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“They advertise that they have 20 download, 10-upload speed, but that’s the speed if you’re plugged into the wall,” Tully explained. “The way Terrace View has it set up ...only one computer can be logged into the account online at a time. The only way to have more people to use it is to plug in a router and have the router take up that one spot.”
By using the router, Tully says he doesn’t get what he’s paying for.
“Wireless connection is significantly slower than wired connection, so even though they might advertise 20/10, it’s actually more like 2/1,” Tully said.
Bowman expressed similar disappointment with the consistency of her service.
“There’ve been a couple days when it was just really bad, in and out Internet,” Bowman said. “That was one of the cases when I know we tried to contact them, but we didn’t really get a reason why it went out. It was really inconvenient; people had to go on campus just to do their homework.”
According to Mercado, when outages occur, it may not always be a massive outage, but more localized to a complex or single unit.
“There could be too many computers connected to your source, it could be your specific unit because of a wiring issue, it could be the property because of a wiring issue,” Mercado said. “Anytime there is an outage we have to get to the root of it. If a customer calls at the very beginning of an outage, its possible we haven’t identified the issue.”
Mercado also stressed the need for more communication between customers and Access Media 3’s customer service. Customers can sign up to have their emails notified when outages do occur.
As far as the outages go, Mercado expects the issue to be fully resolved.
“This provider was able to narrow down exactly what was happening, and which equipment it was that failed,” Mercado said. “According to them. It shouldn’t happen again.”
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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 19 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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People complain, CT writes an article
It is the same thing every year.....
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People need to complain to their leasing companies so they don't renew the contracts when they're up. Make it clear that you wouldn't refer a friend to move there because of the obligation to work with a really crappy internet company. In the past two years I've called on 9 different occasions and left word to speak with a manager, they gave me a "ticket number" each time for my request, and every time I've followed up they couldn't pull up the ticket number. Not a single call back. That service is unacceptable. Especially considering how outrageous their prices are.
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actually if you live in one of those complexes you should try to move out and if you're looking for an apt ask about the internet and if there's only one provider look else where and tell the complexes no way with one provider.
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The solution is easy, don't sign a lease that makes you get NTC/Shentel/Media3. The apartments that require these are in the minority, so they would quickly get the message, and/or go bankrupt. Beauty of capitalism.
The only issue I see here, is that this is a lot of people first lease, and simply don't know the difference. When I signed a lease for my sophomore year I didn't think much of it. After hearing my friends (in Shentel buildings) complain about it, and witnessing the slow speeds myself now I get it.
Perhaps an awareness campaign to rising sophomores? haha, but seriously the off-campus housing organization should highlight in their marketing materials the importance of internet choice in your unit.
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"Customers can sign up to have their emails notified when outages do occur."
Does this Access Media 3 spokeswoman have any knowledge about how email works? How am I supposed to be notified of an outage when my internet isn't working to check my email? There are still people without smartphones or phones with email access. Furthermore, why would I need an email to tell me my service is out? Wouldn't I know about it? That is the most asinine comment I have ever seen from a spokesperson for a company.
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LoL. I agree, cant send an OUTAGE report by email is there is an internet OUTAGE!
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"“I personally hate it,” said Tully, a junior public and urban affairs major. “I dislike the way you’re forced into it by contract here at Terrace View; you don’t have any other choice of Internet providers.”"
That's interesting, considering when I was there I had Verizon Internet and Dish TV. I don't know about this service, but NTC used the cable lines. Verizon uses the telephone line and Dish Network uses satellite. Do your homework before signing a lease or making a comment to the media.
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Request a lease agreement audit. It is illegal in most states to require a lessee to utilize an individual utility or service provider unless using a different utility or service provider disrupts other services or causes damage to the property. The issue with these guys is they know they are going to fill up the beds because there is a shortage. Start a petition with all the people who hate service, gather a little money from each and hire an outside consultant to perform an audit of the management company. You will probably uncover much more than improprieties with AM3.
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Problem is, when we signed our lease to Terrace View last winter, they told us that the AM3 contact was expiring in July and they were going to switch to Comcast. Come July, they tell us Comcast has to install special equipment and it will be a few more months. After a few months, they tell us that they renewed the AM3 contract instead. They had no problem lying to us to get the lease signed, so be careful to do your own research on the matter.
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Ever heard of getting email on a phone? It could be useful to know when you're out that you might not have internet when you get home.
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Came here to say the same thing.... I used to live in Terrace View and we had Verizon for internet, this was 2010-2011.
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We had Verizon too in one of those complexes that had a contract with AM3/NTC and one day when our internet was acting choppy, we called Verizon but they wouldn't send in a technician because that was part of their "blackout zone" and when I asked them what it meant he essentially said they can't send someone out because they have to honor the contract. But they were ALL about coming to set it up for us...
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Suggestion for the future, don't ever rely on anyone to have something done after you sign (for any deal). If it's not in writing, it's probably not going to happen.
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Sigh. I made the assumption that high school graduates could discern differences in capitalization.
B = Byte b = bit
1 Byte = 8 bits
20Mb = 2.5MB
10Mb = 1.25MB
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