I've used five internet service providers over the past 10+ years: Earthlink, Omantel (based in…read moreOman), SBC Global, Prodigy (based in Mexico), and Primecast. I currently use Primecast, which I had to start using because my apartment community was run by a management company that only offered one "choice".
Whenever I would call the four previous ISPs, I would be asked a series of yes/no questions to help the tech support person on the other end of the phone identify what the problem might be. Unfortunately, this hasn't been my experience with Primecast.
Normally, when my internet goes out, I call Primecast, I give tech support my account information, and they tell me whether or not the apartment complex where I live is experiencing internet issues, in which case I'm given a rough estimate on when the issue will be resolved. Sometimes, I'm not told whether or not the issue is effecting the apartment community, and I'm simply advised to reboot my router and modem or reboot my computer.
On Monday morning of last week, my internet connection went out just before 8am - a serious problem for a telecommuter with a child who homeschools. Our connection was out until a little after 3pm when I called Primecast to find out what was going on. I was told by tech support that my connection was down, but during the conversation the connection started working. I was advised to restart my computer to avoid further problems.
On Tuesday morning, my internet connection went out just before 8am AGAIN. This time I called Primecast immediately. I was not told of a complex-wide outage. Instead, I was told to unplug my modem and router. Then I was told to simply restart my computer. A little confusing, but after confirming that I just needed to restart my computer and not reboot my router or modem, I hung up, did what I was told, and my connection was up and running without any problems.
Later that evening, I checked my voicemail and found several messages from Primecast. They had called to touch base on my internet connection. However, the last message said that someone would be coming to my apartment for a service request the next day, which I didn't ask for. So, I called Primecast to let them know that my connection was still working, and explained that a service request wouldn't be needed because. The person I spoke with told me that he was glad I called to stop someone from coming out because I would've been charged $85. When I asked why I was having internet problems, he told me that the issue was on their end.
On Sunday morning, my internet connection was out from 3am (I work odd hours) to 10am. So, I called Primecast to see what was going on. The conversation I had with the first tech support specialist didn't last long. The call had been disconnected after I confirmed that my cable was in the LAN 1 port but couldn't confirm if the same cable was in my laptop or my router. So, I called again, and got a different tech support specialist. I explained what happened during my last call, but she couldn't find a record of the call, which she confirmed wasn't Primecast protocol. Hmmmm, maybe the guy hung up on me and didn't want to document the unprofessionalism.
So this new tech support specialist started giving me instructions for checking to see if the problem might be with my router, but the instructions were for troubleshooting a wireless internet connection, WHICH I DON'T HAVE. She apologized for making the assumption, but we'd been talking for a good 10 minutes before she asked which type of router I was using. Lame.
So after getting her instructions, I checked my connection and noticed that I was able to use the internet by connecting my computer to my modem without using a router. I called Primecast later in the day and explained. I was told that the wired router that Primecast gave me (the one I'd been using before it apparently when kaput) was mine to keep, and that my choices were to buy another router at a store or have Primecast install a second modem for $100+ (which included the $85 charge for the service visit). Or, I could buy the Primecast insurance pack for $9.95/mo for 12 months, which would allow someone to come out and install a second modem for "free"; and she also explained the other benefits I'd receive with the insurance pack.
Unfortunately, because Primecast had been giving me different reasons for my internet problems over the week, and because I'm used to a more systematic way for tech support specialists to troubleshoot my internet problems, I don't trust that the issue has to do with my router; and since I'm not a techie, I can't really prove it. So, I'm going with a larger, more established ISP.