Sparklight — Local services in Anniston

Internet was spotty so I checked to see how much an upgrade would cost. Found out I’d been overpaying for an unknown time for 400 Mbps when 1000 was the same price. Plus I was paying an extra $40 “unlimited” fee when all the plans are now listed as unlimited. Of course I couldn’t make the change myself online; I had to wait for their regular office hours to call about billing. No, I don’t realistically expect a company to let me know I’m overpaying but it would have been nice as a local-ish company.

I’m reviewing now because I upgraded my speed to the 1,000 at $85 a month, the same as I was previously paying for 400. Still $40 less a month without the unnecessary unlimited fee, but of course I couldn’t get a temporary promotion that was being advertised for $65 because that’s for new customers… Coincidentally, my intermittent internet connection started to somehow get worse and is now literally unusable. Called last Saturday when it dropped to getting anywhere from 8-800 Mbps, mostly in the 8-28 range and the quickest they can get a technician here is Friday. Called again Monday while having to use my hot spot to work and still nothing sooner.

Been with them for over 20 years back when it was CableOne. It’s really too bad that it’s not necessarily out of loyalty but a lack of ANY other options in the area. The one time I call with an issue, I’m told to wait a week. Really an eye opener on how spoiled I am with smart devices when they don’t work due to garbage WiFi. Maybe someday we’ll have another option in the area so Sparklight can have some competition, maybe hire some more technicians so people don’t have to wait a week for assistance. 99% sure the problem is between the pole and the house, so I’m concerned that if they can’t diagnose and fix the problem this Friday afternoon, will I have to wait another weekend or longer for a fix? I guess we’ll see. But for now, sitting at 8 Mbps but paying for 1,000, watching Netflix spin….one star.

*Follow up over a week after reporting the issue: still nothing. As I feared, the technician was great, but unfortunately had to refer the problem to maintenance to replace a wire and box that filled with water somehow. The “SparklightCares” email sent me basically an automated email but no actual help. Calling the support line and also the chat option is a waste of time, as all they can do is refer you back to the local office. Still haven’t been able to get in touch with the local office, and they haven’t reached out to me as promised. Run-around, garbage customer service. If I could give them negative stars I would. If literally any company offered anything with remotely fast internet in my area I would have already switched. If you have another ISP option in your area, go with them, can’t get worse than...

I have traveled the United States and abroad to several countries. I can say without any reservation that Cable One has the WORST (slowest and most interrupted) cable and internet service of all. How is it possible that every single channel including HBO jumps and statics so much that it makes the television experience frustrating? Furthermore, almost everyone at the Reserve in Jacksonville has subscribed to NETFLIX or another program to watch television shows and movies because the Cable One service has negated any possibility of enjoying anything on television. The complaints and phone calls to the Cable One support center fall upon deaf ears. Customer support is clueless as to how to remedy any problems with their product, which makes them a waste of money, useless. Their remedy is to restart the converter, which is futile because that doesn't do anything to resolve the problems. Its obvious that without major competition service declines. How is it possible that communication and entertainment is this inadequate and the providers are permitted to ignore the consumers concerns and request for better products and services? I guess the consumers are the problem because we pay for unethical unusable service. Consumers should discontinue using Cable One services and use another cable and internet company that is willing to properly address customer concerns and provide a more resourced and efficient product. This...

I had been a Cable One cable television customer previously, so I knew they did good work, but I wanted to have the ability to have a TV at my lake house as well as my city home, so I changed to DirecTV Satellite television. I still have DirecTV for my television, but I wanted to shop around for the best deal for my ISP and sure enough, it turned out to be Cable One. So Cable One sent out a green behind the ears cable tv technician to check it out. He found out the old coax cable was dead at the old entry point. (I had found the break in the old coax cable, so I knew the coax was dead) So the technician ran an temporary above ground coax cable from the Cable One box to the entry point, and said that he would schedule a trencher to come out at a later date. When the trencher came out he said that he would have trouble because the trenching machine would have to displace a huge amount of firewood to get to where he could start trenching. Meanwhile the older technician said to the trencher "Look what I found!" which turned out to be a previous repair to the coax which was encased in a conduit, which was in pristine condition and the trenching machine was not required. That's why we need to keep the old farts (I'm proud to be one) around because of their...