comcast internet

[stockrex]

Good Morning,
I have had ATT dsl since 2006 and it worked great,
I paid $20 for internet and about $55 for home phone with unlimited.
few weeks back I called to renew to get a better price and they switch me to their U-Verse internet.
All I can say is that I am done, I need to switch, their tech support is non-existent. They can even figure out and fix their own problem.
Fast foward 2 weeks.
I am looking at comcast tv and internet service (bundle)

Pls share your experience with comcast internet.

Thanks,

 

[rjundi]

People have their qualms about comcast.

For me personally I have worked 100% telecommute(IT job) using comcast/xfinity over 10 years. They are beyond responsive in correcting issues and give the speed they advertise in 3 homes I have had. A HUGE bonus they don't fake you like Time Warner(1), Uverse(1), Canadian telelcomms and a few others and give you a decent upload speed(5 vs 1 with others). I require it for screen/video/file sharing.

Even when power lines are down(taking theirs down to) they actually put out small gen sets to power their equipment and jury rig stuff around electrical wires down to keep themselves up.

I am happy to pay $140/month for my business for internet/phone and I get television too. So much cheaper than driving to work consuming vehicle, getting decent clothes just for work, and unpaid time behind the wheel.

customer here.

 

[apwillard1986]

They offer great speed and the service is reliable. We had an issue with some damage to our main line feeding the neighborhood that I felt took far too long to resolve but on the whole we have been pleased. In our area they are just about the only game in town if you want speeds over 16Mb/s. As an aside I consistently get speeds in excess of the service level I pay for.

 

[Indydriver]

I've had Comcast in my home, both TV and Internet for 30 years. They have a good product. Customer service over the phone can be tough to get through all the voice prompts but once you do, the CSRs can do a lot in manipulating your service and billing. One big diff with ATT is the cable box. You have to have one for each. TV and they charge you for it. Also, they are great at signing you up on low cost promos then letting your bill move up to "regular" rates without notice. At times I've been tempted by competitive offers so I'm kinda glad to hear that Att also has it's warts.

 

[dparm]

You'll get answers that are all over the map, truthfully. Some people like me will have Comcast for years and never have any complaints, whereas others will have nothing but problems. It seems to be a regional thing -- their service is clearly good in some areas, and lousy in others.

 

[Barkleymut]

We switched from Verizon FIOS to Comcast almost exactly one year ago. We are switching back to FIOS this month. Comcast is fine for TV and phone. The internet is worse than dialup, it seems to be a problem only at my home. We have a tech that has come out at least 5 times in the past year. The wireless is intermittent for all of our apple devices and sometimes our PCs. I know others in my area that never have problems.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Also, they are great at signing you up on low cost promos then letting your bill move up to "regular" rates without notice.


Yes Ive heard this quite a bit from folks who use Comcast.

You wont pay $20/month for internet regularly any more, that's all I have to say... Comcast just built a 69 story building in Philadelphia that you have to pay for!

 

[JJ717]

We had Verizon DSL for the last 8 years, and used their dry loop DSL the last 5 (no landline phone, just data). Last year sometime, they decided to stop supporting dry loop service, so we were stuck at 1 Mbps, and the price rose to $35 a month.
Our local Comcast rep would stop by every 6 months or so, so we finally asked about cable internet. Long story short, we've got 20Mbps down, 5 up for $29.99 a month, which moves to $44.99 after a year, and (I believe) $65/month in the 3rd year. I plan to renegotiate at some point close to 12 months in.
We bought a modem and self-installed, and had service half an hour after calling the rep. So far, it's been great, and speedtest.com reports 21-22 Mbps down every time we test it.
I'd recommend looking for your local rep and talking with them. It'll give you a decent feel for the service in your area, and may give you a better deal than going through the website.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Also, they are great at signing you up on low cost promos then letting your bill move up to "regular" rates without notice.


Yes Ive heard this quite a bit from folks who use Comcast.

You wont pay $20/month for internet regularly any more, that's all I have to say... Comcast just built a 69 story building in Philadelphia that you have to pay for!



They do offer a lot of promo rates, but they don't lie or up your rates without further notice. Most people don't look at their bills, and sometimes it will say "your promo rate expires next month" or something like that. It's not Comcast's fault if people don't read closely.

 

[NHHEMI]

Been using Comcast since Comcast bought out the previous company. Service is fine. I have TV/Phone/Internet all bundled. Very few problems with them in over a decade. When I have had one they fix it ASAP.

My gripe as it is for most is the cost. Their prices are ridiculous. The alternatives though( Verizon/Fair Point or Dish )are non starters for me as the performance is sub standard and customer service doesn't exist. In bad weather dish goes out here as well so no thanks. I really have no option but to use Comcast for the service I want.

As others have pointed out they get people with the promo price but then 1-2 years down the road the bill suddenly takes a huge leap that would scare you. They are upfront about it as another member said but you sort of forget it or don't realize how big a jump it is until it happens. My bill went up $60+ bucks the last time a promo rate ended for the same bundle paid at the regular rate. I refused to pay such a sharp increase.

The way to handle it( has worked for me the last 3 times )is to call and raise holy heck and threaten to cancel all your service if the price is not reduced. They will either suddenly know about a loyalty package that saves you money( I got that this last time - saving me $45 a month )or they will get you signed up for one of the promo rates that you technically don't qualify for.

I have never complained and not had the price reduced somehow. I really hate it the way all the "advertised" deals and promos are for new people and the loyal customers have to fight and complain to get some savings. I wish they would focus a bit more on the current and loyal folks.

Other than cost no complains.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI

The way to handle it( has worked for me the last 3 times )is to call and raise holy heck and threaten to cancel all your service if the price is not reduced. They will either suddenly know about a loyalty package that saves you money( I got that this last time - saving me $45 a month )or they will get you signed up for one of the promo rates that you technically don't qualify for.

I have never complained and not had the price reduced somehow. I really hate it the way all the "advertised" deals and promos are for new people and the loyal customers have to fight and complain to get some savings. I wish they would focus a bit more on the current and loyal folks.



You can actually log into your account and browse the offers for current customers. No need to call them. It's how I managed to save $20/mo for another 12 months without a downgrade.

 

[apwillard1986]

I am more frustrated by the fact that there is so little competition for the same services at the same level; at least that is the case here. The cost is ludicrous but I remind myself that I don’t technically need the premium television package w/dvr or the 50Mb/s internet service. In fairness they don’t have contracts or data caps and they are always willing to give a little when I complain about the price. It is a luxury. Our house consumes a lot of media between video chats with relatives, online games, streaming video etc. I have to remind myself how much entertainment and convenience my money is buying my family each month and then it feels less insulting.

 

[Bud]

I just have Comcast phone and internet and have been very happy with the service. Before I signed up with them I read lots of reviews, with some being good and a lot being negative. It is just one of those things you just have to try out and see what your experience will be. If you go by online reviews on things you probably will never sign up for anything.

 

[stockrex]

Thanks for the feedback,
I am thinking of going with the
$79 double play deal
internet plus tv with Streampix

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Been using Comcast since Comcast bought out the previous company. Service is fine. I have TV/Phone/Internet all bundled. Very few problems with them in over a decade. When I have had one they fix it ASAP.

My gripe as it is for most is the cost. Their prices are ridiculous. The alternatives though( Verizon/Fair Point or Dish )are non starters for me as the performance is sub standard and customer service doesn't exist. In bad weather dish goes out here as well so no thanks. I really have no option but to use Comcast for the service I want.

As others have pointed out they get people with the promo price but then 1-2 years down the road the bill suddenly takes a huge leap that would scare you. They are upfront about it as another member said but you sort of forget it or don't realize how big a jump it is until it happens. My bill went up $60+ bucks the last time a promo rate ended for the same bundle paid at the regular rate. I refused to pay such a sharp increase.

The way to handle it( has worked for me the last 3 times )is to call and raise holy heck and threaten to cancel all your service if the price is not reduced. They will either suddenly know about a loyalty package that saves you money( I got that this last time - saving me $45 a month )or they will get you signed up for one of the promo rates that you technically don't qualify for.

I have never complained and not had the price reduced somehow. I really hate it the way all the "advertised" deals and promos are for new people and the loyal customers have to fight and complain to get some savings. I wish they would focus a bit more on the current and loyal folks.

Other than cost no complains.


We would all like that. But the truth of the matter is in the end it boils down to shareholders, and shareholders don't much care about that. They care about seeing MORE subscribers signing up, rather than retaining existing ones. And in the end, when you are a publicly traded multi billion dollar corporation, the shareholder is ultimately who you report to, not your customer, sadly

 

[Nick R]

On topic, we had comcast when we lived in Kittery ME, and it was pretty good. No real complaints about the service. The boxes worked, the internet was pretty reliable. I wasn't old enough at the time to care, or even think about how much it cost, so I really have no idea.

But as other have said, the key is to call in and threaten to take service elsewhere. You can also be nice about it and have it done, to a point anyway.

 

[stockrex]

well I just tried to price my service
$79 plus $9 for another tv,
will they charge extra for cable modem rental?

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
well I just tried to price my service
$79 plus $9 for another tv,
will they charge extra for cable modem rental?


Generally yes. I think comcast is $7-$9/mo. You will save yourself money long-term by buying your own DOCSIS 3.0 modem, like a Motorola SB6121/6141

 

[KitaCam]

Yes, DOCSIS 3 is required for Comcast/xfiniti wi-fi...
DOCSIS 2.0 is fine for wired...which is faster than ATT when comparing the basic service I have...I bought a D-2 for $12 on the bay...D-3 modems go for $25-35/used.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: KitaCam
Yes, DOCSIS 3 is required for Comcast/xfiniti wi-fi...
DOCSIS 2.0 is fine for wired...which is faster than ATT when comparing the basic service I have...I bought a D-2 for $12 on the bay...D-3 modems go for $25-35/used.


I would never buy a used modem, and I would always buy a D3 modem if you are going to buy one. Why? Because if you ever want to upgrade/if they ever upgrade the speeds, it's entirely possible you will need one. No point in spending the money twice. Get a New D3 modem, they are about $65-$75 for a Motorola 6121/6141 new.