Fair Point Internet Access Question

[4 for Boating]

Received a letter in the mail from Fair Point > my phone provider in Meredith.
They have a $19.99 per month internet service they are offering. (Up to 3Mbps)

Seems like a pretty good deal. Dedicated connection.

Anyone have any experience with this service?

[SteveA]

http://www.fairpoint.com/northern_ne...sp#faq_tech_02

Fairpoint "High Speed" is actually more like DSL, service is provided over the phone lines, not cable. Your service speed will be based on a number of factors, including distance from the Fairpoint central office, and the condition of the wiring in your house, etc.

Be sure to read the "What affects my connection speed?"
and the "Availability" section.

Hope this helps.

[jetskier]

Originally Posted by SteveA

http://www.fairpoint.com/northern_ne...sp#faq_tech_02

Fairpoint "High Speed" is actually more like DSL, service is provided over the phone lines, not cable. Your service speed will be based on a number of factors, including distance from the Fairpoint central office, and the condition of the wiring in your house, etc.

Be sure to read the "What affects my connection speed?"
and the "Availability" section.

Hope this helps.

If you are more than about 3 1/2 miles away from the central office, DSL will not work at all. I don't know where you are located...the central office in Laconia is located on Rt 106 on the north side of town. We are in South Down and the distance is too far for DSL.

Jetskier

[4 for Boating]

Thanks for the information.

Does not appear that this will work for us over in Meredith due to being further than 3.5 miles from the central office.

I can understand the technology limitations but why send out something in the mail for a service so limited and especially when we already have the phone and they know exactly where we live. Silly I think.

Thanks again!

[jetskier]

Originally Posted by 4 for Boating

Thanks for the information.

Does not appear that this will work for us over in Meredith due to being further than 3.5 miles from the central office.

I can understand the technology limitations but why send out something in the mail for a service so limited and especially when we already have the phone and they know exactly where we live. Silly I think.

Thanks again!

They might have a central office in Meredith...I have never inquired. I know that they have told me that I can get DSL and then realize that I can't. I called them about 6 months ago when they offered a special and they said that they would hook me up and if I did not like it I could return the box and get the deposit back. I asked them whether they had changed their technology and they said that they had not. They subsequently realized that we were too far away. They are very disorganized at Fairpoint and in bankruptcy. Personally, I would go with cable modem or wireless via Verizon.

Jetskier

[welchislandman]

I have the Fairpoint DSl 19/month service and has been good overall. Id Call them to see if you can be provisioned. They will know by your addres the distance.

[SIKSUKR]

We finally got rid of our Fairpoint DSL at work. It was fine for most internet activity in past years but now with all the videos that are posted on even forums like this, the low speed really showed. It would actually take more time to load the video than to watch it in most cases. I am now using Comcast and enjoying the huge difference.

[Neko]

Does any one have Fairpoint DSL in the Wolfeboro area?

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by jetskier

If you are more than about 3 1/2 miles away from the central office, DSL will not work at all. I don't know where you are located...the central office in Laconia is located on Rt 106 on the north side of town. We are in South Down and the distance is too far for DSL.

Jetskier

You could be right JS but thats not the case for me. I have Fairpoint DSL over twisted pair copper wiring, a half mile of which is 40 years old and under water (island location) on the bottom of the lake. I am at least 10 miles from the nearest CO. It works fine.

BT

[jrc]

I have Fairpoint DSL in Hollis, the cheap 800K plan. It is fine for web browsing but can be choppy for videos. I've never tried a real streaming service like Netflix but I assume it would not be watchable.

It's hard to compare speeds with cable, DSL is one line per customer and cable is a shared access. If DSL says a speed you should always get that speed, with cable it depends on who else is using their internet.


The distance thing is not as clear cut as stated. You need to know the distance to the access point. Many are not in the central office, they can be hanging from poles or in a roadside vault. Plus the speeds avalable are lower the longer distance. So they may try to sell you 3 Mbps service but after you hook up, they get a lower number. Then they should only charge you for the lower service level.

Usually they offer a way to get out if you don't like the service, give it a try.

[wifi]

Very true, Fairpoint has been turning up some SLICs over the past year, particularly in areas that aren't served by a cable system. A built in customer base.

[jrc]

Yeah, Hollis doesn't have a cable system, they have Charter

Can't have a cable system without the NFL channel

[4 for Boating]

Well I have not heard back from them yet on availability of service in my area yet. I’m ¾ the way out on Meredith Neck so from the above conversations, I’m not that optimistic but I’ll try to call again on Friday.

Having said that, I did come across that Verizon offers a nifty little box that has a cell modem in it and also provides access for up to 5 Wi-Fi devices. Very small puck (~4”x 2” x.5”) and for 3GB per month only $35. Mobile Hotspot.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/s...eCategoryId=13

This is also a pretty good option as you can take it with you when you leave the house if it’s a vacation home and could use it anywhere in the US. To boot, you can unplug it and it will run on the internal battery for some time so you don’t even need to be tied to A/C power all the time. Very flexible I think.

[fpartri497]

I had the Verizon calling card on my laptop, witch I used only at the lake. It was very poor. took forever for anything to happen after a mouse click. sometimes five Mn. that was unacceptable. even my Verizon cell phone does not act well at the lake. I got rid of the calling card It was costing me $60.00 Mth.

[4 for Boating]

Really.
Where about on the lake were/are you fpartri497?

I spoke to the Verizon store tonight and did raise the issue of how good it would work. They stated they had loaner USB devices to try to 2-3 days to verify good performance before siging up. I suppose it's worth a try as you can really count on the coverage maps.

[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by 4 for Boating

Really.
Where about on the lake were/are you fpartri497?

I spoke to the Verizon store tonight and did raise the issue of how good it would work. They stated they had loaner USB devices to try to 2-3 days to verify good performance before siging up. I suppose it's worth a try as you can really count on the coverage maps.

You also have 30 days to cancel after signing the initial contract. I use my Verizon 3G card in Laconia, and have used it some other places around the lake. Generally I get very good speeds with it, certainly suitable for the casual browsing we do when up at the lake.

[Lakepilot]

4 for boating - We have the Verizon Mifi card you referred to and it works great in Wolfeboro. We also use it around the country and it works well.

[Old Hubbard Rd]

I have DSL service via FairPoint at my Old Hubbard Rd home in Meredith. The service works fine. I have the slower speed but could upgrade the service. If there is a special going on I would love to upgrade the speed as I have the lessor plan as we are not there as its a cottage.

[fpartri497]

Originally Posted by 4 for Boating

Really.
Where about on the lake were/are you fpartri497?

I spoke to the Verizon store tonight and did raise the issue of how good it would work. They stated they had loaner USB devices to try to 2-3 days to verify good performance before siging up. I suppose it's worth a try as you can really count on the coverage maps.

My boat lives at West Alton Marine for the last five years

I love It there

[Slickcraft]

Our Verizon 3G air card works as advertised both on Welch Island and at home in West Alton. It also worked fine on a three week trip out west and back last spring. Always had good service. It is limited to about 1Mbps download.

[Pine Island Guy]

Originally Posted by 4 for Boating

I’m ¾ the way out on Meredith Neck so from the above conversations, I’m not that optimistic but I’ll try to call again on Friday.

I got DSL out on Pine Island when it was still Verizon, and speed etc for the most part has been good. Having said that, Verizon service personnel were excellent compared to Fairpoint. It is difficult to get knowledgable people on the line, constant transfers to other reps... With Verizon they could remote into the modem/router and perform speed tests and diagnostics... Fairpoint walks you through doing that yourself and reporting back...

Unfortunately I need the modem and hard-wired router there for the webcams, or I would switch to the Verizon WI-FI card with "hot spot" capability in my laptop in a heartbeat...

start the chant... ice out ice out ice out... PIG