Alternatives to Breezeline/Atlantic Broadband
 

Hi from Alton,
As many know, Atlantic Broadband, who we use for Internet, has changed name to Breezeline. BUT, we’ve found they also increased our prices. They now want $95 a month for slowest internet/modem and $125 for fastest. I complained and was transferred to “loyalty team”. After waiting on hold for 32 minutes I hung up without reaching anyone. What other high-speed options do you all use for internet. We use it for streaming, TV, work, so we need a fast and reliable option.
Thanks!

Two choices in most of Alton
 

Only two choices in most of Alton; Breezeline and TDS.

Dave

ABB/Breezeline
 

I'm in Laconia. My rates did not go up yet. I got a quote from Comcast, Xfinity is not yet available. I text ABB regarding the change to Comcast and got a call shortly from ABB. They increase the speed to 500K, gave me a loyalty discount and an internet/TV bundle discount. He says they are mine as long as I stay with them. Even with the 2 years Comcast discount, I'm saving $10 @ month.

I have been happy with ABB so I'm sticking with ABB. I had problems with Metrocast and had to call several times to get the problems fixed.

What bothers me, is why didn't they give us the discounts from day one? Obviously, they can afford it!

You can text Breezeline on Facebook. A lot faster than phone.

Spoke with T Mobile at the Tilton store last week about their new 5G wireless service. It is available for Laconia. No contact $50 a month.


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I called breezeline last week after seeing a plan advertised on their site with twice my speed and half my cost and they switched me right over. Took 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, unless Comcast has run cable to your area... you are out of luck.

I suggest you call Breezeline (lol) and stay on hold with the loyalty dept.

I also suggest you get your own equipment (if you haven't already)

Woodsy

Same thing happened to me. Was on hold for almost 75 mins as we did errands - finally got through to the loyalty team. At the end of the day, they gave me a $20 credit per month for the next 6 months further kicking the can down the road....

Others are correct in limited to only one option. The only other option is Starlink: https://www.starlink.com/ for those that aren't aware - by SpaceX. I do know 2 people who have it (located on West Coast) and have had no issues. Compare cost and speed and they still aren't quite there yet when it comes to a Speed/Performance comparison to cable. Would expect this to change over time of course as they scale (Price down and Speed/Perf higher).

Could be something to watch over the next few years.

Caution: 5G from T-Mobile is VERY limited
 

Have them come out and test where you intend on putting the hot spot. I am in Meredith, it is 5G at Hart Parking lot, and LTE at the Town Docks. If you go inside a building, it looses line of sight and speed is a fraction of even LTE

Been there done that.

Internet on the island
 

Hi Everyone,
I'm on Cow Island in Tuftonboro and need to get internet for the summer months only. Can anyone recommend a tried and tested provider ?
So far we have been hot spotting from our mobile phones, but not ideal.
Thanks

FCC Map of Mobile Service Coverage
 

The FCC has an excellent online mobile service coverage map that graphically shows the coverage provided by various cell service providers.

You can access it here: https://fcc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/web...bc88a0d1bdd25b

Zoom in to the Lakes Region and click individually on the various cell service providers to compare their coverage in our area.

Anyone know if Comcast/Xfinity coming to Alton Bay? I see they have a store in Gilford now.

Not likely
 

I would think not likely. We already have ABB, now Breezeline for cable and TDS is first optic. With over 80 miles of roads in Alton, it would be terribly costly for Combat to sting wires for 5500 year round residents.

Perhaps the folks who live around Cherry Valley Rd area where TDS isn't maybe, but town wide, I highly doubt it.

Stop by the Gilford store and ask. That's a straight from the horse's mouth thing.

Dave

I’m in the Weirs. Our promotional rate expired and we were up $30 from 2 years ago. I called and yeah- I waited 45 minutes but the retention rep was able to take our rate back to the initial one, saving us the $30. She also increased our spead from 250 mp to 500 mp and we kept everything else the same- same channels and equipment, etc. ( yes- we lease ). She threw in 2 wifi extenders for free that were delivered today by UPS ( not that we need them in our small cottage) and she prorated our current month’s bill so we got a few bucks off that as well.

I don’t have any complaints with them really. When we moved here we came from DSL to this. Much better. We have just one TV and a couple of laptops and smart phones an Amazon Echo and an Amazon DOT.

We also use ROKU for some other stuff. And we have Amazon Prime.

I use Straight Talk for my old iPhone 6S Plus and my husband uses Consumer Cellular for his flip phone. We have an old iPhone SE that my husband uses on our wifi network at home.

I had no such luck. I waited on hold for over 2 hours only to be told that the won't reduce my $120+ a month bill for any reason. The current rate for new customers for better service is $39.95 a month. I wish I had got the same Customer Service rep that you got. I ended up canceling my service. I"ll put the satellite back up and deal with it. They can change the name but it's still the same crappy service.

I called and waited for 45 minutes, requested a call back. They did call, but missed me. I called them back, Now I’ve been waiting two weeks to hear from them, nothing…

We (on Meredith Neck) have been using Starlink for more than a year now. I'm happy to answer any questions if anyone is interested.

-jim

Look up - starlink
 

I have spectrum down at the lake, but at the farm in Tuftonboro i can't physically get cable. So i've been using Starlink (elon musk's satellite based internet company) for the past year. Got to say, it's a fantastic option for those people and places who can't get land lines.

It's still "beta", i believe, but it works phenomenal. It's $99 a month, so not cheap, but i get between 100 and 350 mb/s down and 20-30 up. Depends where the satellites are at any point in time.

It works well in the rain, in the snow. The service reps are some of the best i've seen. You can stream TV perfectly and use Zoom no problem.

You may have a problem getting on the beta program, but once you're in, you're styling.

Thanks Jim. What are you getting for Up and Down speeds? Any issues with connectivity to the Satellites?

Island internet
 

Island Express - Consolidated Communications has been providing island service to many islands near us (we are on Mark) and can be suspended while you are not there - maybe check to see if they cover Cow?

Our Breezeline bill went from $178 to $225 because our two-year contract expired. All we have is 100 mp speed internet and Expanded Basic cable. No landline and only two televisions, one of which we haven’t turned on in eight years. So I called, spoke with an IDIOT who was raving about New Hampshire and how she spent her honeymoon here, blah. Eye roll [emoji849]. Was redirected to their loyalty team and they answered after exactly one hour. The bottom line is I have to return the cable box from the second TV, they will increase our speed to 500 mp, and for six months we will pay $164. Okay, but last night they deducted $225 from our checking account. 🤦🏼*♀️🤦🏼*♀️🤦🏼*♀️🤦🏼*♀️🤦🏼*♀️. Here we go again. Breezeline SUCKS.


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Yes. It has been going downhill since they closed the Belmont office.
But I don't have an answer to how to replace it... so I just listen to the others on the forum and hopefully discover some tidbit of information that I was unaware of.

https://www.hub66.com/

I don't know if everyone can get this nor do I know much about it but I saw many of these "airfiber" antennas popping up around the lake last year.

Choice is up to the BOS in Alton
 

Comcast would need to apply for and negotiate a Franchise Agreement with the town of Alton and the Board of Selectmen would need to approve it. They would be the third provider if they applied and the BOS says 'Yes'. However, I have no idea if such a thing has happened. A call to the Town Administrator/Board of Selectmen's office to ask would be appropriate as they could tell you if any such negotiations are in progress. (They have to let you know if that is indeed the case since it is public information, though they don't have to reveal details of the negotiations since they are ongoing.) As best I know, only Laconia, Gilford, and Belmont have franchise agreements with Comcast as a competitive cable company to Breezeline.

I do know Breezeline is is presently negotiating a new Franchise Agreement with Alton as part of the multi-town Lakes Region Cable TV Consortium. I don't know how those negotiations are going, but I do know Gilford is not pleased with ABB/Breezeline's performance, particularly when it comes to technical support. (It's almost non-existent, and what there does not involve speaking with human beings.) I made my displeasure known to the Gilford Town Administrator, laying out a timeline of my problems with ABB/Breezeline's tech support, or lack thereof. I've been trying to get an Internet problem fixed for over a year and am no closer to getting it taken care of than I was a year ago. (Yeah, it's off-topic, but relevant.)

Another possible provider
 

While not readily available everywhere quite yet, Starlink may be a viable alternative. It is a satellite-based ISP if you are only interested in Internet and not linear pay TV. (You can still stream video.) Starlink does not have the issues with older satellite Internet providers since they use a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites and can provide 100Mbs uplink/downlink speeds or better.

Starlink is owned by Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX fame.

(As a disclaimer, I am in no way connected with Starlink. I am aware of it because I know friends that were part of the beta tests and Musk provided Starlink ground stations to Ukraine to help keep comms in and out of Ukraine operating. I am also a space geek, so this kind of stuff interests me.)

Oh crap - I only just saw this question. Starlink performance for us typically runs in the 150-250 down, 15-25 up range. Over this past (our second)Winter with it reliability has gotten to where it's not even a consideration any more - it just doesn't go down - and the satellite constellation is still not complete.

After a serious game of phone tag and waiting 28 minutes to get through, I finally spoke to loyalty/retention. I got a $10 a month loyalty credit that will be ongoing, $10 a month credit for e-statements ongoing, and $20 a month discount for 6 months. I’ll take it, and re-evaluate in six months!

I called Breezline and cut the cord on our TV service ( it had increased to $204.00) signed up for Internet only, 1st 6 months 39.99, after that 89.99. Got Utube Tv for 69.00 month.works great. The thing about Utube TV for the 69.00 I can also get that on my Mass tV. Cuting cord with Comcast in Mass, getting Internet only.

Price increase
 

I just opened my latest Breezeline bill and was shocked seeing my service increased by almost 40%. Called to speak to 'retention' department and went through same senario as you described, finally hung up !
Their customer is the worst I've ever experienced.
Ready to pull the plug with these people !

Utube Tv ?
 

How does Utube Tv connect your TV, through the Internet I assume?

The Utube Tv cost of $69. month... Is that an 'intro' rate, if so how long is the rate guaranteed ?

Thanks !

Yes it connects through the internet, $69.00 month. we have 2 TVs at the lake, smart tv connected directly, our other TV got a Roku to connect. We end up getting more channels than with brezzline.


Works great

What is the cost of internet in your area ?

Currently $69
 

Currently $69. When we started, it was about $50.

I do like it.

Dave

It's Going To Get Worse
 

I've seen the same thing. I would cut the cord and use streaming via the Internet in a second, BUT my elderly mother has vetoed that idea. She's not particularly tech savvy and has stated she doesn't want to be bothered to learn how to do so. I don't blame her.

As I have mentioned elsewhere I have been having problems with my Internet service for over a year now and Breezeline's tech support is non-existent. I know how to fix the problem but it needs to be done from their end, but I cannot find a human being to speak to about the problem. Their chat function either doesn't work or you find your wait time is measured in hours.

I never had these issues in the 'old' Metrocast days. I knew the tech support staff, knew the chief engineer, and if I had a problem they would take care of it . Those days are gone.

Comcast is not yet available in my neighborhood. I know Consolidated is expanding its FTTH footprint across their service area, but it isn't available here yet and likely won't be for a few years.

This stinks!

Xfinity/Comcast
 

I stopped into Xfinity/Comcast store in Gilford today.
They're offering to new customers 300mps service for $39.95 mo with 2 tr contract.

Speed jumps from 300 to 600 mps, nothing in-between. 600Mps jumps
to $69 mo with contract.

Going to drop Breezeline and go with Comcast, would like to hear feedback from current customers.

Thanks !

Breezeline to Comcast to Breezeline
 

One of my neighbors switch to Comcast from Breezeline and had trouble with internet reliability. Technicians came to the house and did various fixes. Last Comcast visit the technician claims there is no Xfinity service just Comcast. He paid for Xfinity. Still have reliability problems.

He called Breezeline to switch back. They gave him the new customer package, switch back and he's happy. What's funny was the technician that came to his home was one of the technicians from Comcast. The technician are independent contractors!

Good luck!

If Fiber is available to you I would try to go with that. I don't know if Breezeline does fiber to the premises yet, but I know Comcast doesn't. Consolidated Communications has been running fiber non stop this year and have rebranded it's fiber division as "fidium" with what seems like really good pricing, that's where I would look. If it's not available now it may soon be available. Stay away from anything "cable" or "coax" related, it's obsolete junk.

Beezeline issue... Think I'm done !
 

Today I called Breezeline, as I have an issue with my bill. I’ve had to make these calls frequently to them to assist with billing corrections and service plan.

First their customer service is terrible ! I know what you going to say, ‘this is the new norm, get use to it’ !

My current bill reflected a $10 increase, and they told me today that it was related to coming off a promotion. I had this same conversation 2 months ago, and they said they would reinstate my plan for a year, and they only did this for the last 2 months. Now it’s gone up again… You're thinking, for a lousy $10 you’re complaining ??? If they do it to me, how many more thousands are also being affected in this manner.

I asked to speak to the 'loyalty dept', and they took my tel# and said that dept would call me back... Right ! :laugh:

I think Breezeline has beaten me down for the last time. I’m dropping Breezeline for Xfinity, but would first like to hear from Forum members, who currently are Xfinity customers, about their service and experience.
Thanks for your feed-back, much appreciated !

A great many. Trying to communicate with these companies is maddening. When I wanted to change my Fairpoint plan some years ago, they outright lied to me over and over. A CS rep would say, "Your total cost will be $60 a month." The next bill would be $90, but you have no proof of what anyone tells you. Don't bother asking "Don't you honor what your CS reps tell customers?" The answer will always be, "No, not if the rep made a mistake." There is no honesty or decency in business anymore.

Comcast/Xfinity is not that bad...
 

We had Comcast/Xfinity when we were in CT from 2007-2014, and their customer service was absolutely awful. I swore I would never use them again. When we moved to MA in 2014, that town had the choice of Verizon or Xfinity, and we went with Verizon. Their cust service people were marginal, but light years ahead of Comcast. When we moved to Bedford, NH in 2019, the only option was Comcast/Xfinity, and I have to admit, I am pleasantly shocked at the improvement in their customer service. Their people are polite, friendly, and willing to help. When we moved our son to Rutland last month, we were able to link his Xfinity account there as a sub-account to ours in Bedford. The service guy who got us up and running could not have been more accommodating, (he put a cable jack in my son's bedroom, where there hadn't been one at all).

Their voice remote is way cool and they have significantly more content on-demand than Verizon and there's not even a comparison with Breezeline's lack of .on-demand content

My 2 cents…go with streaming. You can do it wirelessly through your home, but still need to deal with cable company for internet. Lots of streaming company choices.

Comcast makes you hook an unreliable converter box to each tv that goes down on a regular basis. I got tired of either having to be home for service calls to replace or having to drive to their location to exchange. Other option I have had more success with is dish network. Cable tv is now third option, below streaming and satellite in my opinion.


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Is anything but Breezline available in Meredith?

I've had all the same issues as everyone else.

Other Options To Look At
 

In additional to Breezeline in Meredith, NH there is also Consolidated Communications and Hub66. Hub66 is not available in all parts of Meredith but offers fiber based internet service at an affordable price.

Consolidated Communications is a DSL service. Speeds are limited to about 15 Mbps. This is enough for many people but not nearly as fast as Breezeline Internet.

Overall Breezeline is not a bad option, especially if you negotiate your price with them. They will absolutely lower your rate if you ask for any current promotions. Almost guaranteed.

Source: https://turbospeedwifi.com/breezelin...unbiased-data/

RE: Consolidated Communications
You might keep an eye on Fidium, part of the ConCom family.

https://www.fidiumfiber.com/about-fidium

Asplundh Tree Service stopped at my house in Gilford, near Ames Farm on Friday. They are doing tree clearing for Consolidated Communications. Consolidated is stringing the area with fiber (Fidium) in the near future.

I am not sure if Verizon offers 5G service on the lake yet, but if they do I will get it there as well! We have it at home in Nashville and it is 35/month and there are zero wires, only a small box. It has worked great with all tv's and computers running. I am hoping they get lake area service so we can dump all the crap we have had over the years and the poor customer service!

Upon research, here is the cheapest way I found to get phone and internet service:

Tracfone 1 year unlimited calling $200

Consolidated Communications internet only: about $625/year with all surcharges included

Total: $825/year---I am currently paying $1500 for CC landline and internet.

The hitch: the CC plan is for 3 MB. I don't care about speed or multiple devices. I can stream videos quite well with 3 MB, with occasional very brief delays. 3 MB is fine for my internet-heavy work. CC also offers 20 MB for $52 a month plus surcharges, but I'm told that CC's infrastructure can't deliver 20 MB.

Unlike what others have said, CC would not budge at all on their price to a longtime customer---no "customer loyalty" negotiations at all.

Hub66 seems like a good local internet company (headquartered in Bristol) but to date they reach very few places. I talked with them and they seemed like honest, low-pressure folks.

Hands on Review of Fidium Fiber Internet in NH
 

I was fortunate to get the opportunity to do some hands on testing with Fidium Fiber Internet in NH. To say that I was impressed would be an understatement. This is definitely not what you think of when someone says Consolidated Communications. I would highly recommend giving Fidium a try if it is available in at your service address.

Read full review: https://turbospeedwifi.com/fidium-fi...unbiased-data/

Oh yeah? You think 922 Mbps is fast? Well consider THIS impressive result from Consolidated:

Attachment 17874

That's what $36 a month will get you.

I’m betting that is DSL which is basically internet over a phone line. Speed is highly dependent on distance from the “switch” and the number of users between you and the switch. But I empathize. At the end of the summer I was getting 0.9 mbps over my wifi from a Consolidated wireless router. I had them send me a new router just before I closed up so we’ll see if there is an improvement next spring. Unfortunately there aren’t any other reasonably priced options on the island.


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Hub66
 

You may want to check out Hub66. We have had them on the island for a couple years now and they have been great.

https://www.hub66.com/

They have a tower on Gunstock and can pretty much beam and reflect the signal just about anywhere. I get a minimum of 100 Mbps of speed on the island (which they guaranteed) and almost twice that in the off season. I believe I pay $130.00 per month during the summer and that price gets cut to $40.00 per month for 5 months during the winter. They do not throttle down service in the off season they simply reduce your bill. I'm not sure if this is special island pricing but assume it is...

Dan

I looked at Hub66 but I don’t consider 130/mo on season and 40/mo when I’m not there to be reasonably priced. “Minimum 100” down is far more then I need at the lake and costs 2x what I pay at home for FIOS which gives me 75+ up & down.


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That price I gave you was for island service. It may be cheaper on the mainland but I am not certain. Certainly worth a phone call to check…

Dan

I know some people that use Ultra Home Internet on the islands of Winnipesaukee. They are reasonably priced if you do not need a large amount of data per month. If you need unlimited data they are a bit pricy.

I did some testing this summer on Bear Island and found the performance to be good enough for basic web browsing, email, etc. Streaming video worked but chewed in your data allowance quickly.

Read my full Ultra Home Internet Review

Thanks Dan but, I’ll on an island


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How's the Verizon or T-Mobile cell service? Both offer 5G Internet now and may be options?

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Ahhh…didn’t know that. Sorry!

Dan

It looks like Xfinity just went live at the southern end of Gilford. I have been waiting since May for Breezeline to make repairs to our service as the line from the street was faulty, providing intermittent service. Finally last week they came out to run the line to the house and now we await them to connect it. A line truck was in our yard today, but the guy said he was there for Xfinity.

Full disclosure- last week a Breezeline commercial rep called my office in Dover looking to gain us as a business customer. He got slapped down for their lack of responsiveness to our residential repairs and vowed to get someone on it. Funny how it took this to get action :rolleye2:


I checked online and my address does come up now as a valid service address for Xfinitty, so I may switch. I don't particularly love them, but am tired of the Breezeline BS. Currently we use Breezeline for internet and Directv Stream. I was thinking of going with regular satellite Directv to ease up on our internet usage as we have a lot of tv's, devices, cameras, computers, etc.