I would like to reply but preface this with the understanding that this is just
from my experience with working there as well as with my understanding of how
things work behind the curtains so-to-say.
> But, I have a slight bone to pick with the comparison between commercial and
residential accounts.
> Residential customers get:
> - Up to 4Mbit/256Kbit, depending on network conditions, with downstream
generally limited more by server upstream and intermediate network conditions
than by neighborhood network conditions.
actually, the residetial modems are cap'd at around 2M down at a maximum and
they don't even get close to a 128K up, let alone 256. I know this from viewing
the setups to the modem as well as from experience on upstream bandwidth tests.
As I stated before though, the commercial accts are given set standard speeds
also known as tiered service which gives them gurantees as well as priority on
available bandwidth which means if you are sending a packet of information,
yours has priority through the network versus a residential account.
> - Allowed to use/abuse bandwidth in whatever manner, as long as certain ports
are not used
There is some use/abuse unfortunately, and P2P software makes up a portion of it
but there are caps on service and these caps are primarily so we know how much
bandwidth we have and how much we will need to expand. I have seen some of the
communications that go between plannings and can tell you that they do try to be
as proactive as can be on upgrades and expansion of the network.
> - Regular port scans (like surprise enemas for your computer!)
> - $45/month
The regular port scans are just to keep track of things that are going on so
that if there is excessive abuse or if there is something that shouldn't be
happening, it can be examined and/or dealt with if needed. Most Systems
Administrators on large networks would probably agree with that because the more
people you have on your network, the more potential there is for abuse.
>
> Commercial customers get:
> - Permission to use the "forbidden" ports or promote commerce
> - Tech support priority
> - The ability to purchase static IPs for an average of around $15 each,
depending on the
number purchased (although it is unclear whether this is a one-time fee, or monthly)
> - The following pricing table:
> - 1 Mbit/128 Kbit: $75/month
> - 2 Mbit/384 Kbit: $90/month
> - 2 Mbit/512 Kbit: $130/month
> - 3 Mbit/768 Kbit: $190/month
> - 3 Mbit/1 Mbit: $260/month
> - 4 Mbit/2 Mbit: $500/month
> - A $200 installation fee
Actually, if you call the sales group, they almost always have promotions that
go on and reduce/waive some fees. They put that information on there but they
also note at the bottom
" Please call 1-877-TWSPEED (1-877-897-7333) for current specials."
> - source: http://www.twspeed.com/products/busclass/bctiered.asp
It is not a TOS violation for commercial users to use servers, yes. They also
have additional services that are not available to residential users such as
static ip's as you mentioned along with DNS name hosting, VPNs, branch office
services to link offices together (I think they have this one from my
understanding), priority on field techs, completely seperate support group
dedicated to the commercial customers, tierd services to provide higher bandwith
where needed (more downstream and/or upstream) and of course that higher
priority on the network. Although high priority on packets doesn't seem like a
big deal, and on the Internet it sometimes isn't as relevant, on the local
network it does make a great deal of difference between offices and such.
And please understand that I don't dispute that if you are a standard home user
business class is almost absurd in its pricing structure, but if you are in
business, you are there to make $$$ and thats the bottom line. The business
class is going to be priced more because of the options as well as priority
because time is money and if you are down you are losing money and you need that
tech out there ASAP to get this resolved.
>
> I have to stop responding to this thread; my feelings about TW in general and
the people there with whom I've dealt in particular make it difficult for me to
be objective.
This one I most definately want to touch on. I worked phone support for the
year and a half I was with the RR division. In this timeframe I worked regular
residential support to commercial support to overnight administration with
monitoring the network as well as reporting outages and following up on
maintenances scheduled. I would like to offer an appology not on behalf of Time
Warner but on behalf of quite a few people that I worked with in tech support
who would be disappointed to hear that you seem to have had some bad
experiences. Unfortunately, as with any field that involves people, there are
sometimes bad experiences but I can honestly tell you this, that most of what I
see from our side, we do try to take care of the customer. The biggest
complaint I received while working there was the timeframes we had to schedule
available technicians to get the cable modem/television working. Unfortunately
there is not a lot that can be done because they get booked in advance and at
best if its within a days time we can only work in an open timeframe (8A-8P)
which is very inconvenient. Those timeframes are for the people that must have
it at that moment and are willing to sacrifice the day to wait. I usually
advise against it and try to have them wait for a 2-4hr window thats available
because its less stressful on the customer. But those are what I used to hear
as primary complaints. While in the call center, we went through 3 classes on
empathising with the customer before I left. These were 4hr classes that helped
to teach us better ways to help as well as develop the understanding that we are
customers when we call a company on the phone just like the ones that call us
for help. These trainings helped many to learn how to understand what the
customer needed and to assist them however we can. Honestly, this is what I
have experienced from the inside and I have never worked in sales nor do I
receive anything for saying good things about the company (well, maybe a little
job security but no ones going to stay with Bright House because I told them to
:).
I would like to add that if ever would like to voice your opinions/experiences
about the company or any of the individuals you have to deal with, you can
always send an email to feedback@tampabay.rr.com. I know that they read those
because I have received compliments as well as some customers voicing complaints
(can't make them happy all the time...especially the guy that wanted me to give
him a years credit for RR because his wife left him for someone she met on the
Internet in a chat room :). I'll let you in on a little iggy too. For
residential customers, when you call in to the tech support lines, there are 3
tiers of support personnel. Tier 1 and Tier 3 are us here in the Tampabay area,
Tier 2 are the techs at the National Support Centere in Canada. So if you ever
have an experience, be it good or bad, that you want to document ask the rep
which Tier they are. If they are local, they all have tech numbers (mine *note
keyword here* 'was' R65 if any of you ever talked with me) and we are required
to give you that.
Again, I'm not in sales and I don't work for marketing I just like my cable
modem. The company, like any other, has room for improvement but I can tell you
after the meeting this morning announcing our new identity, they are investing
in improvement as well. Hope some of this helps in some way. :)
Pace
=}
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