More residents across Marion County wrote in to voice their thoughts and concerns on the quality of internet service in the area.
“I never thought there would be a lack of internet options when we moved to Ocala. Not that I want Spectrum based on all the comments I’ve read from other locals, but it is not even available on our street. I also work from home and rely heavily on the internet for meetings and everyday tasks. Prior to moving here, we had AT&T which was bundled with DirecTV. Exceptional service, quality, and reasonably priced. Now we get to pay for mediocrity. Time to grow up, Ocala,” says Barb Leyba, Ocala resident.
“I live in Summerfield and I have called CenturyLink so many times because of horrible internet. They tell me nothing is wrong, but I have a hard time watching an entire movie on Netflix without it buffering three times,” says Summerfield resident Marianne James.
“I was reading the article and thought I can add to the laundry list. We moved to this address early in 2006, and the only option has been CenturyLink. Their service started at 1.3 Mbps, which is so slow that we could barely stream movies or even monitor video surveillance cameras. So we added a second modem, then split our devices between the two lines. By late 2021, the speed was increased to 2.2 Mbps. There are no cable service providers in this area. Satellite service (we’ve tried) is not unlimited and we run out of data within 10 days of the billing cycle (30 days), having to pay extra for more data. Also, they used to ‘idle’ our service and the movies would buffer a lot. The ripoff? We pay $60 per modem to get 4.4 Mbps whereas my sister, six miles away, gets 30 Mbps out of a single modem for the same $60. As far as others getting 10 Mbps from CenturyLink, they are way ahead of us,” says Ricky Rivera, Ocala resident.
“I recently read a Letter to the Editor pertaining to the internet coverage just outside of the city limits. Her area was Anthony. I agree that the service is very nonexistent and there are minimal choices. I actually live in northeast Ocala. Our options are CenturyLink and Cox. CenturyLink is not even a consideration because service is horrible, lines are always going down, and there are lots of interruptions. That leaves Cox. They have a very good service but they also know they have a monopoly on this area. Prices are extremely high and they have no desire to negotiate prices. They know that they have the monopoly. Frontier and Xfinity have no desire to expand to this area due to infrastructure cost, I’m sure. They are more focused on the newer areas in southwest Marion County and The Villages. It looks like we’re stuck with the higher price and no choice,” says Ocala resident William Revels.
Would you like to share your thoughts with us? Share them in a comment or by writing a Letter to the Editor.