I had RCN for four years or so, then moved to a place where only Comcast was available. RCN had a reasonably priced, fast internet-only plan that didn't involve tacking on basic cable and a phone line and other crap. I had to talk to Comcast for a long time on the phone to find a similarly priced plan for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes. They kept wanting to upsell stupid Xfinity combo package nonsense. I never had any service issues with RCN. There are all these haters -- maybe their customer support isn't so good if you actually have issues -- but I never had any so, there you go. read more

I recently switched from Comcast to RCN because it was slightly cheaper and I didn't think it was possible for any company to suck worse than Comcast. Thanks, RCN, for proving me wrong. We experienced problems from the very first day- our cable was scheduled to be hooked up that morning and it never happened. I called the customer service number- after ~45 minutes of being put on hold and switched around to different departments, we find out that the previous tenants had not returned their equipment- and therefore we had to wait for that before we could get hooked up. Really, RCN? OK so- rocky start. Couldn't get any worse than that, right? Wrong. I've had to call the RCN help number at least 10 times since we started our service 2 months ago. Our cable and internet CAN AND WILL randomly stop working. Each time I call for help, I am put on hold multiple times (then switched around to different service techs, giving them my info all over again each time)- and the calls are NOT TOLL FREE (at least not the number that they listed on the flyer). My phone bill was the highest it has ever been last month because I spent HOURS ON HOLD with RCN! Two days ago our cable service stopped working. I called the RCN help line (I've got it memorized at this point). After going through the familiar process of entering all my info, a pre-recorded message tells me that some customers in my area are experiencing problems and that they are sorry for the inconvenience. Next, a message advertising some random product, and then the pre-recorded message again. I sit on hold for ten minutes like an idiot, and no one ever answers the phone. I've done this FOUR TIMES since our cable went out, and each time I SIT ON HOLD, AND NO ONE ANSWERS THE PHONE. Bottom line- RCN SUCKS. Their service will break- and when you call for help, NO ONE ANSWERS. read more

The prices are great but calling them on the phone is frustrating. I recently switched from Comcast to RCN and having to talk on the phone with their technicians was a bit frustrating and time consuming. After spending a couple of hours on the phone trying to figure out what kind of service package to get, I finally came to a decision. I was stressed from this ordeal and wasn't looking forward to having to wait around for a cable guy to come by and install my services but thankfully I was pleasantly surprised. Although the customer service on the phone is less than satisfactory, I could not be happier with the service provided by the technician that came to my home to install cable and internet. The cable guy that came to install RCN was so professional and polite. He was very punctual and communicated me a half an hour before he arrived to make sure everything would still go as scheduled. I live in an old apartment and the wiring problematic and he spent hours rewiring everything and checking to make sure everything was working properly. I could not be happier with the service provided by the technician that came to my home! If I were to rate RCN on just this experience I would give them 5 stars, but I have also had some frustration in dealing with their automated phone system. read more

Only two stars because the service is alright for the money. BEOFRE I Start. Do Not ever call Boston for customer service, they are horrible, horrible, terrible and rude. I have been angrily told I am wrong when the notes they have in their system show that what Im talk about is correct, But it seems like the folks in Boston, can't or won't give a refund for an issue they cause. So heres the solution, CAll Pennsylvania its the Billing SUpport and Tech Support Numbers int eh upper left grey box on your bill. Calling a local office will only lead to anger and stress. Now FIRST THING- Yes bills will increase. I started with only internet service four years ago at $28 a month, increases went like this second year - 34 third year - 46 fourth year - 74 - Now 34-46 maybe- 46 to 74 NO WAY. Now hers the problem, in Boston you might if you are lucky have access to two different internet providers, more than likely you only have one choice, it really is a bs monopoly. but what Im getting at is this. NEGOTIATE - I got that 74 reduced to 49 and got the speed increased up to 50 Mbs. ITs still not the best value but its a lot better that $74 but you should always try to get a better deal, read more

Worst service every. Since I've had this service for 2yrs now and the picture sound starts to skip, like a scratched CD, once the clock strikes 5pm, which leads me to believe they are not equipped to handle the volume or have the technology to fix this issue. I'd rather be financially violated by Xfinity than to pay for trash service, 20 min phone waits to speak to customer service, no matter when you call and technicians who are as useful as the apple store idiots. read more

Please run from RCN. Very poor internet speeds then they charge you $80 to send a technician out to fix the connection speeds which never fixes the problem and they randomly increase their rates at any point. Run from this company - do not use them read more

I switched from Comcast service to RCN in Revere MA about 2 months ago and I couldn't be happier. The service is $75 cheaper a month and the Internet speed is much faster than what I had with Comcast. I basically get the same cable channels as Comcast and the cable and Internet have never gone down. I highly recommend RCN for anyone in my area. read more

If I could give negative stars I would. RCN is the worst service. At least every other week there is some issue with it whether it being the cable not working all together, on demand not working, or no internet connection. It is always something on top of them blindly increasing fees every month. I can't even tell you how many times we have had to reset the cable box just in hopes of it fixing the problem. We have called customer service several times which has been useless, and have even had a technician visit to take a look and nothing has been solved. After being a loyal customer for several years, RCN shows no loyalty back to their customers. I cannot wait to switch service. HORRIBLE SERVICE!!! AVOID!!! read more

I have been trying to speak with someone for over a week and the automated system hangs up on me. The service sucks and I want to speak with someone read more

Nice people. Good rate vs Comcast. Do not get tevo if u hate ommercials... damn thing will not allow fast fwd. read more

A customer service rep just responded to me telling me how to turn off the beeping! Thanks so much! Customer Service is 100% better than Comcast!! read more

1.Worst internet quality ever. My wifi down for 7 times this year. None of them is my fault. They kept asking me to add " protection plan" every time I called. 2.There's always someting unexpected on your bill. You have to check it every time you receive the statement carefully. 3.Unreachable service agent on phone, waing time over 20 mins. read more

Great internet, cable and phone provider servicing certain towns and cities in metro boston. I have been their customer for a very long time. They had a period of time where customer service was outsourced and terrible but they have fixed that mistake. While they are not perfect, they are great and I highly recommend them. read more

Inexpensive and Works Great for Me I have RCN and it's been very affordable and I have had no issues, I also live in a one bedroom without tons of devices so that may be why! read more

I'm honestly surprised by all the bad reviews. I've had Comcast and Verizon (the WORST!!!!) and I can honestly say that RCN has been a breath of fresh air. My package deal is cheap and amazing. My internet is faster than ever, the customer service has been phenomenal and easy, and I have more features (TIVO Quad) and channels than I'll ever have time to watch. My only complaint, and I'd say the same for Comcast, is the installation person was an idiot and the free installation is not much more than plugging in the cable box. Note - the Verizon tech people were the worst lying and incompetent Aholes that consistently screwed us over; so in comparison the RCN people were a dream. The Hyde Park office is the closest to my residence. read more

Service issues while had the service, had to reset the modem every few weeks and internet was never fast as advertised, even direct off the modem. You will save money from comcast, but you get what you pay for. Slow, bad service, faulty equipment. Not to even mention customer service. There is a 2 step process to cancellation. You cant cancel online, even though there is a full account management portal. There is no help documentation on how to cancel service and avoid paying fees when your not even using the service. Called and chatted in and they did no0thing to help or keep my business. Just repeated their policies of how they cant cancel service without returned equipment etc. cant backdate anything. Left a very bad taste in my mouth. Providers are a dime a dozen, just go with another if you dont want headaches. read more

I've had an account with RCN for about two months. After my first two weeks of service, I left the state for about a month, so I put my account on a temporary hold. When I got back, I reinstated it. This is how my experience went: The first two weeks were great, but then they: *Added about $100 in extra fees to my bill, which I did not agree to pay. They took it off in the end, but this was not the only time they tried to add unwarranted fees to my account. *Did not process my first payment, did not notify me that the payment had not gone through, then told me (when I called to tell them that I was returning to Boston) that they were prepared to cut my service unless I paid immediately. They also said that because I was paying by phone, they would charge me $6.99 extra, unless I agreed to auto-payments. *Tried to charge me an extra $10 per month for the same service after my 1 month trip to Chicago. They claim that the fixed rate I agreed to when I opened my account was for new customers only, and that the temporary hold on my account means they can charge me extra from that point forward. They did not tell me this before I put the temporary hold on my account. They did agree after some argument to honor the original price, but my service has been significantly poorer since then.. *Significantly slowed my service. Just opening this page took a few seconds. Streaming a video requires repeated buffering, even though they claim I've got the 5g service I paid for. I will update this review if the situation changes. As it stands, I recommend against using RCN as your internet provider. This ridiculously slow service is just not worth the hassle and money. read more

I signed up with Astound when it was RCN 3 years ago. I was paying $147.00 per month for cable tv and internet. I was paying by automatic debit and was aware that my contract expired because my bill increased substantially. I was paying over $200.00 for some time. In October of 2022 I was paying $262.23 per month. In November 2022 my bill went up to $445.22 per month. I didn't notice the charge until this month when it went up to $463.32. I called Astound and explained the situation. I was offered $20.00 off my bill and free Showtime for 1 year. I called them back again later that day and the best they could do was cut my bill down to $350.00 per month. I signed up with a different company that day and canceled my Astound account the following day. Two days later I got a call from Astound from some manager who noticed that I had canceled my account and they wanted to try to work something out. I told them that it's too late. I already signed a contract with a different company. I know that I was wrong for not being more on top of my finances but I feel that Astounds part in this is very wrong, deceptive, and untrustworthy. You always have to be on top of your automatic payments. read more

Comcast is a monopoly and if you are blessed to live in an area where you actually can choose between ISPs, RCN is half the price with better customer service. read more

I have been a customer of RCN for over 20 years. At first I used their modem equipment, but returned that many years ago (5-7 years ago). RCN of course, stopped charging me for the equipment. All of a sudden, years later, they have put a $75 charge on my bill for modem equipment and are claiming that I never returned it. I am on my 3rd personal modem. They are telling me that unless I have a receipt, I am liable for the charge. So I don't have the equipment, nor the receipt and I am supposed to start paying them for this nonexistent equipment? Really. I have been on the phone with two different customer service reps, neither of whom were helpful. I was suddenly disconnected from the last one. Then I have been on chat, since I keep getting a busy signal on the phone. Same resulting answer. I have asked what I can do. No answer on chat. This company used to have good customer service. I changed recently to a higher Mbps and that was when this all started. Also, I answered no to their "customer owned modem protection plan" and it was still put on my bill. What happened to RCN? I am hesitant to change to Comcrap so maybe I have to start looking into satellite dishes. read more

For 6 months I have been trying to change my phone service. I have returned rented phones and cancelled the lines and I am still being billed for them. I am also receiving shut off / service disruption notices as I have decided to no longer pay for the services I cancelled and the phones I do not have. I have invested over 20 hours (well documented) trying to resolve my disputes. I have been a loyal customer for over 20 years. read more

It's very unfortunate when a company makes the incumbent Comcast look like a capable and cutting edge company but RCN has hit that mark. Their advertised prices are marketed lower for the same speeds which is the only thing preventing me from giving this company one star. Gaming quality is incredibly poor even with an ethernet adapter and every time I do an Internet speed check my connectivity is less than what I signed up for. As many others have noted the customer service is also subpar as they refused to provide any information on unplanned outages that have now interrupted my workdays multiple times which is a huge headache and the WFH era. Doing this review with my phones data while I'm experiencing another one of these outages. At least I used the time to set up canceling my services. read more

After posting this review I was contacted by Jessica B. from RCN who was very nice and helped us out even though we were cancelling our service - she earns RCN an extra star. If the guy I dealt with at customer support had been anywhere near as helpful as her, we'd probably still be RCN customers. Thanks Jessica. read more

I paid my bill on time for 3 years and all it got me was swindled! I started paying a little less that 50 a month for $50 mbps. Now they are charging me $82 for that same 50 mbps while advertising 100 mbps for $30 a month on their website! When I called to ask why my rate was so high and if there was anything I could do to pay something more reasonable, they just told me if I wanted a good deal I should go somewhere else. I guess that's what customer loyalty gets you. I feel taken advantage of frankly... saw another review that said RCN cares more about new customers than existing ones and that seems true to me! read more

Internet and TV actually worked great, which is why I was hoping to continue working with them in the future. That is no longer the case. I recently moved out of my old unit at the end of August and the customer service has been atrocious since. After calling and disconnecting the service, I confirmed with a representative that I would be able to leave the equipment in the unit either for the new tenants to use or that the technician would take the equipment. (Do not do this or listen to any of their employees that tell you this is possible. It's a terrible decision.) I then received an email saying equipment was not returned, so I followed up with my second call to their service department. This lady seemed to be helpful and said she would make sure the technician took the equipment because the previous rep delivered the wrong information to me about leaving it in the unit. Installation was scheduled for two days later, which made me believe the timing was perfect and this was settled. I even confirmed with the new tenants that the technician took all of the equipment. Fast forward another week and I receive another email saying the equipment was not returned. I've had contact at least 5 times with representatives via phone and online chat to find a solution. Instead of being proactive about the situation they only tell me that the equipment was not returned, but their employee took it. They created a "case" for me to try and locate the equipment, which was their way to make it seem like they would assist, do anything productive for a customer. All I asked of them was to question the technician who took the equipment and did not check it back into the system. However, they refuse to do anything more than say "equipment was not checked in". If it were my company I would want to know if an employee is stealing from me, but apparently it's not a big deal to them. If the rep on the initial call would have just told me to return the equipment I would have done so and never had to waste this much time on something I have no control over. The fact that the technician took all of the equipment and they refuse to follow up with their employee about missing/stolen equipment has made this situation beyond frustrating. If you're still reading, do not leave your equipment if you are moving. The safest bet would be to use another provider that holds their employees responsible. read more

They just raised our monthly bill without letting us know. First they told us over the phone that the modem price went up, after 10 minutes they told us that they change the plan. I spend 30 minutes on the phone waiting for supervisor to answer my call but they just don't care. read more

Rcn averages about two service interruptions a month. That means your internet will be out, on average, about twice a month if you are in Boston. If you think that is acceptable, be my guest and go with rcn. But it's like having electricity for 28 days in a month and two days where you just don't know if you can turn on the tv or have access to the internet. Worst connectivity I've ever experienced. read more

RCN internet is extremely slow, the tv cable has horrible quality. When we cancelled the service, a feew days later RCN send us a $400 bill. I do not know what that charge is for, and did not pay it. I returned their crap equipment. RCN is much worse than Comcast! I will never use their service again! To the RCN staff, do not contact me. Your company is horrible, bad service, dishonest etc. Leave me alone! read more

RCN .... These people are outright thieves ! !! They are going down the same road as Comcast and will soon be facing there own class action law suit !! I have noticed an additional charge of 30.00 per month for the last few months ... when I called to inquire I was told it was a restoration fee !!! My service has never once been shut off ... When I informed the rep he then in turn told me that the 30 was actually a convenience fee for keeping my service on ... I was told previously by another rep as long as I paid my bill by a certain date I would be fine and my service would not be discontinued .... yet she never mentioned I would be charged 30 for that little convenience !! Recently I was told by yet another rep ... the best way to pay is through the app .... The app sucks .. trust me on this one ..... I was in the middle of making a payment the other day .. there was a glitch in the system ... guess what .. I was charged double causing me to overdraw my bank account and of course RCN can not return my money !! What a surprise ... Stay away from RCN ... they are thieves and I will be switching first thing in the morning .... STAY AWAY FROM RCN !!!! They are thieves read more

RCN vs. Xfinity After 5 years with Xfinity, we were moving to a location in Brookline where we had a choice of keeping the Xfinity service, or switching to RCN. We wound up switching to RCN for two primary reasons: (1) RCN makes it easy to compare rates for different bundles on their website, whereas Xfinity makes it almost impossible. As far as I can tell, part of Comcast's business model is to keep customers in the dark as much as possible so that it's easier to gouge them. Since I couldn't find what I wanted on the website, I called Comcast about two months before the move. The representative told me it was too soon to give me pricing. I took this as another sign that Comcast hates its customers. (2) RCN's pricing for the bundle we wanted (TV, internet, phone) is lower. We got a bundle with faster internet service for a lower price ($167 vs. $234/month). We're probably on an introductory rate that RCN will want to raise at the end of our first year, but I figure it will still be better than Comcast, which used to raise our rates all the time without telling us - sometimes because they started to bill us for a service we hadn't asked for. We have found both services equally reliable - we rarely had problems with the Comcast service, but if you need help, RCN is much more responsive. There are some differences in the channel lineup, but none that matter to us. In the transition to RCN, it took a couple of tries to get a reliable cable card for our bring-your-own Tivo box, but after the first couple of weeks, that's been solid. The one thing we lost in the switch to RCN was Comcast's voicemail service for our digital phone line: Comcast will email a transcription of voice messages; with RCN we have to dial in to get the messages. That's slightly less convenient, but easy to tolerate given that we're saving around $60/month. We're now 8 months in with no outages. The taxes and fees part of the bill is up about $8, which RCN blames on price increases by content providers. We have the 1 Gig service, and our download speeds run about 9/10 of a Gig on a wired connection -- but that's plenty fast. We get around 25 Mbps for upload. Overall, we're very satisfied. read more

This is an update, yet again I am having issues with the internet. My audio and video freeze and the connect just ends. When I called RCN I was told the connection has been turning off and on. What is happening with RCN? I have had 5 modems since March and numerous techs going things. Going to have to look at Comcast or possibly Verizon. I need equipment that I'm paying lots of money for to work. Impossible to work from home with this situation. read more

I have RCN internet (about $45.00/mo) and that's all. Works fine most days. Streaming services fill the TV void which I buy direct when desired. I am dropping YouTubeTV due to high monthly costs and I called RCN to inquire about broadcast only tier for my one TV (no DVR, no large cable box, no bells/whistles). I was put on hold for up to 18 minutes while the sales rep spoke to a supervisor (why is this even necessary?). I was informed after much back and forth that my bill with all "discounts" would go to about 95.00. This is for *basic broadcast* TV and internet (more than double what I'm paying now). RCN has an archaic way of selling services. Everything is a "package." There are different prices each time you call in. It's like buying a car. The online portal offers no sales offers, even though the lengthy pandemic recorded message tells customers to "see our online portal for sales offers rather than wait on hold." Very few businesses survive with this level of customer frustration, but when you are a virtual monopoly and likely colluding with Comcast or the other providers in your area, this is what happens. I will keep RCN internet, but will not ask for any changes to my service. What a waste of time. read more

Just got off the phone with a representative who was extremely rude her name was Jennifer, ID #42170. The call started with me asking a question about my service because I had changed it earlier this afternoon . My reasons were because I noticed my pricing was different, needless to find out some fees and off course the price had jumped. However my second call was to ask them about the different prices on the internet and how come I was never told about them in my earlier conversation with a previous representative. She couldn't answer why? Only to tell me she needed more info with an attitude. Mind you I was being very nice although I was upset that my cable channels had changed significantly because i was never explained that the package had literately only 77 channels. And all I wanted to know is why they had better package deals on the rcn website. So that's when Jennifer, lack off customer service told me that I couldn't get that special pricing because it was only for 1st time customers only. I mentioned that no where in the internet said nothing like that she insisted to the point that she told me that for every new customer the company will lose $79 per new customer. And since I'm not a new customer the company can't afford more losses on my behalf. I was in total shock!!! I even told her wow I hope this call is being recorded! And then she tried to defend herself by trying to explain to me the guidelines of the company too late!!! I left Comcast because it was getting to expensive but I must admit if I ever were to tell them to see if they could lower my bill or find a better package deal they would. Definitely not Jennifer! She said there's nothing She could do on my account. I asked for a manager she put on hold for more then 4 minutes to tell me the manager couldn't do nothing in which he/she never came to the phone Unfortunately the call got lost and I have no more patience to deal with someone who has no customer service. I'm paying $90 for basic channels my internet speed 155 . If you want poor customer service RCN is for you. It's crazy that I never complained about glitch internet and the Cable service being interrupted at times for no reason . Although for the customer service experience I had today I had to complain. Definitely this did it for me.unhappy customer. read more

I have been a customer for 11 years and I am considering ending my service due to lack of being truly transparent in your billing. When I signed up for service or changed my service Customer reps always said your bill will be X and your surchargers roughly will be this never in the 11 years was a told of any Late Charge. I have paid my bill for about 10 and a half years on time, but never was I told by a rep of $9.00 late fee. I asked it could be waived and I was told RCN valued my business but they would not waive any charges. I said again I never was told and just paid my bill online not looking at the bill mailed to me. I plan to share my disappointing experience with anyone when picking a cable provider and will never recommend RCN since it's just as bad as another subscriber but I can say they would disclose any potential fees. It's just bad business practice. Don't tell me you understand if you can't do anything its just gross. RCN you have lost my business will be leaving you in 2020 for sure. read more

There are always technical issues for cable and the WiFi. I am done with this cable company. DO NOT CHOOSE RCN!

They RCN act like real scammers. At first, they say that the low cost of the Internet is 29.99. Then they send invoices for $ 130 per month (every month). When you cancel the contract with them and do not get the Internet, you still get the bills again. And the company is responding to all the questions that they have such a policy. What is RCN the policy? Consumer fraud? read more

Well, I was paying 178.00 to Verizon for Phone/Internet/DirecTTV. Now, I pay 120.00 and get more channels and 10 MBPS instead of 1 MBPS. Yes, the day of install, they finished late, and phone and internet did not work, but by 2 pm the next day, everything was up, plus 3 months of HBO and Showtime free. Bye Bye Direct Tv, Comcast and Verizon. The competition is here. I did have to call customer service twice and got someone within 2 minutes, even at 1000 at night. read more

This updated review is long overdue. These people flat out lied to me! Even the supervisor I was transferred to lied to me. Where is my $100 visa gift card for signing up, RCN? Call after call and nothing. THEN you tell me I didn't qualify for it when I was told by numerous people I did! Stay away from this deceitful company!!! read more

Was paying for $150/mo for xfinity cable/internet. Went to check prices on RCN's website and it was the same, so didn't bother pursuing. A couple days later a salesman showed up at my door and said he noticed I was looking at prices on his website (creepy much?). I told him it was the same price and I wasn't interested and he said he was the Territory Manager and could give me a lower rate. We talked about how I was paying $150/mo for Comcast and he said they way overcharge and he could save me $50/mo. We eventually agreed to $99.94/mo, scheduled the installations, shook hands and went our separate ways. Installation took over 6 hours and they failed to provide the 500Mb/s in the contract. We receive only 100Mb/s internet which the installation tech claimed was due to "old wires" (???). When I received my first bill in the mail, lo-and-behold, I am being charged $140.85/mo. (Install was free, activation was $9.99). I called customer service to see what was going on and spoke to 4-5 of the rudest liars I've ever met in my life. They lied about anything and everything: the first supervisor claimed that he was West Texas only and couldn't see Massachusetts pricing (LIE), so he transferred me to the "Massachusetts Supervisor" (LIE). The "Massachusetts Supervisor" had no idea what a "Massachusetts Supervisor" was and told me that all of them are in the same call center in West Texas. After an hour of lying to me and telling me that I was lying about my $99.94 rate, while lying about being their own managers and not having a manager, they eventually told me they could "email their escalation team" about the issue and tried to hang up on me. I told them I would gladly wait on the phone and she pretended to type an email while giving me attitude as she obviously had zero intention of sending any email to any escalation team (probably doesn't even exist). When I asked her to forward me the email or CC me, she immediately got flustered from being caught in a lie and claimed that RCN's email system doesn't support email CC'ing or forwarding (MAJOR LIE). When I informed her that yes it does, all enterprise email systems support both of those, her child-like emotional state started to emerge with "Nuh uh! No it doesn't!". I called the "Territory Manager" manager back (the door-to-door salesman who originally sold me the package for $99.94) and I am still waiting for him to call me back. I assume they are trying to stall me to the end of the 30-day trial period so they can claim I owe them $150.85, even though several weeks later the crooks still have not even finished the installation. read more

RCN Boston has been a great ISP until now. My internet in Boston has been out going on 3 weeks now and multiple phone calls with both my landlord and RCN, neither will fix the lines which are on the pole and outside the house before the junction box. From my understanding this is owned by RCN. I help run an internet start up from home and this is hindering my ability to work. I used to tell everyone to drop Comcast and Verizon in the area as I hate those two giant corporations. But now I'm second guessing using RCN and debating on dropping my service after this. read more