Time Warner ISP Review & Reader Survey Results

[kewlguy239]

Tom’s Hardware's ISP round-up puts the power in the hands of our readers, who gave us their opinion of the nation's top Internet service providers. And now it's time to take a closer look at Time Warner Cable.

Time Warner ISP Review & Reader Survey Results : Read more

 

[utroz]

Yeah well all know how Time Warner is.. They have faulty lines that they refuse to fix in my area causing both internet and cable tv to have outages at least 1-2 times a day for 5 min or so.. Really annoying when watching netflix and stuff.. One good thing is no data caps for me which is good as we pull around 20TB a month download ( not even close to what I could if I was pulling data 24/7 at max bandwidth). All it takes is a few people watching neflix, hulu, youtube, downloading updates, online gaming,ect.. Comcast's 300GB limit is a total joke.. I could pee 300GB of data..

 

[holyneo]

I love my TWC service, I get like insane speeds (60-75Mbps down, 6Mbps up). My service never goes down, I could complain about the price, but my complaint is more for the TV service price. Nobody comes close to those speeds in my area. I can stream 4k content with no problems as well.

 

[LookItsRain]

I understand that prices differ between cities and states, but TWC wants 65 dollars for 50/5, 45 dollars for 20/2 and 15 for 2/1. Prices are much higher than what is listed here, and 50/5 is the fastest you can get in my area. Not to mention the price jumps after the 12 month promotion, or the complete lack of competition that allows them to do this.

Not to mention it goes out every month, and even has more issues with its DNS(thanks google 8.8.8.8.8).

 

[thburninator]

Seeing these rates makes me sad. The "Extreme" is the highest option offered in my area, and that costs about $75 a month. I pay $60 for 30 down/ 5 up. Then again, that is basically my only high-speed option in my area, so it's not like I have much choice anyways.

 

[dangus]

Those prices are just straight up not what TWC offers in my area. My bill is almost $65/month and i get 25 down/5 up......

 

[InvalidError]

Should have checked prices in more than one city and state. I doubt TWC would have scored 2.25 on pricing if everyone could get 50Mbps for $35/month regular (non-promo) rate.

 

[ChuckLezPC]

What area in Texas did you test? I currently pay $60 (non-promo rate for NE Ohio) for 15/1 (would have to pay $80 to get 30/5). I would shank someone to get 50/5 for $35.

Maybe consider taking multiple cities (and/or states without google fiber), and average them.

Also, you did not need to enter an address to get their rates: http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/support/account-and-billing/topics/retail-rates.html

 

[QuangT]

TWC is decent if you live in a highly populated area, they get things done fast since there are other companies like Verizon, Optimum, etc. here in NYC. When I lived in a house, the performance was terrible which huge packet loss 24/7 for over 3 years. After moving to my apartment, the only bad performance was just internet loss for about a couple of hours. This happened twice for the past 2 years, otherwise constant 50/5 with <1% packet loss at all time.

 

[Gurg]

My experience: When paying for 30mbps got around 36, now paying for extreme 50mbps and getting 62. Dropped Directv and went with bundle with TV and phone (new add on for us) and am now paying over $100 less than with TWC and DTV separately.

Initially when using TWC rented combined router/modem unit my service was terrible and spotty. Bought my own sb6141 modem and ASUS router and everything is working great throughout the home.

If you are unhappy with TWC service and performance and using their rental modem/router that could be the cause of the problem.

 

[EnigmaX]

Yeah, I created an account just to chime in on how far the pricing in the article is off in my area (Upstate NY). I pay $58/mo for the privilege of 15/1 service. And for that, I can thank an absence of competition.

Calling into tech support for various sustained drops in speed (as low as 0.05 mb/s for hours at a time, a couple times each month), has resulted in them simply pointing fingers at my hardware (purchased cable modem, router, cables). Techs have been sent, and they just test my lines, scratch their heads, and leave.

The upside is that I now have a perfectly functioning backup for each component. The downside is they still haven't fixed THEIR issue. But, then again, what's their incentive?

The obvious solution is for government to get out of bed with the ISP's and allow competition. Only then will pricing, speed, and reliability see noticeable improvement. (But, money...)

 

[FwyFlyer]

I have 100Mb/sec TWC service... to my isp. Once I jump beyond my local isp to the mainland (from Maui, Hawaii thru Oahu, Hawaii, my speed caps at about 15mb/sec whether downloading from Steam or any other network speedtest located on the mainland. So, it appears as if TWC has provided a decent connection to me, but has not purchased sufficient bandwidth to cover the connection from Oahu, Hawaii to the mainland. Is this a fair assumption on my part?


Addendum: I am paying roughly double the prices referenced above.

 

[jlake3]

I'm paying $45 for 15/1 (after taxes and modem rental), as my promotional rate in SW Ohio where TWC is the only provider (other than DSL or a 4g tether). I know people in central Ohio paying $75+ off promo (incl. modem rental) for the same service.

Those Texas rates pretty much confirm that we're all getting fleeced. If I gave them any more than 1 star, I'd like to retract that.

Edit: here's an insert on pricing updates from my January bill - http://i.imgur.com/I65TmbD.jpg

 

[firefoxx04]

60mbps is insane speeds? Are you high? Call me when gigabit is standard in the US

 

[Bartendalot]

60mbps is insane speeds? Are you high? Call me when gigabit is standard in the US

It will get there but what can anyone do in the meantime?

 

[Nintendork]

Im Perú i get 100Mb FTTH down/up for $45. Still limited to a few areas.

 

[Chris Droste]

TWC is bending me over if that's your standalone prices in Texas. I'm also in SW Ohio; thankfully local DSL providers can offer FiOS-type service up to 100MBps but isn't stopping them from charging me $75 for "Turbo" 30/3 service. Trust your reader surveys and throw that BS you got from the rep out the Window.

 

[Indomitable1]

Like so many others, those prices are a steal compared to those in my area. My main reason for HATING TWC is the pricing games they play, and this article highlights that issue.

We live in Raleigh, NC and we have the "everyday low price internet" which is $15 per month, consistent with the prices reported here. However, that's where the consistency ends. I'm looking at the TWC webpage right now, and here's how bad they want to screw me: to upgrade to "Basic" (up to 6Mbps) it would be an ADDITIONAL 29.99 / m ($45/mon total).

Standard (up to 15Mbps): +34.99/m ($50/m total)
Turbo (up to 20 Mbps): +44.99 ($60/m total)
Extreme (up to 30 Mbps): +54.99 ($70/m total)
Ultimate 50 (up to 50 Mbps): +64.99 ($80/m total)

There is some Roadrunner Turbo thing they're working on, but again, I think those prices are higher than those in this article. Thank God we're getting google fiber sometime in the next couple of years.

Also, I really think this writer needs to do some more research on TWC pricing and then edit this article or something.

 

[falchard]

When I worked with TWC it surprised me compared to working with Cox. Their system is a mess. There are 2 things that waste a lot of time with TWC.
They try to save every penny in an effort that is more costly and time consuming in the long run. Its just not an efficient process closing out a work order with them.
Their system is obviously a hodge-podge of different cable systems merged together. They haven't bothered to make the system more efficient and stream-lined. As a result you have to get passed a load of discontinued crap to get to what you need.

With Cox's service, the process is a lot easier and more streamlined for the employees involved. You can do your job in much less time since you are not dealing with all the BS. As a result Cox is able to concentrate on other things that makes their service better. Like rolling out with services when they have the infrastructure in place rather than before its in place.

 

[PolarisOrbit]

I can explain the pricing situation with TWC. I recently signed up for TWC service in Texas.

The "non-promo" rates that the author of article wrote are prices that TWC strikes out on their website where they advertise the 12 month promo rate. However, those numbers are not the non-promo rate! Instead, those are the promo rates if you order by phone. The promos are just randomly $5 more expensive if you order by phone (they still only last 12 months), instead of online.

The actual non-promo rates are approximately double the promo rates. I got the 50/5 plan which is $35/mo, the strike-out price on the website was $40/mo, and the actual non-promo rate (as seen on my bill) is $60/mo. This is not including any fees, taxes, or modem rental. That's the base rate only.

The thing that really chaps me about their pricing is when their system breaks, they charge *you* to fix it. In the first week I had a total internet outtage which was caused by an equipment failure at their cable box. The tech who fixed it told me that everyone else who was connected to that box, which could have been as many as 10 other subscribers, would have also been offline due to the nature of what went wrong. When I saw my first months bill, they're charging me what it cost to fix their broken equipment. Apparently the other 10 subscribers had been playing a game of chicken to see who would call to get it fixed. Because I'm the only one that got charged. What a novel system to keep maintenance costs low- make it so nobody reports problems!

 

[turkey3_scratch]

I have Time Warner... Don't like them. Worst customer support in the world, also.

 

[dstarr3]

So is the point of all of these articles just to highlight the fact that every single ISP in America is total rubbish? Because we knew that.

 

[Kahless01]

i dont have too many complaints about twc. only their pricing in that staying with them longer means you pay much much more. but a few months ago i bought my own modem after i saw they were going to be raising modem rent prices to 10$ a month. i called to get my monthly rate dropped to what they offered new people but they would not budge, so maybe that would be a knock against their phone support. so i went up to their physical location to turn in my modem and the person there dropped my rate by half, so of course i went up a tier and im still 25$ under what i was paying. so in store ive had much better luck than calling corporate.

i live in killeen tx and they claim they do 300mb near a&m and the killeen airport but my friend lives on that side of town and they dont. i live near hood army airfield and im currently paying less than 45$ a month for 30 after i went and complained.

 

[ummduh]

Yea, again, your "texas only" pricing is a very unfortunate joke. You seem to have found like the best prices in the country.

Check out a random address in say, Milwaukee, WI.

50Mbps is Max, and it's like $65/mo PROMO, I can't even find the standard rate.

Here is a picture of a former address of mine:




http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l196/ummduh_2006/twc.jpg


50Mbps is the best they can do! Seriously? It hasn't changed in YEARS! Why? This is a MAJOR city with a huge population, especially once you consider the entire metropolitan area. There is NO competition in the area. I believe ATT Uverse only offers to 24Mbps.

I only bring this up as I'm moving back to the area, and as much as I hate Comcast, giving up the 150/10 service I currently have for TWC's joke offerings is going to suck.

 

[ummduh]

60mbps is insane speeds? Are you high? Call me when gigabit is standard in the US

Yea, 60Mbps is nothing to be proud of. I can see it actually causing bandwith starvation once I have to deal with that.. argh.