Outage is a six-letter word

If you get internet service from the same place we get internet service, you might also be experiencing this new nightly ritual … sit down at the computer, type a website address, and … wait to see if a Certain Cable Company Starting With C will allow us to access the tubes. The spotty service finally got bad enough last night for us to call and complain. Yes, we were told, there is a major outage (THAT WORD AGAIN) in areas including West Seattle, and it’s due to damage from The Storm. (This article talks about one ongoing since the storm, but ours has been intermittent. Just like, interestingly, these folks back east.) Our next two questions: (a) will this bring a discount on our bill, and (b) is there some more reliable way to get fast internet service (Clearwire? Sprint? aluminum foil around our ears?). Anybody who’s switched from The Cable Company Starting with C and is happier with their new provider, please do tell.

Trevor F. Smith December 28, 2006 (5:01 am)

Speakeasy DSL has been rock solid for a year, their customer support actually supports us, and they smoothly handled our move right in the midst of the storm.

John December 28, 2006 (5:02 am)

I live on Fauntleroy Way near Willow. I’ve been having issues connecting to Comcast the last few nights. I have a Linksys router connected to my cable modem. When I can’t connect to the net, I check the status on my router and it lists the DHCP settings for Comcast connection and has some insane number (in the thousands of days) for how long my connection is good – something is definitely not right. I’ve been releasing and then renewing the DHCP settings, getting a new IP address, DNS servers, and an hour of time on the net. Later in the day, I may have to reset it again to get back on the net. If you don’t have a router, you may be able to run the ipconfig command with /release and /renew flags in the DOS command line window.
Worth a try? or not.

T. De December 28, 2006 (6:49 am)

I purchased a wireless card for my laptop and switched to Qwest wireless internet service in my home. I haven’t had a bit of trouble since then and my phone bill and wireless bill all come in the same billing package. T.

V. Ba December 28, 2006 (10:08 am)

I second the comments on Speakeasy – I’ve been with them for a couple years now and it’s been great! I always get a live person when I have any questions – they’re always helpful and more than courteous. Once my electricity was back on, there was no outage whatsoever with my Internet connection through them.

Lifer December 28, 2006 (10:36 am)

Thanks for the posting. Nice to know we’re not the only ones having this problem in the upper Fauntleroy area! I won’t be holding my breath for that C#)@!*astic refund…

Jack December 28, 2006 (10:40 am)

I currently have Seanet as an ISP and Qwest DSL to connect to them. Except bumps occuring during “the storm” I have had no problems. Seanet is rock solid as a provider and so is Qwest. Qwest central office relies on battery power and generators to keep the phones working during power outages as phones are “life critical services” and cable is not. Obviously if your wires are down you have no service. I have started using a company called Ground Control (http://www.groundcontrol.com/) at work for disaster communications. It is expensive but with battery power or a generator you are connected. FEMA uses Ground Control ( among others ) for communciations in disaster zones such as Katrina. All it takes is money to stay connected.

Amy December 28, 2006 (11:28 am)

We DID get a credit from Comcast for an outage caused by the storm that took place in early November. I called to report the outage and the customer service rep offered the credit right up.

MsBette December 28, 2006 (1:31 pm)

We switched to qwest from comcast and really find that qwest connection to the internet is much better, even if it is dsl instead of broadband. BUT the TV stinks. And we are not getting any kind of deal that they said they would when we switched. We apparently need to connect with a phone line in order to use the TV or computer – and we don’t have phone connections where we hac planned TV or computer, for instance, no phone outlet in the living room. They never told us about that, and with no price break, we are sorry we switched.