One year in with Cincinnati Bell Fioptics and...

Pooh
Pooh Member, Beta Tester Posts: 674
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edited August 9, 2019 in Other US ISPs #1
...I have to say I've been very pleasantly surprised whenever my speed test reports come in. I have the 500MB package and I frequently see speeds close to that, if not sometimes higher. For example, I just ran one now (which, oddly likes to go to Chicago, despite this old bear being based in Cincinnati)  :* 

 
People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.
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VioletChepilGidsterInternetAlert

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  • VioletChepil
    VioletChepil London, UKMember Posts: 2,471
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    #2
    That's great @Pooh. Anyone else using this ISP on here? 

    Community Manager at Fing

    The_Big_EZ
  • Pooh
    Pooh Member, Beta Tester Posts: 674
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    #3
    VioletChepil said:
    That's great @Pooh. Anyone else using this ISP on here? 
    I'd be utterly flabbergasted if there were. Cincinnati's an odd city - we're not that big - that said, we still have our own city telco\ISP (and, until recently, our own wireless provider) and the city still has the only municipality owned railroad in the USA. Fun fact: The film "The Public" was filmed and set in the city's library.

    Fun fact #2 The movie "Carol" (also filmed in Cincinnati) had a scene filmed in one of my favorite diners just up the road from me (still every bit of the 1950's inside).

    Triple bonus fun fact: The Cincinnati Museum Center is located at the Union Terminal Railroad Station and the building served as the inspiration for DC Comic's Justice League "Halls of Justice" from the 1970s!

    So, we're small, but we have an interesting history. And, oh yeah. P&G. My house is located on the old James Gamble brickyard... Broken bricks everywhere!
    People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.
  • Dave
    Dave Member Posts: 3
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    #4

    The test server location has more of effect on the “speed” rating. I have the same package and can show 28 down/ 25 up as well as similar measurement just by changing the destination server

    VioletChepil
  • Pooh
    Pooh Member, Beta Tester Posts: 674
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    #5
    I know what the location can do. How do you change it, @Dave?
    People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.
    VioletChepil
  • The_Big_EZ
    The_Big_EZ Member Posts: 5
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    #6
    Does anyone have their own router with Cincinnati Bell Fi Optics?  For some odd reason, I cannot get my NetGear Tri-Band to connect without going through their zyxle router first, which is obviously a bottleneck.  Any info would be helpful.
  • Dave
    Dave Member Posts: 3
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    #7

    Since the fioptics router is also the means to deliver TV you’re pretty much stuck with their router. If you’re considering switching to another ISP consider how important TV is to you and whether or not you own a 4K TV. I can tell you that the usual suspects(Spectrum, Dish...) in the Cincinnati area don’t support 4K so your source is up scaled in a very irritating manner. Maybe the new Fioptics owners will stabilize the monthly random price increases.

  • The_Big_EZ
    The_Big_EZ Member Posts: 5
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    #8
    Right!  I just got TMobile Home Internet to see if it is any good.  I am currently on the phone with NetGear trying to get them to get it to work with fi-optics, but so far nothing..  So I do have a cable box, but it was only for basic local channels.  I basically had the box in my house because it gave me a $20 discount.  I don't think it has been plugged in and turned on in months.  If I keep the cable box out of the loop, will I still run into issues?  And if so, why?  
  • Dave
    Dave Member Posts: 3
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    #9

    I had my Fioptics router connected to my Netgear Orbi (AX spec). Turn off Fioptics WiFi and no issues

  • CEllison
    CEllison Member Posts: 3
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    #10
    I have Fioptics.  My router is behind their router.  Their router is on the 192.168.200.0/24 network, so the WAN port on my ASUS router gets an address on that network.  (Double NAT for you network guys).  I’m not thrilled with the setup as I’m used to having control of my network and having a public IP address.  Some of my remote access stuff works via relay, but that’s not optimal.  
    Fioptics claims that you can’t get a public IP because of how their network is configured, but I don’t believe them. I’ve turned off the Fioptics Wi-Fi and am using my own.  
    I moved to Cincinnati from NJ where Comcast was my service provider. Fioptics seems quite antiquated and lacks lacks many of the features I was accustomed to.  For example, the Comcast mobile apps allowed you to view and schedule recordings.  You could also download recordings for offline viewing - something that was very useful when I used to travel.  They had a ROKU app that eliminated the need for a set top box (and monthly fee) for additional TVs in other rooms. They also had no problem putting their cable modem into bridge mode and giving you a public IP address. They would provide you with a static IP address for a monthly charge, but the DDNS in my router eliminated the need for that.
    I’ve suggested these changes to Cincinnati Bell, but they seem, after a year, unwilling to update their services.

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