Forum and Classifieds

My Ballard Forum » Open Forum

CenturyLink Ballard upgrade

(35 posts)

Started 1 year ago by TandM
Latest reply from Mondoman

TandM

offline
Member

If you live in the area from around NW 80th St to NW 85th and between Jones Ave NW and 20th Ave NW (Approx boundaries) you can get a much faster Internet speed from CenturyLink than previously. We just installed fiber to that area, and you may qualify for speeds up to 40 meg. If you're interested to see what speed you qualify for, or if your having any issues, shoot me an email at tstille@centurylink.com

Posted 1 year ago #
Pastafarian

offline
Member

Why. Exactly. Did you choose to put fiber in that exact area? Put fiber in the area around Adam's Elementary and then we'll be golden. It's slower than a sloth around there, which is quite frankly pathetic.

Posted 1 year ago #
TandM

offline
Member

We've actually been putting it in a number of areas, trying to get complete coverage. That area (Around Adams) is Central Office based, and should be seeing some increased speeds soon.

Posted 1 year ago #
lakreitz

offline
Member

Pick up the pace west of 34th between 70th and 67th and you have a new customer....

Signed,
"looking forward to my saturday morning comcastic appt"

Posted 1 year ago #
Pastafarian

offline
Member

West of 32nd. That's like a whole other land over there. I'm surprised there's not a border crossing.

But anyways, If you guys do end up improving service in any other part of the hood TandM, it would be nice if you could give another "heads up." It's 1mbps or less over here, AKA barely better than dial-up.

Posted 1 year ago #
TandM

offline
Member

I'll try and post every time we turn up another area and feel free to email me any time to check speeds. No sales pressure, just information or assistance.

Posted 1 year ago #
Novalis

offline
Member

They could just install that stuff in the whole of Ballard area.

Guess the half-a.. piecemeal substandard service has been working out fine for them, so far.

Posted 1 year ago #
TandM

offline
Member

If only it were that simple. Need right away permissions, permits, etc.

Posted 1 year ago #
Edog

offline
Member

Please don't p*ss on my leg and tell me its raining. Sure permits and rights of way can be a chore but that can't be all of it. People who live west of 24th (or Adams elementary) are on the far edge of larger grid - next up Puget Sound!!! Fact is were there a continuation of the grid to our West, it would be an easier problem to solve, and provide more imperative to solve it.

Posted 1 year ago #
TandM

offline
Member

Take a look at this.

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/dr_SDOT2-2009searchabletext.pdf

It's the Directors rule for equipment in the right of way. What it boils down to is that we need permission from all parties (residents) to put equipment in the right of way. If even one resident doesn't want that box there we are out of luck. We do purchase easements from private residents when possible, but they are hard to come by.

We have been trialing some underground boxes that look promising.

I'm not really trying to defend where fiber is placed. I don't get to make those decisions. I'm just a field guy that lives in Ballard and wants to try and assist people whenever I can. I've helped several people on this board resolve problems and get faster service. Just trying to show that there is a local face that will help whenever I can.

EDog, if you want to shoot me an email, I'd be glad to look into speed issues in your area, and keep you posted. As I said earlier, there are some exciting things in store for CO based customers that will significantly improve speed.

Posted 1 year ago #
jj

offline
Member

A bit off topic, but every time I think about switching to CenturyLink from Comcast I find out that it is barely worth it, if at all. The cost is almost exactly the same as cable, especially if you don't include the home phone service option with your plan.

Maybe after they get the 20 & 40 plans in our area I'll reconsider again, but I have my doubts.

Posted 1 year ago #
charliecooper

offline
Member

Over here between 17th & 20th, around Market street, we had very poor phone and internet service from CenturyLink. We had static on our phone lines all of the time. We were getting 2Mbps speed on a 12Mbps service. We cancelled our service two weeks ago and went back to Comcast.

When we become upset with Comcast again (not 'if', but 'when') we may use CenturyLink again, but not if the service is going to be that bad.

Posted 1 year ago #
TandM

offline
Member

charliecooper I'm sorry that happened. If you do decide to come back email me and I'll personally make sure everything goes good for you from start to finish.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mondoman

online
Member

In fairness, it does seem that CenturyLink is making more efforts toward service improvement and outreach than did Qwest. I hope it makes them a worthy competitor.

Posted 1 year ago #
SunsetHillMarauder

offline
Member

Century Link can suck on my big fat cable modem.

Posted 1 year ago #
shelley

offline
Member

FWIW, my neighbor contacted TandM quite a while ago and got great service ironing out his intermittently slow connection.

Posted 1 year ago #
saffythepook

offline
Member

+1 JJ. Comcast service is ridiculously expensive but it's fast and it works reliably, even west of 32nd. I use an Ooma box for phone service and just need a la carte internet. I'm sure I'm not alone, given the number of people dropping their land line.

I'm glad to see Clink upgrading their speeds in Ballard but if they really wanted to pick up share from Comcast, they'd get rid of their bundle-centric pricing and offer 5+ Mbs service for $30/mo and 10 Mbs for $40.

Posted 1 year ago #
cdpenne

offline
Member

Plus 11ty trillion Saffy. It irks me to no end being forced to get a land line. Why? So the Seattle Times and call 2x a day? I never answer it so I am essentiall paying 80 a month for internet.

Posted 1 year ago #
Novalis

offline
Member

I have Msn/US west dsl oops... Quest... oops centurylink. ... next ?

Still about the same speed and price, the supposed Mbps rate has increased...not seeing it.Thinking I'm a loyal customer... a decade and passed through three companies qualify ?

Though at the light pole at the end of the driveway... has a nest of new boxes and wires and cables... none asked my opinion on that. not like I'd care...

Posted 1 year ago #
phoo

offline
Member

I'm sure someone has horror stories about century link vs qwest, but I've now had to have contact with them a couple times and both experiences have been great. we'll see what happens when I try to return the modem I am renting as that will test the business office. However, I am VERY pleased with tech support.

When I call tech support, the first person I speak to is somebody competent who does not assume I am a damned idiot. That may not sound like much, but it is EVERYTHING when you are competent and simply want a little information or problem solving on their end after you've done everything you can on your end. At the end, tech support with Qwest... well, all of their techs must have already quit to work elsewhere, because seriously, I was trying to explain what IPs and DNS numbers were to their tech support department in an effort to get simple information from them. It took hours and many escalations.

I just wanted to put in a good word for Century Link that they are doing something right. Like so many others, I love to complain or grouse about companies when they are doing something wrong, so I want to be sure to make noise when someone is doing it right.

Posted 10 months ago #
Mondoman

online
Member

Woot! BBQ grill party in the parking lot of the Centurylink windowless blockhouse bldg by BHS?

Posted 10 months ago #
TandM

offline
Member

Phoo, If you have any problems, let me know.

Posted 10 months ago #
lulumialu

offline
Member

I've got to throw in my .02 here-- I am currently a Centurylink customer (former Qwest customer), finally got fed up with an absolutely awful connection, essentially the same complaint as charliecooper, in fact I live very close to that block. Called to complain, they sent me a new modem and came out and upgraded my line, and now I'm getting the speeds that I'd been paying for.

Wish I hadn't had to raise hell to get it, though. They had the audacity to try to upsell me to their new 40mbps fiber optic line, meanwhile I was paying for 12mbps and I could barely stream Netflix. Pish! Tosh!

Posted 10 months ago #
ddutch

offline
Member

Hey TandM,

Shoot me a PM when you guys are done around NW 85th St and near 8th Ave NW (I'm located a block north of 85th near 8th Ave NW), I'd love to tell Comcast to go away :-).

Posted 10 months ago #
SmartsyArtsy

offline
Member

Glad I read this lulumialu; the static on my landline (which I only use for all the 800/888 calls when you're on hold forever) has gotten ridiculous and when I asked about it a while back, I was told that the building I live in would have to be rewired . I'm not sure what that means as opposed to "upgraded a line" but I am going to call them. Because of all the problems I had with my internet connection, they offered me a low rate if I agreed to keep the phone line for 12 mos. So, right now my phone + internet is less than most pay for internet alone. It would be nice to make more use of the phone.

Posted 10 months ago #
phoo

offline
Member

SA: The wiring in your building is old/degraded/chewed. The phone company won't pay for it as it is not their responsibility. Granted, it COULD be the loop to your house (which IS their responsibility), but it sounds like they have ruled this out.

I had this very same issue and likely the problem was the wires had been chewed by mice. The noise was so bad I could not talk on the phone (I could YELL on the phone). Because I was literally kitty corner from the Central Office, we still managed to get 800k/s out of the connection which is amazing considering the degradation. Our friends ran a new line from the demarc (the little box on the outside of our house in this case) to inside the house - problem solved.

Posted 10 months ago #
Mondoman

online
Member

Yes, running phone cable inside your house is usually pretty easy, as long as you are careful to avoid the stuff that could be damaged/damaging, like electrical wires and water pipes. If you've got a crawl space or attic, just run the cable into there, then to directly over/under your destination, and back into the room.

Posted 10 months ago #
TandM

offline
Member

In houses, we can run new Inside Wire (IW) for you if it's needed. We often home run a new jack for DSL as well. DDutch, I'm not sure how to send a PM. If you shoot me your address I can check out what we have there and get back to you. tstille@centurylink.com

Smartsy, if you have any issues, shoot me an email.

Posted 10 months ago #
phoo

offline
Member

Mondoman: In the case of what I saw done, it's not something I would recommend for someone who wasn't handy. I know I wouldn't attempt it. The folks who did it actually drilled a hole through to the outside wall after a casual harrowing (to me) conversation about whether the power lines from the nearby outlet usually were run left or right (oh, I think it's right, ok bzzzzt!). However, avoiding electrocution was the trickiest part (in this case they hooked up to the demarc themselves, so no need to get the telco involved - they worked there anyways), after that it was just a matter of caulking it up tight, though I never did install the biscuit jack on the inside that I meant to (we just had a male connector instead).

SA: TandM are offering to do the same thing ("home run new jack") that I had done, but in likely a bit more professional way than what I had done. :) Fixes the issue, but you'll have a quality working line in just one room. It is cheaper than rewiring the whole house, but if you want good quality landline in every room, you'll need to rewire the house. Maybe get a really good cordless phone?

Sidenote: IIRC, I was able to plug into a phonejack in the working room and get landline throughout the house (until the mice ostensibly chewed completely through), but I wouldn't bank on this solution. It depends where the problem lies.

Posted 10 months ago #
Mondoman

online
Member

Indeed, my definition of "easy" may have been influenced by my owning a few drills and having watched many many Ask This Old House shows...

Posted 10 months ago #
TandM

offline
Member

Smartsy, Just sent you an email.

Posted 10 months ago #
phoo

offline
Member

Mondoman: I must confess that electrocution is one of my fears. Worse than getting shocked myself is watching someone else (perhaps someone who guessed the powerlines run right when they run left!) get fried to death. IF you knew well enough precisely where the power was and what precautions to take, it really wouldn't be *that* big of a deal.
Psst, are you coming to the GG picnic?

Posted 10 months ago #
Mondoman

online
Member

Yah, the sudden and usually unexpected nature of electrocution could be pretty scary. Dunno yet about the picnic - schedule's not looking so good.

Posted 10 months ago #
SmartsyArtsy

offline
Member

We have someone watching out for us here and he can --and did get it done.

I contacted TandM on Monday and explained that my land line, which was always questionable, was now so deteriorated that conversation was just about impossible. My Dsl connection was terrible also-- no surprise.

True to his word, he sent a broadband expert over who called me Tuesday at the time TandM said she would, and arrived within an hour. She found at least 3 problems, made corrections, monitored them on her equipment and my system, and also called in a technician would do some work up on the pole. He arrived within a couple of hours and took care of business, came in to look at my system's modem stats.

I now have the max downstream I am paying for, a strong phone connection, and confidence in TandM and his team. Both TandM and the broadband expert called on Wed to followup, and urged me to call TandM if any problem comes back.

I urge you to contact him if you are having problems.

Thanks TandM, broadband expert, and technician!!

Posted 9 months ago #
Mondoman

online
Member

Definitely nice to see CenturyLink step up!

Posted 9 months ago #