I've blogged about switching to 4G LTE internet after being promised for a decade or longer by Windstream that faster speeds were on the upgrade schedule with no upgrade ever taking place. Well, last week I got a Christmas type card in the mail from Windstream informing me that my neighborhood has been upgraded to 200MBPS speeds. Amazing. That's 1.6Gbps and 8 times faster than 200Mbps. Maybe they should stop using all caps. False advertising and all. I went on their web site and put in my address to see if it was true. Nope. It was another lie. However, the site said that 15Mbps per second was available. In fact, it was the only option for my address. It looked like they finally upgraded the switch! With a price of $37/mo for the first 12 months, I was intrigued.
The 4G LTE internet that I have now is good. I get speeds better than 15Mbps on a regular basis, but because it's cellular data, it's not "always on" the way DSL is. The speeds also fluctuate. Normally, that's not a problem. I don't download big files very often. But it can be annoying. Sometimes, I'll have to restart the phone to get a better connection. The $25/mo price I get from Visible for true unlimited cannot be beaten, especially with 5G 200Mbps coming in an estimated January or February time frame at the same price. But 5G phones aren't cheap, and I'd have to buy a new one to get 5G speeds. Not to mention that I don't know when my area will be upgraded to 5G. A while back Verizon promised by 2021, but that was before the pandemic. It could be a while. Visible is owned by Verizon.
The thought of having 15Mbps of always on data vs having to keep charging a cell phone to make sure I have internet compelled me to drop by the Windstream office in Cornelia, GA on Monday to at least check it out. The lady at the desk checked the computer and told me she would have to email someone about it. Hmm. Since it was after 5pm, he was already gone for the day. She promised to call me "in the morning" and let me know. Tuesday came and went with no call. I called their office on Wednesday and left a voice mail. By late afternoon with no return call, I went to the office. Guess what? The only speed at my address is 1.5Mbps just like it's been the past 10+ years.
So, I went home and looked up how to sue Windstream for false advertisement. What I ended up doing was filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission reporting Windstream for false advertising fraud and misrepresentation of their services and/or products. I also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I don't know what's going to happen with those, but I do know that my area is not the only one to have slow speeds that Windstream seemingly has no plans to upgrade. Maybe the cost of fighting with the FTC and BBB will be more than the cost of some simple upgrades.
There's some good news on the internet front. Until now Windstream has had a near monopoly here as an internet provider. The local electric company offers internet, but it's only to a few customers on a fiber line. How few? I'm less than a mile from the fiber line and can't get it. However, the electric company has made its poles available to rent to ISPs who want to provide internet to underserved areas like mine. Comcast is one of the companies interested. The hangup is the price of the pole rental. According to the local paper, it will be resolved by the middle of the month. It looks like competition will finally be arriving.
Have a great weekend.
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