QWEST 40 MBPS DL / 5 MBPS UL - $29.99 for 2 Years

[Covert Rain]

Hi guys. Just wanted to let you know of a deal I received from QWEST. They upgraded their DSL lines using the VDSL2 technology in my area (San Tan Valley).

As a promotion they offered me 40 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload for 2 years. Then it would become 55.00 after that.

They are offering 2 year price guarantee. Free modem with built in wireless router and free activation.

I am currently a COX Premier internet customer which is suppose to be 25 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload. However, I have been getting more like 20 Mbps download and 3.5 Mpbs upload now. I have been paying $69.94 per month.

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I called to give Cox a chance to counter offer and I didn't get the response I thought I would.

Argument #1 - First the guy brought up that there is no way Qwest could ever give me 5 Mbps upload when COX had the latest technology and it was hard for them to be exactly at 5 Mbps upload all the time.

Argument #2 - Then his next argument was that I was never going to get those exact speeds.

Argument #3 - His next argument was that QWEST was on the verge of getting purchased and they are doing anything they can to increase their customer base in anticipation of the sale of the company. He claims that when they get bought, the new owners will not honor my deal.

Arguement #4 - His last argument was that there has to be something wrong with that offer because they simply cannot match that price.
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So.....let me break this down and explain why I am going to try QWEST anyway.

#1 - I don't know anybody with the newer VDSL2 Service but I get inconsistent upload speed with Cox anyway. Even if I get equivalent speeds for a cheaper price..it's worth it.

#2 - I do believe he was correct in saying that I will not get the full 40 down and the 5 up. However, my counter is that I am not getting Cox full advertised speeds either. Not to mention that even at full price (after the 2 year promotional period) that at $55.00, it would still be cheaper then Cox ($69.94) and I would still get faster speeds then 25 Mbps/5 Mbps. Not to mention a great price ($29.99) for 2 years.

#3 - Maybe they are ramping up and the reason they are giving me such a smoking deal. Why should I care? In terms of the new owners honoring the agreement...it's true that I don't have a contract with them. However, they are offering a 2 year price guarantee in writing. At the end of my 2 years, if the final price is no longer competitive I can always switch back based on current market conditions.

#4 - He insisted that there is something wrong with my deal and it can't possibly be true. When I asked him why? He said because we can't even come close to an offer like that so it can't be legit. OK, this one had me a little worried so the first thing I did is call QWEST. Not only did they confirm my deal EXACTLY how they sold it to me but when I explained to her why I was questioning the deal..... she laughed. She said they have been getting alot of calls like that from COX customers since their new promotions started because COX can't compete.

So....just wanted to share the story and deal I just received.

 

[O]

Did you have to bundle anything?

 

[Dr. Jones]

Nice price. Paying Fios a lot more for 35 & 35.

 

[Covert Rain]

Did you have to bundle anything?

I do have QWEST phone and DirecTV. However, it didn't impact the prices of either of those. They said I was already getting a DirecTV/phone discount. They said that all I had to have for this offer was a "qualifying" phone package. They never explained what that is but it is basic. We have caller ID, call waiting and no long distance.

 

[JS22]

Our Qwest 1 year promo price ended and the monthly fee jumped to $70 for the 12 Mbps plan. Called them and "no dice" on a better deal. Called Cox. 3 days later we're set up on the 20 Mbps plan for $29.99 mo / 6 months. (Then it jumps to $64, which is still cheaper and almost twice as fast as what Qwest was offering.) We were told that we can drop to the 12 Mbps plan after the 6 months if we wanted, which is $48 a month.

Qwest: $70 a month.
Cox: $48 a month.

Really, Qwest?

 

[Covert Rain]

Our Qwest 1 year promo price ended and the monthly fee jumped to $70 for the 12 Mbps plan. Called them and "no dice" on a better deal. Called Cox. 3 days later we're set up on the 20 Mbps plan for $29.99 mo / 6 months. (Then it jumps to $64, which is still cheaper and almost twice as fast as what Qwest was offering.) We were told that we can drop to the 12 Mbps plan after the 6 months if we wanted, which is $48 a month.

Qwest: $70 a month.
Cox: $48 a month.

Really, Qwest?

Weird. They will give new customers a fantastic deal but not their existing. Then they wonder why people jump back and forth.

 

[JS22]

Weird. They will give new customers a fantastic deal but not their existing. Then they wonder why people jump back and forth.

Yeah, it's strange. Usually a quick phone call or two will result in a better deal.

With Cox, it was supposed to be a 3 month promotion but they gave us 6. We called to ask for more info and told them that we were a Qwest customer. They added on 3 more months to improve the deal a bit.

Qwest just told us "You'll have to wait for the next promotion." Thanks, Qwest!

 

[Covert Rain]

Yeah, it's strange. Usually a quick phone call or two will result in a better deal.

With Cox, it was supposed to be a 3 month promotion but they gave us 6. We called to ask for more info and told them that we were a Qwest customer. They added on 3 more months to improve the deal a bit.

Qwest just told us "You'll have to wait for the next promotion." Thanks, Qwest!

That is basically the same response I got from COX. I thought it was funny when the COX person said, we can't compete with $29.99 for 2 years ($29.99). When he said that I wanted to laugh. But it was basically the same response.

 

[kps0001]

I called Cox about this same offer and was basically told the same things you were. I am on the ultimate or whatever the top one is with cox. it is $89.99 a month and the service is so inconsistent. It's really funny that after I called about asking them to lower my price and they said no that my service totally tanked the next day. So I called tech support....again to tell them my speeds are nowhere close to what they advertise. I understand all the differences between DSL and cable but I should not be getting download speeds of less than 10 Mbps and uploads of less than 1 Mbps with the package and ridiculous price I pay. Sometimes my upload speeds are faster than download. The tech guy came out and surprisingly could find nothing wrong with my speeds because now they were what they should be or at least pretty close. Although for the price I pay it should be going way faster.

I still haven't decided what I am doing with my internet. I just hate Qwest so much and I really don't want DSL. I have asked a lot of people what they pay and what speeds they get with different ISP's and it seems Cox is WAAAAAAAAY overpriced and provides really crappy service as compared to other companies around the country.

Frustrated!!!!

 

[Russ Smith]

Quoted speeds are like 40 times in football they're totally under ideal conditions in a lab not real life conditions.

I used to work for a company that made chips for DSL, when VDSL came out we didn't even pursue the market because it was thought to be a niche market and very unreliable. VDSL2 sort of changed the game it was more of a mainstream market and was supposed to be more reliable.

In theory it's symmetrical same speed up and down so it's weird they're not quoting you such a huge disparity 5 up 40 down because that's the whole advantage of not using ADSL. The A stands for asymmetrical, it's much faster down than up. in Japan and other Asian countries they've had 100MG up and downstream quoted for quite some time now with VDSL2, I dont' think they really get 100 but that's the speed they tell you for the top end but it's both ways.

really makes me wonder why the huge disparity in quoted speeds.