Time Warner Cable - Digital Phone Service Review

You know the deal. You can bundle at Time Warner, and they will give you TV, internet and phone. Well, they do not GIVE it to you - you do pay. I wish they would throw in a house cleaner, but oh well. There's only so much much you can bundle.

I wanted RoadRunner high speed for internet, so I went ahead and just went for the whole deal when I signed up. I already had Time Warner for cable TV - not like there were any other choices. Bell South (now bought out by AT&T I think) spelled my name wrong on my email and could not manage to correct it with four calls. How credible do I look when I can't spell my name (when I can - but Bell South can't)? If Time Warner was going to do my TV and net, then I figured they might as well do my phone too.

The Time Warner guy who was not really a Time Warner guy (they farm that out) came to my house. He was a right fine guy. He hooked me up and also fixed the cable that a relative had cut to try to move the head to another room. This broke the cable (so to speak). He put on a new head piece and no issue. That got the third TV working again.

There's this black box at my computer that apparently is the guts of my system. It has blinkie green lights. It mostly works. When it does not, I can jam a knife in a hole in the back to reset. This I learned from tech support. This seems to only be the internet deal. I've had to talk to them a few times like when I got a new computer with Vista which does not like Time Warner. Again, they got me going. The tech support must be in the United States. Other than a guy from up north who spoke way too fast, it's been easy to get help.

Now as to the phone, the only issue with Time Warner is that if the power goes out, then there goes the phone. This happened, of course, the second day after I switched. I had second thoughts then. But, it's been a year now, and I've only had that come up two times total. The boys' dad lives next door with Bell South, so I can go over there if need be.

When I read all the Time Warner info to start with, there was all this info about the message system. They totally DID NOT say it was an extra charge. I spent two hours trying to get that to work before calling. The guy told me it was another $4.95 I think. And, the phone message machine did not work with this. OK. So, I got that. I told them what I thought of it and said they really ought to put that in the booklet. It does not say, at all, that you pay for message service.

The message service part is reliable, but it's a pain. You have to dial your number and then star 5. Then you have to hit the pound key. Then you put in your code. This is all from your very own phone. A Time Warner lady tells you (automated) to do all this every single time like you might perhaps have forgot. I much prefer to walk in, look at phone, see light, push button.

When you first sign up, you get this special deal. Then, you do not get the deal. I don't know how it all breaks down, but I pay about $180 a month for cable TV (with upgrades), phone, and internet. The phone part is unlimited long distance, so that's good (if I'd call more - wanta talk from somewhere way off?).

All in all, I do like Time Warner phone service. I can call anyone at any time from home. There are no "minutes" to count like the cell phone I had. That reduces my stress quite a lot. I quit doing the cell phone after a $50 call outside the minute thing. Boo hiss. Don't game me like that. I never have to worry with Time Warner phone. I can pick it up and call - period.

I think my initial phone bill was $39 something per month. Don't know what it is now. I don't like that so much. I suppose I could sit down and figure it. But I think that cable TV, high speed internet and phone and all for around $180 is decent. No surprises at least. One bill. Steady service (other than two short times in a year). Great service. Even the guy who spoke heavy northern seemed nice - even if I couldn't understand much of what he said.

I do and have switched all my various services and several times. I'm satisfied now, so that's saying a lot. I like the cable (though wish they had some competition on the price), love the high speed net, and the phone is very good. Since the price is the same every month (with no surprise charges) and I can call when I like, where I like and talk for as long as I like, I like it.