dsls last blog post..los angeles cheap dsl.

So that’s why I switched to Comcast.

I’m happy with the service. I haven’t had any outages that I’ve noticed since I got the service, which is a relief since I was really concerned that it would be similar to back when I used to have cable broadband. I had originally signed up for it with a company named “@home”, and the service was terrible – constant drops, and constant variations in bandwidth. That company went bankrupt and Comcast scooped em up and it didn’t get any better. A year or so later I switched to DSL and was really happy with it. I got the 1.5m down consistently, which I was thrilled with since they only promised/sold 384k or 768k at the time I started (I can’t remember which).

I don’t notice any difference in speed since switching to Comcast even though the bandwidth I’m getting according the the speed tests is > 6mb now. I’m sure that for larger downloads it is faster, but I don’t recall ever thinking the DSL was slow.

So far, Comcast has done me alright since switching. But I’m well aware that I’m ‘in bed with the devil’. Unfortunately now these companies are locking people up with contracts – I’m under contract with T-Mobile for my cell and landline service now, and Comcast is pushing their ‘triple play’ which requires a 2 year commitment, and I believe Verizon is doing the same.

Marks last blog post..It took 8 months to realize it, but Vista really does suck.

greg @ digital tv antennas last blog post..The Basics of Digital TV Antennas

I have the T-Mobile@Home phone service, and that service requires a cell phone. So there is redundancy so that even if the @Home service were down (which has become an increasingly rare occurrence after the first firmware update), I could always use the cell phone if I had to.

Marks last blog post..T-Mobile@Home Monthly Bill – How Much It Really Costs (Me)

I’m unfortunately well aware of Comcast’s horrible customer service. I spent an hour on the phone yelling and cursing at them, years ago, for not giving me the discount that new customers were getting.

I don’t know why, but amazingly a few months ago I went into the Comcast office to pickup an HDMI-equipped HD receiver and the lady behind the bulletproof glass (no kidding) proceeded to tell me she was gonna cut my bill in half just because I smiled when I walked in. Long story, but she wasn’t lying. My bill went from $120 per month for just digital cable and HBO, to $63 per month. But now I’ve noticed the last 2 months that the billing is screwy – I just got a bill from them saying I didn’t pay last month. I checked my instance of MS Money and my bank statements and sure enough, I did pay it.

If Comcast didn’t have a lock on the local sports teams here (they own 2 of the Philadelphia sports teams – the 76ers and the Flyers), I think half of the population here would have moved to the dish. But unfortunately without Comcast cable, we won’t get Phillies games, Flyers, or 76ers on television. Which sucks.

Rant aside…..the speed of the Comcast broadband is so much faster than Verizon DSL that I’m happy I made the switch, even knowing that I am getting in bed with the devil.

comcast’s broadband has been pretty good for me over the last 4 years or so, with fairly constant uptime and download speeds. the problem is the customer service and outrageous pricing.

when it comes to billing, the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing: payments made online will NOT be reflected in your online statement until the NEXT month! according to an employee i grilled one day, this is because they use an antiquated billing system that’s left over from their old cable company days, and the backend isn’t robust enough to handle a modern web frontend (or something to that effect).

BTW, they bill in *advance*, so you have to pay for July’s service in June. annoying.

but what i really find insulting is their pricing: they CONSTANTLY show TV ads with special pricing for new customers (up to 12 months discount) while refusing to give existing — and loyal — customers any kind of price break at all. i pay $125/mo for broadband and the lowest level of digital TV… no premium channels, no HD. new customers can pay $99/mo for a year AND get a higher level of service (phone service is included in that package).

i should note that they also increased their rate on me about 3 times in the last 2 years *without notice.* my bill (with the exact same levels of service) went from about $105/mo to $115/mo to $125 a month with no explanation. sneaky bastages.

but apparently i should feel blessed because they give me a price break on broadband since i have a ‘package’ of sorts… the broadband portion of the bill is $45/mo. if you also have cable TV, whereas broadband-only service is $60/mo.

comcast drives me absolutely NUTS. i think comcast is one of my least favorite companies in the entire world. no exaggeration.

i was actually investigating doing the complete opposite of what you just did: i was looking into switching to Verizon DSL! i’ve only kept Comcast this long because there’s no real competition in San Francisco without going to ‘the dish’, which i can’t do.

sorry for the rant! i pray you don’t ever need to call comcast’s support line, because they are absolutely terrible.

(i’ll save my story about the installation guy coming 4 hours late then billing me for “free installation” for another day!)