DSL Problems With Fairpoint

[Henry]

I have received a couple of phone calls from people who have Verizon this morning that have no Internet Service.  They have been unable to get through.  One is in Fairfax Village and the other is out on Cherrierville Road.  The one in Fairfax Village said she had received a call from Comcast with a deal that gave her Cable, Telephone and Internet Service for $100 a month.  With the situation as it is, she is very tempted to go with it.  She already has the cable from them.

I know that those without DSL Service can't see this, but am wondering how widespread this Fairpoint DSL problem is here in town.

[David Shea]

Henry,

I was able to fix my problem by following your simple advice.  I unplugged everything and let it reset.  No I am back to normal.

[greenek]

As a Comcast cable customer, I got a call from Comcast as well last night, offering a bundled package. While it's not a knee jerk reaction to what has been going on recently with the Verizon/Fairpoint conversion issues, I am also considering switching to Comcast, from an economic standpoint. I understand that not everyone in Fairfax has high speed internet access, but for those that do, I would appreciate any input from any of you who have Comcast for phone, internet and cable. Curious if there have been any major service or performance issues with Comcast versus Verizon/Fairpoint. I would like to understand if by saving approximately $30.00 per month by going with a bundled package, if I am giving anything up in the process.

Thanks,

Kevin

[Dick Brown]

Good Morning               For what it's worth, most of the homes in my development are going with the " bundled package " put out by Brighthouse,  a real fast-growing communication product which includes cable tv ( with  massive station options including an ability to receive the MLB program ), unlimited telephone calling minutes, and high-speed internet service, all for a lower price then those products  would cost if purchased separately. In addition, service calls come from one source, and in most cases are free, including restoring services quickly after wind storms, no small factor in Florida. I have found no negatives so far. 

[cassyt]

yes I would like to know to comcast called me to sounds like a good deal

[Henry]

One of the things that Maryann and I enjoy very much with the Freedom Plan we have with Fairpoint is the unlimited long distance calling in the U.S & Canada.  Most of our calls are long distance with the kids and relatives in Florida.  I am wondering if the Comcast Plan and yours down in Florida Dick have that option??

[greenek]

I had the Comcast guy on the phone for quite a while last night. I went up and got my Fairpoint phone bill and described the exact phone options that I get from Fairpoint, including the Freedom Plan. According to Comcast, their phone portion of the bundled package has the same options, and then some of what I am getting from Fairpoint.

[Dick Brown]

Henry                 The unlimited calling includes nation-wide service and I mainly use it as you do for reaching friends and family more frequently.....In fact, FYI, a new service has been introduced by Brighthouse for calls to Mexico ( very important to many Floridians ) with no charge up until 200 minutes of use per month.

[logical]

Does anybody know the area of coverage in Fairfax for Comcast?  I currently have DSL & phone thru Fairpoint.  Just wondering if would be eligible to switch to Comcast if that were a more cost effective package.

[Henry]

Good Question - Just where is their coverage.  I have been unable to find out or get a map of just where they cover.  The $99 will only be for one year.  After that they go back to their regular rates.  If anyone can get info on where they cover, let me know or post it here.  Below is their link for Fairfax, Vermont:

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/comcast-cable/vt-fairfax-comcast-cable.html

[MSoule]

Keep in mind that my experience relates to Comcast in middle TN, but to be honest, I don't think I could express in polite language my poor opinion of Comcast.  For a period of about three years Comcast was the only choice my wife and I had for cable and high speed internet.  Their customer service was inept, their response times were HORRIBLE when it came to repairs, and nearly every month we had to call in to have discrepancies corrected on our bill.  I became so dissatisfied with Comcast as a company that I cancelled my account, giving up my high speed internet for a period of time simply on principal (I refused to give Comcast another dime of my money).  We switched to DirecTV and used a dial-up account for home internet access for the short term.  DirecTV has been excellent (we rarely if ever lose our signal and we believe we receive good product value for the cost) and ATT (formerly Bellsouth) has recently provided DSL service to our area, which we now have.  I have to be honest - for incurable sports junkies like me, DirecTV is awesome.   

That being said, I certainly hope that Comcast is a better provider in the northeast than they are in the southeast.  One of my Grandmother's favorite sayings is, "A new broom sweeps clean."  Comcast may look enticing and the initial cost for the bundle may seem reasonable, but I wouldn't jump to them strictly based on my dissatisfaction with Fairpoint.  I strongly recommend doing some research on Comcast before making any commitments. - Matthew Soule

[Mike Raburn]

Check your internet speed here.

You would be amazed at what you pay for vs what you get.

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/