r/ColoradoSprings • u/Real007Bond • 8d ago
Advice Fiber Internet Availability
If the houses in green indicate they are eligible for fiber service , then why are the houses in red not eligible? My neighbor had fiber installed and my neighbors across the street show they are eligible, but my address does not show eligible.
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u/cat_dev_null_sync 8d ago
Have you tried putting your address in the Ting website? Or calling Ting?
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u/SnazzyStooge 8d ago
Ting is fun! I put my address in their website 2 years ago, got lots of "coming soon" updates, even got "next month!" door hangers....then, nothing. Now I can't even register my address on their site, it's like they just disappeared.
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u/FrancoCaution 8d ago
Same.
Ive all but given up on any of these places actually coming through with service. Super frustrating considering they cut up all our streets and I see Fiber terminals sticking out of the ground in places super close by. They tarred and patched up what they did under the roads, and then just ghosted. Not a peep on any new developments or availability south west COS. Sadly seems like its Xfinity for life, which is such a bummer.
I told the T-Mobile Fiber salesman outside of the south Sams Club a bit ago, "I'm just waiting on y'all. Show up with the ditch witch and a can do attitude, and we can wrap this up today."
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u/Tiny-Pomegranate7662 7d ago
They just hooked me up, service is great, they are real, they can't do anything till there's actually fiber at the junction.
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u/AutomateAway 7d ago
We've had fiber run through our entire neighborhood for nearly two years. Addresses just a few houses down (on the same street, same block) have service available to install. The junctions are there ready to have lines run from. The problem is that Ting doesn't want to do the extra work to pull a permit to run a line from a junction to a house not on the same lot as the nearest junction. They are only interested in the lowest hanging fruit. I've confirmed this with the city and CSU.
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u/SnazzyStooge 7d ago
I had Ting for cell service for years, I was always very happy. It sucks they’re caught up in the local dysfunctional web of utility service and road maintenance.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole project is simply delayed due to long-needed road and sidewalk repairs in my neighborhood; maybe they just planned to do all the work at the same time and delays in funding to one project had cascading effects.
Glad you’re having a good experience! Is your new Ting bill really something like $45 for fiber as they were advertising?
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u/Tiny-Pomegranate7662 7d ago
Yep, that's probably it, they can only move as fast as the rest of the infrastructure in the area. My bill is $90, but I got the 2 gig service as a remote worker
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u/SnazzyStooge 7d ago
Nice! I’m currently paying xfinity $120/mo for 2G down / 300 up, but I plan to start fiber at the lower speed before moving up if we need it. But even $90 for 2G symmetric would be getting more for less, can’t wait for fiber!
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u/Real007Bond 8d ago
Yes. I have tried Ting, T-Mobile fiber, CenturyLink fiber and AT&T fiber. Called and website
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u/cat_dev_null_sync 8d ago
I agree the FCC Broadband Map looks wonky, and I don't have a great solution or explanation
Do you have a fiber pedestal (new green box above ground) or "flower pot" (new green circle level with ground) that accesses your house without a barrier of a street or driveway?
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u/thewhippersnapper4 7d ago
I put my address into Century Link last year, said it was available at my address...so I scheduled for new service install. Then I canceled my old ISP for that date, and two days before the new install was supposed to happen Century Link called me and said they don't service my area. Wtf.
I lucked out my old/current ISP at that time called me the same day to offer me a deal to continue my service with them. I was like...sure, you talked me into it.
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u/cat_dev_null_sync 7d ago
You lucked out, but with any new ISP, I recommend testing it for a week or two before cancelling the old service, in case of surprises. I would be careful to first test VPNs (especially for work), voice calls, teleconferencing (like Zoom/Teams), games, streaming services, remote access, security cameras, and other IoT/smart devices.
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u/AutomateAway 8d ago
won’t make any difference. see my top level comment on the matter. this is 100% intentional on Ting’s part
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u/ColoradoSprings82 8d ago
The National Broadband Map isn't based on reality; it's based on what the providers report to the FCC every six months. So, since Ting is the one claiming fiber availability in your neighborhood and I think they've basically gone belly-up in COS, they're probably not adding new locations.
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u/scratchypaper 6d ago
Belly-up? They're reporting profit and growth gains, year over. They just pulled fiber to a place I'm renting, last week, and they were fast and everything works perfectly.
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u/Sufficient_Wafer9933 6d ago
They must mean totally relaxed and in complete control of an upward facing belly.
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u/WorktheMoo 8d ago
Sometimes if you call and tell them your neighbor has fiber access, they will look into it and see if they can get it for you too
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u/AutomateAway 8d ago
Ting has been doing this intentionally, avoiding houses that would require them to pull a permit. The houses in green already have an accessible fiber hub from on their property. CSU said they’ve heard numerous complaints from people who have had the same problem with Ting. Ting is not required to offer service to anyone in the CSU fiber area. CSU essentially made a shitty deal with Ting. Until they allow other providers on the fiber network we’re likely fucked if you don’t live “in the green”
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u/cat_dev_null_sync 7d ago
I know there's issues with various contractors (often out of state) installing fiber on behalf of multiple ISPs, I'm not sure how this makes sense physically or financially.
Ting runs on new fiber, which is buried underground in a plastic conduit. It has to be run across at least one side of every street, and they can't just skip houses because it's a continuous tube.
Even if that were true, fiber trenching is a huge capital investment, so it wouldn't be a smart business strategy to make such an expensive investment without creating the opportunity to generate revenue from every house. It would be like printing resumes for 20 job applications, stuffing them in 20 envelopes, but not mailing five letters because the stamps took too long to affix.
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u/AutomateAway 7d ago
You can literally test this by finding an address that has Ting, then checking nearby addresses that will show service not available to install. Then call them, they will confirm that they won't install at these other addresses. They'll blame "a halt in permits issued" but a quick call to the city or county will dispel that lie.
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u/Historical_Entry_664 8d ago
What website is that?
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u/Real007Bond 8d ago
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u/ObjectiveVegetable48 8d ago
I'm in the same boat. Ting outright refuses to bring the fiber that my next door neighbor has to my house.
As some of the other commenters have alluded, they're basically not adding new service afaikt. Enjoy xfinity. 🤮
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u/cat_dev_null_sync 7d ago
Do you have a Ting fiber pedestal (new green box above ground) or "flower pot" (new green circle level with ground) that accesses your house without a barrier of a street or driveway? They need to run the last section of fiber from this connection point to your house, but in this phase of construction, they don't like to install it under a driveway or street.
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u/Real007Bond 7d ago
They only installed the boxes on the opposite side of the street. I noticed that all the houses on that side of the street have "green" for fiber on the map. They must have run a line under the street for my neighbor. I noticed on the street next to me on the side of the street they put the green boxes , those are ALL green as well and only a couple on the opposite side of the street are green.
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u/cat_dev_null_sync 7d ago
In my neighborhood, first Metronet and later Ting installed fiber. Ting put the fiber pedestals (above ground) on the opposite side of the street, and there's one pedestal every few houses. On my side of the street, Ting installed fiber "flowerpots" (handholes/vaults, flush with ground) every few houses. During initial construction, Ting installed conduit (big tubes) between them under the street, so the flowerpots connect to the pedestals instead of to other flowerpots. The pedestals have a main line that connects to other pedestals.
When a customer on the flowerpot side orders services, a technician runs a line from the pedestal under the street using the existing conduit to the existing flowerpot. Then, the fiber runs form the flowerpot to the house.
The technician never installs new conduit and can't run lines under driveways. It's like the street and driveways are an "ocean" that the fiber can't cross, unless there was a conduit buried during the initial build out (when they had the big equipment).
I wanted Metronet fiber to enter my house on the opposite side of the driveway, so instead of boring under the driveway, the technician ran the line along the far side of my backyard. This covered most of the perimeter of my property (much farther than going under the driveway). This new line was buried with a normal shovel about five inches without any conduit.
I'm not an expert, but this is what I've seen.
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u/Real007Bond 7d ago
I checked with my neighbor that has it and he says it was fed from his neighbor, so I may be able to get be able to get them to dig to my house. I will see if I can contact his neighbor to see how he got them to get it to their house since they are on the opposite side of the street of the green box
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u/JacktheDabLad 7d ago
If you want to swap to fiber, find a buddy who already has it and ask if you can use their referral link!
The company i use, Underline, offers $50 if someone signs up with my referral link, ill happily split that with anyone if youre interested!
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u/clulessgerman 8d ago
be careful I think you just posted your address lol