We got this about 2 years ago when they finally broke the Comcast monopoly on our area with fiber from Windstream.

They are however THE most frustrating, near-totally-incompetent company I've ever dealt with that happens to have an excellent product.

We have the 500 Mbps service and I know they offer 1 Gig service so I called them up 2 weeks ago and asked about it. $15 extra they said, OK sign me up!

They CANNOT figure out how to flip a switch or click a button or do whatever they need to do to to make my service from 500 to 1,000 and it's really been an exercise in patience. They said initially that a tech would have to come out to my house "to change out the modem". I made it clear that I ALREADY HAD the fiber service and should this be a simple config change on their end? Oh no sir, we have to send someone out.

Their guy shows up this past Friday: "I'm here to install your fiber". I tell the guy I ALREADY have the fiber and just want to go from 500 to 1 Gig and why is he there. He rolls his eyes a bunch and gets in his truck and makes some calls and is gone for like 30 minutes then comes back and says "OK you should be good, it may take some time, reboot etc, etc"

Well it's now Wednesday and I still DO NOT have 1 Gig service and we verified that my router is capable of Gig internet and the ONT (their fiber modem) is the correct one. I've called several times and each time it's like I have to start over, they have no idea what I'm talking about and can't seem to get this to work. It's really surprising they cannot seem to figure out how to change my speed, how hard is that? I want to give them more money and they cannot seem to be able to get out of their own way!

I actually may just tell them to bag it all and go back to Comcast who ironically is now offering some killer deals now that there is real competition.

why do you need 1 gig service?

unless you are among the very small group of people who really need 1 Gig, then 500Mbps should be fine.

maybe just cancel the order and save the $15 and buy another box of 9mm every month

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

why do you need 1 gig service?

Why do you need 8 cylinders?

Don’t switch. You will lose your symmetrical bandwidth as Comcast and all MSO’s are still asymmetrical. Spectrum, Comcast, and Cox are well into development offering symmetrical bandwidth. They will have the gig speeds soon. Spectrum, I know for a fact, is up to 10Gb symmetrical. The problem with any of this is it will be a very slow roll out. Even if the new service was available at 1Gb or 5Gb, fiber > coax, all day long. The newer orange coax is safe as kittens but the laser is still better.

Windstream, I totally understand, just keep battling through it. I know from someone in the industry that is very high up and works with them, that they spent a bloody fortune upgrading all their backbone gear and making it reliable. Windstream is more of a rural LEC so what you are experiencing is not surprising. If you are not getting the 1Gb speed then legally they can’t bill you for it. You are just going to have to keep calling them. In fact, call them back, and ask them if you can speak to someone in their NOC. The ONT, should be on your wall. That’s a fiber termination point, and it’s powered. It converts fiber to Ethernet which runs to your LEC provided modem. The technology works much the same as DSL. There is a DSlam or equivalent device feeding your area and property. Switching from 500Mb to 1Gb is a simple MD5 like profile that needs to be changed. Literally someone in the NOC could make the change for you in 60 seconds. You reboot on your end, done. You don’t need a new ONT and you shouldn’t need a new modem either.

Like any customer service in any sector, keep calling, keep escalating. My rural land in the mountains is Windstream LEC area and I specifically bought where I did so that I could get fiber. Getting fiber in a very rural area was difficult for me and I do this shit for a living. Where my land is, Windstream 1Gb fiber service is $90 a month.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
The ONT, should be on your wall. That’s a fiber termination point, and it’s powered. It converts fiber to Ethernet which runs to your LEC provided modem.

I have an outside box which looks like a telephone NID then the cable comes into my basement and I have a wall backer board I put in and the ONT is there then I have it running via ethernet to my TP-Link Wifi router.

The service is great and very stable and I get the advertised speeds but it's just hard dealing with the people.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
The ONT, should be on your wall. That’s a fiber termination point, and it’s powered. It converts fiber to Ethernet which runs to your LEC provided modem.

I have an outside box which looks like a telephone NID then the cable comes into my basement and I have a wall backer board I put in and the ONT is there then I have it running via ethernet to my TP-Link Wifi router.

The service is great and very stable and I get the advertised speeds but it's just hard dealing with the people.

I suspect the outside box is the ONT, and what you have indoors is the power supply for it. This is because your provider wants to have physical access to their device.

ONTs will typically provide either Ethernet or coax on the copper side of the box that feeds the modem (or directly to an ethernet router). Which feed (coax or twisted pair) is "live" can be toggled via a simple configuration change. This is, at least, how Verizon does it in my area.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

The service is great and very stable and I get the advertised speeds but it's just hard dealing with the people.

This is every company, service, in existence today. Especially Gen Z in lower paying positions.
You stick with it. Keep calling, ask for a supervisor, and be professional. Vent after the call.
I have contacts for every LEC and MSO in existence but none of my offices I engineer for are in your state.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
I suspect the outside box is the ONT, and what you have indoors is the power supply for it. This is because your provider wants to have physical access to their device.

ONTs will typically provide either Ethernet or coax on the copper side of the box that feeds the modem (or directly to an ethernet router). Which feed (coax or twisted pair) is "live" can be toggled via a simple configuration change. This is, at least, how Verizon does it in my area.

No the outside box just is the splice from the overhead wire from the pole to the fiber which runs into my basement and looks like this (not my actual ONT, but this is what it is):

When I originally got the fiber from them it was 100MBPS and I asked the installer (who was very knowledgeable) if I needed the faster speed. They offered up to 00 at that time.

He told me anything over 64 would probably not make any practical difference unless I had a houseful of kids playing video games.
He was right. Except for running a speedtest, I can't tell any difference.

Windstream has since bumped my speed up to the minimum they have now, 500 and I still don't notice anything different.

The good news is it has been very reliable and actually costs me less than the older copper wire system that required a phone line and all the charges and fees that go along with that.