there is a way to put the Westel modem is pass-through (bridge) mode so you can still use your own, but I prefer taking it out of the equation entirely. I have been using high-end consumer routers with Cincinnati bell for three years now (originally 50mbps service, now 100mbps service) and my uptime has been 100%. Not 99%, actually 100%.

To give you an idea of the kind of data throughput I do, I have a 12 terrabyte server I have backed up to crashplan quite regularly. My download is about 200GB per month.

I have no idea why Cincinnati Bell gives piece of crap routers to consumers; they think it saves cost, but it probably octuples their complaints and repair calls. Fiber to the home is fundamentally superior to cable, and Cincinnati Bell's implementation of it is great. Just make sure you verify that you have FTTH and not fiber to the node (with normal cable run the last mile).




That's over wifi too, from three rooms away from the router. That's the beauty of a real router and wireless access point.

[kjbrill]

mike1003 ...

Well there you go, testimony from an expert. CB is absolutely the best. I agree the router they supply is crap. Soon as they left I disconnected it and plugged in the one I have been using for years - a Belkin. Yes I bought it at a big box store but it has been working fine with 4 hardwired ports plus wireless for when the grandkids visit.

I am not sure I understand the issue with the ethernet. CB installed an ethernet line from their control panel in the basement to the 2nd floor where we have our PCs and installed a plug panel. I simply unplugged their router and plugged mine in. I am sure they would not want me to not use their router, but I could tell immediately it was crap. I don't know why they do that. Obviously complaints and service calls have to outweigh the cost difference. I know they installed fiber all the way into my house to their control panel. I used to install fiber in factories due to its electrical immunity and definitely recognize the difference between it and cable

I noticed the one giving the raving reviews did not indicate how much he was paying for this super duper service.

Your decision.