Internet Nightmares in Rural Kentucky
It’s sad to say, but current internet providers truly could care less when it comes to actually providing a service to customers, especially in rural areas. As I write this, I am in the middle of week 5 with trying to gain “high speed” internet through one of only two providers I have available: Time Warner Cable. (The other being Windstream)
A little background: I currently reside in the tiny community of Wildie, Kentucky. It’s probably about as hard to find as a valley from Land of the Lost. We’re talking a town so small some websites do not even acknowledge its existence when filling out forms, even though we have our own zip code, paved roads, and no dinosaurs or Chaka anywhere around. (Unless you count the 1-2 old men driving up and down the road.) It’s so bad that when I type in my physical address into a service like Google Maps, it doesn’t even recognize where I am as an actual location; it stops at the beginning of the road. It’s almost like even Google Maps is afraid to come down here and get reverted back to a day of dial-up and 8-bit images. Apple Maps, not to be outdone, refuses to accept that my address is in Wildie, rather wants to put me in the closest available town, Mt. Vernon, instead– and this is where part of the problem resides.
No Dharma Initiative logo. What are you? What are you for if not for cable access?!
During these three weeks of back and forth with Time Warner, on both phone and Twitter DM, the bulk of the communications have been that they simply cannot find where I live. They say they need to survey the address to see if it’s serviceable; however, they can’t find me to do such a thing, so they automatically deem my address as unserviceable, without actually ever checking it. It’s also been clear that effort really hasn’t been put into it, as one phone call unveiled (albeit accidentally) the information that they had a serviceable address just down the road from me, an address farther down the road I live on. Subsequent phone calls revealed that there were serviceable addresses on both sides of me on the road, leading to confusion by the customer service rep I was speaking to on the phone, who deemed my address “in the Twilight Zone.” So to get to the serviceable addresses, their trucks have had to pass my house. Not in a boat or covered wagon or via time machine, but in actual service trucks.
Having an unserviceable address isn’t something new for me, as my last home address was also considered unserviceable, because they didn’t have record of the road I lived on actually existing. (I eventually sent them a photo of the road sign, showing them it did in fact exist). No, the difference in then and now, is that I’m renting a house that once had cable service. How do I know you might ask? Well the cable running from the pole in my backyard, to the house, and into a Charter Communications box and not, as you may be thinking by this point, a box with the Dharma Initiative’s logo plastered on the side of it.
The pole in question. The pole with an serviceable cable.
So how could a house that once seemed to have service be deemed unserviceable? I’m not sure. I’ve asked that same question multiple times, but have never received an answer. Actually asking the question typically gets glossed over with who I’m communicating with. I’m fairly certain I’m living in real life and not some bizarre Twilight Zone episode, where no one knows I’m real, even though at this point Time Warner itself has admitted to this possibility.
You guys can see me, right?
As a possible explanation as to why I don’t exist, Charter Communications’ services in the area I live in was purchased by New Wave Communications back in 2006, who then were acquired by current provider Time Warner Cable back in 2011. (And in a full circle type situation, TWC has reportedly been acquired by Charter Communications.) So maybe the address was lost along the way? Forgotten? Have I had my third divorce without even knowing it?! I mean seriously, has the ability to provide signal and service lessened in the 9-10 years since this house had cable service installed? Who knows? What I do know, however, is that Time Warner isn’t concerned, and clearly doesn’t want my money, which I have basically been offering to throw at them.
I’m actually pretty certain that at this point, I’m just being given the run around hoping I’ll eventually quit. I was told a few weeks ago that they were working on it and waiting for a response. I’ve been told multiple times that my ticket shows I’ve been called, which has never occurred. Just yesterday, I received an email stating that my order could not be processed, when I had just been told I’d receive a phone call. Sending the @TWC_Help Twitter account another DM asking about this only gave me the response that they have not received the info from the representative who was handling my account. No acknowledgement of the email I received or if I needed to make a phone call.
I have even made additional phone calls, and essentially placing new orders, (by my count they’ve ran my credit at least 3 times, so thanks for the knocks on the credit score guys!) only to get an email within less than 24 hours telling me my order was cancelled and giving me this nice little note:
Unfortunately, your address is not within our service area. You will need to contact your local cable provider. To help you identify your local provider you can use the Go 2 Broadband website: https://locator.go2broadband.com/
You are my local cable provider! You just don’t want to be!!
I again called and asked about this, as I was promised the house would be surveyed again, after giving detailed directions and explanations of where I was located. (The customer service rep I was speaking to on the phone was beyond helpful in this and completely understanding as she was truly wanting to help me). When asking about the last time the address was survey, I was told it showed last surveyed a month prior, showing all the effort I had been putting into helping this company finding the black hole that I apparently live in, had been in vain.
At this point, I’ve given up on Time Warner. They clearly do not want my business, and while the reps I’ve spoken to and communicated with have been wonderful, I no longer want to give them my business. Just like chasing a girl that you want, but who doesn’t want you, eventually you have to give up.
The sad breakup text. (I never have received a reply to this)
You might be asking, why continue to work and try for over well over a month to get service when another provider is available? Well, the difference is this: Windstream tries even less. Their service is notoriously unreliable and rarely comes close to the speeds you’re paying on a consistent basis, and because of where I live and the distance from them, the absolute best speeds available to my address is 6mb down for nearly the same price I could be paying Time Warner for 30. ($49.99 for 6Mbps down with Windstream vs. $54.99 for 30Mbps through Time Warner Cable) To me, it’s not even a debate, especially if I want to stream Netflix or anything beyond simple web browsing, because 6mb isn’t shit anymore. (Unless you’re in rural Kentucky, then it’s the best available!)
When contacting Windstream regarding this, the best response I have received came from their Twitter account, which simply told me “That could change in the future”. Oh really? So things change, as time progresses forward?! Remarkable!!
Fact is, the area I live in, with houses spaced apart with low customer numbers means the companies simply do not care. I even know of people living in nice, new houses that have zero options unless they go the way of Satellite for their internet service. Kentucky actually ranks as one of the worst states in the US in terms of it’s population having access to the internet. Some people feel, that in this day and time, internet access should be considered a common utility along with electricity and water. The U.N. has actually deemed internet access to be a basic human right. Sure, maybe it is, where the bigger cities have more paying customers to offer service to. However, in places like rural Kentucky, it’s an effort to get such, to the detriment of its residents and future generations. Yes, this area of the United States has many hurdles to get over, many mountains to climb (literally and figuratively), it’s just sad that in a day and time where “high speed” internet is considered so common that products such as Smart TVs, Apple TV, and gaming consoles, and services like Netflix and Hulu exist solely based on the utilities existence in the home, that it’s still a pipe dream to people like me.
This article brought to you by: Internet speeds of less than 2mb from Windstream Communications