Seeing this story in The Seattle Times today – “Seattle activists push for city-run, high-speed Internet service” – reminds us of the high level of interest in our last piece on CenturyLink and high-speed fiber-optic Internet here.
Lots of folks wondered WHEN it might arrive in Maple Leaf.
Joseph, for example, on April 17: “I’ve seen several trucks wiring up new cables on the poles. Neighbor said they were CenturyLink wiring up fiber. Any clue as to when they might start offering it to Maple Leaf?”
Answer: We still don’t know.
Last Thursday, CenturyLink picked up the thread again:
I wanted to share an update on CenturyLink’s expansion of 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) broadband services across Seattle. Since announcing in August 2014, CenturyLink has made 1 Gbps service available to more than 60,000 households in the greater Seattle area and is on the way to meeting its goal of more than 100,000 residences by year’s end.
This weekend, CenturyLink – the largest provider of 1 Gbps service for consumers in Seattle and the leading provider of gig services to Seattle businesses – is celebrating West Seattle becoming a gigabit community by teaming up with Cupcake Royale to give away 1,000 free cupcakes.
That’s great, we replied. “What folks here want to know is WHEN they can connect in the Maple Leaf/Green Lake/Northgate areas.”
To which the reply was: “CenturyLink is currently installing 1 Gbps services in Green Lake – residents can register to receive updates on when the service is available at centurylink.com/gigabit. We will continue to keep you updated as CenturyLink expands into additional neighborhoods in your area.”
To follow those directions, you’ll need to create a sign-in with CenturyLink.
Or remember how to get into the one you’ve forgotten the password for.
Two days later, at Maple Leaf Life South, we got to “check availability,” and this.
We did fill out the form: “Be the first to know when speeds up to 1 Gig are in your area.”
I just checked availability after reading this article (I’m on 97th) and I’m able to sign up for gigabit.
Thanks for the info, Randy!
Since so many seemed interested in this service I’ll add some additional insights based on my experience after about a month with the service.
– So far my connection has not dropped once which is already a massive improvement over Comcast.
– When you sign up you either need to choose to rent for $7/mo or buy their “modem” outright for $99. I chose to buy it but after the install realized the “modem” i purchased is really just a wireless router. I did some research after the fact and found that any router will work so long as it supports PPPoE and VLAN tagging. This is how the router talks to the ONT.
– The ONT is actually a separate piece of equipment that’s installed which you’re not charged an additional fee for. This is where the fiber terminates and is converted to ethernet. Mine is Calix brand. It will look different depending on if it’s mounted outside or inside of your home: http://www.calix.com/systems/p-series/calix_sfu_ONTs.html
– Another big thing to note about the Centurylink router and probably one of the biggest oversights is that it’s 802.11n and NOT 802.11AC therefore you won’t get anywhere close to gigabit speeds over wireless without a separate 802.11AC router. Fortunately the (4) ethernet ports on the router are gigabit. In speed tests I see around 950mbps up/down over ethernet and about 85mpbs max over wireless.
To be fair there aren’t too many clients out there in the wild that support 802.11AC so it’s not really issue for me. Just know that if you actually want to see gigabit speeds you’ll need to run an ethernet cable.
Century Link has installed new Fiber optics into many neighborhoods in Maple Leaf. We, Century Link Reps, are out helping people set install dates and lowering install costs. If you see people wearing Century Link gear/jackets, wave us down and find out if you quality for the 1G. We can answer many questions that you have. Faster internet is now available!!
At the very least, call your providers and use Century Link as leverage to reduce your current costs. Comcast quickly offered to drop mine way down when I called to cancel. They know where Century link is stringing copper.
If a rep rom Century Link comes by, they wont have any information on hand to give you. That is standard sales tactics. Because asking for a pamphlet is code for “Go away.” Handing out information costs them money and they are and internet provider, so pushing you to the web is actually not a bad idea. If a rep gives you a pamphlet then they are not doing you any favors and they are not doing their job..
Confirmed on 85th as well. Came out at 8am and done by 9:30am on Monday the 4th. Same day I cancelled Comcast.
1GB for $100.00 w/12 month contract for Internet. It is no joke, that speed.
I’m on NE 80th just west of Roosevelt and had gigabit fiber installed a few weeks back. Tech said I was one of the first in the areas to do so.
Some of that is commercial backhaul http://www.zayo.com/network/interactive-map
i have always found this curious due to the amount of fiber running underground on 15th NE. they have been stringing lines in there for years. The junction box at 15th and 90th is jam packed with copper conversions. Hurry up already centurylink!
I talked to a guy working on the lines by my house. He said there are a number of steps that need to be completed before it would be up and running, and he didn’t know when that would happen. He also said that it will take a few months to work all the kinks out of the system, so I decided not to put it on the back burner for about 6 months…
A guy in a Century Link shirt was knocking on doors on my street yesterday (24th NE below 75th) to talk about the new lines. I asked for something to read about it (had no time to listen)…he said all the info was available on CL’s website.
They have at least announced that they are adding lake city and ravenna (among others ) to their gbit service, presumably that includes maple leaf:
http://www.geekwire.com/2015/centurylink-adds-six-more-seattle-neighborhoods-to-gigabit-internet-expansion/
My hunch is that Century Link has been forced to install fiber optic cable, because the lines that were the basis for what had been used when it was Qwest that provided internet service, have proven to be woefully inadequate.
That’s based on my own experience with Century Link’s “high-speed” internet service, the past few months. In February, a technician was dispatched to look both at wiring within the apartment building where I live – built in the late 1960s – and outside. I took him to where the boxes are inside the storage area for tenants, and the technician found a loose wire; that he said was a large part of the problem. Then he came into my apartment and look at how I had things connected and waited while I turned my laptop back on, to see how the modem worked – and it did AOK.
Then, he went outside to call me and check the phone lines – still have a landline – and his call came through AOK. So things went along fine – for a few weeks. Then, connectivity got bad again; I kept having to plug and unplug the modem, to get the connection back; so a Century Link customer service person insisted on sending me a newer modem – which I still haven’t put into service. I have little faith in Century Link, at this point; but will try that new modem, before I deal with Comcast.
If I wasn’t involved with digital photography, I’d give serious consideration to going back to a dial-up modem; had better connectivity with that.
What amazes me is how what’s become a basic utility is now being shuttled around between private companies carving out empires. This is the sort of thing which got Teddy Roosevelt involved in breaking up what were called “trusts,” back in his day.
When people need good internet service to apply for jobs, connect with the government that reportedly represents them and keep up to date on the news, the power to do that shouldn’t be simply in the hands of a few powerful corporations; but putting that service in the hands of the City of Seattle, while giving one pause, might be the only answer to getting the cost down and the service we all need.
Their contractor has been stringing cable in Victory Heights for severak weeks now. The supporting cable is in on my street (NE 106th) but they haven’t attached the fiber optic cable yet. They are also busy attaching their boxes to utility poles – guess they aren’t going to add to the visual pollution we already have with the Comcast boxes on every street.
I signed up for updates at my address but didn’t have to create a CenturyLink account.