I have been fielding a lot of questions about CenturyLink's new services. They are currently in too many class action lawsuits to count on many fronts from billing practices to problems with their services. So I wanted to share the following article to help clear things up. It's from 2015, but the problems still exist and it's well written. I am reluctant to call their new services fiber services because of the reports I've received and the research I've done. Here is a short list of some of the things I've found out.

1. Many of the connections are NOT symmetrical and NOT available everywhere. So NOT real fiber services. They'll tell you they are, but please see the article. So even if you are one of the few that can get "Gig Speed Internet" (Notice the marketing terms here, they don't say fiber) You probably won't get the same speed up and down. Which stinks if you're trying to run a next generation business ,etc. It has also been reported to me that the connections don't hold up to real impartial testing like real fiber connections. Only CenturyLink knows for sure, but this suggests some sort of half-assed hybrid system instead of real fiber all the way from your house to your provider in most cases. 

2. It's still more expensive, especially proportionately, than municipal fiber connections in cities that have built real municipal fiber networks like Chatanooga, TN who charges $70 a month for a real 1,000 MBps (aka Gigabit)  connection. The same is true in Kansas City, the cost is even less overseas; it's about $24/month in South Korea for Gigabit. The list goes on.  http://www.bellinghambroadband.org/cost-comparison/

3. Their " CenturyLink price guarantee" only holds up unless you virtually sneeze incorrectly on your bill, change services, etc. Any problem, and expect them to take advantage of it and raise your rates permanently. Plus, have you ever had to deal with them on the phone?! I can tell you from many tech support calls, feedback from other techs, etc. they're awful.

4. Even if their service was good, we don't need another virtual monopoly. Replacing Comcast with CenturyLink is NOT a good option. Both are anti-net neutral, anti-first amendment companies. They do NOT offer equivalent services. Right now, private gigabit actual fiber in Bellingham is $900 a month and up. About 13.25 times more than it costs on municipal networks in Chatanooga, TN, etc. https://epb.com/home-store/internet

5. Their customer service is awful and people wait a long time for repairs.

Come on everyone, we know these guys. They had their chance for decades to do a good job and still refuse to do it right. It's time for something better.

Note: The COB did finally send me some more details on the existing network. Showing that they are running it in the least efficient way possible, and that it is more useful than they claim. Especially if we did a few inexpensive upgrades. I'll post the results to that as an update to my last article. Still, it's tough to beat their voodoo economics on conduit installs, etc. One example of the voodoo economics is this. The COB simply asks engineers to over-quote installs, by creating a false need for much more conduit than needed, so the numbers come back way too high. One wonders why they're working so hard against the public interest for this critical resource, especially when they don't have to do a lot of the work. Part of the Open Access model is that most of the work is done by the private providers, non-profits, etc. that least the conduit and/or public fiber from the city. They of course, hid behind the homeless again, and they have been for almost 3 years now. 

We haven't given up :). After almost 3 years of gathering information and sharing it with the city, council, mayor, etc. they still haven't had a formal meeting with local public fiber pros, and public works is claiming that the mountain of research and information we've shared with them over the years does NOT amount to a clearly articulated argument. Basically, unless we do all of their work for them, they can't be expected to do it and even then they are hell bent on ignoring it. That must be why we pay their upper echelon about 8 times what half of our population does (who lives at or below the poverty line)....

However, we do still need a Dig Once Policy. So we put one together for them that was totally reasonable and well researched in response to a ludicrous draft we received from the COB. Instead of adopting the one we put together based on the policies of San Francisco, Mount Vernon, and many others, they are currently putting together a policy based on one from a town in Kansas that is nothing like Bellingham. The draft shows they are quoting rates 8.3 times higher than necessary for the install. Basically, our public works department is quoting near Manhattan rates for conduit installs in Bellingham. They continue to install 2x2" conduit for themselves, with plenty of excess room in it, but refuse the public that paid for it access to it. They do lease public fiber to AT&T, at such a low rate it's corporate welfare, and they want to lease street lights and the fiber in them to T-Mobile and Verizon too. The list goes on. Basically as far as this administration is concerned, if you're a licensed member of the public, a local provider, etc. that wants to use the existing public fiber, then you can go to hell, but if you're a giant anti-net neutral/anti-first amendment telecom, then no problem.  Mayor Linville will sign the lease herself.