I`m Trying Windstream 256k

[realgeorge]

In my area, Windstream has a promotional DSL offering for 128/256K with free installation & free (rebate) modem, first month free, aftwards $9.99 a month for up to 2 years, no contracts, no cost cancel anytime with no cost modem return, no cost switch anytime to either 384k/1.5m @ $24.99, or 384k/3.0m @ $29.99; all same deal - no contracts with prices good for 2 years. No usage limits, always connected use. I want to make an inexpensive speed upgrade from dial-up, so I signed up for the $9.99 deal with installation on 12-30-08. For those in Windstream areas, I`ll give a user report on their service later. Oops, got dropped offline with VTISP while typing this which makes me even happier I`m switching. Any comments?
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If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus Is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10

[plodr]

I was trying to see where they were located.

Quote:

Windstream is the local telecommunications company spun off from the merger of Alltel and VALOR Commuications. Windstream DSL is the high speed internet offering from the former Alltel. Windstream is based in Little Rock, AR and services mostly rural communities in 16 states.

Here's are some complaints:
 http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/ windstream-dsl-internet-c5881.html
of course this is one-sided because it is a complaint board so there is no telling how many are getting great service.

FAQ's  http://www.broadbandreports.com/faq/ windstream
and the forum for windstream users
 http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/ windstream

[realgeorge]

Thanks for the links plodr; very helpful.
_________________
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus Is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10

[aci-john]

Here is my piece on Windstream.

This is a VERY decent company. This company is a direct subsidiary of the telco reseller giant ALLTEL, who is Bell's 2nd largest ILEC. They service mainly rural communities, which is how they keep their edge. This is not one of your little hole in the wall companies. In my local state, they are the local Telco for towns I would love to service. But, being an ILEC, they dont have to share that area coverage with any outsiders. So for some people, they are the only thing around. And some of those towns do pay a bit more. The prices you quited are EXCELLENT, given windstreams usual pricing and history.
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Midwest Telecom - Your Right-Hand Connection http://www.mtgtelecom.com

[realgeorge]

Thanks aci-john, I really appreciate the information you provided, and I always value your personal opinions. In my small rural area, Windstream is my only choice for phone and DSL service. When AT&T was running their $10 a month special just 5 miles away I could not get it. The prices I posted are not advertised on Windstream`s internet site. I received a Christmas card from them offering the special prices. It appears to be a $5 a month discount off their regular advertised prices good for 2 years with no contract. If anyone in their area did not get the offer, just call 1-866-577-5218 and ask for it.
_________________
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus Is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10

[realgeorge]

Winstream installed my new 128/256K service today, and I ran some tests. I don`t know much about DSL so I need some advice about what I`m getting. Numerous tests at different sites show I am actually getting around 112-115k download speed and 215-220k upload speeds - no they are not reversed. Installer said the 220k upload speed is really the minimum one gets regardless of your plan. The 115k download speed seems a bit too slow to me. I called their help line (~1500 miles away), and they said I was getting a good signal. Installer said it was loss because of distance from the server which I think is a few miles away. The modem is a Siemens SpeedStream 4200. What do you think about the situation and the speeds I`m getting?
_________________
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus Is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10

[Boz]

I think the speeds are reasonable. It is similar to the 56Kbps service, which resulted in speeds as low as 24Kbps for many of us depending on the line quality. You're correct that the 128/256 service is a little unusual with the upload being faster than download, but I guess that is just what they are offering for their low-speed DSL service. I think that you are getting a pretty good deal at $9.99. I would take a deal like that if it were available in my area. My locally-owned cable company offers a 96Kbps service for $19.99 per month, which is NOT a good deal, and DSL isn't available in my area. I would personally be happy with a 128Kbps service, with actual measured speeds of 115Kbps, for $9.99 per month.
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[realgeorge]

Boz wrote:

I would personally be happy with a 128Kbps service, with actual measured speeds of 115Kbps, for $9.99 per month.

The offer was for 256 kbps download speed @$9.99, but I`m only getting 115 kbps download speed. I was expecting higher. The 115kbps is what I might have expected for 128kbps service which they don`t offer. I probably should have put the download speed first in describing the service; like 256kbps/128kbps. Sorry about that.
_________________
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus Is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10

[Boz]

Oh...That is very different!

I don't know about the Siemens SpeedStream 4200, but I know I have seen a sticker on some DSL modems that state something to the effect of the modem will adjust itself over several days to provide the fastest connection. But what you describe DOES seem like an extreme drop-off from the advertised speed. I would probably pursue it a little more with Windstream.
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[plodr]

Look at it this way, NetZero charges $9.99 for 56k and you're lucky if you get 53; more like 42k. So for the same price as dialup, you are about 300% faster.
I think others who don't have options other than dialup would be happy to pay $9.99 for faster download speed.

What you want to do (I don't trust speed tests) is go to a site and download something on dialup and time it. Then download the same thing with your new service and time it. It isn't an exact test because websites change but at least you will have a comparison for your situation.

[Boz]

Based on plodr's comment, you might want to try several different test sites to compare results. I like  http://testmy.net  and  http://numion.com  , but there are many others.
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[realgeorge]

plodr wrote:

Look at it this way, NetZero charges $9.99 for 56k and you're lucky if you get 53; more like 42k. So for the same price as dialup, you are about 300% faster. I think others who don't have options other than dialup would be happy to pay $9.99 for faster download speed.

I really am happy with the speed I am getting for the money, but thought that there could be a problem that would get it up even higher if solved. My bandwidth with VTISP dialup usually runs about 42 kbps, and I just got 110 kbps with the DSL Lite which makes it 2.62 times faster for same price as NetZero. I talked with Windstream earlier about the low speeds, and they offered me an upgrade to 1.5m for $19.99 a month, good for one year with no contract, plus, they are giving me the next 2 months free. After the free 2 month 1.5m "trial", I can keep the 1.5m plan, upgrade to a higher speed plan, or go back to the 256k plan, or cancel at no cost if I want to. The 1.5m starts Friday. I can hardly wait.
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If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus Is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10

[v_v]

realgeorge,

For the next two months you should be in heaven, if all goes according plan! Then will come the hard part, deciding what to do when the two month trial period is over. I am told---I only have VTISP on dialup---that once you get used to the speed, going back to dialup or maybe even the slower "DSL Lite" speed may be difficult. (Smile)

At any rate enjoy your good fortune for the next two months.

v_v
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Justice, Equity, and Meaningful, Productive, and Fulfilling Lives to All Earthlings

[Boz]

That is good, realgeorge. Two months free is a good deal! Let us know what speeds you get with the speed tests once you receive the upgrade to 1.5 Mbps.
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[plodr]

realgeorge, I'm guessing that after you have the higher speed, you will look at your budget and figure where and what you can cut just so you can keep the 1.5mbps. 27 times faster than dialup!!!
My husband, who isn't into surfing like I am, could never figure out why we have broadband. Well, on a cruise in Feb. 2008, he had to use the ship's computer to check email. It was a satellite connection and he was forced to use IE with all the ads. (That will teach me to let my computer at home when we travel). He then had firsthand experience as to how long simple email takes on dialup speeds. He said, "I will never ever question again why we have broadband".

[realgeorge]

I got my 1.5mbps service working this morning, and it`s great. Download/upload speeds average from 3 popular test sites are 1305kbps/315kbps which I am quite happy with. I figure with Jan & Feb free the year will cost me $200 total which averages $16.67 a month. My VTISP bandwidth tests averaged about 42 kbps, and now I`m getting 1305kbps (1.15mbps) which is 31 times faster. So far I have had very stable service with Windstream - no problems at all over just 4 days of use. I would be interested in knowing what kind of download/upload speeds some of you 1.5mbps users are getting for comparison if you don`t mind posting them. Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and comments.
_________________
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus Is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10

[techie]

That is a good test speed for a 1.5 mbps connection, you should get around 80-90 % on average speed.

[Boz]

It seems like the 80-90% is a reasonable estimate. Based on that, and based on the fact that realgeorge seems to be getting 87% of the 1500Kbps connection, there must have been some initial problem since he was only getting about 45% of the 256Kbps connection.
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[realgeorge]

The rep that gave me the good 1.5 m deal told me that the 256 kbps was not really "high speed DSL", but is what they call "Valor speed". Valor was the name of the telephone company before Windstream took over. I suspect Valor speed is really 128kbps, but no one would ever give me a straight answer about it. The techs would only say that there was nothing wrong with my lines which has proven to be true considering my 1.5m speeds. Using the same ratio of loss 1305/1500= 87%, then 87% of 128kbps would be 111kbps download speed which is about what I was averaging all the time. Unclear advertising, bait and switch, or lying? I don`t know. It was advertised as "128kbps/256kbps High Speed Internet" on the card I received. It seems like what I got was 128kbps download speed, and 256kbps upload speed. Tricky! At 87% of 256kbps the upload speeds would then be 222kbps which is about what I got also. I really believe the 128dn/256up service I got for $9.99 a month was a good deal, but it was not quite fast enough for a couple of my important internet activities. Had it been 256kbps download speed it would have been fine. Now I`m really happy with the 1.5kbps service which handles all my activities very well. It`s a keeper. In one year it is supposed to go up from $20 to $25 a month which is not bad either. With the economy like it is I might be able to extend the $20 deal for another year or two at that time. The service continues to be excellent.

The math teacher in me had to fix the math errors. It is either 87% or .87, the decimal value of 87/100 . plodr
_________________
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus Is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10

[realgeorge]

I have been using Windstream`s 1.5mbps DSL now for 6 weeks, and it has been excellent. I have not had any problems whatsoever, and the one speed check I just made was 1375/295 kbps. All billing has been accurate with no charges to my bill yet except for $50 for the modem, and I should be receiving the offsetting $50 rebate in a week or two. I couldn`t be happier with the service.
_________________
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus Is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10