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Review by jdbob 
UPDATED: 43 days ago
member for 140 days, 154 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 John Day,Grant,OR
 $44 per month
 about 4 days
 CenturyTel
 "Download Better than Tachyon Satellite"
 "Dynamic IP"
 "Not a lot of choices out in the boonies"
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Looked at Verizon mobile data but I'm not comfortable with Cell phone companies policy of just letting people run up absurd overages rather than just contacting the customer when they get close to their monthly limit.
CenturyTel just started offering their "Extended Internet" (which translates into we are too cheap to install a cabinet) recently to this area, at least officially. A couple of neighbors have contacts with local CT employees, so they were able to get it 6 months or more ago.
I called them on a Tuesday and received the modem friday morning by UPS. The lineman showed up in the afternoon but wasn't optimistic at that point about getting the signal here. He called later in the afternoon to inform me that I now had a connection, although there was a lot of noise on the line.
After about a week they got things fairly stable, now seems to stay synced at 352 down and 256 up instead of jumped all over the place. They charge me for 1.5Mb service in any case. Some test results at »/testhistory/1656151/adcfa
Update 19 Sept 2009: DSL and dial-tone dead since 18 Sept 2009 4PM. Neighbor had his go down the day before. Lineman told him the wiring is falling apart up here in the hills.
Update 21 Sept 2009: DSL back around 10AM, so that's about a 66 hour outage, not impressed.
Update 9 Oct. 2009: Ever since the outage the modem has been reporting a upload sync of 128 but only a margin of 1db. As a result actual upload speeds are in the range of 10kbs to 20kbs. Contacted Centurytel, both via phone in Louisiana and in person locally. In both cases they don't care.
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 Review by rupst2
UPDATED: 53 days ago
member for 6.8 years, 549 visits, last login: 44 days ago
Columbia,Boone,MO
$60 per month
about 25 days
CenturyTel
"adsl2+ 10mb"
"Price, outages"
"typical overpriced telco dsl"
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Called 3 weeks prior to move to have my 10mb dsl activated. No signal on the Saturday I moved. Had to wait until Monday to have telco guy fix it. Connection was pretty marginal for 10mb. Had to do a short 8' homerun line to keep it stable to get my 10mb speed. First bill came and $6.46/mo in taxes and fees. Never had that with ATT's version of PURE dsl. Centurytel supplies dialtone you don't use but you get stuck with state and local taxes, 911, and relay charges for it. Oh, and charged $1/mo on call block. So it amounts to $60.41/mo after $5 promotional discount. Then my service was out again yesterday and had to have telco guy come out and fix. At this point the connection has been OK, but really not fitting the bill. Ordered 12mb/1mb medicomm cable service to be installed tomorrow. I'm very pro dsl and anti cable, but as much as it hurts to say it, cable wins. 
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Review by rick_farrow
Posted: 70 days ago
(review was emailed from domain centurytel.net)
West Plains,Howell,MO
$39 per month (12 month contract)
CenturyTel
"up most of the time"
"no announced outages via email"
"overall ok"
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Overall I suppose I am satisfied with Centurytel. I have been a customer of
their dsl for about 5-6 years. In my area Centurytel is the only dsl
provider ; we have been promised Charter Cable Internet for years but no
luck so far. My complaints about Centurytel would probably be:
1. There are no announced outages (due to maintenance) which is emailed
to subscribers. I think they post alerts about upcoming outages in some
remote portion of their site but I couldn't tell you where that is. There
have been no outages lately but there was about a six month stretch a year
or so ago when outages seemed to occur weekly. This was very frustrating.
2. The homepage Centurytel offers is really just a tweaked Myway.com
homepage. There is nothing to it, really, and I would not consider making
it my homepage.
3. The security software offered (for a fee) by Centurytel is from
Computer Associates which is a mid-tier performer at its best. Why they
don't offer F-Secure, Norton or even Trend Micro or McAfee is beyond me.
4. I purchased a dsl modem with firewall when I started with
Centurytel. There has been one software update/upgrade to the modem and
that was about a year after I purchased it. It has a built in firewall
although I am not sure how secure it is anymore. Now Centurytel leases
their modems although a person could save a lot of money just purchasing one
at walmart.
Followup comments:  
JoeConsumer
@myvzw.com
| Centurytel Facts Olive Branch and a small area just outside the city limits is the only area Centurytel services throughtout our region. Centurytel is larger in othe areas but very small in North MS. The city of Olive Branch has a contract with Centurytel and receives a handsome return on all services. Centurytel is high and not competitive with the neighboring AT&T service areas which surround it. Centurtel does NOT have to be competitve they own the rights through the FCC to serve the area in Olive Branch which results in higher revenues for both the city and company. There are literally neighbors in surrounding areas that live next door to each other that have to make a long distance phone call to call each other. Centurytel's solution a pricey area wide calling plan which makes an average phone line nearly $50 with any coomon features such as caller ID. I had Centurytel before I dropped my home phone because of poor service, dropped calls, etc. Yes a landline with calls that failed and it has been a cronic issue with many OB residents.
I have a solution. Drop your Centurytel phone service. Get Comcast high speed Internet and get a magic jack. You'll save money and put am end to Centurytel's monoply in out community. It will not be profitable for Centurytel to remain in our area and the will sell their rights mist likely yo AT&T which is now offering U-verse TV, phone and Internet. It will also give an incentive to the City of Olive Branch to Enter contract talks with AT&T to give all of us a oppertunity to choose who we'd like to use for our phone, cable and Internet. The time is now but unless we drop Centurtel we are only holding ourselves back! | |
| | Telephony
join:2008-10-10
Olive Branch, MS
| Re: Centurytel Facts Centurytel Facts ha.
Fact 1: OB was about middle of the pack in Centurytel territory's in terms of access lines and closer to the top in growth. At least before the recent merger, it may have affected this one way or the other.
Fact 2: Centurytel does not have a contract with the City of OB, other than to provide them phone service.
Fact 3: The only return the city gets from Centurytel is in the form of taxes and community involvement.
Fact 4: On the area calling plan, well they could have no solution. Plus it caps at $10 a month. ATT has the same plan.
Fact 5: Centurytel does not have a monopoly, Comcast offers dial tone in OB for competition's sake.
Those are the real facts. I understand your frustration, but to post stuff that is just not true is well, just wrong. ATT had this area way back in the day and chose to sell it, they did not want it. | |
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Review by xD3G3NERATE
Posted: 81 days ago
member for 98 days, 15 visits, last login: 43 days ago
Pell City,Saint Clair,AL
$42 per month
CenturyTel
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Bandwidth is terrible. For a $40 plan, you'd think something more than 1.5Mbps would be given.
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Review by bmac58
Posted: 154 days ago
member for 223 days, 58 visits, last login: 118 days ago
Manila,Mississippi,AR
$93 per month
about 3 days
CenturyTel
"the service is fairly reliable. speeds are pretty consistent"
"we were told it would be $63 and got hit with $30 in other charges"
"it's the best i can get for where i'm at"
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i've had some disconnection problems but it's not from the centurytel service. I'm having problems with my dlink ebr 2310 router.
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 Review by linicx
UPDATED: 189 days ago
member for 6.9 years, 2110 visits, last login: a few hours ago
United State
$95 per month (12 month contract)
about 30 days
CenturyTel
"telephone works"
"not much go for the dough"
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Gather your wagons around, boys, this has been a circle chuck from the start. I was in the process of buying a house, closing a house sale, and moving between two states with a dying spouse when I ordered the service. The installers were supposed to be at the house the day of closing as we would be returning home the next day. They showed up a day late. And we paid for one month of no service because no one at tha local level bothered to check records. They assumed all was well when it was not. Nothing worked. The copper pair that came to our house had been assigned to someone else. I essentially paid to roll out the truck to fix it.. It still irks me.
The sales gimmck the lady offered would give me a $20 bonus per month for new service for getting the local/LD/dsl bundle. She forgot to mention the caveat. I had to send in one coupon per month six times. Let me be the first to tell you that IF you are the sole caregiver of a blind sick patient at home, you don't think about ponzi schemes, you think about the patient, ER, ICU, Rx. meals, death and dying. And I lost the $120 bucks. It is my fault, but this is one of the most unnreasonable telco I ever dealt wilth. They make Ma Bell look like a piker when it comes to plain old-fashioned mean spirted customer relations.
Something else I did not know is the local telco sold out to Centurytel before we moved. It promised to be a bumpy ride and it has been. I can't keep a signal. Filters were replaced twice and the Starbridge Lynx 220 modem was replaced twice, too. A new copper pair from the office to the house was installed, plus the office equipment was reset or reseated four times. And it sill doesn't work very well. I guess I've been without service for at least 12 days in the last four months.
To their credit, when the phones only worked like a half-duplex card they fixed it the same day but only because the work order went to a compassionate repairman who knows my sick spouse. These guys are the cream of the crop, but they are over-worked and under-paid. Sooner or later someone will be hurt.
The DSL is iffy. When it's hot, it's hot, but when it's not, dial up is faster. A lot faster. CenturyTel has room to improve in terms of consistent up/down speeds. But in terms of office staff and first level tech support, this car-wreck-about-to-happen needs a complete overhaul.
The good news is wireless from a local-owned company in a nearyby town is coming soon. The better news is I have the land, the building, and the electricity to power a new tower.
------------
I need to clear up some things for BBR. Once upon a time this service was GRICS. Century Telephone bought it about two years ago.
I can say with all honesty, no improvements have been made. The promised FIOS was never installed. I do not know anything about this service except it stops 4-5 times a day for no apparent reason. Messages from a genealogy group I belong to are being blocked. I never cared enough about this company to inquire why, because the answer is always the same. The server is always working fine; my PC is the problem. It is the same " all purpose" answer I heard fifteen years ago. The problem is I have not used a PC in a number of years,
Today is 26 Feb 09. I finally had enough.Tomorrow I pull the plug on the internet, and if I like the new ISP, in a couple of weeks I'll add their VOIP and drop Century Telephone completely. When I'm all done, I will save about $100 a month and still have everything I need.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------
It is now mid-May. Good old Century Telephone tried to jerk me around for an extra $200+ for quitting the contract early. The low speed and frequent interruptions was not acceptable for DSL or for the price I was paying, plus I was paying 15 cents per local call.
Some how these arrogant telcos believe two things. 1- Every customer uses a PC, and 2- Rural customers don't know what a computer is. They are wrong on both accounts. By the time I came to CenturyTel, I had already been on DSL for several years and I didn't own a PC. The fact that they did not provide it was not my fault. They fact that it took several months to get the phone service working to a point where I could actually use the Internet was not my fault - but I still paid for it. I stayed with them longer than I should have - only because I did not realize I had another option. The ISP I use now is like a breath of fresh air. The office is awesome I can talk to IT anytime it is necessary, and they do not treat me like I just got off the turnip truck. Now they are upgrading and I have some small connectivity issues. They are aware of it and it isn't anything I am not willing to live with until the upgrade is complete.
As for CenturyTel's antics, I filed a complaint with FCC with a brief history of my problems with their service and stated I thought the 30% per month they wanted to charge on the balance of the contract was outrageous. Century Telephone agreed. They offered to send a small refund - but it takes four billing cycles to write a check - but they want their check every month.
My experience with Century Telephone is a common problem in rural America. Poor service and slower than advertised speeds is as normal as eating a hamburger. And every once in a decade you find a small ISP that works hard to give customers the best service they can provide. Small ISPs are not national telco and cable companies They are at the mercy of these companies who provide the Internet connection -which can be as far as 200 miles from local servers. In 15 years, I found one cell phone company and two ISPs that believe customers are VIPs. The public if fickle. It is a shame that the telcos and cable companies that depend upon us for revenue don't understand it.
.
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 Review by guy54435
UPDATED: 228 days ago
member for 6.7 years, 534 visits, last login: 1 days ago
Gleason,Lincoln,WI
$51 per month
CenturyTel
"Hardly ever have any problems"
"Could be cheaper"
"Very good service, but could cost less"
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We have had Centurytel dsl for 6-7 yrs and before that had dial-up with them for 7-8 yrs. in all that time have never really had any problems at all with service until recently. We used to get 1520 down 260 up now lately it has been sporadic anywhere between 600-1300 down most of the time with the occasional 1520-270
Going strong here still, minor problems with slow speeds seem to be fixed. My only wish would be higher speeds and cheaper prices.
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Review by mellcomm
UPDATED: 256 days ago
member for 1.4 years, 52 visits, last login: 3 days ago
Porterfield,Marinette,WI
$33 per month
about 8 days
CenturyTel
"Field tech has been great and eager to fix problems"
"DSL much downtime, slow connects and latency. Phone techs are worthless, and can't tell you anything"
"If you have a cable alternative take it, otherwise WildBlue is a better alternative if you have the $"
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Cable unavailable here, I would have preferred to get Wild Blue, with am unemployed, and the $30 price tag fit well with CTE.
I got their 1.5 mbps "True Broadband" package (without a phone line to save $), but the bandwidth is not reliable enough to support a Voip phone. If I have to add a phone line for another $25 I will switch to Wild Blue.
=================================================================
UPDATE
=================================================================
Well service has become more consistent but still frequently have slow connection issues that never seem to get fixed - they just go away.
It is rumored that Time Warner may be adding this section to their offerings this summer - maybe that will take some of this burden off of CenturyTel. It's be nice if the just delivered the service they're selling.
Followup comments: 
chd176
join:2003-01-10
Winfield, AL
 ·CenturyLink
| good luck ha! good luck with wildblue if you this centurytel is bad just wait until you drop some major cash for satellite "broadband" I was with direcway (now hughsnet) for a year it was AWFUL I'd rather go with dialup that satellite again.
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10,000/768 CenturyTel PPPoE DSL line (really 5,000/768  ) Now it's really 1500/256...again lol | |
| | mellcomm
join:2008-06-25
Porterfield, WI
·CenturyLink
| Re: good luck Maybe Wild Blue isn't the answer, but something has to be better than this:
»/testhistory/1561471/2563c
I'm so tired of not having the bandwidth I'm paying for. In some cases, like today, as bad as a dialup. Centurytel should be ashamed of this service. | |
| BigVe
join:2005-07-15
Gulliver, MI
·CenturyLink
| RE Going with Wildblue will get you script reading tech support in India.Not to mention all cash to fork out before you MIGHT get it to work.Not to mention their FAP.If so lucky that you get a connection then forget VOIP with them as that won't work.Get together with Centurytel techs or what it takes and keep what you got as that is many times better than any flavor of Wildblue OR Direcway(Hughesnet) | |
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linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium
join:2002-12-03
United State
·CenturyLink
| Absolutely correct A. Satellite Internet is a shell game for suckers. You uplink to a satellite positioned 20 miles above the earths surface so you can be downlinked to the Internet.
B. The only US broadband telephone provider worth the $$$ is AT&T. Cox, CT and the rest are barely better than dialup and they charge way too much money for poor service.
C. If you live in a large metro area like Dallas or Chicago, there is more competition, better prices and more choices.
Been there; done that..
--
Mac: No windows, No gates, Apple inside | |
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Review by BigVe
UPDATED: 264 days ago
member for 4.3 years, 1501 visits, last login: a few minutes ago
Gulliver,Schoolcraft,MI
$49 per month (12 month contract)
about 6 days
"Stable connection."
"Price a lot higher than other ISP's for the same service.Speeds have gone to the bottom"
"Need A LOT more bandwidth here"
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Finally have a choice besides dial-up(and satellite).Signed up as soon as it was available in mid March.19.95/mo. for first 3 mo.Modem supplied was a Netopia 3341 but i also have a Westell B-90.They both work equally well.I am VERY happy so far with my first 3+ months with Centurytel Dsl.Have talked to tech support online with some stupid questions i have had since this is new to me and i have always received helpful response.Also the technical staff that works for Centurytel around here i know somewhat and that i hope should make things easier if i have problems in the future.Only two outages so far.One was caused by a cut fiber cable and the other was login problems(PPPoE).I signed up for the fastest they offered 1500/256 and i have a constant 1250+ down and 205+ up so no complaints here(my dial-up was about 48/20 ) I am 14500' + from office.Had my line tested by installer and it is good for 6000+down/ 600+ up.I know that some areas serviced by Centurytel can get 3000/512 but i was told that it will be quite some time if ever for us here but i live on the hope.Have seen many negative thing from other users but i would recommend Centurytel.And YES tweaking do help.
Update 11-04-05
Now close to 8 months and have never had any issues worth mentioning with speed or connection.Speed is still around 1250/215 every time i test it.So bottom line is that i am a happy customer with Centurytel DSL just still hoping that they will lower prices to be more in level of other providers.
Update 2-20-06
Even though it works great i have lowered my rating on services as well as value for money.Centurytel keeps falling behind competition more and more.Have 1500/256 (1250/215 after overhead) and no way to get any faster package unless i purchase a business line then they upload goes to 512.Don't think its worth a 50+dollars one time cost and an extra $5/month.Come on C-tel wake up before you get run over.
Update 4-12-06
Still going strong.Actually my download and upload recently got a little faster up from 1250 to 1400 down and 215 up increased to around 265 up.Still like to know where upgrades to 3000/512 went.Otherwise i am a happy camper
1-24-07
Nothing major has happened except that my modem died.Was replaced the following day for free by Centurytel.Speeds still in the mid 1400's down and 250+up.Still hoping of a speed increase but that is wishful thinking.Lower price would be great too as this must be the most expensive Dsl in the whole US (maybe even the World)
6-23-07
Still working as expected so no complaints here.Going strong but we need higher speeds and lower prices to match other providers.
1-27-08
Working but bandwidth is lacking due to overload of customers and not enough BW to go around specially prime time.Looking in to IPTV so hopefully i am going to have enough steam for that to work reliable.Time will tell.Otherwise i can highly recommend Centurytel in this area since our techs are great.
3-20-08
Things are going downhills so my ratings have been updated accordingly.Still better than dial-up but it's getting closer.with pings between 500-1000ms and download speed less than 100
2-3-09
A little better now but major slowdowns later afternoon/evening hours.They also know their bandwidth problems but it look like i am in for a long wait....again.Why can't they just add bandwidth when they know it's needed and fiber is available to them? Speeds between 300-1500 down and always a stable ~260 up
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Review by huntdog
UPDATED: 264 days ago
member for 4.1 years, 1406 visits, last login: 1 days ago
Olive Branch,Desoto,MS
$99 per month
about 4 days
CenturyTel
"Price,bundled package long distance,Dish Network ,DSL"
"unreliable"
" works ok now and then"
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(ratings well below consensus)
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$99.00 month, 1500dn/384up
refurb modem Westell 6100-14
self install
local service is ok after you call the tech support, always seems to a problem with Centurytel equipment,after they reset switch it works well until the next storm or heavy rain comes though.
Good experience: quick to respond.
Bad experiences: continued speed problems
Centurytel is probably the worst provider in this area service is all out horrible Tech support is a joke,and Centurytel cannot or will not correct the problem,they bought out Lightcore and added to to the junk they already owned.
I have been in contact with Centurytel Tech Support for almost a year now ,having techs come to the house to tell me the problem is with their network( I've told them that along time ago) but nothing ever gets better,their Tech support call center phone system isn't any better either, I've been disconnected so many times while on hold because the phone system is overloaded, even the local voice service here is very poor,during peak hours you can't even make a phone call,you get the message " All circuits are busy now try your call again later" This happens on a regular basis.
Please see my test results:»/testhistory/1272154/d5012
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(13)
Enjoy even 1.5 MB!
Centurytel's High Speed Shortfall