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Review by ptlake 
Posted: 1.4 years ago
member for 3.1 years, 45 visits, last login: 148 days ago
 Charlotte,Mecklenburg,NC
 $41 per month
 "cheaper than rr by $5.00/month"
 "support can be trying - fortunately the service works more than not"
 "I'm sticking with it 'til fios comes our way... then i get to deal with verizon..."
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this is earthlink over time-warner... time warner provides the end customer service, earthlink provides technical service. technical support tends to be trying. chats are typically cut and paste from a reference book...
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Review by docbiohazard
Posted: 1.4 years ago
member for 6.3 years, 16 visits, last login: 141 days ago
Houston,Harris,TX
$42 per month
"Getting faster and faster, cheaper than comcast/road runner, didn't have to change email address when roadrunner left."
"? want to keep my CC on file even tho I pay via Comcast"
"Won't be switching to UVerse any time soon if they keep upping speeds"
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So I've been an Earthlink customer for about 8 years. Originally my actual cable provider was Time Warner, but Earthlink was always a few bucks cheaper than Road Runner. Added bonus when Comcast came to town, my email didn't change. Lately I've been running speed tests, and since Comcast took over, they seem to be increasing my bandwidth without much fanfare. Not sure what the story is, might be due to Uverse entering my area. I've moved once since I had the service, and they fumbled the move briefly but corrected it very quickly. Support has been good. For some reason, they want to keep a CC on file at Earthlink even though I pay via Comcast. They send me monthly email reminders but haven't done anything about it. If they can keep the cost down and keep boosting the speed, I'll be a happy camper... until Uverse can support more than one HD channel at a time, then they might be in trouble.
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Review by semicharm
UPDATED: 1.4 years ago
member for 2.8 years, 6 visits, last login: 1.4 years ago
Columbus,Franklin,OH
$42 per month
"Cable broadband on a Time Warner line for less than the Time Warner price!"
"Clueless techsupport"
"Cheaper than other services offered over cable at time of order and fairly reliable."
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Well, this tale started about 4 years ago when I was finally in the market for broadband in my apartment. Since I needed a speedy connection and had heard of the problems with DSL, which was later confirmed when I had actually worked in tech support for a DSL provider, I decided to go with cable, and Earthlink was the cheapest for the speed at the time. They were even cheaper than Time Warner for the same speed over their own line, had an even cheaper 6 month intro rate, and free 20 hours for dialup.
After signing up, I was scheduled to have an installation appointment a few weeks later, but my account and email was ready to go almost right away. (Why my former employer couldn't make it this simple is beyond me!). When the Time Warner tech came for the install (Earthlink doesn't have line technicians), it took over an hour and he tried to connect me for TV service on an internet only order! I'm sure that they would have billed me for it too!
A few weeks after I got the service I couldn't get an IP address, so I called their tech support. The agent had me test a few things, but couldn't figure it out, so he transfered me to a "tier 3" agent who had me try a few other things, including disconnecting the coax from the modem, but he eventually concluded that I needed to reinstall windows! It turns out that something had disabled XP's DHCP client. At least I did gleam a tidbit of info from this experience; if you disconnect the coax, you can get to the modem's internal "router", but all it gets you is a status page. Can be good for checking DHCP issues though!
Everything was fine for months, except for the occasional service interruption, until one morning the service was out and I really needed to send an email, so I thought I would try that dialup service. I called Earthlink's cable tech support, as that was the only number I had, and was bounced through 5 offices before I finally got to dialup support and the lady there wanted to transfer me back to the office that had just transfered me to her! After I demanded that she give me support for the 20 hour dialup service that was on my account, she placed me on hold for several minutes before coming back with the number.
Eventually the interruptions became less frequent, about 2-3 time a year, and I got a router, which was dead simple to setup with their modem. (Again, why my former employer couldn't make it this simple is beyond me!) The last call I've had to place was when my router could not get an IP address. The tech had me connect my PC to the modem and concluded that my PC was the problem. Since I'm an IT consultant, I knew better! After telling him that I could get to the modem status page with the coax disconnected, he sheepishly transfered me to their "tier 3" tech support, which was actually a Time Warner tech! When I told him the problem and he found out that I was on Earthlink, I immediately told me that it was *Earthlink's* DHCP server that was the problem and offered to route me to an alternate server until the problem could be fixed! Why the F***ING HELL didn't the Earthlink tech know this!
All I can say is that I'm lucky to have the technical knowledge to get these problems taken care of, because otherwise I would have been screwed. Unfortunately, after having worked in a call center for DSL tech support, I can confess that the first line tech agents are often on the clock from the moment they're on the line and are made accountable for every minute that they spend with you. Considering the bastardly rush job that Earthlink's agents have given me, I can safely assume that their agents are bullwhipped just the same.
EDIT: As for their other services, I've never used their crap software, which doesn't really do anything for a cable customer anyway, and they don't offer any security software either. The only service I've used other than email is their web hosting, which offers 10MB per email account, and you get 10 emails accounts, so you do the math. But hey, it's free! Unfortunately, it can't routed to it from a 3rd party domain name service.
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Review by icu_mark
UPDATED: 1.4 years ago
member for 1.7 years, 8 visits, last login: 212 days ago
Clemmons,Forsyth,NC
$51 per month
"Consistent, reliable, nearly zero connection problems"
"none thus far"
"Solid internet connection"
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06/02/2008 UPDATE: Ok, I did finally find a notice in the forums that our d/l speed was going to get bumped from 5 to 7. Sure wish upload speed would have gotten bumped.
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06/01/2008 UPDATE: Last night I did a bandwidth test with speakeasy.net and download speed result was over 6800!! I don't remember any notice that our d/l speed was getting upgraded, but thought I'd document the increased speed. One point I do want to mention but haven't fully tested is there appears to be a possible reduction in latency. I have noticed some additional "artifacts" when talking on our VOIP, and maybe even a visual speed problem on web pages. Again, untested, but did want to mention it.
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FYI, our Earthlink service uses TimeWarner's local lines, so some of the reliability should go to TimeWarner. We have a solid connection, typically around 4800/343 for our 5M/384k connection. Downtime is very minimal - just experienced a small amount of downtime, probably due to some workers burying a cable nearby. We've had this service for almost 6 years and have no trouble.
When we first attempted to try VOIP with Earthlink TrueVoice, we experienced numerous problems. One recommendation was for us to have our internet service checked. We called and had TimeWarner come out and check our connection. Interesting point was we told them we were experiencing dropped calls on our internet phone, and I may have even told them it wasn't THEIR internet phone. The expedited the trouble ticket and a worker was at our house that afternoon. They checked the line and said there was a very minor loss of quality, so they replaced every cable end from the street to the cable modem. I couldn't see much difference in speed tests after they were done, but I was very content with their service. FYI, it didn't help the VOIP because the problems were due to the VOIP provider.
The reason I chose to use Earthlink instead of RoadRunner is simply the fact that Earthlink is a couple $$ cheaper. In fact, for my area, RR is $46.95 base price and Earthlink is $41.95 base price. Same service of 5M/384k.
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 Review by UnKown
Posted: 1.5 years ago
member for 7.2 years, 1734 visits, last login: 5 days ago
Orlando,Orange,FL
$29 per month
"cheaper than rr"
"they dont own the network"
"its all about value for money."
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I have earthlink cable modem service through brighthouse networks here in orlando. I made the switch due to a 29.99 offfer for the first 6 months. the changeover was flawless. They merely rebooted the modem and i got a new domain name. Nothing else has changed. though i saw a 20ms rise in ping time to most sites. I think they give earthlink customers a lower priority on the cable network. Other than that im seeing the same speeds i was getting with road runner, and im still using all the road runner hops and infrastructure. They just resell the road runner service with a different name.
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 Review by weiyin
UPDATED: 1.7 years ago
member for 7 years, 2031 visits, last login: 21 days ago
Fresh Meadows,Queens,NY
$35 per month
 about 9 days
"Fast, consistent speed."
"News server is capped."
"Great value for your money."
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Ordered 2048/384, get around 2000/360 on speed tests. Installation was straightforward, but had to wait more than a week for install because Time Warner was very busy on weekends.
Earthlink supplied a Toshiba cable modem with ethernet and usb connections. Hooked it up to my router, set it to use a dhcp server, and was up in no time. IP, although dynamic, changes so rarely that I use a static dns service.
In the past 3 months, there were perhaps 3 times when the connection failed, but service was always restored in less than 12 hours. Recently, I was dismayed to find that they have begun to cap their news servers at 1.5 gigabytes per month. I don't think that this limit will affect most internet users.
Recently, Earthlink/TW was kind enough to provide a free upgrade to 3-megabits. What a great deal!
Update: download speed is now at 8 megabits! Upload is still measly.
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 Review by tinhead
UPDATED: 1.7 years ago
member for 9.3 years, 1664 visits, last login: a few hours ago
New York,New York,NY
$45 per month
"Big company"
"they rely on Time Warner Road Runner's system"
"I switched providers 1-08-see new review of NY Connect"
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Initially I had Earthlink because it was cheaper than Road Runner without a TV package (I used DirecTV). RR was $60/mo Elink was $42 a no brainer!
Install was no issue as I had Road Runner so I didn't have a thing to do except reboot my modem. I seem to have a static IP tho I didn't ask or pay for it.
I originally had the Toshiba modem but they changed it last year to an RCA.
After a few years of great service with Elink Time Warner service went nuts! Since Feb 06 I've had low speed issues, high latency and severe packet loss making my 2 years of Vonage VoIP almost useless!
RANT
After complaining and getting my own customer relations rep to call when I had problems I'm ready to give up! All I get is useless service calls and waiting for them to 'diagnose' my problems which BTW are in their, Time Warners,plant. They deny any logs or ping tests I give them showing all my issues so I am going to persue the complaint to the city authorities and see if I can get what I pay for and some well deserved credit!
Time Warner is oversold and has no idea what an internet connection means to a disabled person. I even order food over the net! They need to be exposed and fined for the way they treat me and others I'm sure. They severly lack people skills!
Like I said, I'm waiting for FIOS TV & net to get away from the cable companies who are just greedy company salespeople that don't deliver what they sell us and collect anyway!
FYI-I have few options here in Manhattan. DSL isn't as fast as cable IMO, I've had a 1.5 meg DSL line and switched to cable. I would love to stay with Elink but can't stand the hoops Time Warner makes me jump thru to fix their problems which are network maintenance issues in the plant. The lies and deceit are unbearable and frustrating too!
Help!.
END RANT
UPDATE-
I've been upgraded to higher speeds like 6500/470 from 5/384! No one told me. I still have high latency and dropped packets with a signal problem since Feb '06. I've had a dozen calls since May '06. They just keep sending techs to do the same thing over and over again to no avail so far. I've been on their case since May so I hope to have a clean signal by Labor Day!
Why am I charged for service I don't get? THIS HAS BEEN FIXED AS OF 9/06!
UPDATE-added 1/30/08 to fill in the gaps. I've adjusted my meds after the upsetting time TWC gave me in 06.
After filing a formal complaint with DOITT in NYC I got my own rep from TWC. I drove her nuts for a few weeks until she handed me over to a 'level 3' tech and I started keeping logs(they didn't like mine). I proved my connection suffered and after 6 months it was miraculously fixed and working like a it used to and better. It was a bad amp in my backyard and oh they were upgrading the plant! No one was 'allowed' to admit that they were upgrading. I didn't care I got a good, reliable connection now and a $250 credit.
So to be clear now, my internet connection is the fastest I've ever seen now and the reliability is back! 100% reachability consistently. So from Feb 06 to Aug/Sept 06 I've had horrible service and unusable VoIP. Jan 08 it's 10/512 and works just like it should, even in the evenings. That's all in the past now so I'll move on......
UPDATE-10/07
Just got the speed bumped up to 10/512! Now that Earthlink is laying off most Americans I am gonna switch to NYConnect thru TWC. Now that TWC has done the upgrades to their systems the signal is better except for the traffic shaping etc. I don't use BT but still notice slow download speeds when I do download a program or update. My service is monitored thru BBR and it comes in very handy when things go whacky here. At least I know why things don't work now. Yes it's TWC again!
I had a bad experience with Earthlink when I tried to use their VoIP service. It cost me $$ and I got NONE of what was promised to me to make up for it (reduced monthly fee for internet service-$35 instead of $45) when I used the service for 1 day and cancelled. Yes it IS that bad! Seems like the CSR can promise you heaven but it MUST be approved by a supervisor before being applied. This is why I'm leaving too.
Update 1/26/08
I'm on New York Connect and so far so good. My latency has been reduced a bit and my connection seems more stable. Same speeds as Road Runner but less hops to get to NYCT servers. Newsgroups-eh-missing some-still looking.
Hooked up with DirecTV also to drop TWC TV too! Love all the HD. Now to switch my VoIP provider & I'll be a happier person. I'm trying out a new provider right now and boy does VT really stink! I'll be eating 2 months of my VT contract but at least I'll get phone calls and be able to hear people.
Update 2/17/08
Well after a month of the new VoIP provider and having 2 phone adapters, 1 from VT and the new one, to compare, I have a reliable phone again! It's awfully nice to have a good internet connection and reliable VoIP service again. I had Vonage for 4 years with trouble only from the ISP in '06. I can honestly say now without a doubt that VT doesn't work for me! Side by side with another provider makes this decision easy. VT doesn't work here. The features are useless if the phone service doesn't work. In fact I've recently had number forward and simul ring NOT work! I've had to give my friends a new temp number until I get ported out from VT.
I'm waiting for the port of VT to complete so I can have better service from my main number. I have 2 different phones. 1 on VT w/old number & 1 on the 'other' w/their number. Soon my old number will connect to the new provider and I can move on with my life. Yea!
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 Review by alg
UPDATED: 1.7 years ago
member for 8.6 years, 4157 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Austin,Travis,TX
$43 per month
about 13 days
"FAST!"
"Pricery after intro period"
"Reliabilty has decreased over time"
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Ordered online via Earthlink web site on 31 August and received a call from the local TWC office the very next day to schedule an installation. Unfortunately it would take nearly a week for the first available installation time (12 September), however that was to be expected living near the UT campus with assumably *many* internet and cable hookups taking place seeing as how it was only the second week of school. I was annoyed that the best time frame they could come up with was from 11 am to 5 pm on Monday, but again that was TWC's fault and not Earthlink. Once the tech guys came out at 3:50 pm or so, I was expecting to be ready to go in less than half an hour. But it turned out that they did not have the proper key to access the cable box in my apartment so they would have to go back to HQ to get the key. The guys got back at 6:00 pm or so and hooked everything up. But then they had trouble calling in the MAC address of the modem and it took a little while, but again TWC and not EL to blame. Anyway it is now set up and I am getting speeds of 4790/359 kbps (598.8 KB/sec down, 44.9 KB/sec up) with excellent pings. Two thumbs way up.
Update: My service was terminated due to a mix up regarding whether I would remain in my current apartment or whether there would be a new tenant. I was expecting a lengthy ordeal, but one call to support got me back on track in regards to my account (including a no questions asked rerate back to the intro pricing as well as prorating my payment for the last bill at full price). Unfortunately I had to call again to tech to get my connection going but it was up in about 10 minutes. I really like how they have techs who get straight to the point and who know what they are doing (unlike my experiences with DSL techs who run around in circles saying there is nothing wrong and that simply cycling the modem should have fixed it).
Update 2: Reliability has gone down a bit over time. It's by no means bad but before I had virtually 100% uptime whereas now the connection occasionally gets a little flaky around 12a-5a most likely due to maintenance. I tend to keep odd hours so this can be annoying at times. Generally though reliability, speed, and pings are still great during the rest of the day. A test done at 6p on a Sunday evening shows 6671/486 with 61 ms ping.
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 Review by marcusj3000
UPDATED: 1.8 years ago
member for 6.5 years, 1228 visits, last login: 7 days ago
Shreveport,Caddo,LA
$29 per month
about 3 days
"Great price, great speed the same anytime of day"
"just got sevice 6 days ago so none right now"
"great all around value"
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Order and install took only three days. Much better than road runner.
speed is at a consistent 2100kbps down and 410 up.
Update 5 February 2008: Sorry I dumped them a long while ago back in 2004 because they have become mediocre at best. The big boss have push them out and now they are falling apart.
Abandon SHip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Review by mrerick
UPDATED: 1.8 years ago
member for 4.4 years, 30 visits, last login: 46 days ago
Wake Forest,Wake,NC
$42 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
"Generally reliable service; Replace Older Cable Modems"
"Local TWC Cable Support and systems are incompetent"
"Satisfied after update to new Cable Model"
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My service has been stable and fast for several months after a spate of incompetent account management (due to Earthlink's inability to coordinate with Time Warner).
Service related problems of several months ago were related to an older technology Motorola cable modem (1996 vintage) which I had replaced late in 2007. With the newer modem, service has been fast and stable.
If you have older Earthlink / Time Warner provided modem equipment, contact them and request a replacement. They provided an exchange unit for me without charge.
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