 Review by linicx 
UPDATED: 1.1 years ago
member for 5.7 years, 1788 visits, last login: 37 days ago
 United State
 $25 per month
 "256/256"
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A couple of months ago I dropped SBC and Dish and signed up with Cox Cable for television and High Speed Internet. Cox worked miracles in the last 5 years and I was more than pleased with the changes. Granted, Cox HSI is not as cheap as DSL, but on the other hand Cox doesn't force unwanted bundling on customers either, at least not yet - but telco bundling is another story. Enter Cebridge Connections.
On May 8, 2006 Cox Communications announced the sale of certain cable properties to Cebridge. Included in the sale are most of what Cox considers smaller systems - cities in the middle states with a population of less than 15,000. Among the areas affected are West Texas, North Carolina, California, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Missouri.
This is where the fun really begins. Cebridge Connections states "they are a major operator of cable television, high-speed Internet, and other advanced services." They are in the process of changing the name of the holding company to Cequel Communications, LLC, while they finalize the purchase of Charter Communications.
Right now Cebridge Communications appears to have a full plate, but, for a company that claims to have experience they are doing a very poor job of managing email. Whether or not Cebridge aka Cequil aka Suddenlink becomes another major purveyor of pricey poor service remains to be seen.
When this company started to take control from Cox, I didn't have service for two days and I haven't had consistent incoming mail service for nearly a month. This is no way for a new company to treat the fickle public if it wants to keep current users happy. If service continues to degrade, as I expect it will, Sudden Link will treated like a footnote in a long line of ISPs that bit the digital dust. For $15 less per month, this company may well see a mass exodus of current Cox customers to the newly recreated AT&T - if they don't pay attention to business. .
I've been through the takeover/startup/major upgrades nonsense from ill-prepared, underfunded ISPs for more than ten years. It's generally a mess that takes months to fix - if it is ever fixed. Please do not ask me to believe that IF Cequil is listed on the NYSE, and IF it has the experience it claims it does, and IF it has a 4,000,000 members strong subscriber base, it cannot fathom how to build a Honey Pot, filter SPAM or redirect mail servers.
Only time will tell how well this company performs in middle America. ln the meantime I'm not going to hold my breath while I wait for Mother Cox to cut the apron strings.
August 25. 2006. Right now it is working pretty good. I will know more when or if this new company will become a self-reliant, stand alone, Internet Service Provider and not a turn key third-party operator. I got conned into signing on to one of those deals before, too. Truthfully, I am looking forward to an outstanding ISP. We earned it; we deserve it. The question is, will we ever get it? Maybe, but probably not from this company.
November 2, 2006. The excha ge between Cox and Suddenlink/Cebridge was pushed back again, This time into November. The only notification we've had so far is to make website backups because users is purging their servers. Wether or not Sudden Link will also provide free web space is just one more of the unknown factors associated with this Cox sale.
December 23, 2006. If I had known in March that Cox sold out to another pseudo ISP that only supports PC users, I would have never switched. If you use Linux, Free BSD, Mac or any other non-PC computer, don't look here for email or support. .
January 17, 2007: Last week I took the BIG plunge. I installed Direct-TV, reduced cable to Basic and the reduced the alleged HSI to 256/256. Guess what??? I didn't notice any difference. In fairness to Cox, I was getting what I was paying for which was 3000/1000. Suddenlink ruined a good system. They dropped cable channels, dropped the HSI speed before Christmas and then hiked prices this month. .
Now that I finally got rid of all the bad products, forced bundling, bald-faced lies and/or horrible customer service I have everything I want, more than I need, and I save a few bicls a month doing it.. The big plus is I am not mad all the time. The only thing left to do now is enjoy it.
Update": June 29, 2007
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The Cebridge higly touted new ISP, Suddenlink, finally arrived. Unfortunately in my area it is a
Sudden and complete disaster. My friends in the tthree connecting states say the same thing. I don't know whether to laugh or cry when local attorneys complain Court TV and Washington Journal is unobtainable while the entertainment talkiwould ng heads like Bill O'Reilly,and the nummerous religous channels are in gteat abundance. What I like Cegrand write idge to know is there are poepleSwho live in the Ozark Mountains who actually read literature, speak well. They didn't learn it from Suddenlink, comic books or church-on-demand television
Sudden Disaster.is somewhat better than dial-up most of the time, but on the other hand sometomes, say around 3am Wednesday morning, speed is outstanding. Elsewise, this company offers a ho-hum srervice with a less than inspiring support staff.
Cebridge is much like the local slum=lords. Once the sulm landlord/owner drain the tenants and the property of all assets, they move on to another sucker.
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Cebridge Connections
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