[LUNI] Broadband in Naperville (WOW) the good the bad and the ugly

[jeff at gerhardt.org]

I have been using WOW (at home) the last couple weeks.  Overall they fall on
the good side. But, there are ups and downs to these folks.

The UPs
1) they are very cooperative and prompt at getting your order taken and
getting you installed.

2) there automated processes of setting up a windows based system are slick.

3) Upgrading to a single static IP and the faster speed is also easy and
takes a few minutes.

4) Speed on the "Web" portion of the internet is blazing fast even with the
600k service

The Downs
1) They do not seem to understand that there is more to the internet than
the web.

2) The tier one internet support has a tendancy of treating users like
idiots.  They presume too much.  I was in a debate with them for 2 days
convincing them of why I needed 3 static IP numbers

3)SINCE the day I was upgraded to the fixed/static IP service, it has never
really routed properly.  Getting to a tier 2 or 3 person to resolve this has
been a bitch.

4) They do not like you using "off net" servers, because they do not want to
deal with the routing issues.  So, if you use a server hosted by a different
ISP there may be a significant LAG or even a outright block.  Some days I
can not get shell service through their network at all.  My email server is
sitting in a network room connected to the Qwest network.  WOW uses AT&T as
a backbone.  There is a 100ms LAG by the AT&T router handing off to Qwest
and then accepting packets from the Qwest network.  This is really a AT&T
problem and not Qwest.  The problem is convincing WOW to contact AT&T to
kick the switch a couple times.  This will be a potential problem for anyone
doing VPN.

5) There Usenet service has NEVER worked which again they do not seem to
feel is a big deal because the equate internet with the WWW.  Fortunately I
have a news server to use while they figure out the bugs.

THE UGLYS
all of the previous other problems can be attributed to being a new
inexperienced ISP and not really knowing how to administer a network yet.
They will improve with time.  But, they approach outages just like a cable
company approaches everything, "when they get around to it."  In the few
weeks I have used the sevice, it has been down a total of 96 hours.  If
service does not improve, someone else will come and serve the people.

Overall- hey its the only game in town, other than wireless.  So, go for it.