BBVI

I agree this transient problem is annoying, but I think BroadbandVI has a long way to go before it can be equated with the service from Innovative.

I agree this transient problem is annoying, but I think BroadbandVI has a long way to go before it can be equated with the service from Innovative.

Innovative had extremely poor "last mile" service but, while it worked, their routing was solid (perhaps because they had engineers from some big telco on mainland that came here to set it up)

These guys are clowns, sorry but that's what it is. Their last mile technology works well enough but being able to keep your primary link from flapping for so many hours is a basic requirement for being called internet provider. There is simply no excuse. This is not a first time either, this is just longer than usual.

I have no idea how they want to provide telephony service when they can't get stuff like this right.

BR1K,

You should talk to some of the guys at BBVI if you haven't. I do agree there are too many problems and outages, but to call these guys "clowns" is a bit harsh. The small staff works very hard and are responsive to problems when they occur, it is not an easy job given the small client base that is available here.

FWIW, Innovative recently overcomplicated their routing putting its subscribers behind a NAT and blocking outbound port 25. This was fine but for about 2 weeks, ending around this week I was having all kinds of routing issues with them as well. This was not just on my connection but on a friends connection too. During that time I had a router that logged health checks with load balancing between BBVI and Innovative. Innovative was down every 5 minutes and BBVI was only down a few times a day. This week the problem did go away though, I agree that whe the last mile works on Innovative it's generally been very good for me, the problem is that if you have a problem with your line it will take 3 weeks to get it fixed. I am still happy with my Innovative connection though and will only change to BBVI when I can get 2 or 3mbps service for around $99/month.

The reality is that Mr. Prosser put all the money he stole from the NRTC that he should have used to build the communications infrastructure into his 727 and left us with absolute garbage. Because of this we have fallen way behind the US. I am glad that small company's like BBVI are trying but the lack of a solid fiber optic infrastructure and last mile solution is really going to hurt us in the future. I have read the Governor's plan to solve this and I am not very optimistic that what they say they want to do will ever happen.

Sean

Br1k: Outages are a fact of life down here.
Equipment breaks, especially in this environment.
I work over the internet and when it goes down, I take it as a sign to go enjoy the island.

I've had nothing but good customer service experiences with BroadbandVI.

My customer service experiences with BBVI have been great. Actually my customer service experience with Innovative (especially face-to-face) have been good as well. However, I've had significant outage issues with Innovative's phone, cable, and internet over the past couple of years to the point where I'm down to just local phone and basic cable with them (I supplement with satellite TV and BBVI.)

My BBVI service has been very reliable up until about 2 weeks ago when we started having up and down bouncing service or slow service for several days. Seems to be back to normal as of the past few days though.

I agree this transient problem is annoying, but I think BroadbandVI has a long way to go before it can be equated with the service from Innovative.

Does that mean Broadband VI would have to get a lot better, or a lot worse, to be equal to Innovative? A lot worse, I assume.

Their customer service is great, I think. It's nice to get a real voice over the phone and they react to problems quickly.

I agree this transient problem is annoying, but I think BroadbandVI has a long way to go before it can be equated with the service from Innovative.

Does that mean Broadband VI would have to get a lot better, or a lot worse, to be equal to Innovative? A lot worse, I assume.

I've found BroadbandVI's customer service very responsive. I forgo a land line, even though it can be inconvenient at times, because I choose not to support an outfit as lousy as Innovative.

I've been using BBVI here on STX for the past two months and have not experienced any problems at all.

In fact, just today, Antonio came to install equipment in my new apartment (same apartment complex), and I'm on the air in my new digs.

Cable is out today after the power outage early this afternoon, but BBVI is working well.

Had good service with BBVI. Feel they're doing a heck of a job, given the environmental circumstances...

I will also attest to the great service BBVI provides. I have had trouble in the past with maintaining a steady Web connection (lots of peaks and valleys in connection speed), but the issue often is the electric service and not BBVI. And I've always gotten quick, friendly and courteous response when I call.

Bernie