Windstream being investigated for overpromising broadband speeds

Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN) is facing an investigation from the Governor's Office of Consumer Protection in Georgia for allegedly misleading customers about the broadband speeds it can deliver.

As reported by a local Atlanta CBS network affiliate, a retail employee in Dawsonville told an undercover photographer that the telco can deliver Internet speeds of up to 24 Mbps. The employee guaranteed that they could deliver service no slower than 6-12 Mbps to customers.

However, Mark Creekmore, a Windstream customer that runs a business out of his home, told a different story.

"I have to tell my customer I am sorry, but my Internet connection right now is not usable," he told CBS.

Creekmore said that he thinks any Windstream customer in Georgia who is having a poor experience should file a complaint with the Consumer Protection agency.

The timing of this report comes as the Georgia Senate voted down the controversial H.B. 282 bill, which would have put in place more barriers for towns and cities to build their own municipally-run broadband networks. Windstream and AT&T (NYSE: T)--two of the state's largest telecom providers--were the big proponents of the bill.

A Windstream spokeswoman said that they are aware of the speed issue and are doing what they can to provide higher speeds.

"We're asking our customers to be patient with us because we're on it," Bettye Willis, a regional vice president at Windstream, told the CBS station in Atlanta.  "We understand that they have issues and we're working to upgrade their network."