I beseech thee O RCN!
Written: Apr 13 '01 (Updated Apr 13 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Connection Reliability: |
 |
|
| Quality of Tech Support: |
|
|
|
Pros: Very good broadband service, and friendly customer service
Cons: Not so great technicians, and problem with their cable tv service
The Bottom Line: RCN Cable is a great company to check out. If they don't work with ya, that's all right. Nothing too good or bad about this company.
|
|
|
| LifeStar's Full Review: RCN Cable |
As promised from my review on the Linksys router, I've finally gotten around to writing my review on RCN cable.
The Background:
RCN cable moved into our area (Boston) a couple of years back. They weren't that big, but they made some essential contracts with our landowners for our apartment complexes. They were offering to install their cable system in the apartments and supply a different source of cable TV then the defacto in Boston (Cablevision, AKA AT&T Cable now).
Well, a couple of years later, my dad and I were thinking about how to solve our Internet problem. We only had one telephone line, been using AOL for the longest time, we were getting sick of it. I was missing a lot of telephone calls, and not able to make calls too. My mother wasn't all to thrilled for the past 6 years, and well, I've tasted what a T1 is like, and never was satisfied with phone speed ever since.
What was a poor, techie, college boy, err.. MAN suppose to do?
Answer: GO BROADBAND
Looked at a bunch of options, and eventually I settled on us getting a cable modem from RCN. Couple of reasons:
1. Availability - The RCN jack was sitting right there under our stair case. RCN had been around for a couple of years, and we were able to get their internet/TV service.
2. Cost - $39.95 for the internet system and $29.95 for basic cable TV. It was a lot better than our deal with cablevision back then, and we were willing to spend a bit more for internet if it meant we could get stuff done.
3. Cable better than DSL - DON'T SHOOT! In our area (The BIG DIG, AKA HOLE IN YOUR WALLET), we weren't candidates for pure ADSL service b/c it just happened that the Big Dig workers destroyed the copper piping that connected our part of town to the rest of the Verizon copper network. To fix that, they decided to connect a copper-fiber connection at the destroyed area. So we didn't lose telephone service, but thanks to that small amount of fiber, we lost the capability to have ADSL.
4. Nerdy, eccentric spokesman - Thought the guy was cool! JUST KIDDING!
With that, onto the next section of my story...
The installation:
So I called up RCN, told them I would like to get their cable. Was contacted by their Boston Rep. named John Perry, and told that since we were doing this around Nov., we were going to get a special 3 month deal of 19.95 for the internet. COOL!
Told we were obligated to get their Cable TV service, so we did. It was better than Cablevision's programming for sure! Anyhows, the installation dude came, and it all went well. Installation took less than 2 hours and the guy was really friendly. He understood english, knowledgeable, and polite. Even though he was 6 foot something and looked like he played prof. football before. Comparing this to my 5'10 frame... wow...
Practical use:
Afterwards, I was in a honeymoon state over the cable modem service. It worked great, used my linksys router(Wrote a review for that), and networked, and it was grand. The cable TV looked great too, for a while...
Don't get me wrong, the TV looked great, but then my mom noticed a faint line scrolling up on the TV repeatedly. My mom, being very sensitive to movements by bugs, did not like this at all. So I called up RCN that night and told them about the problem. I had to undo all that I networked so everything would be "legit" when their tech guys would come to "fix" the problem.
Unfortunately, they caused it to get worst. How you may ask?
1. Me no speak english - I had to work on that day they came, but my parents(who can't speak great english either) told me the two techies barely understood english.
2. Where's my superglue? - They also seem to not understand what "tweak" means. We just needed them to adjust the cable TV signal so that faint line would disappear. Well, they made it disappear, but they also made the ability to watch clear pictures on the International Channel impossible!
3. Where did they go? - They left once they were done w/o checking if my parents were happy.
Either way, not too happy with RCN right now. A list of the good and bad...
The GOOD:
-Great customer service
-Friendly staff
-Knowledgeable installation technician.
-John Perry was a nice guy
-Great pricing & special perks
-Internet service is extremely good. I have not experienced anything below 50K transfers, usually around the 110K area, even have hit 400 once!
-Good lineup of channels
-Up to 4 email accounts FREE
-Secure internal Firewall protection
-Nice color scheme
The BAD:
-Bad repair guys
-The accounting department are very picky
-Bad repair guys
-They goofed up our bill 4 times, had to call them to fix it
-Bad repair guys who can't understand english(You don't need great english in my book, just get my cable fixed!)
6 months later...
Well, it's been six months so far with RCN, and I don't foresee us switching for a while. When I can arrange another day off, I plan on raising heck with RCN to fix our TV signal for good! Until then, my mom will have to make due with fuzzy pictures from the international channel.
Overall though, I do like RCN, though their service definitely has a lot of room to improve upon. They're pretty much a startup company, relatively new to the cable tv and internet industries, but they do try their best. That's the reason why I've decided to stick around a little longer to see how they improve (or worsen).
Is RCN for me?
Is Carrot cake with white frosting for you? I don't know, only you do. I can only give you my opinion, but in regards to RCN, they're a pretty good company, and worth a try to see if they fit you. Our case is pretty weird since our neighbors have cable TV from RCN, and they have no problems with their TV signal. I would give them a try, if they don't work for you, you have a lot of other options. Either case, I'm expecting more improvements from this company, and until they really mess up, like make me miss "Whose Line Is It Anyways?", I don't see us leaving them anytime soon.
The End
Hope you found this very long epinion helpful, and love to hear from all of ya. Until next time, this is LifeStar saying goodnight, and sleep tight.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 69.90
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
LifeStar
|
|
Location: Boston, MA
Reviews written: 86
Trusted by: 63 members
About Me:
11.06.06 - I'm sorta back, brand new review!!!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.