Sporadic Internets

By: Mr. T on August 13, 2010
Sheesh! Anyone have a good explanation for why the intertubes were down earlier?

Comments

See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.

Laurie
August 13, 2010 at 3:04AM

I was wondering if it was just me. Guess not!

Fletch
August 13, 2010 at 1:03PM

One guess? Time Warner sucks. For those that know how big a fan of theirs I have always been, I am pleased to let you know that I eradicated Time Warner from my life this summer. It’s been fabulous!

Moses
August 13, 2010 at 1:12PM

To whom did you turn for solace?

I would like to explore the options.

Mr. Wilson
August 13, 2010 at 1:15PM

As Stacy noted, Time Warner was one of eight customers that suffered a power outage. This time around the fault lies with LES, not TWC.

...Unless TWC should have had backup power running to their facility that got knocked out. If that’s the case, then they’re both to blame.

Fletch
August 13, 2010 at 2:28PM

Would you not agree that a telecom provider should have a back-up power plan for just such an outage? Now they are responsible for people’s TV, plus phone, plus internet.

People would be screaming bloody murder if the power went out to the block housing Windstream and all the phones went out for a couple of hours. I would think there should be some repetitive redundancy.

Fletch
August 13, 2010 at 2:31PM

Hey Moses - I switched to Windstream for DSL a couple of years back, and didn’t notice any decline in speeds. That chopped about $50 off my bill.

This summer, for my TV habit (and it’s a bad one), I made the move to DirecTV. They had me with the phrase “whole-home DVR.” I have more HD channels than I had at TWC, although I did give up a couple that I enjoy. I gained a whale more movie channels, but I may not keep them all. I also gained the NFL Network and Big Ten Network, both in HD.

The whole-home DVR is the bomb. I’m now drunk with DVR power. It’s insane. Plus, my bill as for right now is nearly $60 a month less than it was at TWC.

I did put some money into the project up-front, and I went above and beyond what most people would *need*, but it will all pay for itself by month 6 or 7, and then I’m ahead of the game.

Mr. Wilson
August 13, 2010 at 2:44PM

I’d keep phones live first. Phones are arguably the most critical. As for TV and internet, I don’t think they rise to the level of critical infrastructure, at least not for short outages. Arguably internet becomes more critical with time so I’d prioritize that next. But TV? TV can wait.

I have no idea if TWC could actually separate out those uses, though. I would think they could—by powering up specific servers and such—but what do I know?

Mr. T
August 13, 2010 at 2:54PM

Fletch - Out of curiosity, what were your total costs for going satellite? I’d love to go satellite.

Also, how did going windstream knock off $50 from your internet bill? Residential roadrunner is like $60. Did you have a business connection?

Peter
August 13, 2010 at 4:38PM

Isn’t this something the City Council should look into?  Oh wait… they’re too busy with tavern hours and redefining the forester job description…

Fletch
August 13, 2010 at 7:13PM

Sorry, let me clarify. I used to have TWC Roadrunner. It seems like my plan was for $45 a month plus tax, so when I moved to Windstream, it didn’t save me that amount, but it dropped my TWC by that amount. I pay maybe $5 or so less a month for Windstream than I did with TWC. The important thing was to get rid of TWC.

As to my upfront costs to go to DirecTV, I think it was in the neighborhood of $350 or so out of pocket. However, that was all by choice. To get their whole-home DVR service, you need at least 1 HD DVR, and at least 1 other HD box. Those were both “free” when I signed up.

Installation was “free” as well. However, I added a 2nd DVR, which was $100. To add it later would have been $200, so I did it upfront. I also ordered myself an antenna for the attic, so I could get locals if/when the satellite went out due to weather (which it has). That was maybe another $40 or so. I also bought a $70 box that allows the over-the-air channels from my antenna to appear in the DVR guide. This means if I wanted, for example, to DVR something from 10/11, I can do so either via channel 10 on the satellite, or via channel 10.1, which I am plucking out of thin air with my antenna.

Also, even though the installation was “free,” I had to pay the sales tax on the whole value of the install, so there was maybe $80 in taxes.

So, with my set-up, I had those extra costs. One wouldn’t need to do a 2nd DVR, or the antenna, or the extra antenna converter if they chose not to.

Sorry for the long post. Let me know if that helps.

Mr. T
August 13, 2010 at 11:36PM

Thanks for the explanation. I am pretty sick of TWC’s selection of channels. My parents have been faithful satellite users for years and I would love to have the same options as they do. I will continue to explore options.

Fletch
August 15, 2010 at 4:39PM

Hey Mr. T, if you want more info, hit me up any time. Mr. Wilson has my email address. I think if you compare Dish vs. DirecTV, Dish’s packages seem to be slightly less expensive (like maybe $5 a month). They don’t have the same whole-home DVR solution as DirecTV right now, but they are getting to something close. Also, if you are an NFL guy and ever think you’d want Sunday Ticket, DirecTV is the only option.

Most run specials all the time. I signed up and got Free HD programming for life.

forex robot
August 22, 2010 at 4:48PM

nice post. thanks.

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