FAQ 8
Adelphia Sucks or
Cable Redux

 
I received another letter asking for information about my Adelphia experience.  This is happening so often I think a pseudo-FAQ would be in order.

I don't know how Adelphia operates in other parts of the country, but in South Florida I can assess the company's performance in just two words:

it sucks!

Right out of the band box I was not impressed. They could not find my account and I was without e-mail until I became rather unpleasant, which I can be. At one point a representative, whom I had probably driven to distraction, suggested that I visit their local office with documentation to prove that I was paying for a subscription. We were not amused.

I must say that when Adelphia is good it is excellent. However, they are the most unreliable SP I have had and that goes back even to a local SP in Puerto Rico. I don't know enough of the industry to knew whether it's the technology, the technicians or the equipment that is at fault.  A friend in Indiana has just switched to cable and his experience is similar to mine.

But the worst is yet to come. The first time the e-mail stopped I panicked. Evidently the POP server (incoming mail) is extremely unreliable. Over 100 messages may come in after one of their outages.  Messages were bouncing all over eGroups and a number of groups unsubscribed me, because messages were returned. My box was full and I couldn't get to it.

Finally I had to open an account at netscape.net to be certain that I get the mail in a timely manner. I do not receive individual posts from any eGroup. I'm afraid that I'll be unsubscribed when these outtages occur.

The SMPT server, handling outgoing mail, is more reliable but bulky files tend to get lost. Every day I have to check to make certain that all my posts have been delivered correctly -- and sometimes they are not. I had to break up a mailing list into two parts because I am limited to 50 recipients at a time. I wonder what businesses do.
 

 The files from newsgroups do download very quickly when they move at all. But they don't keep the archives for very long and they don't maintain as many groups as I've seen at other SPs. Even the company I used in Puerto Rico offered a larger selection than Adelphia.
If you click here, you will open a new window containing a list of status reports that Adelphia publishes.  I rather suspect that some of the problems I've had were never listed. Certainly, the problems a neighbor has experienced are not there. Evidently the installation was faulty and he is going back to a telephone connection.

And you need technical help? Forget it unless you are willing to spend hours on the telephone. The last time I tried the system shunted me around until I ended up where I started and still without speaking to a real person. The next time around I ended up in the Spanish queue.

Then why do I keep connected? Because it's just too much trouble to switch. I'm unaware of any other cable service in my area and Adelphia is the only show available. I can only imagine what would happen if a technician came out here to remove Adelphia's equipment. Frankly, I don't trust them to touch my machine, after hearing some of the horror stories in the neighborhood. So, I'm stuck and can only hope that conditions will improve. If I can get at least one month of uninterrupted service, I would be happy.

If you are contemplating a switch to Adelphia in the near future, my suggestion is DON'T!

PostScript: For the last two weeks not a single day passes without hours of down time. I get up hourly in the middle of the night to see if I am connected so that I can send my e-mail. I had finally had it! They say 24 hour service, but don't try 6:00am because no one answers.

Eventually I found the office that arranges for removal of Adelphia equipment. Don't bother trying to talk with their "representative." You'll get the royal run-around. Ask to speak with the supervisor in a tone that intimates you are about to bomb their local office. The tech is supposed to be here July 11th in the morning. Let's see what happens. I've made arrangements to connect with earthlink as soon as the tech leaves. Why do I feel so apprehensive?