Charter Communications Delivers Bad Service...Period.

This post may appear to be a little off the home phone services subject, but really it's just an extension on my original post on this blog that involved Charter Communications bad service. I wrote in that blog how our phone, cable, and Internet services were often interrupted due to the weather. 6 months after the original post, I'm here to tell you Charter sucks more than ever. Last week I was without Internet service for 5 days, and limited cable during that time (we did end up cancelling the phone service because it was horrible and no help or answers came from Charter's end.) We had some heavy rain during that period, but as I understand it, isn't the whole point of having cable is having everything wired so that you always have service in spite of weather (unlike satellite where rain could interfere with the signal.) Now if that was a random occurrence, I could understand, but EVERY time it rains, the cable has limited channels, and the Internet goes down for a period. This time was the worst ever, and it's not easy being without Internet when my wife and I rely on it for both online classes and work. Trying to contact Charter is another adventure. Most of the time, you deal with an operator that is obviously outsourced from another country, so the communication isn't top notch to begin with. Then once you go through the generic steps of unplugging and replugging in your modem or cable box, they set up for someone to come out and fix the problem. Problem being, every time someone comes out, it's a different contractor who really runs their own business and does work for Charter. Problem with that is, they all say the previous person hooked something up wrong, but really can't fix it themselves either. One time I was even told that I should get Charters "protection plan" so if anything goes wrong, I could get it fixed without paying. Paying to fix a service that the company should be providing? Horrible.

Since Charter does offer home phone service, we're providing this review of ALL Charter's services so everyone can be warned. If you somehow have GOOD experience with Charter, please share in comments, maybe all parts of the country aren't as bad, but Charter in Texas is horrible. Hopefully I'll soon be able to try out the Verizon Fios service and review it here, since I've heard they provide much better service overall.

Will the Verizon Hub Replace Traditional Home Phones?

Verizon may be making one of the first steps towards near total replacement of the traditional home phone, which many people have already abandoned in favor of using their cell phone for all their phone needs. Verizon is set to up the technology in the home phone area, by teaming up with Britain's Vodaphone Group, to produce the "Hub." The Hub will basically be a cordless phone that will serve as a traditional home phone, but can interact with Verizon cell phones. It will connect via the customer's existing broadband connection, similar to VOIP. The base features a 7 inch touch screen that displays information such as weather forecasts and movie show times. And there is also Chaperone, a 10 dollar a month service that allows parents to keep track of their kids. The Hub also features text and picture messaging, but the one drawback is that this feature only works with other Verizon phones. So while it looks like home phones are on the way out and will soon be pretty useless, Verizon is bringing a new option that may make having a home phone a good idea again, especially for parents who would like to keep track of where there kids are. The Hub costs 200 dollars after rebate, and 35 dollars a month for unlimited calling. In the long run, the Hub may not be overly appealing to the majority of customers, being it offers just about the same thing as cell phones do now, but may be an option for people who prefer to keep a home phone along with their cellular service, or those who like the bigger touch screen for a better view when using the various Verizon applications.

Local Phone Service Quote Tool

We have added a new tool to the top of this page under the heading "Free Local Phone Provider Quotes." If you enter your address and zip code you can instantly see many quotes for home phone service available from providers in your local area.

The original tool had a required email field, but I have removed the email requirement so you can access the quotes without giving anyone your phone or email address. All you need is street address/zip code, and this will prevent anyone from collecting your email address and contacting you.

If you see a service you are interested in you can findout more information,but there is no obligation.

As an example, when I enter my address I get quotes from the following providers:
AT&T, Cavalier, Sage Telecom, and DPI. They all indicate a Best Price Guarantee and some offer Cash Back.

The lowest price in my area is a $19.99 Sage Telecom Plan. This plan offers unlimited local calling and 300 long distance minutes.

The most popular package is the AT&T Unlimited plan for $40. AT&T plans start at $21.00 per month. There is also an option for Bundles ( TV Phone and Internet on one plan). However, the tool says Bundles are not available online in my area at this time.

If you want to compare local phone quotes in your area, just enter your address in the tool near the top of the page.

Beware ATT Digital Voice Overage Charges for Local Calls

This is more a note to myself about the mistake I made but also can serve as a warning to anyone considering switching to ATT uVerse and going with their Digital Voice ( VOIP) home phone service.

When I switched from regular att landline local phone service, I forget one important thing. I use dialup internet. Let me explain. I have 1 laptop computer that will not work with any wireless adapters. It previously did, but for whatever reason I can no longer get it to work with anything. I have tried it all- usb adapters, the ones that sit on a desk and have antennas, regular cards,etc. OK, that isn't that important. It's just important to know that I use dialup internet, even with high speed internet in my home. Am I weird? Maybe. The thing is I use this laptop at night when I am in my bedroom before I go to sleep. Often this can be a couple hours a day. Or around 3000 minutes a month.

This has never been an issue before because I have never paid EXTRA for local phone calls. The problem? When ATT was trying to "save" me money they asked if I used the home phone a lot and what features I used. I wasn't really thinking so I said I rarely used the phone ( I never use it to call anyone). So they saved me $10 a month by signing me up for Digital Voice 1000. As the name implied, this only includes 1000 total minutes of monthly calling. I used that in the first 4 days. Fortunately I caught my error and switched right away to the Unlimited calling plan. However, It took them over a week to make the change. I was left with a prorated month that was unlimited and 20 days of only 667 minutes allowed. As a result I am paying over $100 EXTRA for local phone calling last month.

With the unlimited Digital I am now paying almost exactly what I did before I switched. So I went from saving money with my bundle to basically paying the same or a little more. It is OK since my internet is much faster. However it is not quite the good deal that I first thought.

Most traditional local phone services as well as Broadband VOIP phone services include unlimited local calling. Some of the new plans rolling out DO NOT. Keep this in mind when you consider switching to save money.

Followup on ATT Uverse Installation

I posted previously about having AT&T UVerse installed in my home. I just wanted to followup with more details on the installation process and the home phone service I chose. My package also includes high speed internet and TV aka a triple play phone internet tv bundle. So that certainly adds to the installation time and involvement.

At&t warns that the installation is expected to take 4-6 hours. This is true. My installation took around 4.5 hours. Local cable companies here like Time Warner run commercials criticizing how long it takes ATT to install. My thought is it does take a long time but it is worth it. As long as your house is wired correctly ( my cable company seemed to have done an interesting job running the cable through the basement) and the fiber optics cabinets are close enough to your home, it is not that complicated.

After the installer determines where the phone and cable lines run, he will hookup what they call their Residential Gateway. This is a box that is a combination modem/router, replacing 2 devices in my case. The cable and the phone line connect to this device. When plugged into a working cable jack this enables IP phone for the house. In my case I also had ethernet run to 1 PC and my other PCs are connected wirelessly.

The phone and internet were on and working at that point. On my wired PC I just broughtup Internet Explorer and was prompted to register with ATT. On my wireless internet connections, I simply connected as normal. Meaning I found the wireless network in range and entered the WEP to connect.

One of the things that takes the longest is getting the IP TV service connected and working. Of course this is probably the least involved thing as it's mostly about hooking up the cable box receiver and plugging it in. But since it is all on ip streams, it takes awhile for the box to download? the service. After the Motorola receivers were plugged in they would say something like "downloading service, 36 minutes left." All my TVs were already hooked up to cable and this just used the existing wiring to the new U-verse receivers.

As far as the home phone service, as I stated before my needs are minimal. I just need a working phone line for light usuage. I got the 1000 minute plan, but there is also an unlimited ATT phone service for 10 dollars more per month.

The TV service works great and is much clearer. The only slightly disappointing thing is losing some channels. You gain some but you also losing some depending on your current service. Now, I COULD have gotten a higher level programming package.

I got AT&T U-Verse Installed in my Home

I just got Uverse installed. I went with a Phone/IP TV/ Internet triple play bundle. I have uVerse voice 100 for my local home phone service, "Elite" High Speed internet 6 Mbps, and U100 for my TV.

My previous setup was traditional AT&T landline home phone with my own discount long distance carrier at 2.9 cpm. The new ATT phone deal includes 1000 local and long distance per month. Since it doesn't distinguish between local and long distance toll calls, I will no longer need my own long distance service. I don't use the home phone enough to need more than 1000 minutes a month total.

For internet I went from 4Mbps from a cable company to Uverses 6Mbps. They installed a residential gateway which serves as a combined modem and router, so I no longer need the modem and router than I own. Their gateway comes with the service and includes a battery backup system. The cable company required me to provide my own modem and networking or rent a modem from them.

I only had basic cable through the phone company. And by basic, I mean basic analog, not even digital. I also only used 1 box for my 3 TVs because I didnt want to pay extra for extra boxes and remotes.I now have 3 uVerse Motorola receivers. There was a $5 charge for the 2nd and 3rd boxes. However, my total cost for the entire bundle is basically the same as I was paying before. The Uverse 100 in the lowest cost package, but I did not need anything great as I only had basic cable that ran from channel 2 through 72. My cable company was going to discontinue this package at the end of the year and raise my bill $14 anyway.

I will actually have more to post including my review of the installation service and quality I have experienced so far. Thanks.

AT&T Home Phone Service Review

So after my initial rant about my Charter service, I've ventured out and questioned a few friends of mine on what they think about their service. I've gotten a few who answer with "I have no need for home phone service." Which is due to the current cell phone rage replacing some peoples need for a home phone. One of my friends that does have a home phone, got AT&T service a few months ago, when they were lucky enough to switch their cable, Internet, and phone from Charter service.

I have AT&T cell phones, but hadn't heard of AT&T U-Verse until my friend informed me that they were having it installed. I looked up some numbers, and it seems AT&T only charges about 28 bucks a month for their basic phone service, and my friend said the service is top notch compared to the Charter nightmare. The service hasn't been out, and he hasn't experience any interference when talking. I'm sure some of you may have more advanced needs than just the basic service, and if you have an experience with AT&T's more advanced phone features, please feel free to share them here, but from what I can tell, their service is good, and if you have a choice at all in your area, choose AT&T phone service before even considering Charter!