Very happy that it became available.
Written: Feb 02 '03
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Pros: Very reasonable minimum speeds. Very consistent service.
Cons: Communication with them can be rather confusing and contradictory.
The Bottom Line: Armstrong is currently presenting a high quality Internet service with good speed and consistent service quality.
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| avaloncourt's Full Review: Armstrong Cable Services (PA) |
I have Zoom Internet in the Meadville, PA area. I had previously lived within Meadville and had Alltel DSL service and Zoom Internet was not yet available to anyone. I had a less than pleasing experience with the Alltel ADSL service but it was my only option. Approximately a year ago I moved outside of the city limits and discovered that Alltel could not provide DSL service because I had exceeded the maximum distance threshold.
By this time Armstrong had begun offering the Zoom service to Meadville residents but had not yet upgraded the regions outside the city. As a result I could not get service with them.
I checked on an occasional basis but was only given likely dates when the area would be upgraded. At one point I was told that a door hanger would be left at the residence when Digital Cable and Internet services would be available and that would be in a month or so. (A much later estimate that was previously given.) In approximately a month I called once again to ask. This time I was told that it had been available for quite some time. I asked when it had become available for this address and I was told a date which was two days before my previous call a month earlier. Needless to say this did not make me happy at all.
I inquired about the plans available. (I had already looked at the website so I knew the answers.) The person stated the minimum level and, like the previous reviewer mentioned, noted that there would be a $10 surcharge monthly because I didn't have cable service. (I have satellite service) I was interested to see if they mentioned the business class service and they did not.
I mentioned to the person that I saw on the website that they have a small office service available which is three times the speed of the home service at the same cost as the home service with the $10 surcharge. The business level service also includes more email addresses and 3 times the website storage space than the home version. The person acknowledged that it was indeed available at that price.
I ordered the entry level business service. Installation was scheduled for 5 days later. Since I already had an internal network within the house I decided to purchase a Linksys BEFW11S4 broadband router/wireless access point/4 port hub and have it installed and ready.
The installer arrived promptly. I explained where I would like the interface box placed on the house and also explained how I would like the cabling routed where other data cable exists. He had no problems with that. He did all of the outside installation work and then came to get me when it came to the indoor portion. I showed him the location of the wireless access point/broadband router. He said that since they don't officially support the use of anything but a single computer he would install the cable modem next to the router and that I would be responsible for everything beyond that point.
He completed the cable modem installation and used his test equipment to verify that it was functioning properly. He handed me some basic paperwork about the email address and left.
Unfortunately, two days later there was a lightning strike to a pole in the neighborhood about 250 feet away. This traveled through the cable line and burned out the cable modem. I called in for service and they had someone here about 4 hours later. The service person (whom I knew) said that I was very lucky because that lightning strike had destroyed a large number of televisions in the neighborhood and a large number of cable boxes. My only damage was the cable modem. He replaced the cable modem, tested it and asked about the router setup since he hadn't seen an internal network set up as complex as mine. I showed him how well the broadband/wireless router worked and I showed him the outdoor antennas for the wireless access. He asked to try some things on my computer and thanked me because the cable company's official position is that they don't encourage networks eating up additional bandwidth and they don't want their installers helping connect to internal networks. He was glad to see how it worked.
I will add that the Linksys BEFW11S4 was extremely easy to set up with the Zoom Internet cable service and I have been very happy with it.
The paperwork left regarding the email addresses said nothing about how to set up the software to use it. It also didn't mention anything about the website space and FTP procedures. I called and asked about the email and was told how to do that. Since that time they have updated their website to better explain both.
Service has been very consistent. There have been no outages at all in the last 8 months since the lightning strike. User loading hasn't been an overt problem. Sometimes speed differences can be noticed but overall there are noticeable changes. Speed tests generally show between 1Mb/s to 1.5Mb/s. The stated cap speed is 1.5Mb/s and speed tests have shown that to be accurate.
If you are considering getting the service I'd recommend using their website to answer your questions and become more informed before talking to their customer service people. You will then know all the services available and what options you have before the customer service reps tell you there is only one choice.
Armstrong is currently not charging for the cable modem or the installation (many providers make you pay for the modem). There is also no minimum contract to sign. Locally, the DSL provider (Alltel) will charge for the modem and installation unless you sign a contract. They charge for the modem only if you sign a one year contract and charge for neither the DSL modem or installation if you sign a two-year contract. Neither of these charges currently exist with Armstrong.
I would recommend the service to anyone with it available. I like it far better than my previous DSL experience and will remain a customer for a long time to come.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 60
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Epinions.com ID:
avaloncourt
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Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 1 member
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