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Frontier Internet Fails Again; Company Plans Big Fix
September 2, 2011
Officials with Frontier Communications said late Thursday that they are taking steps to prevent hundreds of North Escambia area residents from losing their internet service for hours at a time.
During the summer, Frontier high speed DSL and dialup internet customers in Walnut Hill, Bratt, Molino and Atmore have lost their internet connection for as long as 12 hours at a time. The company has experienced at least six major outages since June, including an almost eight hour period on Thursday.
The company said most of the outages were not their fault, blaming the downtime on AT&T, which provides Frontier’s internet connections. Karen Miller, spokesperson for Frontier, said Thursday’s outage was the result of an AT&T fiber line cut near Bay Minette, interrupting the connection between Atmore and Atlanta.
“We have no control over that AT&T cable,” Miller said. “It’s not our fiber; it’s not our network.”
All of the Walnut Hill, Bratt, Molino and Atmore DSL and dialup services provided by Frontier are connected to the rest of the internet by a single fiber optic line between Atmore and Atlanta. When that line goes down, there is currently no backup, Miller said.
But she said Frontier is working to install a second independent route to the internet from Atmore, preventing a single fiber cut like happened Thursday from cutting the North Escambia area off from the internet.
“We are close to finishing an engineering study to get a second route to get traffic from Atmore to Atlanta,” Miller said. “It won’t be that long before it happens.”
Once that second connection is installed, Miller said, it will provide a backup to keep internet traffic flowing from the area.
Comments
42 Responses to “Frontier Internet Fails Again; Company Plans Big Fix”
has anyone experience an issue with restarting your machine to get internet back. This is just happen of late. Not sure what the case it it is rather frustrating to loose the internet after about 12 hours of use. My only fix is to restart my machine.
Take it from some who has worked for Verizon, Frontier and Comcast totaling 20 years. Move your business to the larger Cable companies.
The infrastructure isnt as old and that improves your chance of better service.
I when sent a comment on the 1st I thought 350 bps was slow but now have 194 bps.If we complain any more perhaps we can get it down to zero!
If you are having problems with Frontier’s internet service, please, please, please, make a very detailed log of service problems and a formal complaint to the FCC, your State Representatives, your State Attorney General, your regional manager with Frontier (his name is Cereal Daniel Jr for the Atmore area), and Frontier’s legal department. Whether it be loss of service, extremely high cost vs. product delivered, or anything else that you feel the company is getting over on you.
Just throwing this out there, if you are having problems, call them! If they tell you it isn’t possible, call them again! If you are not getting 3Mbps and are paying 39.99/month, pester them every single day! The techs may tell you, and this is from personal experience, “Just be glad you can connect at all.” Read their fine print for the DSL MAX package, it says UP TO 3mbps.. I may be wrong, but if I’m paying top dollar for an “UP TO” 3mbps package, they had better try as hard as humanly possible to get me as close to 3mbps as they can! Fine print CAN work against you, Frontier.
Frontier has had this cozy position of local monopoly for years now and the laziness and complacency of this company is finally beginning to become public knowledge! I’m sorry, but for the sheer amount of tax dollars which have gone into upgrading and updating rural infrastructure (per the FCC’s ruling in the Telecommunications Act of NINETEEN NINETY SIX (1996)) this area has seen absolutely nothing from it! Frontier has enough capital to buy Verizon out of 13+ states but can’t even afford to give a community that has had no other option BUT them for years upon years upon years, a service which it’s residents aren’t ashamed to admit they pay for? Rubbish!
Someone needs to be held accountable for this, and it’s only logical we follow the chain of command. Mr. Cereal Daniel, you sir, are first in that hierarchy. Care to explain yourself?
Nevermind, we the people who pay an exorbitant amount each month for your sub-par service will allow you time to gather your defense; you or someone who actually has some sway with your company WILL soon be explaining to some very important people.
I use to have frontier for the home phone. I could count on not being able to use it when it rained, usually for a few days. Now I have Bright House phone, cable and internet. No problems.
Had Frontier some years ago. Always had trouble. I placed an order with them for home phone and DSL. When I saw all the outages and their ”Special” price was a rip off, I cancelled and decided to go with AT&T. Do not be fooled by their 14.95 DSL ads! You will get ripped off!
@walnut hill res… I don’t blame the tech for “not knowing” how to setup your home wireless network. Most company techs do not setup home networks, just give you the equipment to do it. When you get into setting up networks within a home, messing with PC settings, etc. you open a whole liability thing. Believe me there are people out there that think you crashed their entire computer system to the point of needing a new one just by changing the screen resolution for them… I know, been there done that. Do a good thing and the next thing you know you’re on the hook for someones 4+ computer home network system.
As shotty as the DSL service is and maintained I don’t think I’d want the techs to touch my home network anyway.
I have AT&T at work in Century and it works very fast and I can’t remember the last time it went out. I have the high speed DSL and it cost only 29.95 a month. They just went up this month it was 24.95 for years.I pay $70.00 a month for Frointier DSL and not half as good as the AT&T network. If I pay 30 a month for just one intrenet connection think how low frontier gets it for to resale to us. They are years behind on the tech end of it. Had one of their service people come out and replace a router for a wireless router and he didn’t know how to set-up wireless in my house. I don’t blame him but, they should have sent someone with more knowledge about the system to install in. Get your people some training so they are up to date on the new stuff. Thank God I have my Son-in law and the Grandsons to help me with these things.
I cancelled my frontier home phone about 8 yrs ago. When I moved into my new home, for 3 yrs (and countless service calls) I could call out, but no one could call me. The message ALWAYS said that my phone was disconnected!! The only time my phone was disconnected was when I had it DISCONNECTED! Have not had a home phone since only cell phone. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Switch to Brighthouse for both internet and landline service. It’s better quality, less expensive and it works. We are quite happy with ours. No more frontier anything for us.
Class action lawsuit??? Fraud!
1. They charge a modem fee even if you own your own.
2. They sell you 3.4MBS download speed. You only get 1.1MBS download speed. $50 no discounts for less speed than advertised.
3. Monopoly on DSL.
I am looking at going to Satellite and get a MiFi for backup.
Just spoke to Frontier. Had to fight to get a small credit. They are not admitting any anything.
It is amazing to me that every time the internet goes down (which is quite often) Frontier blames AT&T.. Several area AT&T customers that I spoke with yesterday were still up and running.. Matter of fact, a lady that works with me in Atmore pulled up North Escambia on her AT&T phone yesterday.. If Frontier provides a service and gets paid for it, THEY ALONE ARE TO BLAME when they cannot provide it.. Maybe Frontier should just give up and let AT&T service our area..
>>Frontier Communications is the local telephones company for Verizon Communications. Why doesn’t Verizon help its own self by installation of service through their own facilities?
Frontier is not Verizon. They are two different companies. (Frontier did buy a bunch of former Verizon landline customers recently, but not in the Atmore/Walnut Hill area)
You mean to tell me that Frontier is just now learning the term “Redundancy”. Wow! Most small companies now have telecommunications redundancy. Do the numbers. Take $50.00 per month and multiply that by the number of DSL customers in the area. You would think that they could have a minimum of 3 redundant providers, paths, and equipment for that kind of money. Geez!
A Word To Frontier – My bill says Frontier on it, not AT&T; I have every right to blame my provider for any outages and I expect them to “man” up to the blame. AT&T is their subcontractor, they pay the bill to AT&T and it is up to them to hold AT&T accountable for living up to their contract. When I start paying AT&T I will blame them for outages, I don’t expect Frontier to pass the blame to them while talking to me, that’s ludicrous.
Frontier Communications is the local telephones company for Verizon Communications. Why doesn’t Verizon help its own self by installation of service through their own facilities? I know AT&T (Bell South) is king in that part of the country, but come on… Fiber optic cables are being installed almost all the time between locations..
If Atmore and Northwest Florida is managed with only a single cable between and the most venerable point of this service is at Bay Minette…Atmore is in bigger trouble than they know.
strange that every time frontier goes down it’s at&t thats blamed. the fiber atmore is on is in a loop from mobile up hwy 31 all the way to evergreen and over to hwy 43 via hwy 84 and back to mobile. lots of fibers in that cable. it’s buried in a big circle so if its cut it reroutes the call automaticly. in theory no one is out of service. bay minette had no problem, flomaton had no problem, brewton, evergreen, jackson, or any others were fine. it’s always frontier.
The internet was down in Monroe County as well!!
Funny thing is, Frontier keeps blaming other companies… that’s about par for the course. It’s never their fault, a back up fiber sounds great! What’s the excuse going to be then? Are us customers picking up the bill in higher phone and internet prices on an already over priced service for this fiber alternative?
Look…all you folks saying that it is not Frontier’s fault…the bottom line is that it is FRONTIER’S responsibility to provide ATMORE (and the surrounding area) with internet service…ANY reason that service is interrupted is Frontier’s fault. It was their responsibility years ago, to have backup plans in place so that they are not dependent on any one provider. In other words, the buck stops with Frontier!!
IF FRONTIER CAN NOT PROVIDE CONTINUOUS INTERNET SERVICE TO OUR AREA IT IS THEIR FAULT!
Dear Frontier,
I realize that today’s problem was not your fault. However, some of the outages over the course of this summer have been your problem and I have 1 question. Would you like your financial institution to be as reliable as the service you provide??? Scary to think that maybe some days your deposits wouldn’t go through and would be lost for that day! That is how we feel. We feel ripped off and taken advantage of and cheated.
Please do whatever you can to better your service and better your customer relations. Right now I don’t think you are in good standing with the general public.
You know what is so scary, is all the mean and Ugly things being said about Frontier is what I have kept bottled up for so long. I have been itching to bash Frontier for there Sucky Internet for the past 6 years. They have writen on their trucks and Vans Lightning Fast internet U should practice what you preach. I have AT&T on my Ipad and am sick of having to pay over charges for going over my 2MB limit. Your going to see more people go to Verizon or AT&T at least there reliable. If it’s Foggy forget it if You have Frontier on a scale of 1-10 1 being the worst 10 best Frontier would get a solid 1. There stocks went way down during that last outage. All I can say is He He HA HA.
just some FYI if you bundle or do any package with frontier telephone it will become a contract between you and frontier and you give up your right to file any complaints with the Alabama public service commission per an official with the Alabama public service commission Alabama lawmakers passed this bill a few years ago that if you were in a contract such as a bundle or package you would be unable to file a complaint with them.frontier lobbied to get this passed to protect them from a large amount of service complaints in alabama and to keep from getting fined by the apsc …however if you go with basic phone service and basic dsl you will not be in a contract which is what i did for $50.00 per month plus all their taxes and fees and you have a right to file complaints with the public service commission ..but get ready for a fight because they will do anything to put you in a package to call it a contract or convince you you are in a contract as Alan said and they work overtime trying to sell you a package to take your complaint rights away..if you google Frontier complaints you will find thousands of service complaints however most of them go unaddressed because of their so called contract deals and protection from State lawmakers …THANKS TO ALABAMA LAWMAKERS THEY HAVE ALLOWED FRONTIER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF US…
I’m getting tired of this. Roughly half of my assignments/readings for college are online. I was about to drive to Whataburger to do my schoolwork for this evening when our internet finally came back on.
Susan,I call 576 kbs high speed internet.Last night at 9:45 my speed was 350 kbs but usually only falls into the 450 kbs range.I live on Pine Forest Rd. in Walnut Hill and my nieghbors all have the same problem.
It seems every time this happens, Frontier blames it on AT&T! Frontier has a monopoly and does not want to tarnish their record. Maybe the FCC could find out what is really going on with this lousy service we get!
You do have a choice. I live in the Walnut Hill area and I have no services with Frontier at all! I have a cell phone and an AT&T communication manager for internet connection. I use an antenna for local TV service and Netflix for movies, if you’re smart about your choices you will pay way less each month than with Frontier. Verizon has a similar service and it may also be available in this area. I ended my 30 year relation with Frontier about a year ago and I have never regretted it. They still charged me $200 for canceling in the middle of an “agreement”, (if you call to discuss your bill and they make any changes you have just entered an agreement for one year). That’s okay; it was the best $200 I ever gave them. That company has really robbed its customers, check out your bill, if you are like me they are charging you for services you didn’t request and they can’t explain.
My Bills are due
and yours are too
The internet is out
and Im about to shout
my bills I’ll pay…you hear?
except the one called ” FRONT…TEAR “
Just a word of advise to Frontier internet customers. CALL AND REPORT YOUR OUTAGES EVERYTIME OR YOU WILL NOT GET CREDIT FOR IT PER THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REP!!! ALTHOUGH, IF YOU HAVE THE PATIENTS TO BE PUT ON HOLD FOR 20 MIN WAITING FOR A SUPERVISOR YOU CAN AUTOMATICALLY GET A CREDIT ANYTIME THERE IS AN OUTAGE IN THE AREA. I SPENT 45 MIN ON THE PHONE TALKING TO CUSTOMER SERVICE REP. AND FINALLY A SUPERVISOR IN ORDER TO GET SOME RESULTS. Mon. 10:41 p.m. 08/29/2011 called frontier to report outage on internet. After about 10 min They finally admitted they had an outage in the area. Thur. 4:26 p.m 09/01/11 called again, same thing about 10 min before they finally admitted they have outages in this area. For Florida customers, you have to tell them your service is out of Atmore, AL service area or they are totally confused about where you are. Companies have to pay BIG BUCKS for cutting fiber optic lines & customers deserve to be reimbursed with it. Although, it is hard to believe that many companies have hit this many fiber optic lines in 2 months.
I was one who did not complain for a long time, trying to be patient. But enough is enough. Hopes this helps someone. frontier 1-800-921-8101 customer service line.
this is happenning way too often, with no re-embursments for not having the service. It is crazy to pay as much as we do for dinosaur equipment to begin with. I was being charged for high speed max for over 3 years and was actually only getting 756 KB. When we found this out, they only gave me credit for half of what they were overcharging me. Sure wish we had other options in our area.
They have received MY LAST PAYMENT
Frontier has had outages, but they are not always their fault, but they always get blamed. This time the fiber was cut by crews doing road construction. So think before you place blame.
will we all get a credit on this months bill? Idoubt it This happens way, way to often.
I want to know why I pay Frontier about $79 a month for home phone service and high speed internet and my kids don’t even have a hom ephone, just internet through them…they pay around $70 just for internet…????
What about using redundant loops, using SONET or some kind of Ethernet RPR?
Go with mediacom out once this year and the state road crew dug up the lines
fixed in no time
Of course its not their fault. It never is….
I’m bald…so pulling my hair out isn’t an option…but changing my personal internet service to Verizon WAS…so that is what I did!!
If you call to cancel your Frontier service, they will attempt to tell you that you are in a “contract”…one that renews automatically every two years. Well, I just told them to show me the contract I signed (been with Frontier since 1979) and the obviously could NOT…so, they relented on the contract argument and finally told me it would cost NOTHING to get out of my contract.
Just thought I would pass along that little information for anyone that gets the “contract” tactic.
Dear frontier land……I’m getting tired of paying for something I don’t have. If it happened once…that is one thing, but six times in about a month….that is uncalled for. How about getting your problem fixed. You know some of us have to do our college online and we don’t get to use our internet didn’t work as an excuse for not getting our work in on time.
Signed,
Getting tired of having to use my cell phone to read north escambia
Frontier routinely gives high cost deficient service and hold a monoply on the local market. It is nearly impossible for businesses to find another option…its a case of mind over matter….they don’t mind so we don’t matter.
If I lived down there and had all these outages I would have pulled my hair out. Never seen so many outages. It’s like trying to get through to a 3rd world country, or maybe that would be easier.