Depends on where you live in the towns...
 

I followed the link, put in my address, and the deal they offered me was "EarthLink dialup" . :eek:

In the past, our wires for utilities came in from the west of our house, before making it down to route 11, and then going east to Alton Center where the TDS (Union Tel) building is. Over 5 miles, and DSL was not so good that far from the switching station.

Now the wires run right down our street from the east, right at 3 miles from the switching station, but TDS evidently doesn't know that, even though it has been over two years.

Guess I'll keep Metrocast. If they ever get the Verizon service active on the new tower in Alton Bay, I will probably keep Metrocast for internet, Verizon for phone and go to DirecTv for the telly.

Sorry you are having problems still, Broadhopper.. Become the squeakiest wheel on a daily basis... if necessary, contact the Consumer Protection folks in Concord.

Fairpoint
 

I am not sure about the other phone companies, Fairpoint pretty much replace their 'transmission lines' with fiber optics. This year they are beginning to upgrade the DSL to fiber optics in the residential areas. They were working with commercial customers for a couple of years. I was told high speed broadband will be available in July for Laconia area customers. I can't wait to switch to Fairpoint.
I know DSL is available but I need high speed internet to stream TV broadcast and movies to my laptop and TV.

About had it with Metrocast!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Think there was some kind of burp here with Metrocast, TV & internet went out last night for a few seconds. TV 1 won`t come back on. Called tech, left a message after being on hold forever. Finally got a call back. They have my account number, address, name,,,,,,,,, EVERYTHING!!!!! YET the call back guy wants the last 4 digits of my social security number,,,, and my date of birth before he can help me. Cant`t post my words online here as what i said to him.
DUMP METROCAST!!!!!!!!!!

Day Four
 

Metrocast finally showed up Saturday morning. He installed a new cable between the box in the corner and the house. He says someone will stop by later to bury the cable. He also mentioned he was surprise the underground cables were never replaced! They need to be upgraded!
I checked this morning and sometime over the weekend someone buried the cable and did not bother to pull the old one. It is still sticking up out of the ground! I pulled out the old cable which is held in place by the grass. I check the new cable and sure enough is buried just below the surface. I'm going to do it myself and bury the cable at least 6" in the ground so that the aerator won't hit it. I notice the old cable was chewed up by the aerator and thatcherizer. No wonder the TV was pixeling with low signal.

Can't wait for Fairpoint high speed. Metrocast is so incompetent!

BH, do you have underground utilities? I assumed you did since the topic of going from pole to house was never mentioned.

Yes the association utilities are underground. Back in 2008, Metrocast claims underground wires are the responsibility of the association even though PSNH, Fairpoint and Liberty Utilities maintain their distribution. Saturday they replace the cable without mentioning who is responsible. I'm waiting for my bill. I have also called billing to give me credit for 3 days without service. Customer Service says they normally don't credit but she will ask the supervisor and call me back. Still waiting!

Metrocast Company Motto
 

The Metrocast company motto should be, "We don't care; because we don't have to."

or....
 

or, We did not care right up until we went out of business.......

We've had Metrocast's triple play for over ten years. Last fall we had them remove the TV since we weren't using the cottage. Still needed Internet and phone for the alarm systems.

Went to put TV back on and they wanted social security numbers and my first born. I explained that we have had continuous service with them for over 10 years and have always paid. How much more do you need. That really frosted my you know what. Every time they check you credit, your score goes down.

Not true.

And just because they ask for that info doesn't mean they are going to run a credit check.

I think it all gets deeper than credit checks. I've had Coop service at my house for close to 40 years, was looking to start service at another location.
They wanted my SSN, DOB, bank account or credit card info as proof of who I am. They didn't ask this info when I opened up my account 40 years ago.

I signed up for Cable, back when it was Amrac, none of this data was needed. A few years ago, among my many calls to Time Warner because of cable box problems, they suddenly wanted all this data and wouldn't talk to me unless I gave it.

I think this is for data bases as to who is living or moving where, who is googling what, used by..... ummmm...to be continued..

Do you fold your tinfoil hat in the traditional 3-layer method, or using the new modifed 4-layer crossover approach?

:laugh:

Cable companies "will" do a credit check on you when you give them your SS number. Over the years cable companies have been losing a lot of revenue due to dead beat customers.

IMO I don't blame them for wanting everyone's SS number.

Some companies will accept an upfront fee instead of the SS number. This is a fee that will protect the company in case you fail to pay your bill.

They want creditworthy customers who can pay their bills. I see nothing wrong with that.

lol.......ftw

I just used Metro cast tech. support. they where very helfull

:D

Maybe if Metrocast weren't charging so much, they'd have fewer "dead beats".

In Wolfeboro, the monthly bill for Metrocast "Expanded Basic Service" has increased 25% in just the past 2 years. No matter how the economy is doing, the rate has gone up every year for decades. The result is that for each of the past 2 years, we paid over $100 more for Expanded Basic cable (no premium channels or converter box) than the annual cost of electricity for our household! :eek: As soon as we realized this, we downgraded to Basic service. Maybe when basic service costs more than electricity, we'll get rid of that, too.

I'd love to know who is negotiating those never-ending contracts with Metrocast on our behalf. If I signed up for just a year or 2 of cellular or internet, the rate would be locked in for that term.

Paying for 175-channels is expensive when I probably only look at 10-channels for 95% of the time. Would be great if tv were sold on an individual, one channel by one channel, order channels that you want order format as opposed to bundled groups of channels. For watching tv, bundling channels just gives me a lot of channels I never watch at extra cost.

Will probably happen the same time as when most all tv shows are done live before a viewer audience and in black & white.......no-time soon??? About the only b&w, live tv here in these parts is the Laconia City Councillors tv show.

Here's a link to myfico.com.

My problem was that we had been a continuous customer for over ten years with no interruption in service or payment. I was just adding telephone back to the existing cable and internet.

This is a first for Metrocast
 

Metrocast called and ask if I was satisfied with the service. I ask if the cable is buried deep enough so that the aerator and weed wackers will not damage. He will send someone out to make sure it is buried at least 6 inches deep. Since field service are contractors they need to be checked. I also mention the low, no signal and pixeling. A Metrocast rep showed up within and hour and double check everything. Found out the cable I bought for the TV may be defective as it is the right cable. I'm glad Metrocast sent someone to make sure I am satisfied and check the quality of the repairs.

Bandwidth is coming, slowly
 

Fairpoint is upgrading their DSL service in the area, but told me that it is a max of 15 megabits/second. Time Warner has up to 50. Fifteen meg may satisfy a small family, but if there are a lot of streamers, it could get congested. And, you still have to be less than a few miles from the remote fiber terminal. They tell me I could only get a max of 7 mbps where I live. I have 20 with TWC, so no thanks. TDS is starting to pull fiber to the home in some of its areas. Has anyone seen them offer it in the lakes region?

If someone can't survive on 15M, in the lakes region, then they might need to learn some lake sports

I don't see 50M on TW anywhere in M'boro

I can survived on 15M until the kids/grandkids starts streaming their games and I need more bandwidth!