FYI they do not actually provide true 24/7 customer service as an internet company normally does. Instead, during "after-hours" (words used by the employee reached on the phone), they contract call answering to an untrained/general call center which is just instructed to fill out a basic form of some sort with your contact info. This call center has so little training and so little familiarity with AWB that they cannot answer basic questions about the company or the services they provide. Worse, when asked to provide an estimate of when a real response or service can be expected, they state that they have no idea. Lastly, the internet speeds provided by AWB are absolute trash for this day and age. AWB clearly has a great deal of leverage in the areas/buildings they service and can't be bothered to upgrade their infrastructure to provide more than sub-standard internet speeds in 2024. I would recommend not moving into buildings where AWB is the service provider and for buildings to avoid contracting with AWB for service. read more

The worst internet company I have ever seen. My WiFi got disconnected 3 times a week. Their customer service sucks. I'm telling all the people I know to not buy any products they have. In one word, f you AWB. You are the worst. read more

Worst internet service ever had. My internet cuts off every single day when I was on business. F you AWB

Honestly, you have to wonder if this is run by the mob or something because dealing with them just seems shady. And notice none of them seem to really care since no one has come on here to refute or rectify the truths others have written. No twitter, no Facebook, nothing...complaining here even seems like shouting into a black hole. Terrible service (and no, it's not my settings or my router.). If you call any time outside of regular business hours you get tossed to an offshore call center that only takes messages. The call center doesn't even know what the hours are.Their response time? "1 business day." So if you have issues on a Friday night (like I do right now), you're looking at Monday...and that's just to get a call back from someone in scheduling. I've been here 8 months and have already had the completely non-descript dsl modem go bad. I've had to call them multiple times after having massive packet loss. I hate that my building is dealing with these people. It's not exactly cheap either for what you get. I'd rather pay more for people with an actual infrastructure. You never realize what an important question ISP is when picking a place but damn, in 2018 it makes a difference... read more

Anyone that is utilizing this company's internet services probably have no other option but to do so. This company generally has contracts with high rises and establishments so that their internet is the only available option and they capitalize on that fact. 1. They boast about 24hr service, but the available technicians have absolutely no power to resolve any outages, billing, or even account questions. 2. Their service is spotty - there is no warning when there is an outage nor is there ever an update or compensation even when the internet is out for multiple days. 3. Their speeds are never as advertised. Because it is a shared bandwidth with the entire complex (if you are in a high rise), your personal speed is purely dependent on the traffic of your neighbors. Again, I don't believe they offer independent home service because they know they would never keep customers that way - but if you are a building manager looking for an ISP for your building, please avoid AWB at all costs. read more

ZERO STARS piece of garbage nonsense No one answers the phone The internet does not work They bill you without your consent read more

This company sucks! Not good if you plan on having a reliable service and company that can get you back up and running. Pros-$35/monthly service Cons- 1. Internet randomly slows down or drops out completely. 2. Customer service can't fix your problems after hours. 3. Billing issues that make them cut you off even if you paid on time. They claim not to see your payment in the system until you demand them actually check it. read more

Impressed! I was quite skeptical years ago as I heard poor reviews about AWS internet, however a couple of people told me personally it works great for them. The tech, Adrian, came by and worked diligently to ensure I was all set up with internet service. He answered my many questions and helped me find the equipment I needed to get my internet up and running. Adrian was so personable, knowledgeable, had excellent customer service, a great attitude, and was committed to helping me despite some roadblocks we came across. He worked together with his team to provide some great internet! They are on the right path. Glad to have him as my tech. read more

I guess the company is doing some rebranding. Now they are American Wide Broadband (from American Wireless Broadband). This screenshot from a google search of their old name captures how I feel about this company perfectly. Also, the third reviewer says exactly what I'm feeling. Today I tried calling them and when I press "1" for technical support, the line rings once then gets a busy signal and disconnects. For improved customer experience I recommend call waiting. Just changing your name is not going to fix the issues, I hope they make more improvements soon. read more

American Wide Broadband - It's a struggle to have good customer service when your business is based in an abandoned warehouse. - Internet Service Providers Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

I just needed internet . They lie about their internet speed( when it works) as well as 24hr customer service. Their hours end at 5 or 6.. you know when your the most likely to be using it and perhaps run into an issue. So anything after that is an answering service. I say this because they cannot give you information on services, nor take payment information, or help you with a technical issue. They only take your info for someone to call you in the morning. This provider is also unbelievably rude should you actually inconvenience them and have an issue. They kept making unfounded accusations to charge my account. So I asked for a manager. This person called me back and just short of cussed me out. They were EXTREMELY aggressive. I asked to speak to someone else since they were having a bad day, and they told me they were it. I asked who is above them cause this level unprofessional behavior can't be what is wanted by the business. They advised me that THEY were it. I stated so your the owner ? YES! So there you have it. If you call them and get unreliable or unprofessional service, that is why. Rot beings at the head. The management has terrible ethics and provides terrible service, and so do the employees. On top of the terrible and largely unavailable customer service there is also frequent service interruptions. Where you just don't have service... for hours at a time. 6hours till next day usually. Please don't get them if you can avoid it. If you are a building manager please don't sign up your tenants for this. You will get constant complaints because these people are unreliable and unprofessional. read more

Awful business. The only reason they can even survive is due to the utter lack of meaningful competition thanks to their contracts with entire apartment complexes. Here's a sense for how much you'll be paying for given rates (at my current place): 12.0 Mbps Down/5.0 Mbps Up $25 25.0 Mbps Down/25.0 Mbps Up $35 50.0 Mbps Down/50.0 Mbps Up $60 100.0 Mbps Down/100.0 Mbps Up $100 200.0 Mbps Down/200.0 Mbps Up $180 300.0 Mbps Down/300.0 Mbps Up $225 And guess what? This is even more extortionate than Comcast. With Comcast I can get the equivalent of the 100 Mbps up/down for $50. Shame. read more

Pure trash!!! The only reason I have it, is that it can with the building that I moved into! The internet always goes in and out! It is totally trash!!! read more

Called in a Sunday because the internet went out. Technicians name was Adrian, came in Monday at 10AM, 5min, figured out power supply was the issue, replaced it in 1min, no additional charge (I had bought the router earlier) - great experience. read more

I don't have any problems with this network. When I was with AT&T, I always had issues. Maybe because there are a lot of people on AT&T, and this is working without any downtimes or instances. So glad I was forced (my building is wired with them) to use their services. Customer service is great too, but I've had no issues with internet. read more

Should be shut down. A monopoly on internet services and provides a horrible service. Advertising 24/7 service but the service representatives have no power to do anything or help you. Internet has been down for multiple days for no reason at all. Unacceptable read more

I have to say, oI've now used AWB for nearly six years...and they've been pretty reliable. When service has gone out, it's generally been back up pretty quickly. Connection speed has been good, even during the pandemic when there are presumably more people using it much of the time. I see plenty of negative reviews, so maybe it depends on the building. (So it could be worth asking neighbors about.) But I've had largely positive experiences with them. read more

STAY AWAY FROM IT. Most ridiculous company with terrible customer service. Internet was suspended twice for their fault and still wants to charge me. I reported my trouble and they say they don't have my trouble ticket then nobody ever calls back. They just don't care about their customers. read more

I would give zero stars if I could. Trash internet, trash service, trash rates, high prices, stupid name. Frequent outages, poor speeds.

I can't tell how much I hate this company (and my landlord who has exclusive contract with them). It's so sad that in the market economy like the U.S. such things can happen and there is just no one who could through away these guys. No internet for over a month now and complete disrespect to customers... read more

I wanted to add to the negative reviews on Yelp for American Wireless Broadband. We moved in about two months ago, saw the flyer in our Mac Apartments welcome package, and debated whether we should get AWB or another provider. AWB was offering 25 Mbps downspeed for $15 or so, so we decided to take it. It was a mistake. The tech who came was nice enough. We benchmarked the speed on speedtest.net, found it was 27 Mbps, and the tech went on his way. The day after, the speed dropped to below 8 Mbps, and if it became cloudy out, the service was entirely down up to hours at a time. This went on for weeks -- spotty internet service, ping times of at least 80 ms and often above 100 ms, and generally just unreliable service. The service is so intermittent that even just surfing the web, you'll click a link and nothing will load. If you click it again five seconds later, it will load at the few mbps of speed you're now getting. I work from home a good bit, and I've had my sessions randomly disconnected, online games randomly dropped, etc. After a few weeks, we decided to cancel and switch to another provider. This is where additional difficulties arise. You can call AWB but they cannot cancel your service over the phone. They cannot even transfer you to someone who can cancel your service. You have to send an e-mail to one of their addresses with all of your personal information in order to cancel. We did this a few times and finally got a cancellation e-mail back. Next, when attempting to switch to another provider, the cable coaxial line is no longer connected to Comcast's cable network, so we can't even switch away from AWB without an additional tech coming from Comcast or AT&T to re-wire our cable service. What happened was that the AWB tech cut our line entirely from the regular cable network (meaning we couldn't get cable TV), installed a splitter that looked about 30 years old, didn't weather-proof any of the wirings and fittings, and worst of all, didn't label which line was ours in our apartment complex. It was clear that this type of shoddy work was done for most AWB subscribers in our building. Again, the normal installation tech for Comcast couldn't get our service working, because the wires had been cut, and we had to schedule a more advanced tech to visit to undo the mess that AWB had made of our complex's wiring. Thankfully after spending about an hour trying to figure out which wire lead to our apartment, our Comcast tech figured it out, activated our service, and it's been great. We now have better than 20 ms ping times, 28 Mbps, no intermittent drops, no dropped web surfing clicks, etc. We read the reviews on Yelp prior to subscribing to AWB, but weren't completely convinced of how shoddy AWB is, so I came here to document my experience in the hopes that anyone considering AWB will avoid them. It's not worth the hassle: What is the point of cheap Internet service, when the service you're getting isn't what you pay for, and is totally unreliable? It was frustrating, but we're glad to have it behind us. read more

Not worth the frustration, even when it's free. Like others, my building provides this service for free. Allegedly that means I get 8 mbps download speeds, but it's a rare day when I see something over 2 mbps. It's not, however, a rare day when this service just plain doesn't work. Raining outside? No service. Windy outside? No service. Perfectly clear, sunny skies outside? Roll the dice. It's inconsistent, unreliable and slow. I work from home, so this just isn't acceptable. As others have also mentioned, the customer service line (while conveniently available 24 hours) is absolutely unhelpful. No matter what the problem is, they blame it on your computer or your wireless router, or they say that 'they're aware of a problem and it should be fixed tomorrow' (it never is), or my favorite "Yes, you are supposed to be getting 8 mbps, but there's technically nothing we can do unless your speed is consistently below 1mbps." LOL I can't think of any other business where you can deliver 1/8th of what the customer ordered and get away with it. If you only plan to check your email once in a while, and don't really care if that is an impossibility from time to time, then AWB might be just fine for you. Otherwise, even if you live in a building that's providing this service for free, just plan on subscribing to Comcast or AT&T anyway. read more

I have been using their service for the past three years at a major US city. I am forced to use their service since they are the only company offering internet service at my apartment. I recommend staying away from this company if possible. A few points: 1. I pay for 15 mbps down, and rarely get above 8. 80% of the time it is below 5, and 10% of the time it is below 1. Absolutely horrendous. 2. Internet cuts in and out during evenings. I assume this is because their network is congested. 3. The ping is regularly very high. 4. You won't be able to watch 1080p videos on YT without stuttering. They make Comcast look fantastic -- I sincerely cannot wait to switch to another internet provider. read more

American Wide Broadband - "15 mbps" - Internet Service Providers Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

Unfortunately, this is the only service provider for the building I own a condo in. The customer service cannot be said to be bad because it does not exist. The technical support is technically challenged. The hours of service are from 1960. They act as though they know they have a captive audience, which they do. So they could not care less about service or customer satisfaction. It is pitiful. I'm urging the HOA to change providers. read more

Like almost everyone else we have this service because they are the only option for the building we're renting in. The good news is that our lease is almost us. From the near daily outages to today's spectacular "Your modem might be dead, we'll get someone out tomorrow" this has been 7 months of service that makes Comcast look good. We were already on the fence about signing another lease and I think I'd rather be in a building with decent internet. read more

I don't understand these bad reviews of AWB. I've been using their service for about six years, and it has been uniformly fine. Twice I was having connectivity issues and had to call their help line. Both times I got help immediately. One of the times the problem was my own wireless router, which they helped me diagnose. The other time it was their equipment, which they came out the next day and replaced. When my condo association complained about the location of the antenna, they sent out a technician to move it, for free. I thought that was a nice piece of customer service and beyond the call of duty. Speeds have been uniformly in the 5-down/1-up range. The only reason I give them four stars rather than five is that their price seems a tad on the high side (Fifty bucks a month). But the consistent service keeps me from shopping around, especially when I hear horror stories about all the other options!.......Jake read more

If I could give zero stars I would. Like so many others who've written a review, I have very limited Internet options in my building. I pau the highest premium for the most mps and still very rarely get above one when I test the download speed. Today's adventure had left me so incredibly frustrated that I am finally writing a bad review even though I've thought about doing so many times. I was in the middle of working and the Internet stopped. I called this wonderful company and not only do I not have a solution, but the representative suggested I call back again tomorrow since their service turn around time is almost two days. Again, I work from home, so this is not acceptable. No solution, no Internet, and no happy customer. I can't wait until my building offers a different provider. What am I paying for? ?? read more

I thought the customer service at the major internet/media providers was bad, but this is the worst experience I've encountered bar none. Our internet went out on Sunday and we rebooted the router/modem to no avail. We contacted American Wide Broadband that afternoon to see if it was something they could fix over the phone, or if we needed a technician to come over in person. The customer service rep said they couldn't help us directly, but that they created a ticket and a technician would contact us within the next 24-48 hours. That timing seemed a bit excessive to me, but I assumed due to it being a Sunday and the trend of overestimating wait times it wouldn't be an issue. On Tuesday we still had not heard back from the company, so we contacted them again. The customer service rep was not friendly on the phone, and wouldn't provide his full name (other than "Bill) or employee ID number (or something similar). He said a technician would contact us shortly. We waited another 24 hours with still no word. I called again and received another "a technician will call you soon" and still have yet to receive a response. We're going on 5 days now without internet, or even any effort of communication from the company. I don't think we have a serious problem, but this is ridiculous that it takes this long (and counting) to get a response from a company. Unless something drastic changes, I plan on discussing switching providers at our next condo board meeting. read more

Steer clear of this business! We've used their service since we first moved into our apt in July. And it was mostly great with the exception of a few hiccups. Firstly, it's incredibly difficult to get in touch with their tech support. Like almost impossible. Secondly, for some reason they have to be the ones to physically come and set up and name your wifi network even if it goes out and has to be reset. We chose AWB over other ISPs because of pricing and the alleged ease of cancellation. Starting at the end of February however the service went from passable to unacceptable. The internet went out and has been out minus a few days here and there that service was able to be restored. Every time it goes out it takes like a week to finally get it restored. We've had enough now as it's April and we're still without the internet access that we're autobilled for each month. We're trying to cancel so we'll update this review if that is awful too. read more

I've had several internet network issues with the service but the Customer Service is always helpful and nice. The Service Technicians have been respectful and pleasant. When you call with any issue, regardless of the time, they are quick to help you find a solution. read more

I'm a fan. I like AWB because there is no contract and the price is good. Even though the speed is mediocre and sometimes the service is down. read more

AWB should stand for "America's WORST Broadband." AWB is the only provider in the building I live in, and I pay them $210 a month for their highest package and a static IP. Given how much I'm paying, I feel entitled to at least a basic level of competence. My "static" IP has now changed twice without notice, despite giving them an extra $10 a month specifically to ensure my IP doesn't change. Both times I've called in, it has taken over 24 hours to fix this, seemingly because they only have one actual "technician" who is perpetually busy and has to call you back at his convenience. In my experience, AWB's advertised "24/7 support" is actually a 24/7 answering service combined with a handful of actual 9-5 support personnel. I haven't used another ISP without 24/7 technicians on staff since the 90s. Speeds are also highly variable and consistently less than advertised. I've never gotten higher than 700mbps down/750mbps up, and speeds often drop to less than 100mbps down despite paying for symmetric 1gbps service. AWB always suggests my equipment is at fault--but I never have any problem getting 900+mbps up/down with the same equipment on "real" 1gbps fiber. If you need reliable service or anything vaguely resembling an actual SLA, stay as far away as possible from these clowns. They have no idea how to run an ISP and make Comcast look brilliant in comparison. read more

The worst fucking service ever. I called today to ask why my internet was so slow and they told me they couldn't give me an answer until Monday. And it it currently Sunday. Why have technical support that can't help with anything? Company is absolute garbage. I asked why I'm paying for someone on the phone to do nothing and she said she just relays a message. How about you hire someone that is useful! read more

If you want an ISP that provides 1995-esqe Internet reliability and speed, this is your company. Over the last 18 months, I've had probably 35-40 entite days with no Internet, including our most recent 2+ day marathon we're currently enjoying. Unfortunately, our building is apparently in bed with this company, but if you have the choice, you're better getting Internet through a Chinese firewall than this hell hole. read more

This is a dreadful company. If you have any technical problems after installation you can expect an experience of the following kind: be placed on hold for up to 20 minutes; the `technician' tells you to unplug and then plug in the modem to the power; when that doesn't work, informs you that you will receive contact within five days; the `contact' calls you during office hours and chastises you for not being home, says he will call you same time one week from now, and then hangs up without any further dialogue. The download speeds are also very bad, and I have never attained the speeds that were indicated in the service plan. Do not be enticed by their prices: slow and intermittent internet induces disproportionate frustration and it is worth paying more ----significantly more---- in order to avoid it. read more

I am frustrated with my service already and it has not even been set up yet. I called this company who offers "free wi-fi" in my building on the day I moved in, almost TWO WEEKS ago. They could not send a tech for 3 days, which was completely understandable. The problem began when the tech showed up, could not decide which line to use in my apartment, and then said that nothing was working so he had to leave for 15 minutes to figure it out. He came back 30 minutes later (again, understandable...if it had gotten anything accomplished) and tells me that he can't get a signal in my apartment at all because AWB wires everything through splitters via other tenant's apartments (??) and I am "unplugged". He called his office and told me that he would call me likely within two days, but by the end of the week at best to get it figured out. Well, I had to call back on the 6th day because I had not heard a WORD from the company. When I got through, I was told she had to call me back. So I waited some more. Finally, I get a call back and she tells me they cannot come to resolve the issue for ANOTHER FOUR DAYS, and that even then she could not guarantee that my free service would even WORK. I don't know anything about the actual wireless because I cannot get them to install it. But the turnaround time to get my internet set up and the absolute lack of communication has made me VERY nervous about what is to come. read more

Worse than Comcast. When they tried to charge an extra fee because of my credit card. I asked them, Maybe you wrote the number down incorrectly. They told me they didn't make mistakes. When we changed to Comcast, I noticed the modem router wasn't connected to anything. Stay away from this company. read more

I have to call for service only once every couple of years and when I do, it's same-day service and equipment upgrades.

I've had them at two places. The first place the internet was unacceptable, but I complained enough and somehow some dude came into my apartment and like did something to a phone jack and the internet was magically the advertised speed. They're kind of hard to get a hold of sometimes, but I haven't really had billing problems. To an extent, because they are small, it's easier to hold them accountable than say, Comcast. In my new building they've been basically perfect . read more

This company is terrible. I almost never get the bandwidth that I'm paying for and they have outages all the time. In this day in age, when we have to pay for wifi, it shouldn't be so problematic all the time. read more

We have been waiting over 2 weeks for a box for the new HD service. We have left several phone messages and emails, that have not received a response. The local office is currently not allowing office visits. So, we have been without a majority of our subscribed channels and cannot access a box. This company has terrible customer service. read more